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escarpment - 5 dictionary results

es⋅carp⋅ment

[i-skahrp-muhnt]
–noun
1. Geology. a long, precipitous, clifflike ridge of land, rock, or the like, commonly formed by faulting or fracturing of the earth's crust. Compare scarp 1 (def. 1).
2. ground cut into an escarp around a fortification or defensive position.

Origin:
1795–1805; < F escarpement. See escarp, -ment
es·carp·ment   (ĭ-skärp'mənt)   
n.  
  1. A steep slope or long cliff that results from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.
  2. A steep slope in front of a fortification.

Escarpment

Es*carp"ment\, n. [Cf. F. escarpement.] A steep descent or declivity; steep face or edge of a ridge; ground about a fortified place, cut away nearly vertically to prevent hostile approach. See Scarp.

escarpment 
1802, from Fr. escarpment, from escarper "make into a steep slope," from escarpe "slope," from It. scarpa (see scarp).
escarpment   (ĭ-skärp'mənt)  Pronunciation Key 
A steep slope or long cliff formed by erosion or by vertical movement of the Earth's crust along a fault. Escarpments separate two relatively level areas of land. The term is often used interchangeably with scarp but is more accurately associated with cliffs produced by erosional processes rather than those produced by faulting.
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