Word Study
bastile
CIDE DICTIONARY
bastile, n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. b.].
- A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or in the siege, of a fortified place. [1913 Webster]"The high bastiles . . . which overtopped the walls." [1913 Webster]
- “The Bastille”, formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name for a prison. [1913 Webster]
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