Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Minaret \Min"a*ret\, n. [Sp. minarete, Ar. man[=a]rat lamp,
   lantern, lighthouse, turret, fr. n[=a]r to shine.] (Arch.)
   A slender, lofty tower attached to a mosque and surrounded by
   one or more projecting balconies, from which the summon to
   prayer is cried by the muezzin.

Source : WordNet®

minaret
     n : slender tower with balconies