glacis

[ gley-sis, glas-is ]

/ ˈgleɪ sɪs, ˈglæs ɪs /

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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.

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Origin of glacis

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

Words nearby glacis

Glacier National Park, Glacier Peak, glacier table, glaciologist, glaciology, glacis, glacis plate, Glackens, glad, Gladbach-Rheydt, Gladbeck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use glacis in a sentence

In six days they completed the parapet, with a glacis on the opposite side.
The Battle of New Orleans|Zachary F. Smith
The opposing lines of trenches go down the slope, much as usual, with the enemy line above on a slight natural glacis.
The Old Front Line|John Masefield
It was like the escarped rampart of a stupendous fortress, whose glacis was the beach, and whose champaign the ocean.
Cape Cod|Henry D. Thoreau
It is defended by a castle with ditches glacis, and by a double wall, which in some parts is triple.
Early Travels in Palestine|Arculf et al.

Hamos (Hems) is a good town, well inclosed with walls and ditches "en glacis," situated in a plain on the banks of a small river.
Early Travels in Palestine|Arculf et al.

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