English edit

 
A Turkish helmet with an aventail.

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English aventayle, from Old French esventail (air-hole), from esventer (Modern French éventer), from Latin ex (out) + ventus (wind). Related to ventail.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

aventail (plural aventails)

  1. A curtain or flap of chainmail, fastened to a helmet, or to a coif (hood) of mail, covering the lower face, neck, and shoulders.
    Synonyms: camail, ventail (piece of chainmail)
    • 1995, William W. Kibler, Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 126:
      [] the hood was increasingly replaced with a mail curtain (the camail or aventail) suspended from the outside of the bascinet, and the bascinet thus augmented gradually replaced the clumsy great helm as the principal defense []
  2. Synonym of ventail (movable (solid plate) front to a helmet).

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