What does Castle mean?

Definitions for Castle
ˈkæs əl, ˈkɑ səlcas·tle

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Castle.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. palace, castlenoun

    a large and stately mansion

  2. castlenoun

    a large building formerly occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack

  3. castle, rooknoun

    (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard

  4. castle, castlingverb

    interchanging the positions of the king and a rook

  5. castleverb

    move the king two squares toward a rook and in the same move the rook to the square next past the king

Wiktionary

  1. castlenoun

    A large building that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king.

  2. castlenoun

    A chess piece shaped like a castle tower which is also called a rook.

  3. castlenoun

    A close helmet.

  4. castleverb

    To perform the move of castling.

  5. castleverb

    To bowl a batsman with a full-length ball or yorker such that the stumps are knocked over.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. CASTLEnoun

    Etymology: castellum, Lat.

    The castle of Macduff I will surprise. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
    And castles. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.

    These were but like castles in the air, and in men’s fancies vainly imagined. Walter Raleigh, History of the World.

Wikipedia

  1. Castle

    A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; from a pleasance which was a walled-in residence for nobility, but not adequately fortified; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Use of the term has varied over time and has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the approximately 900 years when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were commonplace. European-style castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them and the castles were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as offered protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills, fertile land, or a water source. Many northern European castles were originally built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits and relying on a central keep. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire. Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, and inspiration from earlier defences, such as Roman forts. Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape. Although gunpowder was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture, but they had no military purpose.

ChatGPT

  1. castle

    A castle is a large, fortified building or a group of buildings, typically of the medieval period, featuring high walls, towers, and often a moat. They were originally built by royalty or nobility for protection or control over a region, and often served as centers of administration, military operations, or residences.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Castlenoun

    a fortified residence, especially that of a prince or nobleman; a fortress

  2. Castlenoun

    any strong, imposing, and stately mansion

  3. Castlenoun

    a small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back

  4. Castlenoun

    a piece, made to represent a castle, used in the game of chess; a rook

  5. Castleverb

    to move the castle to the square next to king, and then the king around the castle to the square next beyond it, for the purpose of covering the king

Wikidata

  1. Castle

    A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace. A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and fertile land.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Castle

    kas′l, n. a fortified house or fortress: the residence of a prince or nobleman, or a large country mansion generally: anything built in the likeness of such: a defensive tower borne on an elephant's back: a large ship, esp. of war.—v.t. to enclose or fortify with a castle.—v.i. (chess) to bring the castle or rook up to the square next the king, and move the king to the other side of the castle.—n. Cas′tellan, governor or captain of a castle.—adj. Cas′tellated, having turrets and battlements like a castle.—n. Cas′tle-build′ing, the act of building castles in the air or forming visionary projects.—adj. Cas′tled, furnished with castles.—n. Cas′tle-guard, the guard for the defence of a castle.—Castles in the air, or in Spain, groundless or visionary projects.—The Castle, Dublin Castle, the seat of the viceroy and the executive—Castle influence, &c. [A.S. castel—L. castellum, dim. of castrum, a fortified place.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. castle

    A place strong by art or nature, or by both. A sort of little citadel. (See FORECASTLE, AFT-CASTLE, &c.)

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. castle

    A name given to a building constructed as a dwelling, as well as for the purpose of repelling attack. The name is especially given to buildings of this kind constructed in Europe in the Middle Ages, and which were generally surrounded by a moat, foss, or ditch.

Suggested Resources

  1. castle

    The castle symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the castle symbol and its characteristic.

Etymology and Origins

  1. Castle

    An inn sign denoting a wine-house, from the castle in the arms of Spain.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. CASTLE

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Castle is ranked #1744 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Castle surname appeared 20,534 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 would have the surname Castle.

    88% or 18,078 total occurrences were White.
    6.7% or 1,384 total occurrences were Black.
    2.6% or 542 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.6% or 331 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.5% or 121 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.3% or 78 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Castle' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2134

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Castle' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4790

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Castle' in Nouns Frequency: #875

Anagrams for Castle »

  1. cleats

  2. sclate

How to pronounce Castle?

How to say Castle in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Castle in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Castle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Castle in a Sentence

  1. Alexander Chase:

    A man's home is his wife's castle.

  2. Eleanor Janega:

    The desire to be' accurate' suddenly disappears when sex isn't involved and it is actual interesting day to day minutiae, if the(' Game of Thrones') world was historically accurate, why isn't every single noble house or castle absolutely covered by huge gaudy, colourful murals ? Why is it that this form of historical accuracy isn't important, but showing rape as endemic is ?

  3. Christy Brigham:

    Then the Castle Fire happened and it was like, ‘Oh, my God,' we went from the warning sign to hair on fire. To lose 7,000 trees in one fire is crazy.

  4. Olivia Mason:

    There is so much history throughout the trail, of course including Petra, but also sites such as Ajloun Castle, Karak Castle and Iraq Al Amir, but the culture, too, shines, whether through the homestays where local food is always eaten or people that always welcome you into their home.

  5. The Queen:

    It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor Castle to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Castle#1#3905#10000

Translations for Castle

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"Castle." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Castle>.

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