Cashel

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fortified settlement or stronghold, particularly an Iron Age or medieval Irish ringed fort surrounded by stone or earthen walls
2. An Irish hill fort or fortified enclosure, typically circular and defended by high stone ramparts or earthen banks
3. A prehistoric or medieval Irish fortress consisting of a defended farmstead or settlement enclosed by protective stone or earth barriers

Etymology: Cashel comes from Irish "caiseal", which passed through Old Irish "caisel" before reaching English. Its ultimate source is Latin "castellum", meaning a small fortified place, the same root that gave English "castle". The Irish word for a stone-walled ring fort, built without mortar, took the Latin term and shaped it to the Irish sound system, so a Roman military word ended up naming an early Irish stronghold. The relationship with "castle" is a doublet: both English words descend from the same Latin "castellum", but one arrived through Norman French and the other through the Gaelic speech of Ireland. The same Latin root also produced "château" in French, so three familiar words in three languages trace back to one Roman fort-word.

Synonyms: fort, fortress, stronghold