bastion
[ bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn ]
/ ˈbæs tʃən, -ti ən /
noun
Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.
a fortified place.
anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc.: a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.
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What’s A Bastille?On Bastille Day, the world parties in the name of France. But do you know what makes Bastille Day so important—not just for France but the history of all democracies? The occasion is typically honored with military parades and copious consumption of libations. This mix of weapons and wooziness arguably sums up the legacy of July 14, 1789. Bastille is French for “fortress,” “castle,” or “bastion.” The Bastille …
RELATED WORDS
stronghold, mainstay, citadel, fortress, bulwark, parapet, protection, fortification, support, prop, defense, rock, breastwork
Nearby words
- bastille,
- bastille day,
- bastinade,
- bastinado,
- basting,
- bastionary,
- bastnaesite,
- bastogne,
- bastrop,
- basuto
Origin of bastion
1590–1600; < Middle French < Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí(a) bastion, orig., fortified, built (cognate with Italian bastita, past participle of bastire to build < Germanic; see baste1) + -one augmentative suffix
SYNONYMS FOR bastion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bastion
bastion
/ (ˈbæstɪən) /
noun
a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
any fortified place
a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etcthe last bastion of opposition
Word Origin for bastion
C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastille Bastille
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bastion
1560s, from Middle French bastillon, diminutive of Old French bastille "fortress, tower, fortified, building," from Old Provençal bastir "build," perhaps originally "make with bast" (see baste (v.1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper