crenellation
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌkrɛnəˈleɪʃən/
- Specialized
:
merlón
- The architect designed the new building to feature decorative crenellations that evoke a classic medieval style.
Examples
-
The crenellations along its bottom are called grecas, a native decoration associated with the Atacano Indians.
Academic text (1990) -
The aesthetic is so calming and very retro with Edison lighting and crenellation.
Blog text (16) -
Although I did notice, when I was re-reading it, that he uses a little crenellation detail in the architecture of one of these absolutely anonymous little houses.
Blog text (5) -
Stairs appear as both the extruded volumes of a modern plan and the crenellations of a medieval fortress.
Blog text (16) -
She saw Rush Yarr and a few of the younger councilors on the tower wall with bows; household guards were racing to position themselves along the crenellation.
Fiction book (1993) -
And at least three posuban resemble the polygonal bastions of forts, complete with crenellation (Fig. 9).
Academic text (2007) -
Honeycomb tripe is great for long cooking; it melts into tenderness well, and the myriad crenellations pick up sauce like nobody's business!
Blog text (18) -
There was a turret of barrels, headlamps peered from the crenellations, and antennae sporting flags flapped in the lively breeze.
Fiction book (1999) -
The castle's crenellation provided an excellent vantage point for the guards to survey the surrounding area.
-
Historically, the crenellation on fortifications allowed defenders to shoot arrows while remaining protected.
Synonyms
14
8.0
A low wall on top of a castle with regular gaps for soldiers to shoot through
1
8.4
A low wall with regular gaps on top of a castle for defenders to shoot from
A low wall with regular gaps at the top of a castle for soldiers to shoot or watch
How Fortified
- Specialized
2
8.1
12
8.8
- Specialized
1
9.9
14
8.0
8
7.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
crenellation = crenellate (transparent) = crenell + ation
Regular nominalization from the verb 'crenellate' (or from 'crenel') forming the noun for battlements.
Etymology
Crenellation comes from the old word crenel, which means a small 'notch' or 'gap' in a wall. Imagine the regular notches on top of a castle that let defenders fire while staying safe, and that's why crenellation means that row of gaps on a wall.