merlon

Meaning

Noun

• Any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the embrasures, or through loopholes in the merlons.
• Alternate spelling of merlin

Origin

• . Merlo is derived from Late Latin merulus, merlus, possibly from Latin merula (as merlons resemble a row of birds perched on a wall), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems-. The English word is cognate with Italian mergolo, Portuguese merlão, Spanish merlón.
• A variant of merlin.