Usage Note
écoutille refers to the opening in a ship's deck giving access to the hold or a lower deck. It is a nautical term with no everyday equivalent; the related verb écoutiller (to fit with hatches) is rare. A panneau d'écoutille is the hatch cover.
Examples
"Les marins descendirent par l'écoutille."
Natural Translation
The sailors went down through the hatch.
Related Words
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