casemate

Meanings

1. A bombproof chamber, usually of masonry, in which cannon may be placed, to be fired through embrasures; or one capable of being used as a magazine, or for quartering troops.
2. A hollow molding, chiefly in cornices.

Etymology

From French casemate, from Italian casamatta. Further origin unclear, could be a compound casa (“house”) + matta (“mat (of straw), roof made of such material”), or borrowed from Greek χάσματα (chásmata) the plural of χάσμα (chásma, “gap”), presumably referring to the loopholes for shooting from.