What is "castle"

Castle \Cas"tle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Castled; p. pr. & vb. n. Castling.] (Chess) To move the castle to the square next to king, and then the king around the castle to the square next beyond it, for the purpose of covering the king.

Castle \Cas"tle\, n. [AS. castel, fr. L. castellum, dim. of castrum a fortified place, castle.]

1. A fortified residence, especially that of a prince or nobleman; a fortress.

   The house of every one is to him castle and fortress, as well for his defense againts injury and violence, as for his repose.
   --Coke.

   Our castle's strength Will laugh a siege to scorn.
   --Shak.

   Note: Originally the medi[ae]val castle was a single strong tower or keep, with a palisaded inclosure around it and inferior buidings, such as stables and the like, and surrounded by a moat; then such a keep or donjon, with courtyards or baileys and accessory buildings of greater elaboration a great hall and a chapel, all surrounded by defensive walls and a moat, with a drawbridge, etc. Afterwards the name was retained by large dwellings that had formerly been fortresses, or by those which replaced ancient fortresses. A Donjon or Keep, an irregular building containing the dwelling of the lord and his family; B C Large round towers ferming part of the donjon and of the exterior; D Square tower, separating the two inner courts and forming part of the donjon; E Chapel, whose apse forms a half-round tower, F, on the exterior walls; G H Round towers on the exterior walls; K Postern gate, reached from outside by a removable fight of steps or inclined plane for hoisting in stores, and leading to a court, L (see small digagram) whose pavement is on a level with the sill of the postern, but below the level of the larger court, with which it communicates by a separately fortified gateway; M Turret, containing spiral stairway to all the stories of the great tower, B, and serving also as a station for signal fire, banner, etc.; N Turret with stairway for tower, C; O Echauguettes; P P P Battlemants consisting of merlons and crenels alternately, the merlons being pierced by loopholes; Q Q Machicolations (those at Q defend the postern K); R Outwork defending the approach, which is a road ascending the hill and passing under all four faces of the castle; S S Wall of the outer bailey. The road of approach enters the bailey at T and passes thence into the castle by the main entrance gateway (which is in the wall between, and defended by the towers, C H) and over two drawbridges and through fortified passages to the inner court.

2. Any strong, imposing, and stately mansion.

3. A small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back.

4. A piece, made to represent a castle, used in the game of chess; a rook.

   Castle in the air, a visionary project; a baseless scheme; an air castle; -- sometimes called a castle in Spain (F. Ch[^a]teau en Espagne).

   Syn: Fortress; fortification; citadel; stronghold. See Fortress.

late Old English castel "village" (this sense from a biblical usage in Vulgar Latin); later "large fortified building, stronghold," in this sense from Old North French castel (Old French chastel, 12c.; Modern French château), from Latin castellum "a castle, fort, citadel, stronghold; fortified village," diminutive of castrum "fort," from Proto-Italic *kastro- "part, share;" cognate with Old Irish cather, Welsh caer "town" (and perhaps related to castrare via notion of "cut off;" see caste). In early bibles, castle was used to translate Greek kome "village."\n

\nThis word also had come to Old English as ceaster and formed the -caster and -chester in place names. Spanish alcazar "castle" is from Arabic al-qasr, from Latin castrum. Castles in Spain translates 14c. French chastel en Espaigne (the imaginary castles sometimes stood in Brie, Asia, or Albania) and probably reflects the hopes of landless knights to establish themselves abroad. The statement that an (English) man's home is his castle is from 16c.

move in chess, recorded under this name from 1650s, from castle (n.), as an old alternative name for the rook, one of the pieces moved. Related: Castled; castling.

n. 1 A large building that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king. 2 (context chess English) An instance of castling. 3 (context chess informal English) A rook; a chess piece shaped like a castle tower. 4 (context obsolete English) A close helmet. 5 (context dated English) Any strong, imposing, and stately mansion. 6 (context dated English) A small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back. vb. 1 (context chess English) To perform the move of castling. 2 (context cricket English) To bowl a batsman with a full-length ball or yorker such that the stumps are knocked over.

1. n. a large and stately mansion [syn: palace]

2. a large building formerly occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack

3. (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard [syn: rook]

4. interchanging the positions of the king and a rook [syn: castling]

5. v. move the king two squares toward a rook and in the same move the rook to the square next past the king

Castles are fortified residences built in Europe and the Middle East in the Middle Ages.

