What does "circumvallation" mean?

A rampart or other defensive entrenchment that entirely encircles the position being defended.

What is a synonym for "circumvallation"?

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

Pronounced //sɚkəmvæˈleɪʃən//.

//sɚkəmvæˈleɪʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A rampart or other defensive entrenchment that entirely encircles the position being defended.
"[...] and in a word, would intrench and fortify them round with as many circumvallations and breast-works, as my uncle Toby would a citadel."

"[...] and in a word, would intrench and fortify them round with as many circumvallations and breast-works, as my uncle Toby would a citadel."

Borrowed from Latin circumvāllātiō. By surface analysis, circumvallate + -ation.

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