machicolate

American  

[muh-chik-uh-layt] / məˈtʃɪk əˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

machicolated, machicolating

1. to provide with machicolations.

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machicolate British  

/ məˈtʃɪkəʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to construct machicolations at the top of (a wall)

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Etymology

Origin of machicolate

First recorded in 1765–75; from Medieval Latin machecoll(um), a Latinization of unattested Middle French machecol literally, “(it) breaks (the) neck” (from the use of such openings to drop projectiles on an ascending attacker; mache, 3rd-person singular present of macher “to beat, break, bruise” (apparently of expressive origin) + col “neck, collar”) + -ate ¹; compare late Middle English machecollyd “machicolated”; see collar

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

machicolated

Laforgue's Salomé tries to sport with the head of John the Baptist, stumbles, loses her footing, and falls from the machicolated wall on jagged rocks below, as the head floats out to sea, miraculously alight.

From Ivory Apes and Peacocks by James Huneker

The convent was fortified by the Spalatines in 1540, of which fortification the machicolated tower to the left of the church remains.

From The Shores of the Adriatic The Austrian Side, The Küstenlande, Istria, and Dalmatia by F. Hamilton (Frederick Hamilton) Jackson

The part of the castle which is kept up is a single range of building; and an elegant machicolated tower, overlooking the whole, still p. 181frowns defiance on the petty innovations beneath. 

From A Tour throughout South Wales and Monmouthshire by J. T. Barber

It had thick machicolated towers at every corner, gates with drawbridges and barbicans.

From The Pobratim A Slav Novel by P. Jones

At a small distance, on the right, appears a third tower, lower in height, almost wholly ivyless, and with its machicolated p. 124summit, presenting a highly picturesque appearance. 

From The Wye and Its Associations a picturesque ramble by Leitch Ritchie

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