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often, battlements. a parapet or cresting, originally defensive but later usually decorative, consisting of a regular alternation of merlons and crenels; crenelation.
historical examples

at this spectacle banfy’s face suddenly glowed; he thought he saw a woman’s figure on the battlement of the tower.
the golden age in transylvania mr jkai

she bent over the battlement, stooped her face towards me, and kissed me on the mouth.
wilfrid c-mbermede george macdonald

in another moment, two biscayan grenadiers held the basha between their weapons and the pinnacle of the battlement.
the pastor’s fire-side vol. 4 (of 4) jane porter

moat and battlement grimace but faintly from behind their ornaments.
erik dorn ben hecht

right at the crown of the battlement stood a figure in armor, and behind the bulwark was the noise of struggle.
g-d wills it! william stearns davis

we lean on the battlement, long since dismantled, and gaze beneath us.
our home in the silver west gordon stables

a park was there—a park set up on edge, as it were, with steps leading to a battlement at the top.
the van dwellers albert bigelow paine

for that we must go to the castle ruin that crowns lewes as with a battlement.
england of my heart–spring edward hutton

they hoisted, and dame eleanor very soon showed her face at the battlement; all hands lifted her to the arms of her husband.
annals of a fortress e. viollet-le-duc

upon a knoll was a small square building with a battlement round it.
sir nigel arthur conan doyle

noun
a parapet or wall with indentations or embrasures, originally for shooting through
n.

early 14c., from old french bataillement, earlier bastillement “fortification,” from bastillier “to fortify, to equip with battlements,” from bastille “fortress, tower” (see bastion). the raised parts are cops or merlons; the indentations are embrasures or crenelles.

a parapet wall or bal-strade surrounding the flat roofs of the houses, required to be built by a special law (deut. 22:8). in jer. 5:10, it denotes the parapet of a city wall.