merlon means any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the embrasures, or through loopholes in the merlons. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
merlon is pronounced /ˈmɜːlən/.
Why “merlon” is a great word
A solid, upright block of stone forming the shielded part of a battlement, alternating with gaps to allow for defense. Borrowed from French merlon, from Italian merlone (augmentative of merlo), from Late Latin merulus, possibly from Latin merula ('blackbird'), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- ('black; blackbird'), due to a perceived resemblance to birds on a wall. Unlike an 'embrasure,' the gap for firing through, or 'crenelation,' the overall pattern of solids and voids, a merlon is the singular element of cover. It is the worn granite shoulder a crossbowman presses against, the stubborn silhouette that interrupts a skyline, the blunt, enduring tooth of a fortress crown—a monument not to aggression, but to the static, patient art of shelter.
Etymology
Borrowed from French merlon, from Italian merlone (“merlon”), from merlo (“merlon”) + -one (suffix forming augmentatives). Merlo is derived from Late Latin merulus, merlus, possibly from Latin merula (“blackbird”) (as merlons resemble a row of birds perched on a wall), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- (“black; blackbird”). The English word is cognate with Italian mergolo (“battlement; pinnacle”), Portuguese merlão, Spanish merlón (“merlon”).
noun
- Any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the embrasures, or through loopholes in the merlons.“The Merlons, to the end that they may be good, ought to be made of Earth, the most eaſie to be tempered that may be: And this Earth ought alſo to be mixed with Withy Twigs, or Brambles, provided they take Root, after which they are to be lined with good Turff.”