bartisan means A parapet with battlements projecting from the top of a tower in a castle or church. It carries an Arena rating of 1354, earned across 113 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bartisan ranks #1,180 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,239 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,869 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,483 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
bartisan is pronounced /bɑːtɪˈzæn/.
Why “bartisan” is a great word
BARTISAN — [Noun] A small, overhanging turret or parapet projecting from the top corner of a tower or wall, designed as a defensive vantage point. Borrowed by the Scottish novelist Walter Scott from Middle Scots bartisan, a variant of bartising, from Middle English bretasynge; a doublet of bratticing. Unlike a brattice—a temporary wooden screen for mining or siege—or a machicolation—the murder-hole opening in a floor—a bartizan is the permanent, corbelled stone structure itself. It is the sentinel's solitary perch of damp stone, the sharp silhouette of a crow against a storm-grey sky, and the empty stone basket now holding only rainwater and pigeons—a monument to the primal need to see the threat coming, long after the threat itself has turned to dust.
Etymology
Borrowed by the Scottish novelist Walter Scott (see quotation) from Middle Scots bartisan, variant of bartising, from Middle English bretasynge. Doublet of bratticing.
noun
- A parapet with battlements projecting from the top of a tower in a castle or church.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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