bastion

See also: bastión and Bastion

English

WOTD – 21 January 2008

A bastion (1)

Etymology

First attested in 1562. From French bastion, from Old French bastille (“fortress”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbæsti.ən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbæsti.ən/, /ˈbæst͡ʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Homophone: Bastian

Noun

bastion (plural bastions)

1. (architecture) A projecting part of a rampart or other fortification.
   • 1942, Emily Carr, “Beginnings”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:

     […] Fort Camosun had swelled herself from being a little Hudson's Bay Fort, inside a stockade with bastions at the corners, into being the little town of Victoria, and the capital of British Columbia.

2. A well-fortified position; a stronghold or citadel.
3. (figuratively) A person, group, or thing, that strongly defends some principle.

   a bastion of hope

   the bastion of democracy

4. Any large prominence; something that resembles a bastion in size and form.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 24:

     […] yonder cloud
     That rises upward always higher,
     ⁠And onward drags a labouring breast,
     ⁠And topples round the dreary west,
     A looming bastion fringed with fire.

   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 32:

     It spread slowly up from the sea-rim, a welling upwards of pure white light, ghosting the beach with silver and drawing the grey bastions of sandstone out of formless space.

Derived terms

• bastioned
• bastion forest
• bastionlike
• tower bastion

Related terms

• bastille

Translations

projecting part of a rampart

• Armenian: բաստիոն (hy) (bastion)
• Belarusian: бастыён m (bastyjón)
• Bulgarian: бастио́н m (bastión)
• Catalan: bastió m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 棱堡 (léngbǎo), 堡壘 / 堡垒 (zh) (bǎolěi)

• Czech: bastion m
• Danish: bastion c
• Dutch: bastion (nl) n, bolwerk (nl) n
• Estonian: bastion (et)
• Finnish: bastioni (fi)
• French: bastion (fr) m
• Georgian: ბასტიონი (basṭioni)
• German: Bastion (de) f, Bollwerk (de) n, Bastei (de) f
• Greek: προμαχώνας (el) m (promachónas), έπαλξη (el) f (épalxi), προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Hungarian: bástya (hu)
• Irish: urdhún m
• Italian: bastione (it) m
• Japanese: 堡塁 (ja) (ほうるい, hōrui, ほるい, horui)
• Korean: 보루(堡壘) (ko) (boru)
• Latvian: bastions m
• Lithuanian: bastionas m
• Macedonian: бастио́н m (bastión)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bastion (no) m

  Nynorsk: bastion m

• Ottoman Turkish: برج (burc), طابیه (tabya)
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} فروار (fa) (farvâr)
• Polish: bastion (pl) m
• Portuguese: bastião (pt) m
• Romanian: bastion (ro) n
• Russian: бастио́н (ru) m (bastión)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бѐдем m, у̀порӣште n, бастѝо̄н m

  Roman: bèdem (sh) m, ùporīšte (sh) n, bastìōn (sh) m

• Slovak: bastión m
• Slovene: bastijon m
• Spanish: bastión (es) m
• Swedish: bastion (sv) c
• Ukrainian: бастіо́н (uk) m (bastión)

well-fortified position

• Danish: befæstning c
• Finnish: linnake (fi)
• German: Bastion (de) f
• Greek: προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Italian: cittadella (it) f, bastione (it) m, fortezza (it) f
• Latin: vallum
• Polish: bastion (pl) m
• Portuguese: bastião (pt) m
• Romanian: bastion (ro) n
• Spanish: bastión (es) m
• Swedish: befästning (sv) c

person who strongly defends some principle

• Danish: bastion c
• Finnish: puolestapuhuja (fi)
• German: Bastion (de) f
• Greek: προπύργιο (el) n (propýrgio)
• Italian: bastione (it) m, baluardo (it) m, rocca (it) f, difesa (it) f, usbergo (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bastion (no) m

  Nynorsk: bastion m

• Polish: bastion (pl) m
• Portuguese: bastião (pt) m, baluarte (pt) m
• Romanian: bastion (ro) n
• Spanish: bastión (es) m

Verb

bastion (third-person singular simple present bastions, present participle bastioning, simple past and past participle bastioned)

1. (transitive) To furnish with a bastion.

