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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.

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