casemate

English

Etymology

From French casemate, from Italian casamatta. Further origin unclear, could be a compound casa (“house”) +‎ matta (“mat (of straw), roof made of such material”), or borrowed from Greek χάσματα (chásmata) the plural of χάσμα (chásma, “gap”), presumably referring to the loopholes for shooting from.

Noun

casemate (plural casemates)

1. (military) A bombproof chamber, usually of masonry, in which cannon may be placed, to be fired through embrasures; or one capable of being used as a magazine, or for quartering troops.
2. (architecture) A hollow molding, chiefly in cornices.

Translations

bombproof chamber as part of fortification

• Bulgarian: каземат m (kazemat)
• Catalan: casamata (ca) f
• Dutch: kazemat (nl)
• Finnish: kasematti (fi)
• French: casemate (fr) f
• German: Kasematte (de) f
• Italian: casamatta (it) f
• Polish: kazamata (pl) f
• Russian: казема́т (ru) m (kazemát)
• Spanish: casamata (es) f
• Swedish: kasematt (sv) c

Further reading

• “casemate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• meatcase

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian casamatta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaz.mat/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

casemate f (plural casemates)

1. pillbox, blockhouse

Further reading

• “casemate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.