bastion

See also: bastión and Bastion

English

WOTD – 21 January 2008

A bastion (1)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbæsti.ən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbæsti.ən/, /ˈbæst͡ʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Homophone: Bastian

Noun

bastion (plural bastions)

1. (architecture) A projecting part of a rampart or other fortification.
   • 1942, Emily Carr, “Beginnings”, in The Book of Small:

     […] 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.

   a bastion of hope

   the bastion of democracy

4. Any large prominence; something that resembles a bastion in size and form.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XV, page 24:

     […] yonder cloud
     That rises upward always higher,
     ⁠And onward drags a labouring breast,
     ⁠And topples round the dreary west,
     A looming bastion fringed with fire.

   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 32:

     It spread slowly up from the sea-rim, a welling upwards of pure white light, ghosting the beach with silver and drawing the grey bastions of sandstone out of formless space.

Derived terms

• bastioned
• bastion forest
• tower bastion

 

Related terms

• bastille

Translations

projecting part of a rampart

• Armenian: բաստիոն (hy) (bastion)
• Belarusian: бастыён m (bastyjón)
• Bulgarian: бастио́н m (bastión)
• Catalan: bastió m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 棱堡 (léngbǎo), 堡壘／堡垒 (zh) (bǎolěi)

• Czech: bastion m
• Danish: bastion c
• Dutch: bastion (nl) n, bolwerk (nl) n
• Estonian: bastion (et)
• Finnish: bastioni (fi)
• French: bastion (fr) m
• Georgian: ბასტიონი (basṭioni)
• German: Bastion (de) f, Bollwerk (de) n, Bastei (de) f
• Greek: προμαχώνας (el) m (promachónas), έπαλξη (el) f (épalxi), προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Hungarian: bástya (hu)
• Irish: urdhún m
• Italian: bastione (it) m
• Japanese: 堡塁 (ja) (ほうるい, hōrui, ほるい, horui)
• Korean: 보루(堡壘) (ko) (boru)
• Latvian: bastions m
• Lithuanian: bastionas m
• Macedonian: бастио́н m (bastión)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bastion m

  Nynorsk: bastion m

• Ottoman Turkish: برج (burc), طابیه (tabya)
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} فروار (fa) (farvâr)
• Polish: bastion (pl) m
• Portuguese: bastião (pt) m
• Romanian: bastion (ro) n
• Russian: бастио́н (ru) m (bastión)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бѐдем m, у̀порӣште n, бастѝо̄н m

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

• Slovak: bastión m
• Slovene: bastijon m
• Spanish: bastión (es) m
• Swedish: bastion (sv) c
• Ukrainian: бастіо́н (uk) m (bastión)

well-fortified position

• Danish: befæstning c
• Finnish: linnake (fi)
• German: Bastion (de) f
• Greek: προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Italian: cittadella (it) f, bastione (it) m, fortezza (it) f
• Latin: vallum
• Polish: bastion (pl) m
• 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)
• Italian: bastione (it) m, baluardo (it) m, rocca (it) f, difesa (it) f, usbergo (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bastion m

  Nynorsk: bastion m

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

Verb

bastion (third-person singular simple present bastions, present participle bastioning, simple past and past participle bastioned)

1. (transitive) To furnish with a bastion.

Anagrams

• Bostian, obtains, stiboan

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

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French bastion, from Old French bastille (“fortress”) or Italian bastione. 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

Descendants

• → Polish: bastion
• → Russian: бастион (bastion)
  • → Bulgarian: бастион (bastion)
  • → Georgian: ბასტიონი (basṭioni)

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• snobait

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.

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.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French bastion, from Old French bastille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbas.tjɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -astjɔn
• Syllabification: bas‧tion

Noun

bastion m inan (diminutive bastionik)

1. (military) bastion, stronghold (place built to withstand attack)
2. (figuratively) bastion, stronghold (place of domination by, or refuge or survival of, a particular group or idea)

   Synonym: szaniec

3. (figuratively) bastion (person, group, or thing, that strongly defends some principle)

Declension

Declension of bastion

	singular	plural
nominative	bastion	bastiony
genitive	bastionu	bastionów
dative	bastionowi	bastionom
accusative	bastion	bastiony
instrumental	bastionem	bastionami
locative	bastionie	bastionach
vocative	bastionie	bastiony

Derived terms

adjective

• bastionowy

 

Further reading

• bastion in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bastion in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French bastion.

Noun

bastion n (plural bastioane)

1. stronghold

Declension

Declension of bastion

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) bastion	bastionul	(niște) bastioane	bastioanele
genitive/dative	(unui) bastion	bastionului	(unor) bastioane	bastioanelor
vocative	bastionule		bastioanelor

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