ETYM AS. castel, from Latin castellum, dim. of castrum a fortified place, castle.
A large building formerly occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack.
Fortified building or group of buildings, characteristic of medieval Europe. The castle underwent many changes, its size, design, and construction being largely determined by changes in siege tactics and the development of artillery. Outstanding examples are the 12th-century Krak des Chevaliers, Syria (built by crusaders); 13th-century Caernarvon Castle, Wales; and 15th-century Manzanares el Real, Spain.
Structure.
The main parts of a typical castle are the keep, a large central tower containing store rooms, soldiers’ quarters, and a hall for the lord and his family; the inner bailey or walled courtyard surrounding the keep; the outer bailey or second courtyard, separated from the inner bailey by a wall; crenellated embattlements through which missiles were discharged against an attacking enemy; rectangular or round towers projecting from the walls; the portcullis, a heavy grating which could be let down to close the main gate; and the drawbridge crossing the ditch or moat surrounding the castle. Sometimes a tower called a barbican was constructed over a gateway as an additional defensive measure.
Early castles (11th century) consisted of an earthen hill (motte) surrounded by wooden palisades enclosing a courtyard (bailey).
The motte supported a wooden keep. Later developments substituted stone for wood and utilized more elaborate defensive architectural detail. After introduction of gunpowder in the 14th century, castles became less defensible and increases in civil order led to their replacement by unfortified manor houses by the 16th century. Large stone fortifications became popular again in the 18th century, particularly those modeled after the principles of fortification introduced by the French architect Vauban, and were built as late as the first half of the 19th century. In the late 19th century, castlelike buildings were built as residences for the wealthy as part of the Romantic revival in Europe and America. + prikaži više

(Homonym: loch).
1. A fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed.
2. A device incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key; SYN. ignition lock.
3. A mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun.
4. A strand or cluster of hair; SYN. curl, ringlet, whorl.
5. Any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured.
6. Section of canal that can be closed to control the water level; used to raise or lower vessels that pass through it; SYN. lock chamber.
Construction installed in waterways to allow boats or ships to travel from one level to another. The earliest form, the flash lock, was first seen in the East in 1st-century-AD China and in the West in 11th-century Holland. By this method barriers temporarily dammed a river and when removed allowed the flash flood to propel the waiting boat through any obstacle. This was followed in 12th-century China and 14th-century Holland by the pound lock. In this system the lock has gates at each end. Boats enter through one gate when the levels are the same both outside and inside. Water is then allowed in (or out of) the lock until the level rises (or falls) to the new level outside the other gate.
Locks are important to shipping where canals link oceans of differing levels, such as the Panama Canal, or where falls or rapids are replaced by these adjustable water “steps”. + prikaži više