{ Bas*tile" Bas*tille" } (b&adot;s*tēl" or b&adot;s"t&esl;l; 277), n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. bâtir.]

1. (Feud. Fort.) A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or in the siege, of a fortified place.

The high bastiles . . . which overtopped the walls.
Holland.

2. "The Bastille", formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name for a prison.