merlon

[ mur-luh n ]

/ ˈmɜr lən /

noun

(in a battlement) the solid part between two crenels.

Nearby words

Origin of merlon

1695–1705; < French < Italian merlone, augmentative of merlo (in plural, merli battlements) < ?

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

Examples from the Web for merlon

The same is also found in Italian battlements, where the merlon is of much greater height and is capped in a peculiar fashion.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 4|Various
Then, making one end fast to a merlon, he slid down after her.
The Devil in Iron|Robert E. Howard
Simon pulled on one end of the rope, and it snaked around the merlon and came rippling down to him.
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel|Robert Shea
Friar Jerome, armed with an enormous mace, mounted on a merlon, felled all who came within his reach.
Annals of a Fortress|E. Viollet-le-Duc

British Dictionary definitions for merlon

merlon

/ (ˈmɜːlən) /

noun

fortifications the solid upright section in a crenellated battlement

Word Origin for merlon

C18: from French, from Italian merlone, from merlo battlement

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 merlon

merlon

"solid part of a battlement," 1704, from French merlon (17c.), from Italian merlone, augmentative of merlo "battlement," perhaps a contraction of mergola, diminutive of Latin mergae "two-pronged pitchfork."