bastide
9.9
A fortified town in medieval southern France with straight streets and a central square
- noun
- /bæsˈtiːd/
- Specialized
:
bastida
- Nearly a thousand bastide towns were built in France during the fourteenth century.
- bastide town
Examples
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It means the town is a bastide, a new fortified village.
Fiction book (1999) -
Walking through the historic bastide, you can see how the architecture reflects its fortified origins.
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During the medieval period, many bastide towns were constructed to provide safety for their residents.
-
The charming village was designed like a bastide, with its neat grid of streets and sturdy walls.
Synonyms
1
8.9
An old castle or walled town
is specific to medieval southern France with a planned regular street layout
How Fortified
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bastide comes from an old southern French word bastir (like French bâtir) meaning 'to build'. In medieval times these were new towns carefully 'built' with straight streets and walls, so a bastide is a planned, often fortified town.