Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A tower or other fortification on the approach to a castle or town, especially one at a gate or drawbridge.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In medieval fortification, an outwork of a castle or fortified place.
- noun A loophole.
- noun A channel or scupper in a parapet for the discharge of water.
- noun A scansorial barbet of the family Capitonidæ and subfamily Pogonorhynchinæ, or the genus Pogonias in a broad sense. The barbicans are all African, like the barbions.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Fort.) A tower or advanced work defending the entrance to a castle or city, as at a gate or bridge. It was often large and strong, having a ditch and drawbridge of its own.
- noun An opening in the wall of a fortress, through which missiles were discharged upon an enemy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
tower at theentrance to acastle orfortified town - noun A
fortress at the end of abridge . - noun An opening in the wall of a fortress through which the guns are levelled; a narrow
loophole through which arrows and other missiles may be shot. - noun A temporary wooden tower built for defensive purposes.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a tower that is part of a defensive structure (such as a castle)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Within the barbican was another group of veteran invalids, one mounting guard at the portal, while the rest, wrapped in their tattered cloaks, slept on the stone benches.
The Alhambra 2002
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Within the barbican was another group of veteran invalids, one mounting guard at the portal, while the rest, wrapped in their tattered cloaks, slept on the stone benches.
The Alhambra 2002
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Within the barbican was another group of veteran invalids, one mounting guard at the portal, while the rest, wrapped in their tattered cloaks, slept on the stone benches.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 19, No. 549 (Supplementary number) Various
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The castle moat divided this species of barbican [Footnote: A barbican is a tower or outwork built to defend the entry to a castle or fortification.] from the rest of the fortress, so that, in case of its being taken, it was easy to cut off the communication with the main building, by withdrawing the temporary bridge.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 4 Charles Herbert Sylvester
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On entering the small outer barbican, which is reached by a lane from the market-place, we come to the base of the Norman keep.
Yorkshire Gordon Home 1923
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It was then, probably, that the towers were made along the embattled walls, and especially one of those peculiar towers called a barbican, contrived so as to give an outlook on approaching foes.
Chatterbox, 1906 Various 1873
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Ascending the steep and shady avenue, we arrived at the foot of a huge square Moorish tower, forming a kind of barbican, through which passed the main entrance to the fortress.
The Alhambra 2002
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Ascending the steep and shady avenue, we arrived at the foot of a huge square Moorish tower, forming a kind of barbican, through which passed the main entrance to the fortress.
The Alhambra 2002
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Ascending the steep and shady avenue, we arrived at the foot of a huge square Moorish tower; forming a kind of barbican, through which passed the main entrance to the fortress.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 19, No. 549 (Supplementary number) Various
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Ascending the steep and shady avenue, we arrived at the foot of a huge square Moorish tower, forming a kind of barbican, through which passed the main entrance to the fortress.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8 Charles Herbert Sylvester
chained_bear commented on the word barbican
Fortified outwork defending the gate of a castle or town.
Also, capped, the former home of the RSC in London.
August 24, 2008
asativum commented on the word barbican
I always thought this was the container the Barbicide came in at the barber shop. My bad.
June 10, 2009
reesetee commented on the word barbican
Heehee.
June 10, 2009
qroqqa commented on the word barbican
Two concert venues in London are Barbican and Kenwood.
June 10, 2009
5814738 commented on the word barbican
"Ahead, a vast grilled barrier like a castle barbican swam out of the gloom...and beyond it, they caught their first glimpse of Blaine the Mono." From The Wastelands by Stephen King.
January 9, 2011