Barbican

//ˈbɑːbɪkən// name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A neighbourhood in Plymouth, Devon, England (OS grid ref SX4854).
  2. 2
    A neighbourhood and residential estate in the City of London, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ3281)
Noun
  1. 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. 2
    a tower that is part of a defensive structure (such as a castle) wordnet
  3. 3
    A fortress at the end of a bridge.
  4. 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. 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”).

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