castle English · revision 5150

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=la castellum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkɑː.səl/, US /ˈkæs.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|castel]], [[inh|ang|castel]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) borrowed first from [[la|castellum|t=fortified village]] and again from Old Northern French castel “fortress”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) a diminutive of castrum “fort”, plural castra “camp”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) Etymonline relates castrum to Old Irish cathir and Welsh caer “town”, probably from [[ine-pro|*kes-|t=to cut]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[chateau]], [[castellan]] and the -caster and -chester of place names.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A village, rendering Latin castellum in the Vulgate: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart, in early Gospels.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A large building fortified against enemies, a stronghold, is from late Old English (before 1075 in the OED).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to decorate a dish with paper towers, is from the late 14th century, to fit a ship with towers from about 1400, and to fortify with castles from about 1500.^(Etymonline) ''An Englishman's house is his castle'' is from 1567.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Castles in Spain'', a fantasy, translates 14th-century French chastel en Espaigne,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and ''castles in the air'' is from the mid-16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) In chess, the rook was also called a castle, and the verb for the move of king and rook is from the 1650s.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) In Ireland ''the Castle'' meant Dublin Castle, the seat of government, from 1735.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – a village (biblical).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1075 – a fortress.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1567 – a man's house is his castle.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-16th century – ''castles in the air''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1650s – verb, in chess.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large strong building with thick walls and [[tower]]s, built in the past to defend against attack.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large and grand house.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chess)'' The [[rook]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(chess)'' To move the king two squares towards a rook and put the rook on the square the king has passed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[castlelike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[castellan]]

+ * [[castellated]]

+ * [[castellum]]

+ * [[chateau]]

+ * [[castrate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}