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Added 9 October 2026

castle

/ˈkɑːsəl/ noun

In Latin: castellum, castrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about castle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A large and stately mansion.
A large building formerly occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack.
(chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard.

verb

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

Origin

From Middle English castle, castel, from late Old English castel, castell (“a town, village”), borrowed from Late Latin castellum (“small camp, fort”), diminutive of Latin castrum (“camp, fort, citadel, stronghold”). Doublet of cashel, castell, castellum, and château. Parallel borrowings (from Late Latin or Old French) are Scots castel, castell (“castle”), West Frisian kastiel (“castle”), Dutch kasteel (“castle”), German Kastell (“castle”), Danish kastel (“citadel”), Swedish kastell (“citadel”), Icelandic kastali (“castle”), Welsh castell. The late Old English word was borrowed from biblical Latin castellum which has been translated as town or village.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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