antemural means an outwork of a strong, high wall, with turrets, in front of the gateway (as of an old castle), for defending the entrance. It carries an Arena rating of 1513, earned across 67 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, antemural ranks #1,338 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,965 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,059 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,951 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
Why “antemural” is a great word
ANTEMURAL — [Noun] A defensive outer wall or rampart built before the main gateway of a fortress. From Latin antemurale, from ante- ("before, in front of") + murus ("wall"). First attested in English in 1614. Unlike a "barbican," which is a fortified gateway, or a "curtain wall," which forms the primary perimeter, an antemural is a forward, sacrificial outwork. It is the first stone to take the battering ram's blow, the scarred surface to bear the marks of trebuchet stones, and the outermost ripple of authority in a landscape of threat: architecture as hesitation, a final, deliberate space between the world and the sanctuary.
Etymology
From Latin antemurale. See mural.
noun
- An outwork of a strong, high wall, with turrets, in front of the gateway (as of an old castle), for defending the entrance.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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