Martello tower

noun

A short sturdy round masonry fort, especially one constructed at various coastal points in the British Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

Similar
Martello
OriginCorsican Torra di Mortella ← Italian martello →
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Meanings

nounMartello tower (plural Martello towers)

plural Martello towers

  1. A short sturdy round masonry fort, especially one constructed at various coastal points in the British Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

    The martello towers was put up for the Guernsey people to get in out of the way of the Grand Saracen.

    1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 309

    Synonyms: Martello

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA short sturdy round masonry fort, especially one constructed at various coastal points in the British Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.

Similar
Martello

Origin

  1. Italianmartello“hammer”
  2. CorsicanTorra di Mortella
  3. EnglishMartello tower

From a corruption of Corsican Torra di Mortella (literally “Tower of Mortella”), a tower in Corsica which was used as the basis for the design; possibly influenced by Italian martello (“hammer”).

More words from Corsican, Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Martello tower. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Martello%20tower

MLA

“Martello tower.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Martello%20tower. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Martello tower,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Martello%20tower.

Source: Martello tower on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.