Citadel

//ˈsɪtədəl// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A strong fortress that sits high above a city.

    "In the city’s midst the gleaming marble of a thousand steps climbed to the citadel where arose four pinnacles beckoning to heaven, and midmost between the pinnacles there stood the dome, vast, as the gods had dreamed it."

  2. 2
    a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle wordnet
  3. 3
    A stronghold or fortified place. figuratively, sometimes

    "Intrenched within the citadel of our apartment, and cheered by the comfortings of a coal fire, we passed the day in letter-writing, conversation, or gazing from the sheltered security of our windows upon the agitated sea[…]"

  4. 4
    An armoured portion of a warship, housing important equipment.

    "Twenty-two of these — eleven per broadside — were on the main deck within a central citadel, essentially an armor-protected box in the middle of the ship. Also within the citadel were four 110-pdr. breech-loaders."

  5. 5
    A Salvation Army meeting place.

Etymology

From French citadelle, from Italian cittadella, diminutive of città (“city”), from Latin cīvitās.

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