doorstop

doorstop
/dawr"stop', dohr"-/, n.
1. a device for holding a door open, as a wedge or small weight.
2. Also called slamming stile, stop. (in a doorframe) a strip or projecting surface against which the door closes.
3. a device for preventing a door from striking a wall or an object on a wall, as a small rubber-covered projection.
[1870-75, Amer.; DOOR + STOP]

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      usually decorative and invariably heavy object used to prevent doors from swinging shut. Doorstops came into use about 1775 following the introduction of the rising butt, a type of hinge designed to close a door automatically. Many stops took the form of famous persons, such as Napoleon, Shakespeare, Wellington, Gladstone, and Disraeli. Animal forms were also popular.

      The most common material used for making doorstops was metal, generally cast with a flat, normally hollow, back, but in some early examples cast in the round. Brass, usually lacquered, was popular until about 1850. Cast-iron stops were made from roughly 1820, and soon production in this material reached large proportions, paint or a bronze finish being the usual decoration. A handle or some other means of lifting the stop easily was commonly incorporated in the design. Also known are doorstops in earthenware and a few in glass made in Bristol.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • doorstop — door stop , n. (Carp.) The block or strip of wood or similar material which stops, at the right place, the shutting of a door; any object used to stop open doors from moving. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • doorstop — (also doorstopper) ► NOUN ▪ an object that keeps a door open or in place …   English terms dictionary

  • doorstop — [dôr′stäp΄] n. 1. a device used to hold a door open at a desired position or prevent it from closing too forcibly or slamming against a wall 2. a thin wooden strip affixed to a frame of a doorway, against which the door closes …   English World dictionary

  • Doorstop — A doorstop (also door stopper or door stop) is an object or device used to hold a door open or closed, or to prevent a door from opening too widely. Alternatively, a doorstop can be a thin slat built inside a door frame to prevent a door from… …   Wikipedia

  • doorstop — UK [ˈdɔː(r)ˌstɒp] / US [ˈdɔrˌstɑp] noun [countable] Word forms doorstop : singular doorstop plural doorstops 1) a heavy object that you put against a door to keep it open 2) a piece of rubber or plastic fixed to a wall that stops a door hitting… …   English dictionary

  • doorstop — [[t]dɔ͟ː(r)stɒp[/t]] doorstops N COUNT A doorstop is a heavy object that you use to keep a door open …   English dictionary

  • doorstop — noun Date: 1878 1. a usually rubber tipped device attached to a wall or floor to prevent damaging contact between an opened door and the wall 2. a device (as a wedge or weight) for holding a door open …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • doorstop — noun a) Any device or object used to halt the motion of a door, as a large or heavy object, a wedge, or some piece of hardware fixed to the floor, door or wall. b) A thick sandwich …   Wiktionary

  • doorstop — Synonyms and related words: arrest, bearing rein, bit, brake, chain, check, checkrein, chock, clog, countercheck, curb, curb bit, damper, drag, drag sail, drift anchor, drift sail, drogue, fetter, holdback, martingale, pelham, remora, scotch, sea …   Moby Thesaurus

  • doorstop — door|stop [ˈdo:stɔp US ˈdo:rsta:p ] n also door|stop|per [ ˌstɔpə US ˌsta:pər] BrE 1.) something you put under or against a door to keep it open 2.) a rubber object fastened to a wall to stop a door hitting it when it opens …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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