BATTLEMENT

battlement, crenelation, crenellation

(noun) a rampart built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows or guns

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

battlement (plural battlements)

In fortification: an indented parapet, formed by a series of rising members called cops or merlons, separated by openings called crenelles or embrasures, the soldier sheltering himself behind the merlon while he fires through the embrasure or through a loophole in the battlement.

Any high wall for defense.

(poetic) The towering roof of heaven.

Synonyms

• (sense, indented parapet) crenellation

Source: Wiktionary

Bat"tle*ment, n. Etym: [OE. batelment; cf. OF. bataillement combat, fr. batailler, also OF. bastillier, bateillier, to fortify. Cf. Battle, n., Bastile, Bastion.] (Arch.) (a) One of the solid upright parts of a parapet in ancient fortifications. (b) pl. The whole parapet, consisting of alternate solids and open spaces. At first purely a military feature, afterwards copied on a smaller scale with decorative features, as for churches.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition