Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The keeper or governor of a castle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A governor or constable of a castle. Also written castellain.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A governor or warden of a castle.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The governor or caretaker of a castle or keep.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English castelain, from Norman French, from Medieval Latin castellānus, from Latin, of a fortress, from castellum, stronghold; see castle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old French castelain, French châtelain, Latin castellanus pertaining to a castle, an occupant of a castle, Latin, a governor of a castle, from Latin castellum castle, citadel, diminutive of castrum fortified place. See castle and compare chatelaine.

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Examples

  • On the third of these days she called the castellan to her for a talk, and asked him what he thought of it, this delay of his lords 'return.

    The Water of the Wondrous Isles William Morris 1865

  • On the third of these days she called the castellan to her for a talk, and asked him what he thought of it, this delay of his lords’ return.

    The Water of the Wondrous Isles 2007

  • Christopher Radziwill, the "castellan" of the realm, endeavoring to make peace between the factions, stealthily crept from camp to camp, but evening deepened into night, and still the famous election cry, "_Zgoda!

    Jewish Literature and Other Essays Gustav Karpeles 1878

  • They were quite used to Cadfael by that time, he was accepted in La Musarderie as harmless, tolerated by the castellan, and respectably what his habit represented him as being.

    A River So Long 2010

  • La Musarderie had a new chatelaine in place of its castellan.

    A River So Long 2010

  • Madog's castellan from Caus is pouring more men into the Minsterley valley.

    A Caregiver's Homage To The Very Old 2010

  • And following the same sequence of thought: if you want to have speech with the castellan, the most obvious means is to ask; and the most unshakable story to get you into his presence is the truth.

    A River So Long 2010

  • The operation might have been much more difficult, and the secret out before the end of the day, had not the villagers of Greenhamsted fared rather well under the Musards, and felt no inclination at all to send warning to the present castellan of La Musarderie.

    A River So Long 2010

  • And suddenly it was the talk of the south that the castellan of Faringdon, Brien de Soulis, and his closest aides within the castle, had made secret compact with the besiegers, unknown to the rest of the garrison, let in the king's men by night, and delivered over Faringdon to them, with all its fighting men.

    A River So Long 2010

  • In any case nothing that their castellan did, nothing he denied, nothing he granted, no princeling he rejected, no humble travelling monastic he welcomed, seemed to occasion surprise here.

    A River So Long 2010

Comments

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  • The person in charge of a castle; custodian.

    August 24, 2008