ravelin

[ rav-lin ]

nounFortification.

a V-shaped outwork outside the main ditch and covering the works between two bastions.

Origin of ravelin

1580–90; <Middle French, earlier revelin<Italian rivellino, diminutive of riva bank, rim

Words Nearby ravelin

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

How to use ravelin in a sentence

ravelin, rav′lin, n. a detached work with two embankments raised before the counterscarp.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) | Various
On going a little further, we came opposite to the ravelin, which had been my chief annoyance during my last days' piquet.
Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, in the Peninsula, France, and the Netherlands | J. Kincaid.
This had the further advantage of giving great saliency to the ravelin for cross-fire over the terrain of the attack.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 | Various
The ravelin is here introduced, and made so large that its faces are in prolongation of those of the bastions.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 | Various
The caponier is the vital point of the front, and is protected in important works by a ravelin and keep.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for ravelin

ravelin

/ (ˈrævlɪn) /

noun

fortifications an outwork having two embankments at a salient angle

Origin of ravelin

C16: from Italian ravellino a little bank, from riva bank, from Latin rīpa

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

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