bulwark

English

WOTD – 19 May 2009

Etymology

From Middle English bulwerk, from Middle Dutch bolwerk, bolwerc and Middle Low German bolwerk, equivalent to bole (“tree trunk”) +‎ work. Cognate with German Bollwerk, Danish bolværk, Dutch bolwerk. Doublet of boulevard (from French boulevard, from Dutch); cognate with Portuguese and Spanish baluarte and Italian baluardo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbʊl.wək/
• (US) enPR: bo͝ol'wərk, bo͝ol'wôrk, IPA^(key): /ˈbʊl.wɝk/, /ˈbʊl.wɔɹk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

bulwark (plural bulwarks)

1. A defensive wall or rampart.
2. A defense or safeguard.
   • 1765, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford: […] Clarendon Press, OCLC 65350522:

     The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence, […] the floating bulwark of the island.

3. A breakwater.
4. (nautical) The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, OCLC 57395299, page 11:

     Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft.

5. (figuratively) Any means of defence or security.

Translations

defensive wall or rampart

• Arabic: حِصْن‎ (ar) m (ḥiṣn)
• Armenian: հողապատնեշ (hy) (hołapatneš), բաստիոն (hy) (bastion)
• Bulgarian: реду́т m (redút), бастио́н m (bastión)
• Catalan: baluard m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: val (cs) m
• Danish: bolværk (da) n
• Dutch: bolwerk (nl) n
• Esperanto: remparo
• Estonian: kaitsevall
• Finnish: paaluvarustus (fi); suojamuuri, suojavalli
• French: rempart (fr) m
• German: Bollwerk (de) n
• Gothic: 𐍄𐌿𐌻𐌲𐌹𐌸𐌰 f (tulgiþa)
• Hungarian: bástya (hu)
• Icelandic: bolvirki n, bolverk n
• Ido: remparo (io)

• Italian: baluardo (it) m
• Japanese: 堡塁 (ja) (hourui)
• Khmer: កំពែង (km) (kɑmpɛɛng)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: سەنگەر‎ (ku) (senger)

• Latin: agger (la) m
• Maori: papatū, pākai
• Old Norse: bolvirki n
• Persian: بارو‎ (fa) (bâru)
• Polish: wał (pl) m, szaniec (pl) m
• Portuguese: baluarte (pt) m
• Russian: вал (ru) m (val), бастио́н (ru) m (bastión), реду́т (ru) m (redút)
• Scottish Gaelic: bàbhan m, mùr m
• Serbo-Croatian: grudobran (sh) m, branik (sh) m, bastion (sh) m, bedem (sh)
• Slovene: branik m
• Spanish: baluarte (es) m
• Swedish: bålverk (sv) n

defense or safeguard

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: պատվար (hy) (patvar), պաշտպանություն (hy) (paštpanutʿyun)
• Bulgarian: опо́ра (bg) f (opóra), защи́та (bg) f (zaštíta)
• Catalan: baluard m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: záštita (cs) f
• Danish: bolværk (da) n
• Dutch: verschansing (nl) f, schans (nl) m or f
• Finnish: suojamuuri
• German: Bollwerk (de) n

• Hungarian: védelem (hu)
• Japanese: 藩屛 (hanpei)
• Khmer: ការការពារ (km) (kaa kaa pie)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: سەنگەر‎ (ku) (senger)

• Macedonian: насип m (nasip)
• Persian: سنگر‎ (fa) (sangar)
• Portuguese: baluarte (pt) m
• Russian: опло́т (ru) m (oplót), защи́та (ru) f (zaščíta), опо́ра (ru) f (opóra)
• Spanish: baluarte (es) m

breakwater — see breakwater

nautical: planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale

• Bulgarian: фалшбо́рд m (falšbórd)
• Catalan: murada (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: hrazení n
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: verschansing (nl) f
• Esperanto: pavezo
• Finnish: lisälaita
• French: bastingage (fr)

• German: Schanzkleid (de) n
• Italian: impavesata (it) f
• Maori: rauawa
• Norman: boulevard m
• Portuguese: amurada (pt) f
• Russian: фальшбо́рт (ru) m (falʹšbórt)
• Serbo-Croatian: razma (sh) f
• Spanish: amurada (es) f

Verb

bulwark (third-person singular simple present bulwarks, present participle bulwarking, simple past and past participle bulwarked)

1. (transitive) To fortify something with a wall or rampart.
2. (transitive) To provide protection of defense for something.