bulwark

English

WOTD – 19 May 2009

Etymology

From Middle English bulwerk, from Middle Dutch bolwerk, bolwerc and Middle Low German bolwerk, equivalent to bole (“tree trunk”) +‎ work. Cognate with German Bollwerk, Danish bolværk, Swedish bålverk, Dutch bolwerk. Doublet of boulevard (from French boulevard, from Dutch); cognate with Portuguese and Spanish baluarte and Italian baluardo.

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbʊl.wək/
• (US) enPR: bo͝ol'wərk, IPA^(key): /ˈbʊl.wɚk/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

Noun

bulwark (plural bulwarks)

1. A defensive wall or rampart.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

     Let thouſands die, their ſlaughtered Carkaſſes
     Shal ſerue for walles and bulwarkes to the reſt:

2. A defense or safeguard.
   • 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:

     The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence, […] the floating bulwark of the island.

3. A breakwater.
4. (nautical) The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 11:

     Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft.

5. (figurative) Any means of defence or security.

Translations

defensive wall or rampart

• Arabic: حِصْن (ar) m (ḥiṣn)
• Armenian: հողապատնեշ (hy) (hoġapatneš), բաստիոն (hy) (bastion)
• Bulgarian: реду́т m (redút), бастио́н m (bastión)
• Catalan: baluard m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: val (cs) m
• Danish: bolværk (da) n
• Dutch: bolwerk (nl) n
• Esperanto: remparo
• Estonian: kaitsevall
• Finnish: paaluvarustus (fi); suojamuuri, suojavalli
• French: rempart (fr) m
• German: Bollwerk (de) n
• Gothic: 𐍄𐌿𐌻𐌲𐌹𐌸𐌰 f (tulgiþa)
• Hungarian: bástya (hu), védfal (hu), védőfal (hu)
• Icelandic: bolvirki n, bolverk n
• Ido: remparo (io)
• Irish: bábhún m
• Italian: baluardo (it) m
• Japanese: 堡塁 (ja) (hourui)
• Khmer: កំពែង (km) (kɑmpɛɛng)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: سەنگەر (senger)

• Latin: agger (la) m
• Macedonian: бе́дем m (bédem), на́сип m (násip), бастио́н m (bastión)
• Maori: papatū, pākai
• Old Norse: bolvirki n
• Ottoman Turkish: حصار (hisar)
• Persian: بارو (fa) (bâru)
• Polish: wał (pl) m, szaniec (pl) m
• Portuguese: baluarte (pt) m
• Russian: вал (ru) m (val), бастио́н (ru) m (bastión), реду́т (ru) m (redút)
• Scottish Gaelic: bàbhan m, mùr m
• Serbo-Croatian: grudobran (sh) m, branik (sh) m, bastion (sh) m, bedem (sh)
• Slovene: branik m
• Spanish: baluarte (es) m
• Swedish: bålverk (sv) n
• Ukrainian: вал (uk) m (val), бастіон (uk) m (bastion)
• Yiddish: וואַל m (val)

defense or safeguard

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: պատվար (hy) (patvar), պաշտպանություն (hy) (paštpanutʻyun)
• Bulgarian: опо́ра (bg) f (opóra), защи́та (bg) f (zaštíta)
• Catalan: baluard m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: záštita (cs) f
• Danish: bolværk (da) n
• Dutch: verschansing (nl) f, schans (nl) m or f
• Finnish: suojamuuri
• French: bastion (fr) m, rempart (fr) m
• German: Bollwerk (de) n
• Hungarian: védelem (hu)
• Japanese: 藩屛 (hanpei)
• Khmer: ការការពារ (km) (kaa kaa pie)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: سەنگەر (senger)

• Latin: arx (la) f
• Macedonian: за́штита f (záštita), о́дбрана f (ódbrana)
• Persian: سنگر (fa) (sangar)
• Portuguese: baluarte (pt) m
• Russian: опло́т (ru) m (oplót), защи́та (ru) f (zaščíta), опо́ра (ru) f (opóra)
• Spanish: baluarte (es) m
• Ukrainian: опора f (opora), оплот m (oplot), захист (uk) m (zaxyst)

breakwater — see breakwater

nautical: planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale

• Bulgarian: фалшбо́рд m (falšbórd)
• Catalan: murada (ca) f, orla (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: hrazení n
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: verschansing (nl) f
• Esperanto: pavezo
• Finnish: lisälaita, varalaita, varpe
• French: bastingage (fr), pavois (fr) m
• German: Schanzkleid (de) n
• Italian: impavesata (it) f
• Maori: rauawa
• Norman: boulevard m
• Portuguese: amurada (pt) f
• Russian: фальшбо́рт (ru) m (falʹšbórt)
• Serbo-Croatian: razma (sh) f
• Spanish: amurada (es) f
• Ukrainian: фальшборт m (falʹšbort)

Verb

bulwark (third-person singular simple present bulwarks, present participle bulwarking, simple past and past participle bulwarked)

1. (transitive) To fortify something with a wall or rampart.
2. (transitive) To provide protection of defense for something.