See also: fosse, Fosse, fòsse, and fôsse

English

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Etymology

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From French fossé.

Noun

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fossé (plural fossés)

  1. (obsolete, chiefly Scotland) A fosse or ditch. [17th–19th c.]
    • 1792, James Boswell, in Danziger & Brady (eds.), Boswell: The Great Biographer (Journals 1789–1795), Yale 1989, p. 165:
      The Major then went with me and Euphemia (Victoria staying at the inn) and showed us what is called the Ditch, being the fossé and ruinous banks of the old castle [] .
    • 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 146:
      I saw him tied up between two boards, by way of the coffin, which was to be provided by contract; and deposited in the fossé that surrounded our prison [] .

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French fossé, from Old French fossé, from Late Latin fossātum, from Latin fossō.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /fɔ.se/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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fossé m (plural fossés)

  1. ditch; trench; moat

Further reading

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Gallo

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Etymology

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From Old French fossé, from Late Latin fossātum, from Latin fossō.

Noun

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fossé ? (plural fossés)

  1. slope, embankment

Middle French

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Etymology

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From Old French fossé, from Late Latin fossātum, from Latin fossō.

Noun

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fossé m (plural fossez)

  1. trench; ditch

Descendants

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  • French: fossé