machicolation

machicolation


ma·chic·o·la·tion    Audio Help   (mə-chĭk'ə-lā'shən)   

n.  
    1. A projecting gallery at the top of a castle wall, supported by a row of corbeled arches and having openings in the floor through which stones and boiling liquids could be dropped on attackers.

    2. One of these openings.

  1. A row of small corbeled arches used as an ornamental architectural feature.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.