cas·tle   (kās'əl)    n.   A large fortified building or group of buildings with thick walls, usually dominating the surrounding country. A fortified stronghold converted to residential use. A large ornate building similar to or resembling a fortified stronghold. A place of privacy, security, or refuge. Games See rook2. v.   cas·tled, cas·tling, cas·tles v.   intr. Games To move the king in chess from its own square two empty squares to one side and then, in the same move, bring the rook from that side to the square immediately past the new position of the king. v.   tr. To place in or as if in a castle. Games To move (the king in chess) by castling. [Middle English castel, from Old English and from Norman French, both from Latin castellum, diminutive of castrum; see kes- in Indo-European roots.]

Castle

Cas"tle\, n. [AS. castel, fr. L. castellum, dim. of castrum a fortified place, castle.]

1. A fortified residence, especially that of a prince or nobleman; a fortress.

The house of every one is to him castle and fortress, as well for his defense againts injury and violence, as for his repose. --Coke.

Our castle's strength Will laugh a siege to scorn. --Shak.

Note: Originally the medi[ae]val castle was a single strong tower or keep, with a palisaded inclosure around it and inferior buidings, such as stables and the like, and surrounded by a moat; then such a keep or donjon, with courtyards or baileys and accessory buildings of greater elaboration a great hall and a chapel, all surrounded by defensive walls and a moat, with a drawbridge, etc. Afterwards the name was retained by large dwellings that had formerly been fortresses, or by those which replaced ancient fortresses. A Donjon or Keep, an irregular building containing the dwelling of the lord and his family; B C Large round towers ferming part of the donjon and of the exterior; D Square tower, separating the two inner courts and forming part of the donjon; E Chapel, whose apse forms a half-round tower, F, on the exterior walls; G H Round towers on the exterior walls; K Postern gate, reached from outside by a removable fight of steps or inclined plane for hoisting in stores, and leading to a court, L (see small digagram) whose pavement is on a level with the sill of the postern, but below the level of the larger court, with which it communicates by a separately fortified gateway; M Turret, containing spiral stairway to all the stories of the great tower, B, and serving also as a station for signal fire, banner, etc.; N Turret with stairway for tower, C; O Echauguettes; P P P Battlemants consisting of merlons and crenels alternately, the merlons being pierced by loopholes; Q Q Machicolations (those at Q defend the postern K); R Outwork defending the approach, which is a road ascending the hill and passing under all four faces of the castle; S S Wall of the outer bailey. The road of approach enters the bailey at T and passes thence into the castle by the main entrance gateway (which is in the wall between, and defended by the towers, C H) and over two drawbridges and through fortified passages to the inner court.

2. Any strong, imposing, and stately mansion.

3. A small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back.

4. A piece, made to represent a castle, used in the game of chess; a rook.

Castle in the air, a visionary project; a baseless scheme; an air castle; -- sometimes called a castle in Spain (F. Ch[^a]teau en Espagne).

Syn: Fortress; fortification; citadel; stronghold. See Fortress.

castle 

Castle

a military fortress (1 Chr. 11:7), also probably a kind of tower used by the priests for making known anything discovered at a distance (1 Chr. 6:54). Castles are also mentioned (Gen. 25:16) as a kind of watch-tower, from which shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night. The "castle" into which the chief captain commanded Paul to be brought was the quarters of the Roman soldiers in the fortress of Antonia (so called by Herod after his patron Mark Antony), which was close to the north-west corner of the temple (Acts 21:34), which it commanded.