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barbacan

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bar⋅ba⋅can

  [bahr-buh-kuhn]
Use barbacan in a Sentence
–noun
barbican.
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bar⋅bi⋅can

  [bahr-bi-kuhn]
–noun
1. an outwork of a fortified place, as a castle.
2. a defensive outpost of any sort.
Also, barbacan.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME barbecan, barbican < OF barbacane or ML barbacana, perh. ≪ Pers bālāḥāna terrace over a roof, upper floor, altered by assoc. with L barba beard, a beard marking the front or face of a thing
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

barbican 
"outer fortification of a city or castle," 1300, from O.Fr. barbacane (12c.), a general Romanic word, perhaps from Arabic or Pers. (cf. bab-khanah "gate-house").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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