fortress
nounEtymology
Early 14 c., from Old French forteresce, forteresse, forterece (“strong place, fortification”), variant of fortelesse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis (“strong”) (see fort) + -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality or condition. French -ess, from Latin -itia is also in words such as duress, prowess, largesse and richesse. For change of medial -l- to -r- in Old French, compare orne (“elm”) from ulmus; chartre from cartula and chapitre from capitulum. First attested in the 12th century.
- derived from fortis
- derived from fortalitia
- derived from forteresce
Definitions
A fortified place
A fortified place; a large and permanent fortification, sometimes including a town; for example a fort, a castle; a stronghold; a place of defense or security.
- Like the Mesolithic age of 10,000-8000 B.C., the period 6000-4000 B.C. seems to be one of the fall of fortresses and the rise of pastoral nomadism.
A position that, if obtained by the weaker side, will prevent penetration by the opposing…
A position that, if obtained by the weaker side, will prevent penetration by the opposing side, generally achieving a draw.
To furnish with a fortress or with fortresses
To furnish with a fortress or with fortresses; to guard, to fortify.
- Honour and Beautie in the owners armes, / Are weaklie fortreſt from a world of harmes.
The neighborhood
Derived
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at fortress. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at fortress. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
10 hops · closes at fortress
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA