Fortification and Siege Vocabulary and Pronunciation
Early Fortification and Siege
bar·bi·can (bär¹bî-ken) noun
A tower or other fortification on the approach to a castle or town, especially one at a gate or drawbridge.
[Middle English, from Old French barbacane, from Medieval Latin barbacana, from Persian barbârkhâna
: barbâr, guard (from Old Iranian *parivâraka-, protective) + khâna, house (from Middle Persian
khânak).]
cur·tain (kûr¹tn) noun
4. The part of a rampart or parapet connecting two bastions or gates.
5. Architecture. An enclosing wall connecting two towers or similar structures.
don·jon (dòn¹jen, dùn¹-) noun
The fortified main tower of a castle; a keep.
draw·bridge (drô¹brîj´) noun
A bridge that can be raised or drawn aside either to prevent access or to permit passage beneath it.
em·bra·sure (èm-brâ¹zher) noun
1. An opening in a thick wall for a door or window, especially one with sides angled so that the opening
is larger on the inside of the wall than on the outside.
2. A flared opening for a gun in a wall or parapet.
[French, from embraser, to widen an opening.]
es·carp (î-skärp¹) noun
2. The inner wall of a ditch or trench dug around a fortification.
keep (kêp) noun
3. a. The stronghold of a castle.
ma·chic·o·la·tion (me-chîk´e-lâ¹shen) noun
1. a. A projecting gallery at the top of a castle wall, supported by a row of corbeled arches and having
openings in the floor through which stones and boiling liquids could be dropped on attackers. b. One
of these openings.
mer·lon (mûr¹len) noun
A solid portion of a crenelated wall between two open spaces.
[French, from Italian merlone, augmentative of merlo, battlement, perhaps from Medieval Latin merulus,
from Latin, merle (from their imagined similarity to blackbirds sitting on a wall).]
par·a·pet (pàr¹e-pît, -pèt´) noun
1. A low protective wall or railing along the edge of a raised structure such as a roof or balcony.
2. An earthen or stone embankment protecting soldiers from enemy fire. See synonyms at BULWARK.
[French, from Italian parapetto : parare, to shield. See PARASOL + petto, chest (from Latin pectus).]
port·cul·lis (pôrt-kùl¹îs, port-) noun
A grating of iron or wooden bars or slats, suspended in the gateway of a fortified place and lowered to
block passage.
[Middle English port-colice, from Old French porte coleice, sliding gate : porte, gate (from Latin porta) +
coleice, feminine of coleis, sliding (from Vulgar Latin *colâtìcius, from Latin colâtus, past participle of
colâre, to filter, strain, from colum, sieve).]
pos·tern (po¹stern, pòs¹tern) noun
A small rear gate, especially one in a fort or castle.
[Middle English posterne, from Old French, alteration of posterle, from Late Latin posterula, diminutive
of Latin posterus, behind. See POSTERIOR.]
sally port noun
A gate in a fortification designed for sorties.
ward (wôrd) noun
5. An open court or area of a castle or fortification enclosed by walls.
Vocabulary and Pronunciation
Late Fortification and Siege
bas·tion (bàs¹chen, -tê-en) noun
1. A projecting part of a fortification.
[French, from Old French bastillon, from bastille, fortress. See BASTILLE.]
cir·cum·val·late (sûr´kem-vàl¹ât´) verb, transitive
cir·cum·val·lat·ed, cir·cum·val·lat·ing, cir·cum·val·lates
To surround with or as if with a rampart.
adjective
1. (also -ît). Surrounded with or as if with a rampart.
[Latin circumvallâre, circumvallât- : circum-, circum- + vallum, rampart with palisades, from vallus, post,
stake.]
— cir´cum·val·la¹tion noun
ram·part (ràm¹pärt´, -pert) noun
1. A fortification consisting of an embankment, often with a parapet built on top.
2. A means of protection or defense; a bulwark. See synonyms at BULWARK.
verb, transitive
ram·part·ed, ram·part·ing, ram·parts
To defend with a rampart.
[French rempart, from Old French, from remparer, to fortify : re-, re- + emparer, to fortify, take
possession of (from Old Provençal amparar, from Vulgar Latin *ante parâre, to prepare : Latin ante-,
ante- + Latin parâre, to prepare).]
par·a·pet (pàr¹e-pît, -pèt´) noun
1. A low protective wall or railing along the edge of a raised structure such as a roof or balcony.
2. An earthen or stone embankment protecting soldiers from enemy fire. See synonyms at BULWARK.
[French, from Italian parapetto : parare, to shield. See PARASOL + petto, chest (from Latin pectus).]
ga·bi·on (gâ¹bê-en) noun
1. A cylindrical wicker basket filled with earth and stones, formerly used in building fortifications.
2. A hollow metal cylinder used especially in constructing dams and foundations.
[French, from Italian gabbione, augmentative of gabbia, cage, from Latin cavea.]
gla·cis (glà-sê¹, glàs¹ê, glâ¹sîs) noun
plural glacis
1. a. A gentle slope; an incline. b. A slope extending down from a fortification.
2. A neutral area separating conflicting forces.
[French, from Old French, from glacer, to slide, from glace, ice, from Latin glaciês.]