machicolation

== English == === Etymology === From Late Latin machicol(amentum) (“machicolation”) +‎ -ation (suffix indicating an action or process). Machicolamentum may be derived from Old French macher (“to chew; to crush”) (modern French mâcher) + col (“neck”) + Latin -mentum (suffix indicating an instrument or medium, or the result of something). The English word is cognate with Middle English machecolled (“having machicolations”), machecolling (“act of constructing machicolation; the openings making up the machicolation”), Middle French machecoleis (modern French mâchicoulis (“machicolation”)), Latin machecollum (“machicolation”), Occitan machacol. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /məˌt͡ʃɪkəˈleɪʃən/ Hyphenation: ma‧chi‧col‧a‧tion === Noun === machicolation (countable and uncountable, plural machicolations) (architecture) An opening between corbels that support a projecting parapet, or in the floor of a gallery or the roof of a portal, of a fortified building from which missiles can be shot or heated items dropped upon assailants attacking the base of the walls. Synonym: machicoulis (architecture) A projecting parapet with a series of such openings. ==== Alternative forms ==== machicolade ==== Hyponyms ==== box machicolation slit machicolation, slot machicolation ==== Coordinate terms ==== loophole murder hole ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === machicolation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “machicolation”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.