glacis
Americannoun
plural
glacis, glacises-
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.
noun
-
a slight incline; slope
-
an open slope in front of a fortified place
-
short for glacis plate
Etymology
Origin of glacis
1665–75; < Middle French; akin to Old French glacier to slide; compare Latin glaciāre to make into ice; glacé
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On another part of a wall, Cox was part of an excavation that uncovered a glacis, a defensive structure in early fortresses.
From Washington Times • Jun. 7, 2015
This particular glacis was ground, compacted limestone, which became very slick with moisture.
From Washington Times • Jun. 7, 2015
The cannons are aimed, for the moment, at cattle upon the glacis, and children batting at the sky with sticks.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
The wall was protected by a dry fosse, or ditch, twenty-five feet wide and about twenty feet deep; this, in turn, was guarded by a counterscarp and glacis.
From The Red Year A Story of the Indian Mutiny by Tracy, Louis
"The pickets last night were close to the glacis, but see now they have fallen back a gun-shot or more."
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
