A building or structure designed to house or shelter guns, artillery, or firearms; a storage facility or armory for weapons.
From 'gun' + 'house' (building). Appears in military and nautical contexts from the 18th-19th centuries, referring to specific compartments on warships or fortifications where cannons and weapons were stored.
On naval ships, 'gunhouses' were armored compartments designed to protect both the cannon and its crew—they represent an arms race between gun power and armor that fundamentally changed military architecture and ship design.
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