faldstool

UK: /ˈfɔːldˌstuːl/ US: (fôld′sto̅o̅l′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

fald•stool  (fôld′sto̅o̅l′), n. 

1. Religion a chair or seat, originally one capable of being folded, used by a bishop or other prelate when officiating in his own church away from his throne or in a church not his own.
2. Religion a movable folding stool or desk at which worshipers kneel during certain acts of devotion.
3. Religion such a stool placed at the south side of the altar, at which the kings or queens of England kneel at their coronation.
4. Religion a desk at which the litany is said or sung.

• WGmc *faldistōl (compare Old High German faltistuol, late Old English fældestōl, fyldestōl); see fold¹, stool; compare fauteuil
• Medieval Latin faldistolium
• 1595–1605

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

faldstool / ˈfɔːldˌstuːl/ noun

1. a backless seat, sometimes capable of being folded, used by bishops and certain other prelates

Etymology: 11th Century fyldestol, probably a translation of Medieval Latin faldistolium folding stool, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German faldstuol