Castle or Castles may refer to:

Castle is the second book in Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower series, published in October 1, 2000 by Scholastic. The cover design and art are by Madalina Stefan and Steve Rawlings respectively.

A castle (from ) is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls and arrowslits, were commonplace.

A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them, and were both offensive and defensive structures; they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills and fertile land.

Many castles were originally built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits and relying on a central keep. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire. Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, and inspiration from earlier defences, such as Roman forts. Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape.

Although gunpowder was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture, but they had no military purpose.

Castle is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Andrew Castle, British television presenter and former tennis professional
• Barbara Castle, British politician
• Charles Castle (1939–2013), South-African-born British tap dancer and television producer
• Dalton Castle (wrestler)
• Eduard Castle, Austrian-German professor of German studies
• Guy W. S. Castle (1879-1919), United States Navy officer and Medal of Honor recipient
• Jo Ann Castle, American ragtime pianist
• John Castle, British actor
• John Castle (baseball) (1879–1929), American baseball player
• Keisha Castle-Hughes, New Zealand actress
• Louis Castle, American co-founder of Westwood Studios
• Michael Castle, American lawyer and politician, Governor and Congressman from Delaware
• Nick Castle, film director
• Peggie Castle, American actress
• Peter Castle (born 1987), footballer
• Roy Castle, English entertainer
• Steve Castle (born 1966), English footballer
• Vernon and Irene Castle, husband and wife ballroom dancers
• Wendell Castle (born 1932), American furniture artist
• William Castle, American director, producer and actor
• William B. Castle (1814-1872), American politician
• William B. Castle (hematologist) (1897-1990), American hematologist, son of William E. Castle
• William E. Castle (1867-1962), eminent early American geneticist
• Frank Castle (sprinter), English sprinter

Fictional characters:

• Richard Castle, on the television series Castle
• Frank Castle, aka the Punisher

Castle (formerly known as Castle Acoustics) is a British manufacturer of hi-fi loudspeakers.

Castle Acoustics was founded in 1973 and takes its name and its logo from the 11thC historic Skipton Castle, the North Yorkshire market town of Skipton having been Castle's home since its foundation.

Castle is the only British loudspeaker manufacturer to build its own cabinets; buy and lay veneers for those cabinets; and develop and build its own drive units; all under one roof.

Castle is Sherman Chung's second album, released by EEG Emperor Entertainment Group in 2008.

Castle ward is an electoral ward in Colchester and is within the Colchester Borough Council boundary, to which it elects 3 councillors.

The ward covers central Colchester, including the Town Centre, the historic Dutch Quarter neighbourhood and Colchester Castle, which lends its namesake to the ward.

Castle is a Caldecott Honor award-winning book by David Macaulay published in 1978. The book offers a detailed illustrated description of Aberwyvern castle, a fictional castle built between 1283 and 1288. Like many of Macaulay's other works, it consists of a written description of the construction process accompanied by pen-and-ink drawings. A great deal of detail is put into the descriptions, and he describes the workers and tools that would have been needed for the construction of a medieval castle.

The castle is fictional but the historical context is real. Macaulay places its construction in North West Wales between 1283 and 1288, when Edward I of England was in fact building a string of castles to help his conquest of that land. Much of the layout and architecture of Aberwyvern castle is extrapolated from these Welsh castles, which Macaulay visited as a boy, and in particular Harlech Castle, which it closely resembles in design, siting and general appearance.

The castle is constructed on a rocky mount jutting out into the River Wyvern. It is square in plan and has two concentric lines of fortification. The first line of defence is an outer curtain wall of 300 feet on the side, encircling the entire castle and forming the outer ward. The outer curtain wall of the castle also links with the defensive wall of the town. The tops of the wall are furnished battlements with merlons to protect defenders arrayed along the parapet walk. There are two gatehouses, one, defended by a drawbridge leading to the town, the other to a fortified dock (to allow the garrison to be supplied by ship in the event of a siege).

Within the outer ward, stands the inner ward, defended by a curtain wall with a large tower at each of its four corners and a massive gatehouse on the side facing the town. The walls of the inner ward are 12 feet thick and considerably taller than those of the outer ward, allowing the defenders to fire over the outer defences. The inner gatehouse protects the main entry, with a portcullis and a fortified corridor lined with arrow loops and murder holes, and closed by huge doors at both ends.

The constructions within the inner ward of the castle include apartments, barracks, a forge, a kitchen and an impressive great hall.

