contravallation
[ kon-truh-vuh-ley-shuhn ]
nounFortification.
a more or less continuous chain of redoubts and breastworks raised by besiegers outside the line of circumvallation of a besieged place to protect the besiegers from attacks from the outside, as by a relieving force.
Origin of contravallation
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for contravallation
contravallation
/ (ˌkɒntrəvəˈleɪʃən) /
noun
fortifications built by besiegers around the place besieged
Origin of contravallation
1C17: from contra- + Latin vallātiō entrenchment; compare French contrevallation
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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