Word.ws English Dictionary

merlon

Syllables: mer·lon/ˈmɜːlən//ˈmɝl(ə)n/

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. Also the alternative spelling of merlin.

Noun

merlon (plural merlons)

  1. (historical) 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.1693, “Of the Embrasures or Merlons”, in Abel Swall, transl., The New Method of Fortification, as Practised by Monsieur de Vauban, Engineer General of France. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Abell...
    • The parapet conſiſts of two parts, namely, the wall and the merlons. [...] The Merlons are detached pieces of the parapet, leaving openings called Embrasures, thro' which the cannon deliver their ſhot.1754, J[ohn] Robertson, “A Treatise of Marine Fortification”, in The Elements of Navigation; Containing the Theory and Practice. […], volume II, London: […] J[ohn] Nourse, […], →OCLC, section II (Of...
    Synonyms:
    cop, embattle

Also used as

merlon is also the alternative spelling of merlin.

merlon meaning in Persian, Thai and Myanmar

merlon in Persian

any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement
شرفه

merlon in Thai

any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement
ใบสอ bai-sɔ̌ɔ

merlon in Myanmar

any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement
သူရဲခို surai:hkui

Examples of merlon in a sentence

  • Theſe holes are called embraſures, and the maſſes of earth between them are called merlons; [...]1756 July, “An Account of the Siege and Capture of Port Mahon […]”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s...
  • In the parapets were also embrasures, and holes in merlons for archery; but there were no cannon, except a few old wrought-iron pieces near the gate.1797, George Staunton, “Passage to the Ladrone Islands, near Macao; […]”, in An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great...
  • Then, making one end fast to a merlon, he slid down after her.1934 August, Robert E[rvin] Howard, “The Devil in Iron”, in Farnsworth Wright, editor, Weird Tales: A Magazine of the Bizarre and Unusual...
  • The upper line of the wall is given a dramatic and eastern finish with a row of stepped merlons.1991, Barbara Brend, “Lands of the West: Egypt, North Africa and Spain”, in Islamic Art, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →ISBN...

Synonyms of merlon

Forms of merlon

pluralmerlons

Origin of merlon

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”).

A variant of merlin.

Questions about merlon

What does merlon mean?
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.
What is merlon in Persian?
Merlon in Persian is شرفه. See Merlon meaning in Persian.
How do you use merlon in a sentence?
Theſe holes are called embraſures, and the maſſes of earth between them are called merlons; [...]
What part of speech is merlon?
Merlon is a noun.
How do you pronounce merlon?
Merlon is pronounced /ˈmɜːlən/ (UK).
What is the plural of merlon?
The plural of merlon is merlons.

Words near merlon in the dictionary

  1. Merlinos
  2. merlins
  3. merlion
  4. merlions
  5. Merlo
  6. merlon
  7. merlons
  8. Merlos
  9. merlot
  10. merlots
  11. merls

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: merlon (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-merlon.wav, en-us-merlon.mp3.

Cite this entry: “merlon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/merlon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.