drawbridge

See also: draw-bridge and draw bridge

English

A drawbridge.

Etymology

From draw +‎ bridge.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɹɔːbɹɪd͡ʒ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈdɹɑbɹɪd͡ʒ/

Noun

drawbridge (plural drawbridges)

1. A hinged bridge which can be raised (to prevent its being crossed, as across a moat, or to allow watercraft to travel beneath it).
   • 1981, “The Fall Guy”, performed by The Sonora's Tucson Band:

     I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine / 'Cause I'm the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine

2. (figurative, attributive) A tendency to provide only limited access.

   drawbridge mentality

   • 1873 March, Ella Williams, “My Stepdaughter”, in William Conant Church, editor, The Galaxy, volume 15, number 3, page 386:

     I looked at her with wide eyes, and the drawbridge of her reserve fell instantly.

   • 2012, Phillip Vannini, Ferry Tales: Mobility, Place, and Time on Canada's West Coast:

     "Yeah, some people have a drawbridge mentality,” remarks Barry.“They move to an island and then they think that nobody else should be let in after them. […]

   • 2016, Gladys Famoriyo, Quit Hiding, Start Living!:

     And He gave me the steps I needed to take to let down the drawbridge of my heart again.

   • 2019, Christie Rich, Charles Nottingham, Weaver of Dreams:

     They push against the drawbridge of my mind, shaking me to the core.

Synonyms

• (bridge that allows watercraft to travel): bascule bridge

Hypernyms

• movable bridge

Derived terms

• pull up the drawbridge

Translations

bridge which can be raised

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: pont llevadís m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 弔橋／吊桥 (zh) (diàoqiáo), 吊橋／吊桥 (zh) (diàoqiáo)

• Czech: padací most m
• Danish: vindebro
• Dutch: ophaalbrug (nl) f, valbrug (nl)
• Esperanto: levoponto
• Estonian: tõmbesild, tõstesild
• Finnish: laskusilta (fi) (across a moat), läppäsilta (fi), nostosilta (fi) (across a waterway)
• French: pont-levis (fr) m
• German: Zugbrücke (de) f
• Hungarian: felvonóhíd (hu)
• Icelandic: vindubrú f
• Irish: droichead tógála m
• Italian: ponte levatoio (it) m
• Japanese: 跳ね橋 (はねばし, hanebashi)
• Korean: 가동교(可動橋) (gadonggyo)
• Latvian: paceļamais tilts m
• Lithuanian: pakeliamasis tiltas m
• Luxembourgish: Falbréck f
• Polish: most zwodzony (pl) m
• Portuguese: ponte levadiça f
• Russian: разводно́й мост m (razvodnój most)
• Spanish: puente levadizo m
• Sundanese: ᮞᮞᮊ᮪ ᮃᮀᮊᮒ᮪ (sasak angkat)
• Swedish: vindbrygga (sv)
• Vietnamese: cầu sắt
• Volapük: lötirapon, (older term) tulapon (vo)

Gallery

• 
  A fort entryway's drawbridge.
• 
  A drawbridge open to allow a ship beneath.

Anagrams

• bridge-ward