castellum

American  

[ka-stel-uhm] / kæˈstɛl əm /

noun

Archaeology.

• castelli
  plural

1. a small isolated fortress, or one of a series of such fortresses, of the ancient Romans.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• castelli
  plural

Etymology

Origin of castellum

< Latin: fortified settlement, fortress < *casterlom < *castṛlom < *castrelom, equivalent to castr ( a ) (neuter plural) fortified camp + *-elom diminutive suffix; see -ule, -elle

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

castellum

Head first to 2,000-year-old Dom Square, where the Romans built the castellum Traiectum, a fort that became the city’s foundation.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2020

In the twenty years since—this was a project with many political moments, many waves—a western section has become an archeological museum, housed in a wooden reconstruction of a Roman castellum.

From The New Yorker ● May 16, 2016

The castellum is a rectangle, four hundred and sixty-five by seven hundred and four feet, and is surrounded by two deep ditches and by high parapets.

From Lippincott's Magazine, October 1885 by Various

Under Drusus a castellum was erected here, which was destroyed by the Franks and the Alemanni.

From The Cathedrals and Churches of the Rhine by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield

This castellum is a miniature embodiment of Roman taste and skill in architecture.

From The Actress in High Life An Episode in Winter Quarters by Sue Petigru Bowen