bivouac

[biv-oo-ak, biv-wak]

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noun

a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.

the place used for such an encampment.

verb (used without object), biv·ou·acked, biv·ou·ack·ing.

to rest or assemble in such an area; encamp.

Origin of bivouac

1700–10; < French < Swiss German bīwacht auxiliary patrol, equivalent to bī- by- + wacht patrol, watch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bivouacking

hover, linger, stop, live, continue, endure, stand, persist, last, prevail, survive, wait, reside, perch, tarry, rest, freeze, squat, bunk, visit

Examples from the Web for bivouacking

Historical Examples of bivouacking

During this day they contented themselves with bivouacking there on the beach at the harbour.
Anabasis
Xenophon
While bivouacking on the Hiawasse, a citizen named Trotter, came into camp.
The Citizen-Soldier
John Beatty
I am writing this in the woods, where we are bivouacking for the night.
The Citizen-Soldier
John Beatty
The fifth company was bivouacking at the very edge of the forest.
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
For he learned that they were bivouacking on the Nile to see the sunrise.
The Wave
Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for bivouacking

bivouac

noun

a temporary encampment with few facilities, as used by soldiers, mountaineers, etc

verb -acs, -acking or -acked

(intr) to make such an encampment

Word Origin for bivouac

C18: from French bivuac, probably from Swiss German Beiwacht, literally: by + watch

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

Word Origin and History for bivouacking

bivouac

1702, from French bivouac (17c.), ultimately from Swiss/Alsatian biwacht "night guard," from bei- "double, additional" + wacht "guard" (see wait (v.)). Original meaning was an army that stayed up on night watch; sense of "outdoor camp" is 1853. Not a common word in English before the Napoleonic Wars. Italian bivacco is from French. As a verb, 1809, "to post troops in the night;" meaning "camp out of doors" is from 1814.