TRAPDOOR

Etymology

Noun

trapdoor (plural trapdoors)

A hinged or sliding door set into a floor or ceiling.

(theater) Such a trap set into the floor of a stage to allow fast exits and entrances.

(computing) A secret method of obtaining access to a program or online system; a backdoor.

(mathematics, cryptography) The special information that permits the inverse of a trapdoor function to be easily computed.

(mining) A door in a level for regulating the ventilating current; weather door.

Synonyms

• drop

Source: Wiktionary

Trap"door`, n.

1. (Arch.)

Definition: A lifting or sliding door covering an opening in a roof or floor.

2. (Mining)

Definition: A door in a level for regulating the ventilating current; -- called also weather door. Raymond. Trapdoor spider (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large spiders which make a nest consisting of a vertical hole in the earth, lined with a hinged lid, like a trapdoor. Most of the species belong to the genus Cteniza, as the California species (C. Californica).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition