abatis

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See also: Abatis and abatís

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Drawing of an abatis.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From French abatis, abattis (mass of things beaten or cut down), from abattre. See abate.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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abatis (plural abatis or abatises)

  1. A means of defense formed by felled trees, or sometimes by bent trees, the ends of whose branches are sharpened and directed outwards, or against the enemy, and more recently fortified with barbed wire. [Mid 19th century.][1]
  2. (historical) In the Middle Ages, an officer of the stables who had the care of measuring out the provender; an avenor.
  3. In coal-mining, walls of cord-wood piled up crosswise to keep the underground roads open so as to secure ventilation.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “abatis”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 2.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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abatis

  1. second-person singular present subjunctive of abatre

Ido

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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abatis

  1. past of abatar

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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abatis m (plural abatises)

  1. abatis (fortification formed by felled trees with sharpened branches)