terreplein
/ˈtɛɹəpleɪn/ noun
Forms terrepleins terre-plein terraplene teraplene terrepleine terraplana terraplane terraplain terreplaine terreplain
- noun (obsolete military) The sloping earthen embankment behind a defensive wall.
- noun (military) The level platform atop a wall, typically protected by a parapet and (strictly) distinguished from the slightly higher banquette used by its defenders.
- noun (military) Any level base used by artillery in the field.
- noun (civil engineering) Any earthen embankment with a broad level top, such as those used for a canal elevated above a valley floor.
Synonyms
Etymology
Originally a borrowing of Italian terrapieno (“earth-fill(ed)”), later altered after the model of French terreplein (now terre-plein). Its former misspellings arose from confusion of the second element of the name with Italian piano or French plain, plane (“flat, level”) based on the appearance of the earth-filled central platforms of walls.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The top, platform, or horizontal surface, of a rampart, on which the cannon are placed. See Illust. of Casemate.
Etymology [F., fr. L. terra earth + planus even, level, plain.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “terreplein”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details