Meaning

noun a shelter or screen providing protection from enemy fire or from the weather

noun a small fort or earthwork defending a ford, pass, or castle gate

noun a candle or flaming torch secured in a sconce

originFrom Middle English sconce, sconse (“candlestick or lantern (with screen)”), from Old French esconse (“lantern”), from Latin absconsus (“hidden”), perfect passive participle of abscondō (“hide”). Cognate with abscond.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0