merlon

Meaning

Any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the embrasures, or through loopholes in the merlons.

Synonyms

battlement

crenellation

embattlement

castellation

Translations

Zinne

kanteel

merlo

merlón

merlon

merlet

almena

merlatura

ameia

merlão

تزويد بفتحات نار

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmɜːlən/

Etymology

Cognate with Italian: mergolo

Cognate with Portuguese: merlão

Cognate with Spanish: merlón

In summary

Borrowed from French merlon, from Italian merlone (“merlon”), from merlo (“merlon”) + -one (suffix forming augmentatives). Merlo is derived from Late Latin merulus, merlus, possibly from Latin merula (“blackbird”) (as merlons resemble a row of birds perched on a wall), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- (“black; blackbird”). The English word is cognate with Italian mergolo (“battlement; pinnacle”), Portuguese merlão, Spanish merlón (“merlon”).