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

Buckingham Palace was taken aback, and it responded with a terse, 61-word statement that sought to contain the drama within the familiar royal palisade of privacy.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

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

Beneath the hill was the bailey, with its stables, paddock, smithy, well, and sheepfold, defended by a deep ditch, a sloping earthen dike, and a palisade of logs.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

With room inside for dozens of people and dwellings sunk almost 2 meters deep for warmth in Siberian winters, the fortresses were ringed by earthen walls several meters high and topped with wooden palisades.

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

Survivors from his expedition described large towns of thatched houses, surrounded by strong palisades and watchtowers.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018

On the palisades in front of the church hang red banners proclaiming the fifth commandment of the Catholic catechism: Huwag kang papatay, it reads.

From Time ● Jan. 16, 2017

Along the shore and up on the palisades, warm yellow light poured from the windows of homes and shell houses.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

According to an early order by the Assembly, all dwelling houses throughout the Colony of Virginia must be palisaded.

From The Stronghold A Story of Historic Northern Neck of Virginia and Its People by Haynie, Miriam

When the Griffon sailed, Father Melithon Watteaux was left behind in the little palisaded house at Niagara as chaplain.

From Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier by Severance, Frank H.

MacFarlane told him that the country was so wild that Fort Eskimo was palisaded, flanked with bastions, and loop-holed for rifle-fire, owing to the desperate character of the surrounding and hostile tribes.

From True Tales of Arctic Heroism in the New World by Greely, Adolphus W.

Herr Stavenüter escorted his guests into the palisaded enclosure in which six or seven families of pheasants led a comfortable, petted life.

From Royal Highness by Mann, Thomas

But there was nothing, to our knowledge, which was unusual about that palisading, except, perhaps, its triangular shape.

From Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century by Forman, Henry Chandlee

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

From American Indians by Starr, Frederick

"I see you are admiring that semicircle of splendid heads that crown the palisading of the Sheldonian," said Bingham, as they came up close to the historic building.

From The New Warden by Ritchie, Mrs. David G.

The strictest guard was kept at the openings in the palisading, but soldiers off duty were free to amuse themselves.

From The Curse of Koshiu A Chronicle of Old Japan by Wingfield, Lewis

The dying watch-fires were speedily fanned into flame; hundreds of fire-brands flew into the dry planks of the palisading.

From A Struggle for Rome, Vol. 2 (of 3) by Dahn, Felix