martello tower Meaning, Definition & Usage
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noun a circular masonry fort for coastal defence
WordNet
Mar*tel"lo tow`er
Etymology
It.Definitions
(Fort.) A building of masonry, generally circular, usually erected on the seacoast, with a gun on the summit mounted on a traversing platform, so as to be fired in any direction. ✍ The English borrowed the name of the tower from Corsica in 1794.