Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Bastile
Bas·tile′ Bas·tille′ (bȧs·tēl′ or bȧs′tēl; 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.