Donjon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdÉ’ndÊ’É™n/

Origin

From Old French donjon.

Full definition of donjon

Noun

1. The fortified tower of a motte or early castle; a keep.
• 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre 2008, p. 132:... the prison fortress called Qomr, a mound of yellowish brick rising up from the left back of the turbid river, in whose donjon by long tradition the warlord was obliged to lay his head.
• 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:It was a fortress of no great size, consisting of a donjon, or large and high square tower, surrounded by buildings of inferior height, which were encircled by an inner court-yard.