Macaulay also details the architecture and other aspects of the construction of the walled town (also called Aberwyvern) next to the castle and explains how it supported the castle and vice versa. He explains its evolution over the centuries showing how, eventually it survives while the castle becomes a ruin.

The book was later adapted in a combined television documentary and animated dramatization in 1983 hosted by Macaulay himself and Sarah Bullen.

Castle is a card game designed by Bruno Faidutti and Serge Laget. Each player begins the game with a hand of cards and their own personal deck of cards from which they draw new ones (the number of cards in hand and deck depend upon the number of players in the game). It is a shedding card game, i.e. the winning player is the one who disposes of all of their cards (in hand and personal deck) first.

Setup:

It is a card game played with 2-5 players. Deal cards 3 at a time, the first set of three being placed face-down. These cards cannot been seen until the end of the game. Players will then have 6 cards to pick up. Players choose the best 3 cards to place on top of their face down castle. These 6 cards become your entire castle. Players take turns playing their cards in an increasing order, if you cannot beat the previous card you must pick up the entire pile. Four of a kind clears the pile, as well as a 10. 2's allow you to go again, and 9's reverse the order.

Castle won the 2000 Concours International de Créateurs de Jeux de Société.

Castle is an American crime- comedy-drama television series, which aired on ABC for a total of eight seasons from March 9, 2009 to May 16, 2016. The series is produced jointly by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios.

Created by Andrew W. Marlowe, it primarily traces the lives of Richard Castle ( Nathan Fillion), a best-selling mystery novelist, and Kate Beckett ( Stana Katic), an NYPD homicide detective, as they solve various unusual crimes in New York City. Detective Beckett is initially infuriated at the thought of working with a writer and goes to great lengths to keep him out of her way. However, the two soon start developing feelings for each other. The overarching plot of the series focused on the romance between the two lead characters and their ongoing investigation of the murder of Beckett's mother.

On May 12, 2016, it was announced that despite some cast members signing one-year contracts for a potential ninth season, the show was canceled.

"Castle" is a song by American singer and songwriter Halsey. Originally recorded for her debut studio album, Badlands (2015), it was re-recorded for the soundtrack to the 2016 film The Huntsman: Winter's War. It was released on April 9, 2016, by Capitol as a promotional single from the record. "Castle" was co-written by Halsey and the track's producer, Lido. The song was used in commercials and in the teaser trailer to promote the film. The song has background vocals of a choir singing Agnus Dei.

In shogi, there are several strong defensive fortifications known as castles (囲い gakoi). There are many variations and types of castles which can be used, but it is essential to understand which ones are useful in the current situation and how to compensate for its weak points.

Castle is the sixth studio album by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai , released on February 27, 2004 by Sony Music Taiwan. It has sold more than 300,000 copies in Taiwan and 2 million copies in Asia, becoming the best-selling album by female artist of 2004 in Taiwan. The second track, "It's Love", reached number 8 on the Hit Fm annual singles chart. The opening track, "36 Tricks of Love", reached number 78 on the Hit Fm annual singles chart. The sixth track, "Love Love Love", is the Chinese cover of Ukrainian group Nu Virgos song " Stop! Stop! Stop!". The album earned Tsai an MTV Asia Award nomination for Favorite Artist Taiwan. The lead single, "Pirates", earned Tsai an MTV Video Music Award Japan nomination for Best Buzz Asia.

Castle is one of the ten district electoral areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Located in the north of the city, the district elects six members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Bellevue, Cavehill, Chichester Park, Duncairn, Fortwilliam and Innisfayle. Castle, along with the neighbouring Court and Oldpark districts and parts of Newtownabbey Borough Council, forms the Belfast North constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament. The district is bound to the east by the Victoria Channel, to the north by Newtownabbey Borough Council and Belfast Lough, to the south by North Street and to the west by the Cavehill Road and Oldpark Road.

The district takes its name from Belfast Castle which is located on Cavehill in the north of the district, while the southern section of the district is part of the city centre and forms one of the Belfast's main cultural areas, known as the Cathedral Quarter. The east of the area also contains the Port of Belfast. Castle is served by the M2 and M5 motorways and the Yorkgate railway station.

Castle is one of the most mixed areas in the city, with just over half of the district's population being Protestant at the 2001 Census. This has resulted in the construction of a number of peace lines, for example along the Whitewell Road.