battlement

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English batilment, from Old French bataillement, earlier bastillement (“fortification”), from bastillier (“to fortify, to equip with battlements”), from bastille (“fortress”) (see bastion). === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): [ˈbætəɫmənt] === Noun === battlement (plural battlements) In fortification: an indented parapet, formed by a series of rising members called cops or merlons, separated by openings called crenelles or embrasures, the soldier sheltering himself behind the merlon while he fires through the embrasure or through a loophole in the battlement. Any high wall for defense. (poetic) The towering roof of heaven. ==== Synonyms ==== (sense, indented parapet) crenellation ==== Derived terms ==== battlemented ==== Translations ==== === References === William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “battlement”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.