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Glite Dictionary
martello tower

martello tower

9.9
A small round stone fort on the coast built to defend against attacks in the 1800s
  • noun
  • /mɑrˈtɛloʊ ˈtaʊər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : torre martello
  • Visitors to the beach can explore the historic martello tower that once served as a defense fortification.

Examples

  • The coastguard explained that the martello tower was built to protect against naval attacks in the 19th century.

  • My earliest memories are of Second World War pillboxes, Martello towers, and Norman castles set within Roman perimeter walls.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The old martello tower stands on the cliff, offering a view of the sea that was strategic for coastal defense.

Synonyms

fort
vsmartello tower
153 2.3

A strong building where soldiers live to defend an area

is a small circular stone coastal example from the 19th century
fortification
vsmartello tower
9 6.6

A wall or earth mound built to protect a place from attack

is a small stone coastal defensive building rather than walls or mounds

Surface Forms

martello tower singular
martello towers plural

Morphology

martello + tower

The headword 'martello' is a borrowed/historical label with no transparent English meaning for learners, while 'tower' only supplies a very general category. The specific sense 'small circular coastal fort (19th century)' is lexicalized and not predictable from the literal constituents, so a B1 learner would not infer the full meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Martello tower may come from one famous tower at Mortella Point in Corsica. British soldiers saw that strong, round tower resist an attack from a ship and later copied the design and the name, which became 'martello' in English. That's why the term now means a small, round coastal 'fort'.