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embrasure

 - 5 dictionary results

em⋅bra⋅sure

  [em-brey-zher]
Use embrasure in a Sentence
–noun
1. (in fortification) an opening, as a loophole or crenel, through which missiles may be discharged.
2. Architecture. a splayed enlargement of a door or window toward the inner face of a wall.
3. Dentistry. the space between adjacent teeth.
Origin:
1695–1705; < F, equiv. to embras(er) to enlarge a window or door opening, make an embrasure (appar. the same v. as embraser to set on fire (see embrace 2 ), though sense shift unclear) + -ure -ure

Related forms:
em⋅bra⋅sured, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To embrasure
em·bra·sure   (ěm-brā'zhər)   
n.  

  1. An opening in a thick wall for a door or window, especially one with sides angled so that the opening is larger on the inside of the wall than on the outside.

  2. A flared opening for a gun in a wall or parapet.


[French, from embraser, to widen an opening.]
em·bra'sured adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

embrasure 
1702, from Fr. embrasure, from O.Fr. embraser "to cut at a slant, make a groove or furrow in a door or window," from en- "in" + braser "to cut at a slant."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: em·bra·sure
Pronunciation: im-'brA-zh&r
Function: noun
: the sloped valley between adjacent teeth
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

embrasure em·bra·sure (ěm-brā'zhər)
n.
The sloped valley between two teeth.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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