1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Stanchion

Stanchion (Fr. étançon, a wooden post), an architectural term applied to the upright iron bars in windows which pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizontal irons to steady the lead lights. The French call the latter traverses, the stanchions montants, and the whole arrangement armature. Stanchions frequently finish with ornamental heads forged out of the iron.