Alure

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a narrow walkway or gallery running along the inside of a parapet or wall, such as on a castle or church tower
2. A passage or gallery built behind a parapet, typically along the top of a wall, tower or roof, for walking or keeping watch
3. The open walkway that runs behind a low wall or battlement, allowing people to move along it and see out over the top

Etymology: The word "alure" was borrowed into Middle English from Old French, where "alure" or "aleure" meant "walk" or "gait," the way someone moves along. Its roots lie in the Old French verb "aler," "to go," which is also the ancestor of modern French "aller." The ending "-ure" is a suffix that turned the act of going into a noun describing a manner or result of that motion. That everyday sense of moving along is what sits behind the military meaning. A walkway for moving along a wall became a fixed feature of fortifications, the passage that let defenders travel behind the protective parapet. The word thus moved from describing a person's stride to naming a specific part of a castle, a shift from motion itself to the place where motion happened.