barbican
/ˈbɑːbɪk(ə)n
/noun
The outer defence of a castle or walled city, especially a double tower above a gate or drawbridge.A barbican is a city's first line of defence: and Railtrack is a company under siege....
- Access has not altered since the fourteenth century, when the maritime republic, then known as Ragusa, completed its two land gates, with barbicans, and two sea gates feeding the harbour.
- The gatehouse is approached via a brick barbican, a defensive outwork furnished with arrow slits and end turrets.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French barbacane; probably based on Arabic.