Martello tower

Martello tower
Martello tower Mar*tel"lo tow`er [It. martello hammer. The name was orig. given to towers erected on the coasts of Sicily and Sardinia for protection against the pirates in the time of Charles the Fifth, which prob. orig. contained an alarm bell to be struck with a hammer. See {Martel}.] (Fort.) A building of masonry, generally circular, usually erected on the seacoast, with a gun on the summit mounted on a traversing platform, so as to be fired in any direction. [1913 Webster]

Note: The English borrowed the name of the tower from Corsica in 1794. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Martello-Tower — in Balbriggan (Irland) Martello Turm werden 164 kleine Befestigungen genannt, die das britische Empire zwischen 1804 und 1814 zur Zeit der Napoleonischen Kriege errichtete. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Name …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martello Tower — in Balbriggan (Irland) Martello Turm werden 164 kleine Befestigungen genannt, die das britische Empire zwischen 1804 und 1814 zur Zeit der Napoleonischen Kriege errichtete. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Name …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Martello tower — [mär tel′ō] [It martello, a hammer, folk etym. substitution for mortella, a tower, after Mortella, cape in Corsica, where such a tower was attacked by the English fleet (1794)] [also m t ] a circular fort of masonry, formerly built on coasts to… …   English World dictionary

  • Martello tower — A Martello tower at Clacton on Sea on the east coast of England. Martello towers (or simply Martellos) are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars… …   Wikipedia

  • martello tower — noun a circular masonry fort for coastal defence • Hypernyms: ↑fortress, ↑fort * * * märˈtelō noun or martello ( s) Usage: sometimes capitalized Etymology …   Useful english dictionary

  • Martello tower — /mahr tel oh/, Fort. a circular, towerlike fort with guns on the top. Also, martello tower. Also called martello, Martello. [named after Cape Mortella, Corsica, where a tower of this kind was taken by British forces in 1794] * * * …   Universalium

  • Martello Tower (South Shetland Islands) — Martello Tower is a rock 10 m high, lying in King George Bay 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) north northwest of Lions Rump, in the South Shetland Islands. Charted in 1937 by DI personnel on the Discovery II, who named it after the fortified towers …   Wikipedia

  • Martello tower — /maˌtɛloʊ ˈtaʊə/ (say mah.teloh towuh) noun a circular, tower like fort with guns on the top. Also, martello. {alteration of Mortella Tower, a fort on Corsica} …  

  • Martello tower — noun A short sturdy round masonry tower, constructed at various coastal points in the British Empire Syn: Martello …   Wiktionary

  • Martello tower — Mar•tel′lo tow er [[t]mɑrˈtɛl oʊ[/t]] n. for a circular fort • Etymology: after Cape Mortella, Corsica, where a tower of this kind was taken by British forces in 1794 …   From formal English to slang

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