Fosses

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Trenches or ditches, often defensive in nature; natural or artificial channels used to direct water; broad, flat-bottomed valleys formed by erosion
2. Long narrow excavations in the ground serving as fortifications; grooves or furrows for drainage or irrigation; wide depressions in landscapes carved by flowing water
3. Defensive earthworks consisting of deep, elongated pits; man-made or natural troughs used to manage water flow; extended shallow hollows created through geological processes

Etymology: "Fosses" is the plural of "foss," a word that English took from the North. It comes from Icelandic or Norwegian "foss," both descended from Old Norse "fors," meaning "waterfall." That sense of falling water is the root of the word's meaning, and the connection to the ditch is a natural step: a channel dug or worn into ground by running water looks like a long, narrow trench, and people later dug similar trenches on purpose to defend a place. The word is a doublet of "force," the waterfall sense that came into English through a different route. Both descend from the same Old Norse source, but "force" arrived through Anglo-Norman French, which is why it looks so different on the page. The two words share a root that split into a dialect form and a borrowed form, each keeping a separate career in English.

Synonyms: ditches, trenches, moats, channels, gulfs