battlement

/ˈbædlmənt/

Other forms: battlements

A battlement is an extremely strong wall built to defend a city or castle from enemies while providing cover to defensive troops. The oldest known battlements were constructed in ancient Egypt.

During the Middle Ages — and for thousands of years before that — battlements were one of the main defenses during war. They could take the form of separate walls surrounding a city, or be part of a building. In either case, they featured regular gaps or windows called crenels, through which defenders could fire weapons at advancing attackers. Battlement comes from the Old French bastille, "fortress."

Definitions of battlement

1. noun

   (architecture) a rampart built around the top of a castle, city wall, or other structure, with regular gaps for firing weapons
   synonyms: crenelation, crenellation

   type of:

   bulwark, rampart, wall

   an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes