cheval-de-frise

American  

[shuh-val-duh-freez] / ʃəˈvæl dəˈfriz /

noun

PLURAL

chevaux-de-frise

1. a portable obstacle, usually a sawhorse, covered with projecting spikes or barbed wire, for military use in closing a passage, breaking in a defensive wall, etc.

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cheval-de-frise British  

/ ʃəˌvældəˈfriːz /

noun

1. a portable barrier of spikes, sword blades, etc, used to obstruct the passage of cavalry

2. a row of spikes or broken glass set as an obstacle on top of a wall

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Etymology

Origin of cheval-de-frise

1680–90; < French; literally, horse of Friesland, so called because first used by Frisians

Example Sentences

At South-west Harbor the visitor is usually desirous of inspecting the sea-wall, or cheval-de-frise of shattered rock, that skirts the shore less than three miles distant from the steamboat landing.

From Project Gutenberg

On one occasion after Hall, I was flown with such insolence against college restrictions that the cheval-de-frise above the back gate seemed an affront to a freeborn American.

From Project Gutenberg

But the greatest cause of delay was the windfall, pines and spruce of enormous girth pitched down by landslide and storm into an impassable cheval-de-frise.

From Project Gutenberg

After traversing this gloomy avenue for about four miles, the first symptoms of war met our eyes in the shape of a dead horse, whose ribs glared like a cheval-de-frise from a tumulus of mud.

From Project Gutenberg

There is a low wall there, and a cheval-de-frise on the top of it.

From Project Gutenberg