barbican

English

Alternative forms

• barbacan

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɑː(ɹ)bɪkən/

Etymology

From Old French barbacane, of uncertain origin: compare Arabic بربخ (barbakh, “aqueduct, sewer”), and Persian باب‌خانه (bab-khâna, “gatehouse”).

Noun

Wikipedia barbican (plural barbicans)

1. A tower at the entrance to a castle or fortified town
2. A fortress at the end of a bridge.
3. An opening in the wall of a fortress through which the guns are levelled; a narrow loophole through which arrows and other missiles may be shot.
   • 1922 James Joyce, Ulysses 11:

     Two shafts of soft daylight fell across the flagged floor from the high barbacans.

4. A temporary wooden tower built for defensive purposes.

Translations

A tower at the entrance to a castle or fortified town

• Czech: barbakán (cs) m
• French: barbacane (fr) f
• Hungarian: barbakán (hu)
• Italian: barbacane (it) m

• Old Portuguese: barvacãa f
• Portuguese: barbacã (pt) f
• Russian: барбака́н (ru) (barbakán) m
• Slovak: barbakán (sk) m

See also

• bartisan

References

• Samuel Johnson, Dictionary of the English Language (1766)
• Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989