donjon.

The massive inner tower of a medieval castle, serving as its central stronghold.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• castle donjon
• fortified donjon
• the donjon walls

On the page

The last defenders withdrew into the donjon when the outer wall fell.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / gothic literary. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: Singular donjon; plural donjons. Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Direct entry read: massive principal inner castle tower. Current keep sense distinct from the already-saved modern prison sense of dungeon; historical relationship acknowledged. Established English architectural term, not untranslated French. No donjon-as-prison meaning invented. Individually reviewed for a precise writer function, not selected merely for rarity. Original definitions/examples; commonness editorial, not a corpus statistic. Genre suitability does not establish inherent fear or emotional intensity. Writing functions: precise fortified architectural setting, principal tower distinguished from a prison.