Definition of terreplein in English:
terreplein
noun ˈtɛːpleɪnˈtɛrəˌpleɪn
historical A level space where a battery of guns is mounted.
Example sentencesExamples
- This peculiar situation enabled the magazine, etc., to be held at the level of the terrepleins, so that no lifts are required and the service of the guns would be very rapid.
- The Medieval walls without flanks and terreplein to resist gunpowder bombardment were easy prey to the besiegers and the fortifications soon succumbed.
- From behind the grass covered ramparts above, mortars and heavy guns on the surrounding terreplein would provide heavy bombardment against the enemy.
- The fortress is a good example of Italian military architecture, with state of the art bastions and terrepleins to resist artillery.
- Guns usually stood on a flat terreplein, shooting over a wide earth parapet which was intended to absorb incoming fire, although they might also fire through splayed embrasures, or be housed in vaulted casemates on a lower storey.
Origin
Late 16th century (denoting a sloping bank behind a rampart): from French terre-plein, from Italian terrapieno 'filled with earth'.
Definition of terreplein in US English:
terreplein
nounˈtɛrəˌpleɪnˈterəˌplān
historical A level space where a battery of guns is mounted.
Example sentencesExamples
- The fortress is a good example of Italian military architecture, with state of the art bastions and terrepleins to resist artillery.
- Guns usually stood on a flat terreplein, shooting over a wide earth parapet which was intended to absorb incoming fire, although they might also fire through splayed embrasures, or be housed in vaulted casemates on a lower storey.
- From behind the grass covered ramparts above, mortars and heavy guns on the surrounding terreplein would provide heavy bombardment against the enemy.
- This peculiar situation enabled the magazine, etc., to be held at the level of the terrepleins, so that no lifts are required and the service of the guns would be very rapid.
- The Medieval walls without flanks and terreplein to resist gunpowder bombardment were easy prey to the besiegers and the fortifications soon succumbed.
Origin
Late 16th century (denoting a sloping bank behind a rampart): from French terre-plein, from Italian terrapieno ‘filled with earth’.