Word of the Day

Friday, June 11, 1999

redoubt

\rih-DOWT\ , noun;

A small and usually temporary defensive fortification.

A defended position or protective barrier.

A secure place of refuge or defense; a stronghold.

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Quotes:

Evicting the intruders from their mountain redoubts with ground forces alone was beginning to look like a protracted and expensive task.

-- "Kashmir's violent spring", The Economist, May 29, 1999

First, Milosevic himself will be absent, apparently fearful of leaving his redoubt in Belgrade.

-- "Lessons of Balkans Applied to Kosovo", New York Times, February 1, 1999

Origin:

Redoubt derives from French redoute, from Italian ridotto, from Latin reductus, "a refuge, a retreat," from reducere, "to lead or draw back," from re-, "back" + ducere, "to lead."