Other forms: battlements
A battlement is the notched wall along the top of a castle. Stand on the battlements, a ruined battlement, along the battlements.
The gaps are embrasures and the solid parts merlons, and the point is to shoot through one and stand behind the other. Many English country houses have decorative ones added centuries after they had any use, which required a royal licence to crenellate.
1nounbattlementThe notched wall along the top of a castle.
“Archers stood on the battlements, ready to fire at the approaching army.”
battlement is a wall.
Also accepted in games: battlements
Old French bataillement comes from bastillier, to fortify, from bastille, a fortification.
Old French
bataillement
Middle English
batilment
English, today
battlement
Built from
From Middle English batilment, from Old French bataillement, earlier bastillement (“fortification”), from bastillier (“to fortify, to equip with battlements”), from bastille (“fortress”) (see bastion). by surface analysis, battle + -ment.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA