crenellate
Britishverb
-
to supply with battlements
-
to form square indentations in (a moulding, etc)
Other Word Forms
- crenellation noun
Etymology
Origin of crenellate
C19: from Old French creneler, from crenel
Explanation
To fortify a wall with battlements (holes or notches used for shooting at an approaching enemy) is to crenellate it. If you crenellate the cardboard towers, your model of a medieval castle will look more realistic. Imagine a protective wall surrounding a castle, and the notches cut in that wall that can be used to watch for approaching troops and, if necessary, fire at them. The notches themselves are called crenels or embrasures, and the process of installing them is crenellating. The word stems from the Latin cren (also the root of "cranny"), which means "notch."
Vocabulary lists containing crenellate
Endgame
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Here in the Real World
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City of Bones
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The castle then passed to Sir William de Caverswall, who in 1230 received a "license to crenellate" or fortify the house.
From BBC • May 13, 2016
With the kind assistance of Mr. Duffus Hardy, I have obtained a complete list of the licences to crenellate contained in the Patent Rolls, and some other records preserved in the Tower.
From Notes and Queries, Number 228, March 11, 1854 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc by Various
A fine example of such a gateway, originally built for defence, is at Battle Abbey; this was built by Abbot Retlynge in 1338, when Edward III. granted a licence to fortify and crenellate the abbey.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
