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castellum

[ka-stel-uh m]
noun, plural cas·tel·li [ka-stel-ahy] /kæˈstɛl aɪ/. Archaeology.
  1. a small isolated fortress, or one of a series of such fortresses, of the ancient Romans.
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Origin of castellum

< Latin: fortified settlement, fortress < *casterlom < *castṛlom < *castrelom, equivalent to castr(a) (neuter plural) fortified camp + *-elom diminutive suffix; see -ule, -elle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for castellum

Historical Examples of castellum

  • It was then a question which word should prevail,—tour (turris), or chastel (castellum).

    The Story of London

    Henry B. Wheatley

  • I doubt whether the walls of any Roman castellum could have resisted such a ram.

    My Autobiography

    F. Max Mller

  • In the north-east s before t is still retained—Walloon chestai (chteau, castellum), fiess (fte).

  • On a jutting crag of rock, in plain view from the town below, is an ancient Roman castellum.

  • Every castle that they took was burned and destroyed, like Sir Ingelric's castellum at Speen.

    A Legend of Reading Abbey

    Charles MacFarlane