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rampart - 5 dictionary results

ram⋅part

  [ram-pahrt, -pert]
Use rampart in a Sentence
–noun
1. 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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rampart
ram·part   (rām'pärt', -pərt)   
n.  
  1. A fortification consisting of an embankment, often with a parapet built on top.
  2. 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).]
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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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.

Rampart

Ram"part\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ramparted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ramparting.] To surround or protect with, or as with, a rampart or ramparts.

Those grassy hills, those glittering dells, Proudly ramparted with rocks. --Coleridge.

Rampart gun (Fort.), a cannon or large gun for use on a rampart and not as a fieldpiece.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rampart
Spanish: terraplén; muralla,
German: der Wall,
Japanese: 塁壁
More Translations »

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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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