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watchtower

watchtower

1 9.5
An online service that checks payment channels to protect users' money from theft
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : servicio de vigilancia remota

Examples

  • We're in a watchtower.

  • She had encountered Walter in all his salty early handsomeness when she and her father had been going door-to-door with copies of The Watchtower and Awake.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Here, on Floor Four, there is just a single high counter, a few desks, and a waiting area with a hard walnut settee and a coffee table holding magazines titled Modern Health, Woman's Day, The Watchtower, and The Monthly Redeemer.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The watchtower monitors the activity in the payment channel to ensure the security of users' funds.

  • In blockchain systems, a watchtower can detect rule breaches and initiate recovery transactions.

  • Operators rely on a watchtower to safeguard transactions and prevent unauthorized access during off-chain operations.

Synonyms

watchdog
vswatchtower
56 3.5

A person or group that checks others to stop theft and unfair behaviour

operates as an automated server enforcing channel rules and issuing penalties
watcher
vswatchtower
  • Specialized
7 6.4

A program that watches files or events and starts actions when they change

monitors off-chain channels and publishes penalty or recovery transactions when rules break

How Reliable

watchtower
  • Specialized
1 9.5
watcher
  • Specialized
7 6.4
log
429 3.1

Surface Forms

watchtower singular
watchtowers plural

Morphology

watchtower = watch + tower (semi-transparent) = watch + tower

The technical blockchain sense is a metaphorical extension from a physical watchtower (a place that observes and protects) to a remote monitoring service; the relation to parts is clear but specialized and not purely literal for learners.

Etymology

The word watchtower combines watch ('to look or guard') and tower ('a tall building'), so in blockchain systems a 'watchtower' is a service that watches from a distance to spot rule breaks and help protect people's money.