stable doorn.
/ˌsteɪbl ˈdɔː/, U.S. /ˌsteɪb(ə)l ˈdɔr/ 1. The door of a stable, typically divided horizontally into two parts such that the upper and lower parts can be opened and shut independently.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of door > [noun] > other types of door
hall-doorc1275
falling doorc1300
stable doorc1330
vice-door1354
hecka1400
lodge-doorc1400
street door1465
gate-doora1500
portal1516
backdoor1530
portal door1532
side door1535
by-door1542
outer door1548
postern door1551
house door1565
fore-door1581
way-door1597
leaf door1600
folding door1611
clap-door1625
balcony-door1635
out-door1646
anteportc1660
screen door1668
frontish-door1703
posticum1704
side entrance1724
sash-door1726
Venetian door1731
oak1780
jib-door1800
trellis?c1800
sporting door1824
ledge-door1825
through door1827
bivalves1832
swing-door1833
tradesmen's entrance1838
ledged door1851
tradesmen's door?1851
fire door1876
storm door1878
shoji1880
fire door1889
Dutch door1890
patio door1900
stable door1900
ledge(d) and brace(d) door1901
suicide door1925
louvre door1953
c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 2152 At stable dore to him ȝhe sede [etc.].
1488–9 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 122/1 Dampnage..sustenit..in the brekin of his stable-durris & wyndois.
1602 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) II. 422 [He] causit hir lay ane pairt thairof vnder the mylne dur, and the rest vnder the stabill dur, for distructione of his hors and cattell.
1746 D. Roberts Mem. Life J. Roberts 8 It being pretty early in the Morning, and seeing the Stable Door open, he went to the Groom, and desir'd him to put up his Horse.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxii. 285 Isidor watched the stable-door constantly.
1997 J. Jakeman Let there be Blood xiii. 139 The stable door creaks as the old mare is shut in for the night.
2. A door divided horizontally in the manner of a traditional stable door (sense 1). Cf. Dutch door n. at Dutch adj., n.1, and adv. Compounds 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of door > [noun] > other types of door
hall-doorc1275
falling doorc1300
stable doorc1330
vice-door1354
hecka1400
lodge-doorc1400
street door1465
gate-doora1500
portal1516
backdoor1530
portal door1532
side door1535
by-door1542
outer door1548
postern door1551
house door1565
fore-door1581
way-door1597
leaf door1600
folding door1611
clap-door1625
balcony-door1635
out-door1646
anteportc1660
screen door1668
frontish-door1703
posticum1704
side entrance1724
sash-door1726
Venetian door1731
oak1780
jib-door1800
trellis?c1800
sporting door1824
ledge-door1825
through door1827
bivalves1832
swing-door1833
tradesmen's entrance1838
ledged door1851
tradesmen's door?1851
fire door1876
storm door1878
shoji1880
fire door1889
Dutch door1890
patio door1900
stable door1900
ledge(d) and brace(d) door1901
suicide door1925
louvre door1953
1900 Building News 16 Mar. 363/1 Stable doors are nice for the entrance, as the upper portion can remain open in warm weather, and the porch is a pleasant place to sit in.
2018 M. Easton Pets & Puppies viii. 87 Our new home had the luxury of a good-sized utility room on the side of the kitchen, which had a stable door opening onto a covered area in front of the garage.
Phrases
to shut (also close, lock) the stable door after the horse has bolted: to attempt to avoid or prevent something undesirable when it is already too late to do so. Also (esp. in earlier use) to shut the stable door when the horse (or steed) is stolen and variants, and in shortened form to shut (also close, lock) the stable door.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [verb (intransitive)] > be late > be late to act
to shut the stable door after the horse has bolteda1393
postvidea1661
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 903 For whan the grete Stiede Is stole, thanne he [sc. Negligence] taketh hiede, And makth the stable dore fast.
c1450 MS Douce 52 in Festschrift zum XII. Neuphilologentage (1906) 46 (MED) When þe hors is stole, steke þe stabull-dore.
1509 H. Watson tr. S. Brant Shyppe of Fooles (de Worde) xii. sig. D.iii The foole..shytteth the stable dore whan the horse is stolen.
1612 in M. C. Questier Newslett. Archpresbyterate G. Birkhead (1998) 172 Theye had warninge and forwarninge of it butt theye wente to shutt the stable dore when the steede was stolen.
1740 J. Ralph in Champion 13 May (1741) II. 212 As to Sir Chaloner Ogle and Comp. he is at this instant Cruizing off Cadiz. It is [printed it] presum'd to fulfil the old Proverb, Of shutting the Stable Door.
1858 J. Gadsby Trip to Sebastopol (ed. 2) 75 Knowing as I did that they had only been constructed after the mischief was done,—that the stable-door had been locked after the horse had bolted.
1924 Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. 10 May 4/2 Supt. Braddell believes that unless greater care is exercised there will be a fatal accident. It is no use locking the stable-door after the horse has bolted.
1999 I. Rankin Dead Souls lxix. 370 In the trade, it was known as shutting the stable door.
2019 Guardian (Nexis) 26 Sept. The business secretary..set up a taskforce to help those affected by the corporate failure, but has been accused of ‘shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2022).
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n.c1330