a small gate in the rear of a fort or castle

A subterraneous passage communicating between the parade and the main ditch, or between the ditches and the interior of the outworks.

Back; being behind; private.

Formerly, a back door or gate; private entrance.

( orig.) A back door or gate: a small private door.

Back: private.

Small back door or gate.

A back gate or door; a private entrance.

Back; being behind.

Any small door or gate; a small gate under a rampart.

Any small door or gate; a private entrance; in fort., a vaulted passage constructed under the mass of the parapet and through the rampart.

Behind; private.

Both batteries ceased firing simultaneously, and our indefatigable soldiers again set to work on the defences, completed the ramparts, and made rapid progress in the construction of a bomb- proof and traverse in rear of the postern. – History of the War Between Mexico and the United States, with a Preliminary View of its Origin, Volume 1 by Brantz Mayer

I knew that Pu- Yi lived somewhere on the premises and I felt all over the great iron- studded door until I came to the small postern wicket through which one generally entered. –  by

As I was feeling vainly for the bolt of the postern, rays of light suddenly shot my shadow against the door. – The Complete PG Edition of The Works of Winston Churchill by Winston Churchill

The Lady Maud and her lover had heard and, in an instant, they were rushing toward the postern gate, the officer drawing his sword as he ran. – The Outlaw of Torn by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Before shutting the postern, the porter looked out into the street. – The Heart of Rome by Francis Marion Crawford

His warning voice was unheard, for the din which the knight himself occasioned by his strokes upon the postern would have drowned twenty war- trumpets. – Journeys Through Bookland Volume Four by Charles H. Sylvester

Now the Castle stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, and although the walls at that side were very thick, in them there was a little postern door, which opened on to a narrow flight of steps that led down the face of the cliff to the sea shore, so that anyone who liked could go down there in the pleasant summer mornings and bathe in the shimmering sea. – The Scottish Fairy Book by Elizabeth W. Grierson

He let himself in and locked the postern door behind him. – The Heart of Rome by Francis Marion Crawford

And when he came to the postern he found there ready four knights, and at two the first strokes he slew two of the knights, and the other fled; and so he won his horse and rode from them. – Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume I (of II) King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table by Thomas Malory

Come back, then, on the long road to the rear on which Bishop Usher's old date of creation is a way station an infinitesimal distance behind us; come back until together we stand at the universe's postern gate and look out into the mystery whence all things came, where no scientific investigation can ever go, where no one knows the facts. – Christianity and Progress by Harry Emerson Fosdick

You must get out that way and through the postern gate." – The Zeppelin's Passenger by E. Phillips Oppenheim

A customs officer, seated on the stone step below a round postern with iron bars, was talking with many gestures, as if he were acting out his narrative. – Fromont and Risler, Complete by Alphonse Daudet Last Updated: March 3, 2009

They passed back through the postern- gate into the gardens of The Sanctuary. – The Evil Shepherd by E. Phillips Oppenheim

It's only five minutes from the west- postern of the park. – The Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith by George Meredith

Through the Postern Gate A Romance in Seven Days. – Who? by Elizabeth Kent

After a ramble through the bewitchingly lovely gardens,- going across ancient drawbridges, spanning long- unused, grass- grown moats; under little postern- gates; into rustic grottoes- they at last came to the conservatory, in which is preserved the " Warwick Vase." – John and Betty's History Visit by Margaret Williamson

And rising up, he cut his armour off him into shreds with rage and madness, and turned and left the field: and Sir Tristram also left the lists, and rode back to the castle through the postern gate. – The Legends Of King Arthur And His Knights by James Knowles

A lantern shone for a moment at the postern, the crowd pressed to the grille, then came the clang of the volley from the stone parade. – The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers