Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » Martello tower
Martello tower
Martello tower definition
Mar·tello tower (mär tel′ō)
noun
a circular fort of masonry, formerly built on coasts to protect against invaders
also martello mar·tel′lo
noun
Etymology: It martello, a hammer, folk etym. substitution for mortella, a tower, after Mortella, cape in Corsica, where such a tower was attacked by the English fleet (1794)
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Browse dictionary definitions near Martello tower
Share on Facebook