tenaille

/ (tɛˈneɪl) /

noun

fortifications a low outwork in the main ditch between two bastions

Words nearby tenaille

tenacious, tenacity, tenaculum, tenaculum forceps, tenafly, tenaille, tenaim, tenalgia, tenancy, tenancy in common, tenant

Word Origin for tenaille

C16: from French, literally: tongs, from Late Latin tenācula, pl of tenaculum

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

Examples from the Web for tenaille

For a dry and level site he recommended a bastioned trace; but for wet ditches and for irregular ground, tenaille traces.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various
Two were placed in the tenaille of the castle, and two were kept in reserve.
Annals of a Fortress|E. Viollet-le-Duc
Tenaille bastion: Used when the flanked angle is too acute; that is, less than 70.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various
The “tenaille” system and the “polygonal” system which grew out of it are mainly identified with the German school.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various

De Groote, who wrote in 1618, produced a sort of tenaille system, and may have been the inspiration of Rimpler.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various