battlement

[ bat-l-muhnt ]

noun

1. Often battlements. a parapet or cresting, originally defensive but later usually decorative, consisting of a regular alternation of merlons and crenels; crenelation.

battlement

/ ˈbætəlmənt /

noun

1. a parapet or wall with indentations or embrasures, originally for shooting through

Derived Forms

• ˈbattlemented, adjective

Other Words From

• bat·tle·ment·ed [bat, -l-men-tid], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of battlement¹

1275–1325; Middle English batelment < Middle French bataille battlement; -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of battlement¹

C14: from Old French batailles , plural of bataille battle

Example Sentences

Partly in commemoration of that event, local fishermen put their own stamp on the Good Friday bier procession by lighting fires on the battlements of the Venetian-built fortifications.

From Seattle Times

"Tomorrow they become our battlements. To wait until abortion was actually under threat would be to wait too long."

From BBC

The property was built more than 170 years ago in a Scottish baronial style, a type of elaborate architecture featuring complex rooflines with turrets and fortress-like battlements.

From BBC

His courage is undeniable as he leads from the front, surging up a siege ladder onto a fortress’s battlement, laying about him with his sword.

From Seattle Times

Presley was 33 — still young, but at a time when “don’t trust anybody over 30” was a counterculture mantra; he was revolutionary in his age, but those battlements had long been dismantled.

From Los Angeles Times