A wall is a solid vertical structure that encloses or divides an area; to wall something in is to surround or block it with walls.
From Old English “weall,” from Latin “vallum,” meaning “rampart or defensive wall,” originally a stake or palisade. It has long been associated with protection and separation.
Walls don’t just keep things out; they also keep things in—safety and prison can look the same from different sides. We now talk about “firewalls” and “emotional walls,” showing how physical barriers became metaphors for digital and psychological ones.
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