glacis

[gley-sis, glas-is]

noun, plural gla·cis

[gley-seez, -siz, glas-eez, -iz] /ˈgleɪ siz, -sɪz, ˈglæs iz, -ɪz/, gla·cis·es.

a gentle slope.
Fortification. a bank of earth in front of the counterscarp or covered way of a fort, having an easy slope toward the field or open country.

Origin of glacis

1665–75; < Middle French; akin to Old French glacier to slide; compare Latin glaciāre to make into ice; see glacé

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

Examples from the Web for glacis

Historical Examples of glacis

We then crawled on our stomachs across the glacis till we arrived at the rampart.
Peter Simple
Frederick Marryat
In six days they completed the parapet, with a glacis on the opposite side.
The Battle of New Orleans
Zachary F. Smith
No one appeared: the glacis and entrenchments seemed abandoned.
The Tiger-Slayer
Gustave Aimard
They crossed the street and went down the glacis of the cobblestoned wharf.
Edith and John
Franklin S. Farquhar
Russia already held the glacis, as represented by Usbeg-Turkistan.
India Under British Rule
James Talboys Wheeler

British Dictionary definitions for glacis

glacis

noun plural -ises or -is (-iːz, -ɪz)

a slight incline; slope
an open slope in front of a fortified place
short for glacis plate

Word Origin for glacis

C17: from French, from Old French glacier to freeze, slip, from Latin glaciāre, from glaciēs ice

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 glacis

"sloping bank" (especially leading up to a fortification), 1670s, from French glacir "to freeze, make slippery," from Old French glacier "to slip, glide," from Vulgar Latin *glaciare "to make or turn into ice," from glacies (see glacial).