GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found one definition

1.       
   { Bastile Bastille } , n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. bâtir.]
   1913 Webster
   (Feud. Fort.) 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.
   Holland.
   
   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