Anagrams

• Bostian, obtains, stiboan

Danish

Etymology

Via French bastion, from Italian bastione.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [baˈsdjoˀn]

Noun

bastion c (singular definite bastionen, plural indefinite bastioner)

1. (military, architecture) bastion
   1. (figurative) bastion (something or someone that resists a certain influence)

Declension

Declension of bastion

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bastion	bastionen	bastioner	bastionerne
genitive	bastions	bastionens	bastioners	bastionernes

References

• “bastion” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French bastion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbɑs.tiˈɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bas‧ti‧on
• Rhymes: -ɔn

Noun

bastion n (plural bastions, diminutive bastionnetje n)

1. bastion; a projecting part of a rampart

   Synonym: bolwerk

Estonian

Etymology

From German Bastion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈb̥ɑsʲtio̯n/, [ˈb̥ɑsʲtʲio̯n]
• Rhymes: -ɑsʲtion
• Hyphenation: bas‧tion

Noun

bastion (genitive bastioni, partitive bastioni or bastionit)

1. bastion (originally a semi-circular, later polygonal defensive building that protrudes from the main rampart of the fortress)

Declension

Declension of bastion (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		bastion	bastionid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	bastioni
genitive			bastionite
partitive		bastionit	bastioneid
illative		bastionisse	bastionitesse bastioneisse
inessive		bastionis	bastionites bastioneis
elative		bastionist	bastionitest bastioneist
allative		bastionile	bastionitele bastioneile
adessive		bastionil	bastionitel bastioneil
ablative		bastionilt	bastionitelt bastioneilt
translative		bastioniks	bastioniteks bastioneiks
terminative		bastionini	bastioniteni
essive		bastionina	bastionitena
abessive		bastionita	bastioniteta
comitative		bastioniga	bastionitega

Declension of bastion (ÕS type 19/seminar, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		bastion	bastionid
accusative	nom.
	gen.	bastioni
genitive			bastionide
partitive		bastioni	bastione bastionisid
illative		bastioni bastionisse	bastionidesse bastionesse
inessive		bastionis	bastionides bastiones
elative		bastionist	bastionidest bastionest
allative		bastionile	bastionidele bastionele
adessive		bastionil	bastionidel bastionel
ablative		bastionilt	bastionidelt bastionelt
translative		bastioniks	bastionideks bastioneks
terminative		bastionini	bastionideni
essive		bastionina	bastionidena
abessive		bastionita	bastionideta
comitative		bastioniga	bastionidega

References

• bastion in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
• “bastion”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French bastion, from Old French bastille (“fortress”) or Italian bastione. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. .

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bas.tjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bastion m (plural bastions)

1. bastion
2. stronghold

Descendants

• → Polish: bastion
• → Russian: бастион (bastion)
  • → Bulgarian: бастион (bastion)
  • → Georgian: ბასტიონი (basṭioni)

Further reading

• “bastion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• snobait

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Italian bastione, via French bastion.

Noun

bastion m (definite singular bastionen, indefinite plural bastioner, definite plural bastionene)

1. a bastion (part of a fortification; also figurative)

References

• “bastion” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Italian bastione, via French bastion.

Noun

bastion m (definite singular bastionen, indefinite plural bastionar, definite plural bastionane)

1. a bastion (part of a fortification; also figurative)

References

• “bastion” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French bastion, from Old French bastille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbas.tjɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -astjɔn
• Syllabification: bas‧tion

Noun

bastion m inan (diminutive bastionik)

1. (military) bastion, stronghold (place built to withstand attack)
2. (figuratively) bastion, stronghold (place of domination by, or refuge or survival of, a particular group or idea)

   Synonym: szaniec

3. (figuratively) bastion (person, group, or thing, that strongly defends some principle)

Declension

Declension of bastion

	singular	plural
nominative	bastion	bastiony
genitive	bastionu	bastionów
dative	bastionowi	bastionom
accusative	bastion	bastiony
instrumental	bastionem	bastionami
locative	bastionie	bastionach
vocative	bastionie	bastiony

Derived terms

adjective

• bastionowy

Further reading

• bastion in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bastion in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French bastion.

Noun

bastion n (plural bastioane)

1. stronghold

Declension

Declension of bastion

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	bastion	bastionul		bastioane	bastioanele
genitive-dative	bastion	bastionului		bastioane	bastioanelor
vocative	bastionule			bastioanelor

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bastǐoːn/

Noun

bastìōn m (Cyrillic spelling бастѝо̄н)

1. bastion

Declension

    Declension of bastion

	singular	plural
nominative	bastion	bastioni
genitive	bastiona	bastiona
dative	bastionu	bastionima
accusative	bastion	bastione
vocative	bastionu	bastioni
locative	bastionu	bastionima
instrumental	bastionom	bastionima

Further reading

• “bastion”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Swedish

Noun

bastion c

1. bastion; a projecting part of a rampart

Declension

Declension of bastion

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	bastion	bastions
	definite	bastionen	bastionens
plural	indefinite	bastioner	bastioners
	definite	bastionerna	bastionernas