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🇨🇳Chinese Source WordCode: ZH

傲气孔

Pronunciation / Transliteration: ào qì kǒng

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Machicolation/ˌmæʃ.ɪ.kəˈleɪ.ʃən/
nounCEFR C2 (Proficient)Top #15000 frequency
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🇨🇳 Example Sentence in Chinese:

"中世纪城堡通常设计有防御性的突出的傲气孔。"

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    An opening between the corbels of a castle's wall or parapet through which missiles, molten lead, or boiling oil could be dropped down on enemies.

    "The defenders used the machicolation to drop heavy stones onto the attackers below."
  2. 2

    A gallery or parapet constructed with such openings, serving as a defensive architectural feature in medieval fortifications.

    "The castle's impressive line of machicolations gave it a formidable military appearance."
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Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from Old French 'machicolation', stemming from the Provençal word 'machicolar', which ultimately traces back to the Late Latin 'maccare' (to crush or bruise) and 'colum' (neck or throat). Historically developed during the medieval fortification era to describe a floor opening between the corbels of a rampart through which stones or boiling substances could be dropped on attackers.

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