crenellated

adjective

cren·​el·​lat·​ed ˈkre-nə-ˌlā-təd How to pronounce crenellated (audio)
variants or crenelated
: having crenellations
a crenellated wall

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of crenellate "to furnish with crenellations," borrowed (with -ate entry 3 replacing -é) from French crenelé "having crenellations," going back to Old French quernelé, from crenel, quernel "crenellation" (from cren, cran "notch"—going back to Gallo-Romance *crēn- or *crĭn-, of uncertain origin— + -el, diminutive suffix) + -é -ee entry 1

Note: While Old French cren, cranappear to be masculine, a feminine noun is evident in Franco-Provençal, Sursilvan (Rhaeto-Romance dialect), and Upper Italian dialects. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (2.2. pp. 1339-42) sees the noun as a derivative of a verb *crĭnare "to split," putatively from Gaulish; but the sole basis of this hypothesis is the Old Irish verb ara-chrin "(it) decays, fails, withers" (with an infixed neuter singular pronoun), the etymology of which is quite uncertain. If the base is *crin- "sift, shake, separate" (see Stefan Schumacher, Die Keltischen Primärverben, Innsbruck, 2004, pp. 420-22), there can be no connection with "split" or "notch." Pace Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, there is no verb crenare in the Reichenau Glosses.

First Known Use

circa 1823, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crenellated was circa 1823

Rhymes for crenellated

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Browse Nearby Words

crenellate
crenellated
crenellated molding
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Cite this Entry

“Crenellated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crenellated. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

crenellated

adjective
cren·​el·​lat·​ed
variants or crenelated
ˈkren-ᵊl-ˌāt-əd How to pronounce crenellated (audio)
: having battlements
a crenellated tower
Last Updated: - Definition revised
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