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tur·ret (tûrĭt, tŭr-)
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n.
1. A small tower or tower-shaped projection on a building.
2.
a. A low, heavily armored structure, usually rotating horizontally, containing mounted guns and their gunners or crew, as on a warship or tank.
b. A domelike gunner's enclosure projecting from the fuselage of a combat aircraft.
3. A tall wooden structure mounted on wheels and used in ancient warfare by besiegers to scale the walls of an enemy fortress.
4. An attachment for a lathe consisting of a rotating cylindrical block holding various cutting tools.
5. A rotating device holding various lenses, as for a microscope, allowing easy switching from one lens to another.
[Middle English turet, from Old French torete, diminutive of tor, tower; see TOWER.]
(click for a larger image)
turret
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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