What does "banquette" mean?

A narrow area behind a defensive wall's parapet elevated above its terreplein and used by defenders to shoot at attackers.

What is a synonym for "banquette"?

Common synonyms include: abatis, bank, barbican, barricade, barrier, bartizan.

//baŋˈkɛt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A narrow area behind a defensive wall's parapet elevated above its terreplein and used by defenders to shoot at attackers.
2
an upholstered bench wordnet
3
A bench built into a wall, especially (military) one built into a wall of a defensive trench, used for sitting and for shooting at attackers.
4
An upholstered bench, e.g., along a wall of a restaurant or lounge area.
"Stoned, she would traipse in, overtly sexual in last night's dress, and throw herself exhausted across the banquette."
5
A bench or similar seat on top of a diligence or other public vehicle. dated
"My brother-in-law […] took refuge in the banquette."

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6
A sidewalk. Louisiana, Texas
"The boys were dragging along the banquette a small “express wagon,” which they had filled with blocks and sticks."

"Stoned, she would traipse in, overtly sexual in last night's dress, and throw herself exhausted across the banquette."

Borrowed from French banquette, the diminutive form of banc; by surface analysis, bank + -ette.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.