merlon

[ mur-luhn ]

/ ˈmɜr lən /

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noun

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

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Origin of merlon

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

Words nearby merlon

merkin, merle, Merleau-Ponty, merlin, Merlo, merlon, Merlot, mermaid, mermaid's purse, mermaid's wineglass, Mermaid Tavern

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use merlon in a sentence

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
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

Something whizzed past Simon's head and struck the brick merlon beside him.
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel|Robert Shea

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