bastion

See also: bastión and Bastion

English

WOTD – 21 January 2008

Etymology

A bastion (1)

First attested in 1562. From French bastion, from Old French bastille (“fortress”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbæsti.ən/
• IPA^(key): /ˈbæsti.ən/, /ˈbæstʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  ,

  Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Homophone: Bastian

Noun

bastion (plural bastions)

1. A projecting part of a rampart or other fortification.
   • 1942, Emily Carr, The Book of Small, "Beginnings," [1]

     […] Fort Camosun had swelled herself from being a little Hudson's Bay Fort, inside a stockade with bastions at the corners, into being the little town of Victoria, and the capital of British Columbia.

2. A well-fortified position; a stronghold or citadel.
3. (figuratively) A person, group, or thing, that strongly defends some principle.

Related terms

• bastille
• bastioned

Translations

projecting part of a rampart

• Catalan: bastió m
• Danish: bastion c
• Finnish: bastioni (fi)
• German: Bastion (de) f
• Greek: προμαχώνας (el) m (promachónas), έπαλξη (el) f (épalxi), προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Hungarian: bástya (hu)
• Interlingue:
• Irish: urdhún m
• Italian: bastione (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bastion m

  Nynorsk: bastion m

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} فروار (fa) (farvâr)
• Portuguese: bastião (pt) m
• Russian: бастио́н (ru) m (bastión)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бѐдем m, у̀порӣште n

  Roman: bèdem (sh) m, ùporīšte (sh) n

• Spanish: bastión (es) m
• Swedish: bastion (sv) c

well-fortified position

• Danish: befæstning c
• Finnish: linnake (fi)
• German: Bastion (de) f
• Greek: προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: cittadella (it) f, bastione (it) m, fortezza (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: vallum
• Portuguese: bastião (pt) m
• Romanian: bastion (ro) n
• Spanish: bastión (es) m
• Swedish: befästning (sv) c

person who strongly defends some principle

• Danish: bastion c
• Finnish: puolestapuhuja (fi)
• German: Bastion (de) f
• Greek: προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Interlingue:
• Italian: bastione (it) m, baluardo (it) m, rocca (it) f, difesa (it) f, usbergo (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bastion m

  Nynorsk: bastion m

• Romanian: bastion (ro) n
• Spanish: bastión (es) m

Anagrams

• Bostian, obtains, stiboan

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French bastion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbɑs.tiˈɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bas‧ti‧on
• Rhymes: -ɔn

Noun

bastion n (plural bastions, diminutive bastionnetje n)

1. bastion; a projecting part of a rampart

   Synonym: bolwerk

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French

Etymology

From Middle French bastion, from Old French bastille (“fortress”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bas.tjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bastion m (plural bastions)

1. bastion
2. stronghold

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• snobait

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Italian bastione, via French bastion

Noun

bastion m (definite singular bastionen, indefinite plural bastioner, definite plural bastionene)

1. a bastion (part of a fortification; also figurative)

References

• “bastion” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Italian bastione, via French bastion

Noun

bastion m (definite singular bastionen, indefinite plural bastionar, definite plural bastionane)

1. a bastion (part of a fortification; also figurative)

References

• “bastion” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Swedish

Noun

bastion c

1. bastion; a projecting part of a rampart

Declension

Declension of bastion
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	bastion	bastionen	bastioner	bastionerna
Genitive	bastions	bastionens	bastioners	bastionernas