Hypertext Webster Gateway: "bastion"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Bastion \Bas"tion\, n. [F. bastion (cf. It. bastione), fr. LL.
bastire to build (cf. F. b?tir, It. bastire), perh. from the
idea of support for a weight, and akin to Gr. ? to lift,
carry, and to E. baston, baton.] (Fort.)
A work projecting outward from the main inclosure of a
fortification, consisting of two faces and two flanks, and so
constructed that it is able to defend by a flanking fire the
adjacent curtain, or wall which extends from one bastion to
another. Two adjacent bastions are connected by the curtain,
which joins the flank of one with the adjacent flank of the
other. The distance between the flanks of a bastion is called
the gorge. A lunette is a detached bastion. See {Ravelin}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
bastion
n 1: a group that defends a principle; "a bastion against
corruption"; "the last bastion of communism"
2: a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a
battle [syn: {citadel}]
3: projecting part of a rampart or other fortification
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