tenaille

/ (tɛˈneɪl) /

noun

fortifications a low outwork in the main ditch between two bastions

Nearby words

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