barbican

[bahr-bi-kuh n]

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noun

an outwork of a fortified place, as a castle.

a defensive outpost of any sort.

Origin of barbican

1250–1300; Middle English barbecan, barbican < Old French barbacane or Medieval Latin barbacana, perhaps ≪ Persian bālāḥāna terrace over a roof, upper floor, altered by association with Latin barba beard, a beard marking the front or face of a thing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for barbican

landmark, observatory, beacon, lighthouse, barbican, mirador

Examples from the Web for barbican

Contemporary Examples of barbican

We started making them for a retrospective nine years ago that we were invited to in London at the Barbican art gallery.
Inside Viktor & Rolf’s Dollhouse
Isabel Wilkinson
June 10, 2013

Historical Examples of barbican

They had crossed Smithfield together, and Clennam was left alone at the corner of Barbican.
Little Dorrit
Charles Dickens
Lunch over, he lit a cigar, and strolled in the direction of the Barbican.
Shining Ferry
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
I will be off the landing-place at the Barbican with a boat.
The Ocean Cat's Paw
George Manville Fenn
The barbican was named Bevis's Tower from this legendary story.
Nooks and Corners of English Life, Past and Present
John Timbs
Some remains of the old Barbican were to be seen here in the last century.
Bygone London
Frederick Ross

British Dictionary definitions for barbican

barbican

noun

a walled outwork or tower to protect a gate or drawbridge of a fortification

a watchtower projecting from a fortification

Word Origin for barbican

C13: from Old French barbacane, from Medieval Latin barbacana, of unknown origin

Barbican

noun

the Barbican a building complex in the City of London: includes residential developments and the Barbican Arts Centre (completed 1982) housing concert and exhibition halls, theatres, cinemas, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for barbican

"outer fortification of a city or castle," mid-13c., from Old French barbacane (12c.), a general Romanic word, perhaps ultimately from Arabic or Persian (cf. bab-khanah "gate-house").