chevaux-de-frise

[ shuh-voh-duh-freez ]
/ ʃəˈvoʊ dəˈfriz /

noun

plural of cheval-de-frise.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby chevaux-de-frise

cheval screen, cheval-de-frise, chevalet, chevalier, chevalier-montrachet, chevaux-de-frise, chevee, chevelure, cheveret, chevet, cheville

Definition for chevaux-de-frise (2 of 2)

cheval-de-frise
[ shuh-val-duh-freez ]
/ ʃəˈvæl dəˈfriz /

noun, plural che·vaux-de-frise [shuh-voh-duh-freez] /ʃəˈvoʊ dəˈfriz/. Usually chevaux-de-frise.

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.

Origin of cheval-de-frise

1680–90; < French; literally, horse of Friesland, so called because first used by Frisians
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for chevaux-de-frise

British Dictionary definitions for chevaux-de-frise

cheval-de-frise
/ (ʃəˌvældəˈfriːz) /

noun plural chevaux-de-frise (ʃəˌvəʊdəˈfriːz)

a portable barrier of spikes, sword blades, etc, used to obstruct the passage of cavalry
a row of spikes or broken glass set as an obstacle on top of a wall

Word Origin for cheval-de-frise

C17: from French, literally: horse from Friesland (where it was first used)
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