glacis

[ gley-sis, glas-is ]

/ ˈgleɪ sɪs, ˈglæs ɪs /

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.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for glacis

Covered Way, road formed on the counterscarp and protected by the relief of the glacis (see p. 308).
Annals of a Fortress|E. Viollet-le-Duc
On the north and east are bastions with a very slight projection, a glacis, and ravelin.
Tent Work in Palestine|Claude Reignier Conder
She leaped on the parapet and the next second was on the glacis.
Greenmantle|John Buchan
They climbed the steep slope to the top of the glacis, and then ran down until they were brought to a standstill by another moat.
Won by the Sword|G.A. Henty

But a certain number of those glorious dead remained lying on the glacis or in the ditches of the place.
The British Expedition to the Crimea|William Howard Russell

British Dictionary definitions for glacis

glacis

/ (ˈɡlæsɪs, ˈɡlæsɪ, ˈɡleɪ-) /

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

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).