rampart - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ram·part

Audio Help [ram-pahrt, -pert] Pronunciation Key

–noun

Fortification.

a.	a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.

b.	such an elevation together with the parapet.

2.	anything serving as a bulwark or defense.

–verb (used with object)

3.	to furnish with or as if with a rampart.

[Origin: 1575–85; < MF, deriv. of remparer, equiv. to re- re- + emparer to take possession of < Pr amparar ≪ L ante- ante- + parāre to prepare

]

—Synonyms 2. fortification, breastwork, barricade, guard.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
rampart

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ram·part Audio Help (rām'pärt', -pərt) Pronunciation Key
n.

A fortification consisting of an embankment, often with a parapet built on top.
A means of protection or defense; a bulwark. See Synonyms at bulwark.

tr.v. ram·part·ed, ram·part·ing, ram·parts
To defend with a rampart.

[French rempart, from Old French, from remparer, to fortify : re-, re- + emparer, to fortify, take possession of (from Old Provençal amparar, from Vulgar Latin *ante parāre, to prepare : Latin ante-, ante- + Latin parāre, to prepare; see perə-¹ in Indo-European roots).]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rampart

1583, from M.Fr. rempart, from remparer "to fortify," from re- "again" + emparer "fortify, take possession of," from O.Prov. amparer, from V.L. *anteparare "prepare," prop. "to make preparations beforehand," from L. ante- "before" (see ante) + parare "prepare" (see pare).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

rampart
noun
an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes; "they stormed the ramparts of the city"; "they blew the trumpet and the walls came tumbling down"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rampart [ˈrӕmpaːt] noun

(often in plural) a mound or wall for defence
Example: The defenders were drawn up on the ramparts.

Arabic:	مِتْراس
Chinese (Simplified):	防御墙
Chinese (Traditional):	防禦牆
Czech:	hradby
Danish:	forsvarsværk
Dutch:	wal
Estonian:	(kaitse)vall
Finnish:	valli
French:	rempart
German:	der Wall
Greek:	έπαλξη, προμαχώνας
Hungarian:	sánc
Icelandic:	virkisveggur
Indonesian:	kubu pertahanan
Italian:	bastione, baluardo

Japanese:	塁壁
Korean:	성벽
Latvian:	valnis; aizsargsiena
Lithuanian:	(tvirtovės) pylimas, siena
Norwegian:	festningsvoll, vern
Polish:	wał
Portuguese (Brazil):	baluarte
Portuguese (Portugal):	baluarte
Romanian:	meterez(e)
Russian:	крепостной вал
Slovak:	hradby, ochranný val
Slovenian:	obzidje
Spanish:	terraplén; muralla
Swedish:	vall, skyddsvärn
Turkish:	kale duvarı, sur

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Rampart, AK (CDP, FIPS 64820) Location: 65.38363 N, 150.01120 W
Population (1990): 68 (42 housing units)
Area: 604.3 sq km (land), 21.9 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 99767

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Rampart

Bul"wark\, n. [Akin to D. bolwerk, G. bollwerk, Sw. bolwerk, Dan. bolv["a]rk, bulv["a]rk, rampart; akin to G. bohle plank, and werk work, defense. See Bole stem, and Work, n., and cf. Boulevard.]

1. (Fort.) A rampart; a fortification; a bastion or outwork.

2. That which secures against an enemy, or defends from attack; any means of defense or protection.

The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defense, . . . the floating bulwark of our island. --Blackstone.

3. pl. (Naut.) The sides of a ship above the upper deck.

Syn: See Rampart.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Rampart

Ram"part\, n. [F. rempart, OF. rempar, fr. remparer to fortify, se remparer to fence or intrench one's self; re- re- pref. + pref. en- (L. in) + parer to defend, parry, prepare, L. parare to prepape. See Pare.]

1. That which fortifies and defends from assault; that which secures safety; a defense or bulwark.

2. (Fort.) A broad embankment of earth round a place, upon which the parapet is raised. It forms the substratum of every permanent fortification. --Mahan.

Syn: Bulwark; fence; security; guard.

Usage: Rampart, Bulwark. These words were formerly interchanged; but in modern usage a distinction has sprung up between them. The rampart of a fortified place is the enceinte or main embankment or wall which surrounds it. The term bulwark is now applied to peculiarly strong outworks which project for the defense of the rampart, or main work. A single bastion is a bulwark. In using these words figuratively, rampart is properly applied to that which protects by walling out; bulwark to that which stands in the forefront of danger, to meet and repel it. Hence, we speak of a distinguished individual as the bulwark, not the rampart, of the state. This distinction, however, is often disregarded.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

RAMPART

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