Fascine

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /fəˈsiːn/

Definitions

1. A collective assembly of intertwined branches or twigs employed in strengthening land structures
2. A construction resource consisting of grouped plant materials bound together for stability enhancement
3. A tightly bound bundle of branches or twigs used to reinforce embankments or fortifications

Etymology: The most striking thing about "fascine" is how literally it still describes its object: the Latin "fascis" meant a bundle of sticks, and the Romans used "fascina" for exactly that. The same bundle idea also gave the Romans their "fasces," the bound rods carried before magistrates, which is why the two words are related even though one is a military tool and the other a symbol of authority. The word reached English by way of French, where "fascine" meant a bundle of kindling and also a bundle of branches used to build defences or fill in ditches. The English sense followed that military usage: a bundle of intertwined twigs or branches laid to strengthen earthworks, banks, and trenches. The source shows it still in use in engineering, from riverbank protection on German waterways to modern armoured vehicles that carry bundles to fill ditches.

Synonyms: bundle, faggot, bunch, sheaf, clump