place of arms

American  

noun

1. an area in a fortress or a fortified town where troops could assemble for defense.

2. an enlarged part of the covered way in a fortification.

---

Etymology

Origin of place of arms

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

Ever since the age of the Crusades that seaport had been the chief place of arms of Palestine; but the harbour was now nearly silted up, and even the neighbouring roadstead of Hayfa was desolate.

From The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 1 of 2) by Rose, John Holland

The duty of watching so vast a place of arms as Paris had made great demands on the endurance of the troops.

From The Franco-German War of 1870-71 by Helmuth, Count

The town of Thorn was the chief place of arms, and high capital city of all the Wolfmark.

From Red Axe by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

There are no outworks, except the covered way, now fully developed, with a battery in the re-entering place of arms.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

In the afternoon a company of artillerymen with a field-piece entered the town, and marched to the place of arms, followed by a body of infantry.

From Montcalm and Wolfe by Parkman, Francis