glacis


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gla·cis

 (glă-sē′, glăs′ē, glā′sĭs)
n. pl. glacis
1.
a. A gentle slope; an incline.
b. A slope extending down from a fortification.
2. A neutral area separating conflicting forces.

[French, from Old French, from glacer, to slide, from glace, ice, from Vulgar Latin *glacia, from Latin glaciēs; see gel- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

glacis

(ˈɡlæsɪs; ˈɡlæsɪ; ˈɡleɪ-)
n, pl -ises or -is (-iːz; -ɪz)
1. a slight incline; slope
2. (Fortifications) an open slope in front of a fortified place
3. (Military) short for glacis plate
[C17: from French, from Old French glacier to freeze, slip, from Latin glaciāre, from glaciēs ice]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gla•cis

(ˈgleɪ sɪs, ˈglæs ɪs)

n., pl. gla•cis (ˈgleɪ siz, -sɪz, ˈglæs iz, -ɪz)
gla•cis•es.
1. a gentle slope.
2. a gradually sloping embankment of earth dug from the ditch of a fortification, leading downward from the counterscarp toward open country.
[1665–75; < Middle French; akin to Old French glacier to slide; compare Latin glacāre to make into ice; see glacé]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
"Stand firm, and be ready, my gallant Sixtieths!" suddenly exclaimed a voice above them; "wait to see the enemy, fire low and sweep the glacis."
Duncan heard the grating of the rusty hinges, and darting to the spot, directed by the sound, he met a long line of dark red warriors, passing swiftly toward the glacis. He knew them for his own battalion of the Royal Americans, and flying to their head, soon swept every trace of his pursuers from before the works.
Glacis Beisl, tucked away in the nearby Museums Quarter, is renowned as one of the city's best bistros and its shaded outdoor courtyard setting provides respite from the mid-afternoon sun.
In areas that Iran might regard as its glacis, US military personnel number under 15,000.
Thus, each group of entries is headed by a likely location and date, such as "probably at Beethoven's apartment on the Glacis; probably late morning or early afternoon, Thursday, December 16" (p.
GLOBALIZATION describes the era that is emerging from the shattered glacis of old Cold War divide.
To fortify myself following the onslaught of alcohol I stopped into Glacis Beisl, a traditional restaurant serving up schnitzel and all things traditionally Austrian.
At least not fought with any determination or enthusiasm or fought with weapons-grade measures that might penetrate the armoured glacis that protects corruption everywhere.
Sur le plan geologique, le groupement a Hammada scoparia occupe dans l'atlas saharien les glacis du Quaternaire ancien et moyen.
El sistema ecologico con mayor numero de especies corresponde a los bosques de glacis preandino del SWA con cinco especies (45.5%), mientras que son siete los que tienen cuatro (36.4%): Bosques chiquitanos de transicion a la Amazonia sobre suelos bien drenados, bosque de palmas del centro-sur de la Amazonia, bosque inundable de la llanura aluvial de rios de aguas blancas del SWA, bosque siempreverde estacional de la penillanura del SWA, bosque inundado por aguas blancas estancadas del SWA, complejo de bosques y vegetacion riparia de aguas blancas del Beni y antropico (Tabla 2).