Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A cylindrical bundle of sticks bound together for use in construction, as of fortresses, earthworks, sea walls, or dams.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A fagot; specifically (military), a bundle of rods or small sticks of wood bound at both ends and in the middle, used in fortification, raising batteries, filling ditches, strengthening ramparts, and making parapets. Sometimes fascines dipped in melted pitch or tar are used to set fire to an enemy's lodgments or other works. In civil engineering fascines are used in the construction of sea- and river-walls to prevent the washing away of the shores, or to collect silt, mud, etc., to elevate the bottom, and so form an island, as in Holland.
- n. A bundle of fagots used in oyster-culture for the spat to attach to; a stool.
- To protect with fascines.
Wiktionary
- n. fortification A cylindrical bundle of small sticks of wood, bound together, used in raising batteries, filling ditches, strengthening ramparts, and making parapets; also in revetments for river banks, and in mats for dams, jetties, etc.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Fort. & Engin.) A cylindrical bundle of small sticks of wood, bound together, used in raising batteries, filling ditches, strengthening ramparts, and making parapets; also in revetments for river banks, and in mats for dams, jetties, etc.
Etymologies
- From the French fascine, from the Latin fascīna ("bundle of sticks"). (Wiktionary)
- French, from Latin fascīna, from fascis, bundle. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Across the sand dunes an amphibious assault vehicle spilled a huge bundle of plastic piping called a fascine into a trench to form a temporary bridge, Within seconds Marine M-60 tanks roared past the breach and through a cleared "enemy" minefield.”
“This term continues in English as "fascine", a bundle of twigs used in WW1 to cross trenches.”
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with...
“fascine," or bundle of fagots about a yard and a half in diameter, and controlled by a lever and chain from the interior of the tank.”
“The eastern point of Bogue Banks was determined to be the best location for a fort to guard the entrance to Beaufort Inlet, and in 1756 construction of a small fascine fort known as Fort Dobbs began there.”
“St. Joseph; twenty in two fascine batteries, and four men-of-war, mounting sixty-four guns each.”
“Fort St. Joseph, the fascine batteries, and one Spanish man-of-war; the other three being burnt or sunk by the foe, that they might not fall into our hands.”
“Our Land Forces being disembarked, erect a fascine battery-our ship is ordered, with four more, to batter the port of Bocca”
“Our forces being landed and stationed as I have already mentioned, set about erecting a fascine battery to cannonade the principal fort of the enemy; and in something more than three weeks, it was ready to open.”
“It had been years since he had carried a fascine to war, a great wicker cylinder that was filled with soil and provided an instant battlement to protect men and guns from enemy artillery.”
“One day Elizabeth, looking across at a fascine battery where the enemy's fire was hottest in return, discovered Archdale standing in the most exposed position, watching and giving orders with an imperturbable face.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘fascine’.
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phrontistery - f
from phrontistery.info
fustilarian, fusillation, fustian, futurology, fusiform, futurition, fusee, fuscous, fusain, furunculoid, futtock, furibund and 418 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Castles and Keeps
Shamelessly ripped off from this site and others (to be named hereinafter). (Fair warning: for my own edification, I may add definitions/comments from the site, but you might want to just go there ...
abutment, adulterine, allure, angle-spur, apse, arbalest, arbalestier, arbalist, arcade, arch, armoury, arrow slit and 410 more...
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suzyg's Words
brandish, recompence, shopping, dichotomy, paradigm, reverse osmosis, anyway, despite, drunk, degenerate, insipid, grateful and 438 more...
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Historical Military Terms of Interest
Many (if not all) of these terms were selected from A pocket dictionary, for military officers, containing a definition of all the tactical terms now in use, with other matter belonging to the art ...
zig-zags, yeoman, xerxes, xeiff, xenophon, worm, watch-word, windage, wheeling, wad-hock, wadding, volley and 242 more...
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Military
skunk works, armiger, coistrel, chasseur, bogatyr, vexillum, vivandière, cantiniere, sutler, fantassin, habergeon, cascabel and 65 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for fascine.
yarb In the silence of the night, they swam the Tigris, surprised an unguarded post of the enemy, and displayed at the dawn of day the signal of their resolution and fortune. The success of this trial disposed the emperor to listen to the promises of his architects, who propose to construct a floating bridge of the inflated skins of sheep, oxen, and goats, covered with a floor of earth and fascines.
- Gibbon, Decline and Fall, XXIV. v. Jun 19, 2009
chained_bear Isn't that a fascinelle? Oh wait. That might be a pasta shape... Oct 10, 2008
bilby A pocket-sized follower of Mussolini. Oct 10, 2008
chained_bear Usage/description on fascines. Oct 9, 2008