10 letters · 15 points in Scrabble
noun a strongly fortified defensive structure
originFrom Middle English stranghalde, strong-hold, strong-holde, from strong (“having physical strength, sturdy, strong; built to withstand assaults, fortified”) (from Old English strang, strong (“strong”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“stiff, tight”)) + hōld (“grasp, grip; control, possession, rule”) (from Old English). By surface analysis, strong + hold.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0