fortification

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French fortification, from Late Latin fortificatio, fortificationem, from fortifico, from Latin fortis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌfɔː(ɹ)tɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, /ˌfɔː(ɹ)tɪfəˈkeɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

fortification (countable and uncountable, plural fortifications)

1. The act of fortifying; the art or science of fortifying places to strengthen defence against an enemy.

   • Fortifying definition

     present participle and gerund of fortify

   • Strengthen definition

     To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify. (1 of 6 strengthen definitions)

   • Defence definition

     The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury. (1 of 7 defence definitions)
2. That which fortifies; especially, a work or works erected to defend a place against attack; a fortified place; a fortress; a fort; a castle.
   • 1881, John Kirby Hedges, The history of Wallingford‎^[1], volume 1, page 170:

     Kenett states that the military works still known by the name of Tadmarten Camp and Hook-Norton Barrow were cast up at this time ; the former, large and round, is judged to be a fortification of the Danes, and the latter, being smaller and rather a quinquangle than a square, of the Saxons.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     “[…] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic? […] ”

   • 2022 January 12, Dr. Joseph Brennan, “Castles: ruined and redeemed by rail”, in RAIL, number 948, page 54:

     As Edwin Clark [...] wrote in 1850: "[...] The lofty towers of the castle overhang the western approach to the Bridge, and the line passes into Conway through an opening pierced in the embattled wall, which entirely surrounds the town. These fortifications are in good preservation, and rank among the most perfect examples of the strongholds of the 13th century."

   • Work definition

     Employment.

     1. labour, occupation, job. (1 of 19 work definitions)
3. An increase in effectiveness, as by adding ingredients.
   • 1979 July, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, volume 33, number 7, page 47:

     Compare the nutrition information label of a regular ready-to-eat fortified cereal with that of a presweetened brand and you'll note that, although the sweetened one's sugar content is higher, the fortification is virtually identical.

4. A jagged pattern sometimes seen during an attack of migraine.

   • Jagged definition

     Unevenly cut; having the texture of something so cut. (1 of 3 jagged definitions)

   • Pattern definition

     Model, example.

     1. Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline. (1 of 20 pattern definitions)

   • Migraine definition

     A severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual disturbances. (1 of 2 migraine definitions)

Derived terms

• biofortification
• fortification curtain

Related terms

• fortify

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin fortificātiōnem, from fortifico, from Latin fortis.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

fortification f (plural fortifications)

1. fortification (all meanings)

Related terms

• fortifier

Further reading

• “fortification”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.