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Barbican
//ˈbɑːbɪkən// name, noun
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A neighbourhood in Plymouth, Devon, England (OS grid ref SX4854).
- 2 A neighbourhood and residential estate in the City of London, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ3281)
Noun
- 1 A tower at the entrance to a castle or fortified town.
"The stone part of the drawbridge with its barbican and the bartizans of the gatehouse are in good repair. […] There was a large hidden trapdoor in the floor of the barbican, which would let them into the moat after all."
- 2 a tower that is part of a defensive structure (such as a castle) wordnet
- 3 A fortress at the end of a bridge.
- 4 An opening in the wall of a fortress through which the guns are levelled; a narrow loophole through which arrows and other missiles may be shot.
"Two shafts of soft daylight fell across the flagged floor from the high barbacans."
- 5 A temporary wooden tower built for defensive purposes.
Etymology
From Old French barbacane, of uncertain origin: compare Arabic بَرْبَخ (barbaḵ, “aqueduct, sewer”), and Persian بابخانه (bâb-xâne, “gatehouse”).
See also for "barbican"
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