merlon

[mur-luh n]

noun

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

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for merlon

Historical Examples of merlon

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
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
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

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

"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."