bastion

[ bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn ]
/ ˈbæs tʃən, -ti ən /

noun

Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.
a fortified place.
anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc.: a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.

Origin of bastion

1590–1600; < Middle French < Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí(a) bastion, orig., fortified, built (cognate with Italian bastita, past participle of bastire to build < Germanic; see baste1) + -one augmentative suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM bastion

bas·tion·ar·y [bas-chuh-ner-ee] /ˈbæs tʃəˌnɛr i/, adjective bas·tioned, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for bastion

British Dictionary definitions for bastion

bastion
/ (ˈbæstɪən) /

noun

a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
any fortified place
a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc the last bastion of opposition

Word Origin for bastion

C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastille Bastille