barbican

Meaning

Noun

• A tower at the entrance to a castle or fortified town
• A fortress at the end of a bridge.
• 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.
• A temporary wooden tower built for defensive purposes.

Related

Similar words

• see guardhouse

Origin

• From Old French barbacane, of uncertain origin: compare Arabic بَرْبَخ, and Persian باب‌خانه.