bastion

[bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn]

noun

1. Fortification.,  a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.

2. a fortified place.

   Synonyms: citadel, stronghold, bulwark, fort, fortress

3. anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc..

   a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.

bastion

/ ˈbæstɪən /

noun

1. a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall

2. any fortified place

3. a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc

   the last bastion of opposition

Other Word Forms

• bastionary adjective
• bastioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastion¹

1590–1600; < Middle French < Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí ( a ) bastion, originally, fortified, built (cognate with Italian bastita, past participle of bastire to build < Germanic; baste ¹ ) + -one augmentative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastion¹

C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastille _Bastille

Related Words

• bulwark 
• citadel 
• fortress 
• mainstay 
• stronghold