bastile

Bas*tile" Bas*tille", n. Etym: [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. b.] 1. (Feud. Fort.) Defn: A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or in the siege, of a fortified place. The high bastiles . . . which overtopped the walls. Holland. 2. "The Bastille", formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name for a prison.

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