palisade

American  

[pal-uh-seyd] / ˌpæl əˈseɪd /

noun

palisades plural

1. a fence of pales or stakes set firmly in the ground, as for enclosure or defense.

2. any of a number of pales or stakes pointed at the top and set firmly in the ground in a close row with others to form a defense.

3. Botany. palisade parenchyma.

4. palisades, a line of cliffs.

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verb (used with object)

palisaded, palisading

1. to furnish or fortify with a palisade.

palisade British  

/ ˌpælɪˈseɪd /

noun

1. a strong fence made of stakes driven into the ground, esp for defence

2. one of the stakes used in such a fence

3. botany a layer of elongated mesophyll cells containing many chloroplasts, situated below the outer epidermis of a leaf blade

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verb

1. (tr) to enclose with a palisade

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unpalisaded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• palisades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of palisade

1590–1600; < French palissade < Old Provençal palissada, equivalent to paliss ( a ) paling (derivative of pal stake, pale ² ) + -ada -ade ¹

Explanation

A palisade is a heavy-duty fence that's strong enough to keep out intruders, like one you might see around a military camp. Traditionally, palisades were built with wooden stakes around small forts or castles as a way to keep out enemies. There's evidence that this kind of fence was often used in ancient Greece and Rome. More modern palisades are made out of metal and give protection to houses in dangerous neighborhoods, for example. The root word is the Latin palus, which means "stake."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

palisade palisades palisaded palisading

At Amnya, her team also noted a possible sign of social stratification, another development often linked to agriculture: a cluster of houses that sat, undefended, outside the palisade.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 29, 2023

The numerous small bumps in the palisade parenchyma cells are chloroplasts.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Eight stories tall, Solaris features a sleek palisade of broad teak-covered decks suitable for hosting a horde of well-heeled partygoers.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2022

Sometime in the 1930s, the Hungarian photographer Anna Barna shot “Onlooker,” a picture of a boy standing on a chair seen from behind as he peers over a palisade.

From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2021

No one wants to tell President Wingfield that he was wrong and Captain Smith was right about building a palisade, I think.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

They documented the defensive architecture, a network of deep ditches, banks, and palisades surrounding a cluster of houses.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 29, 2023

The noodle house may be hard to find because it’s literally overshadowed by the palisades of the Great Wall Shopping Mall nearby.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2022

The trolley ran along the bluff overlooking the palisades of the Potomac.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 6, 2021

They made houses from bent saplings covered with bark, mats, or hides, and sometimes surrounded their villages with log palisades.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

Nevertheless, by Tisquantum’s time defensive palisades were increasingly common, especially in the river valleys.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Last March, Historic St. Mary’s City announced that the outlines of the palisaded fort, erected by White settlers in 1634, had finally been discovered.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 23, 2022

In the more exposed localities the houses of the tenants were built together in palisaded villages.

From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene

Ojeda collected a few of his followers, and made a desperate resistance from the interior of a palisaded enclosure.

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3 by Whymper, Frederick

Their posts were only six in all, and were mainly fortified with palisaded enclosures, with howitzers and swivels, and with men trained to the use of guns.

From On Canada's Frontier Sketches of History, Sport, and Adventure and of the Indians, Missionaries, Fur-traders, and Newer Settlers of Western Canada by Ralph, Julian

And now, facing the sea, a strong palisaded fort was built, and completely clayed over, so as to be almost invisible from the sea.

From Annie o' the Banks o' Dee by Stables, Gordon

Each had its own doorway, a massive piece of palisading.

From The Thin Red Line; and Blue Blood by Griffiths, Arthur

From the prisoners he had learned all details as to the fort, and found that while almost impregnable from the river face, the flank of the fort was defended chiefly by a strong palisading.

From With Cochrane the Dauntless by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

Sometimes the gardens and cornfields were inside this palisading, sometimes outside.

From American Indians by Starr, Frederick

The palisading could be completed during the year, and in 1668 the village could be said to have changed.

From The Life and Times of Kateri Tekakwitha The Lily of the Mohawks by Walworth, Ellen H.

Round the outer palisading Of the diamond walls are watching Many hosts from the Sabaoth Of the King of all these bright realms.

From A Leaf from the Old Forest by Cossar, John D.