stanchion

Etymology

From Old French estanson, estanchon, (Modern French étançon), from estance (“a stay, a prop”), from Latin stāns (“standing”), present participle of stō.

noun

1. A vertical pole, post, or support.
   The train began to move. Lace walked with it, holding a stanchion. 1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter IX, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 149
   You cross under the rusting stanchions of the old elevated highway and walk out to the pier. 1984, Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City, page 10
   He staggers against a stanchion, trips over a rope, and tumbles into the space between the quay and the steel plates of the freighter. 2013, J. M. Coetzee, chapter 27, in The Childhood of Jesus, Melbourne, Australia: The Text Publishing Company, page 268
2. A framework of such posts, used to secure or confine cattle.

verb

1. To erect stanchions, or equip something with stanchions.
2. To confine by means of stanchions, typically used for cattle.