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bailey

bailey

1 9.9
A courtyard inside a castle surrounded by high walls
  • noun
  • /ˈbeɪli/
translation icon : murallas
  • From there she could see Edmund on the far side of the bailey, lining his hostages up along the gatehouse battlements.
  • the outer bailey
  • bailey wall
  • the inner bailey

Examples

  • Two mural towers and the keep itself overlooked the little gate that led into the lower bailey.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Children played in the bailey, enjoying the open space surrounded by the tall stone walls of the castle.

  • "From the bailey wall, you can see them.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Look down on the bailey wall's battlements.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Guards drove them at spearpoint down the steps into the lower bailey.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Then he stormed back across the bailey and into the keep, blood staining his hands.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Two more flights were all it took to send the survivors fleeing for the bailey gate.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • But to be considered truly epic, a castle should have a second curtain wall, including an outer Bailey with its own towers and gatehouse.

  • Jumping off the low kitchen roof, she raced across the bailey, beating Edmund to the main door of the keep.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • She led Nuala and Gwen straight through the keep and out the north door into the upper bailey.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

barmkin
vsbailey
  • Archaic
9.9

A defensive wall or enclosed yard around a castle tower

is the general medieval outer wall and courtyard term used more widely

Compounds

1 6.5

The central court in London that hears serious criminal trials for England and Wales

Bailey bridge
  • Specialized
6.8

A temporary metal bridge built quickly from parts for people or vehicles to cross a river

How Fortified

citadel
51 7.7
fortress
106 4.4
star fort
  • Specialized
1 9.9
castle
676 1.7
bailey
1 9.9
palisade
2 9.0

Surface Forms

bailey singular
baileys plural

Etymology

Bailey comes from an old French word baille meaning 'enclosure' or 'yard'. So a bailey is the castle's enclosed courtyard or outer area inside the walls where people lived and worked.