Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A projecting gallery at the top of a castle wall, supported by a row of corbels and having openings in the floor through which stones and boiling liquids could be dropped on attackers.
- noun One of these openings.
- noun A row of small projecting arches used as an ornamental architectural feature.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In medieval architecture, an opening in the vault of a portal or passage, or in the floor of a projecting gallery, made for the purpose of hurling missiles, or pouring down molten lead, hot pitch, etc., upon an enemy essaying to enter or mine.
- noun The act of hurling missiles or of pouring burning liquids upon an enemy through apertures such as those described above.
- noun By extension, a machicolated parapet or gallery, or a projection supported on corbels, in imitation of medieval machicolated construction, without openings.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Mil. Arch.) An opening between the corbels which support a projecting parapet, or in the floor of a gallery or the roof of a portal, for shooting or dropping missiles upon assailants attacking the base of the walls. Also, the construction of such defenses, in general, when of this character. See
Illusts . ofBattlement andCastle . - noun The act of discharging missiles or pouring burning or melted substances upon assailants through such apertures.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
opening between thecorbels whichsupport aprojecting parapet , or in thefloor of agallery or theroof of aportal ,shooting ordropping missiles uponassailants attacking the base of thewalls . Also, theconstruction of suchdefenses , in general, when of this character. - noun The act of
discharging missiles orpouring burning ormelted substances uponassailants through suchapertures .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a projecting parapet supported by corbels on a medieval castle; has openings through which stones or boiling water could be dropped on an enemy
Etymologies
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Examples
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Of course not, just look at those gigantic windows and lack of machicolation! posted by Carolingian @ 8:14 PM
Castle Carolingian 2007
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Of course not, just look at those gigantic windows and lack of machicolation! posted by Carolingian @ 8:14 PM
Archive 2007-05-01 Carolingian 2007
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This wooden story probably formed the bell chamber; the machicolation-like supports still existed in 1781.
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Tall towers, exactly square and equally bare of carving or machicolation, stood at intervals along this forbidding defence and flanked its curtain.
The Path to Rome Hilaire Belloc 1911
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I saw before me a gloomy stronghold of brick, four-square, and built in the old Italian manner, with battlements at the top, and a small machicolation, little more than
A Gentleman of France Stanley John Weyman 1891
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Consequently they were abandoned, and their places were taken by projecting galleries of stone, supported, not on wooden beams, but on stone corbels, and it is this second stage in fortification which is called machicolation.
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This wall is far more picturesque than that of Siena, being lofty and built of stone, with a machicolation of arches running quite round its top, like a cornice.
Passages from the French and Italian Notebooks, Complete Nathaniel Hawthorne 1834
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This wall is far more picturesque than that of Siena, being lofty and built of stone, with a machicolation of arches running quite round its top, like a cornice.
Passages from the French and Italian Notebooks, Volume 2. Nathaniel Hawthorne 1834
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At regular intervals along these walls occur little towers, for their defence, reminding one of beads strung on a rosary; the great watch-tower at the gate, with its projecting machicolation, forming the pendent cross, -- the whole serving to guard the town within from the dangers of war, even as the rosary protects the city of Mansoul from the attacks of Sin and Death -- though, sooth to say, since the invention of gunpowder and the Reformation, both the one and the other appear to have lost much of their former efficacy.
Choice Specimens of American Literature, and Literary Reader Being Selections from the Chief American Writers Benj. N. Martin
chained_bear commented on the word machicolation
A.K.A. murder hole.
August 25, 2008
ruzuzu commented on the word machicolation
I should have known murder hole would be here already. Thanks, chained_bear.
August 11, 2015