parados

[ par-uh-dos ]

/ ˈpær əˌdɒs /

noun Fortification.

a bank of earth built behind a trench or military emplacement to protect soldiers from a surprise attack from the rear.

Nearby words

Origin of parados

From French, dating back to 1825–35; see origin at para-², reredos

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for parados

A parapet on the rear side (parados), to shield the defenders from the back-blast of shell which burst beyond the trench.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
One party worked along Jones Street towards the right, some moving in the trench, some along the parados.
The War Service of the 1/4 Royal Berkshire Regiment (T. F.)|Charles Robert Mowbray Fraser Cruttwell
Miraculously untouched, he slid over the parados and lay, sweating with fright, in the watery furrow of a turnip field.
Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 152, January 24, 1917|Various
Later in the day this gallant soldier was killed whilst bombing a counter-attack from the parados of our trench.
The Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion)|Various

I leant back from the banquette across the narrow trench and rested my head on the parados.
The Red Horizon|Patrick MacGill

British Dictionary definitions for parados

parados

/ (ˈpærəˌdɒs) /

noun

a bank behind a trench or other fortification, giving protection from being fired on from the rear

Word Origin for parados

C19: from French, from para- ² + dos back, from Latin dorsum; compare parasol, parapet

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 parados

parados

"rear wall of a trench," 1917, earlier "elevation behind a fortified place" (1853), literally "defense from the back," from French parados, from para- "defense" (see para- (2)) + dos "back" (see dossier).