abatis

American  

[ab-uh-tee, -tis, uh-bat-ee, uh-bat-is] / ˈæb əˌti, -tɪs, əˈbæt i, əˈbæt ɪs /

noun

plural

abatis, abatises

1. an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.

2. a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.

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abatis British  

/ ˈæbətiː, ˈæbətɪs /

noun

1. a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards

2. a barbed-wire entanglement before a position

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Etymology

Origin of abatis

1760–70; < French; Old French abateis < Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre ( see abate)

Example Sentences

The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and a line of earthworks manned by Brig.

From Washington Post • Sep. 17, 2021

An abatis should be protected from artillery fire, which is sometimes done by placing it in a shallow excavation with the earth thrown up in front of it.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

This was granted for those who lay at a distance from the lines, or out of sight of them: but those within or near the abatis were interred by the British.

From Some Account of the Public Life of the Late Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, Bart. Particularly of his Services in the Canadas, including a reply to the strictures on his Military Character, Contained in an Article in The Quareterly Review by Brenton, E. B.

His pioneers were to be equipped to destroy the enemy's abatis.

From The Boys of '61 or, Four Years of Fighting, Personal Observations with the Army and Navy by Coffin, Charles Carleton

The ditch is enclosed with an abatis, which, considering the material and means available, is quite an achievement in the art of field fortification.

From Narrative of the March of Co. A, Engineers from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Fort Bridger, Utah, and Return May 6 to October 3, 1858 by Seville, William P.