Rampart

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɹæm.pɑː(ɹ)t/

Definitions

1. A defensive wall or barrier built to fortify and protect a castle, city, or fortification, or figuratively, anything that serves as a strong defense or protection against something unwanted
2. A raised protective barrier constructed around a stronghold to defend against attacks
3. A broad embankment or wall built to shield a location from invasion or harm

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "rampart" is that its core idea is preparation: its ancestor in Vulgar Latin, "anteparō," literally meant "to prepare" in the sense of putting something in front, built from "ante-" (before) and "parō" (to prepare). The word then passed through Old Occitan "amparer," meaning to defend or surround, into Old French "remparer," where the prefix "re-" (again) was added, giving a sense of fortifying something repeatedly or strengthening it anew. Middle French "rempart," meaning the rampart of a fort, carried that military sense into the language, and English borrowed it from there. The word thus describes a barrier that was, in its earliest form, simply a thing set in front of something else to make it ready for defence.

Synonyms: battlement, fortification

Antonyms: weakness, vulnerability