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abatis

 [ab-uh-tee, -tis, uh-bat-ee, uh-bat-is]   Origin

ab·a·tis

   [ab-uh-tee, -tis, uh-bat-ee, uh-bat-is]
noun, plural ab·a·tis  [ab-uh-teez, uh-bat-eez] , ab·a·tis·es  [ab-uh-tis-iz, uh-bat-uh-siz] .
1.
an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.
2.
a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.
Origin:
1760–70; < French; Old French abateis < Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre (see abate)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
abatis or abattis (ˈæbətɪs, ˈæbətiː, ˈæbətɪs, ˈæbətiː)
 
—n
1.  a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards
2.  a barbed-wire entanglement before a position
 
[C18: from French, from abattre to fell]
 
abattis or abattis
 
—n
 
[C18: from French, from abattre to fell]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

abatis
"defense made of felled trees," 1766, from Fr., lit. "things thrown down," from O.Fr. abateis, from abattre "to beat down, throw down" (see abate).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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