fosse
1
9.9
- noun
- /fɔs/
- UK
:
foso
- The soldiers dug a deep fosse around the castle for added protection.
Examples
-
The rikishas race away with us to the other side of town—past great forts and fosses, past the mikado's palaces.
Blog text (22) -
Batty generals in Thucydides, Caesar in Gaul throwing up palisades and trenching fosses.
Fiction book (1996) -
And strike a Fosse!
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However, intervillage routes are rarely straight, and unless a straight road follows an old Roman road such as the Fosse Way, its straightness is usually evidence of a relatively recent origin.
Academic text (1990) -
WHEN I LIVED HERE, IT WAS BOB FOSSE!
-
Approaching Badon (Bath), Arthur would have come along the Fosse Way as it descended down the ramp-like spur of the Banner Down towards the Avon valley.
Blog text (15) -
In this text, Mandeville writes of a marvelous pit: "And beside Acre runs a little river, called the Belyon, and near there, there is the Fosse of Mynon, all round, roughly a hundred cubits broad; and it is all full of gravel."
Academic text (1994) -
It would work for, as you said, a dancer in 'Chicago' (or any number of Fosse-choreographed pieces), or even a figure skater doing something dramatic, but not the Rockettes, who are all smiles, high kicks, and glittery exuberance.
Blog text (4) -
During the excavation, they discovered an ancient fosse that once served as a defensive barrier.
-
The fort's fosse was filled with water to deter invaders from approaching.
Synonyms
44
3.8
A long narrow ditch in the ground used for drainage or protection
19
5.8
A deep, wide ditch around a castle often filled with water to stop attackers
A narrow ditch dug to carry away water or for defense
How Deep
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word fosse comes from the French and Latin word fossa meaning 'ditch', from Latin fodere meaning 'to dig', and it shares the same root as fossil ('dug up'). So a fosse is literally a ditch dug around a fort or castle, often filled with water to keep enemies away.