montant

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɒntənt/

Etymology 1

From Italian montante. Doublet of mountant.

Noun

montant (plural montants)

1. (fencing, archaic) An upward cut with a blade
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

     HOST: To see thee fight, to see thee foin, to see thee traverse; to see thee pass thy punto, thy stock, thy reverse, thy distance, thy montant.

Etymology 2

From Middle English mountant, from Old French montant.

Noun

montant (plural montants)

1. (carpentry) An upright piece in any framework, such as a muntin or stile
2. (drinking) The first scent of a cognac
   • 2004, Anthony Dias Blue, The Complete Book of Spirits‎, →ISBN, page 238:

     Instead, let the montant meet your nose just above the rim of the glass.

Etymology 3

From Old French montant.

Adjective

montant (not comparable)

1. (heraldry) Ascending toward the chief of the escutcheon.
   • 1873, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, page 178:

     […] as it is usually designated, the 'crescent montant,' has long been a symbol of the Turkish empire, which has thus […]

   • 2018 January 31, R. D. Blackmore, Delphi Complete Works of R. D. Blackmore (Illustrated), Delphi Classics, →ISBN:

     The eagle montant, to borrow a term from falconry, is understood to typify the mythical phœnix, and may be regarded as alluding to the vicissitudes of that illustrious and ever-resurgent family. […]

Usage notes

In heraldic descriptions, the adjective is used postpositively.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔ̃.tɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

montant (feminine montante, masculine plural montants, feminine plural montantes)

1. upwards, climbing
2. uphill

Noun

montant m (plural montants)

1. a (monetary) amount
2. a structural montant

Participle

montant

1. present participle of monter
2. (preceded by en) gerund of monter

Further reading

• “montant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

montant m (plural montants)

1. (Jersey, nautical) flow tide