casemate

American  

[keys-meyt] / ˈkeɪsˌmeɪt /

noun

1. an armored enclosure for guns in a warship.

2. a vault or chamber, especially in a rampart, with embrasures for artillery.

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casemate British  

/ ˈkeɪsˌmeɪt /

noun

1. an armoured compartment in a ship or fortification in which guns are mounted

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uncasemated
  adjective
• casemated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of casemate

1565–75; < Middle French < Old Italian casamatta, alteration (by folk etymology) of Greek chásmata embrasures, literally, openings, plural of chásma chasm

Example Sentences

The three large sections of the Georgia's armored casemate, however, proved too heavy to raise without cutting them down into smaller pieces.

From US News • Aug. 16, 2015

In the middle was a trapezoid- shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

It is even probable that the moral casemate to which they fled favoured the preservation of their old ways, that of poetising included.

From Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) by Martinengo-Cesaresco, Countess Evelyn

But dawn was shining in through the loopholes of the casemate ere I unclosed my eyes to the world again, and the drums and fifes were playing, the sun above the horizon.

From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)

But the casemate guns were kept in full play, and the fight became a very severe one.

From Elsie at Viamede by Finley, Martha