# barbican

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɑːbɪkən/ · frequency rank #44,079

## Definitions
1. A tower at the entrance to a castle or fortified town.
2. A fortress at the end of a bridge.
3. An opening in the wall of a fortress through which the guns are levelled; a narrow loophole through which arrows and other missiles may be shot.
4. A temporary wooden tower built for defensive purposes.

## Etymology
From Old French barbacane, of uncertain origin: compare Arabic بَرْبَخ (barbaḵ, “aqueduct, sewer”), and Persian بابخانه (bâb-xâne, “gatehouse”).

## Common misspellings (12)
`abrbican`, `babrican`, `barbbican`, `barbcian`, `barbiacn`, `barbicann`, `barbiccan`, `barbicna`, `baribcan`, `barrbican`, `bbarbican`, `brabican`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/barbican