bancal
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun A saber more curved than usual, as if in imitation of the simitar; specifically, the saber of this form worn by officers of the first French republic and empire, during 1792-1810.
- noun A weight equal to about 1 pound, used in India.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- noun An ornamental covering, as of carpet or leather, for a bench or form.
Examples
-
Of a sudden, however, he caught a quick shimmer from the corner of a high-backed bancal in front of him, and, shifting a pace or two to the side, saw a white slender hand, which held a mirror of polished silver in such a way that the concealed observer could see without being seen.
-
As he lay looking up through the tangle of copper leaves at the sky beyond, his mind drifted like the clouds above him, and he was back once more in the jutting window in the Rue St. Martin, sitting on the broad _bancal_, with its Spanish leather covering, with the gilt wool-bale creaking outside, and his arm round shrinking, timid Adele, she who had compared herself to a little mouse in an old house, and who yet had courage to stay by his side through all this wild journey.
Note
The word 'bancal' comes from a Spanish word meaning 'bench'.
