glacis

[ gley-sis, glas-is ]

noun

, plural gla·cis [gley, -seez, -siz, glas, -eez, -iz], gla·cis·es.

1. a gentle slope.
2. Fortification. a bank of earth in front of the counterscarp or covered way of a fort, having an easy slope toward the field or open country.

glacis

/ ˈɡlæsɪs; ˈɡlæsɪ; ˈɡleɪ- /

noun

1. a slight incline; slope
2. an open slope in front of a fortified place
3. short for glacis plate

Word History and Origins

Origin of glacis¹

1665–75; < Middle French; akin to Old French glacier to slide; compare Latin glaciāre to make into ice; glacé

Word History and Origins

Origin of glacis¹

C17: from French, from Old French glacier to freeze, slip, from Latin glaciāre, from glaciēs ice

Example Sentences

The cannons are aimed, for the moment, at cattle upon the glacis, and children batting at the sky with sticks.

From Literature

Instead, the succeeding Jewish kingdom under Hasmonean rule cut into the glacis during construction in later years.

From National Geographic

But the rubble turned out to be carefully placed rocks that formed a glacis, or a defensive slope protruding from a massive wall.

From National Geographic

Mr. Safire wrote that the ambassador “used a word I never heard before to describe the country that lies between the Soviet Union and the gateway to the Persian Gulf: ‘Afghanistan might one day be intended by the Soviets to be a glacis.’

From New York Times

On another part of a wall, Cox was part of an excavation that uncovered a glacis, a defensive structure in early fortresses.

From Washington Times