escarp

[ih-skahrp]

noun

Fortification. the inner slope or wall of the ditch surrounding a rampart.
any similar steep slope.

verb (used with object)

to make into an escarp; give a steep slope to; furnish with escarps.

Origin of escarp

1680–90; < French, Middle French escarpe < Italian scarpa < Germanic; see scarp

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for escarp

Historical Examples of escarp

They have no ditches, but an escarp of ten feet in the lava.
The Life of Gordon, Volume I
Demetrius Charles Boulger
Its principal use is to secure the escarp as long as possible.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
The escarp of Lunette 53 was successfully breached by this method.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6
Various
The ladders were thrown down, but they were quickly again raised against the escarp.
Our Soldiers
W.H.G. Kingston
In fortification, a projecting turret on the top of the escarp, whence a sentry may observe the outside of the rampart.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for escarp

escarp

noun

fortifications the inner side of the ditch separating besiegers and besiegedCompare counterscarp

verb

a rare word for scarp (def. 3)

Word Origin for escarp

C17: from French escarpe; see scarp

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 escarp

"steep slope," 1680s, from French escarpe (16c.), from Italian scarpa (see scarp).