Ravelin
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An outwork. A fortification outside a castle used to split an attacking force; composed of two faces, forming a salient angle whose gorge resembles a half-moon
"It is about 2,500 yards in circuit, is built of red stone, and, according to Von Orlich, is now " a bastioned quinquangle ; the ancient walls with semicircular bastions face the two streams ; the land side is quite regular, and consists of two bastions, and a half-bastion with three ravelins," and stands higher than any ground in face of it."
Example
More examples"It is about 2,500 yards in circuit, is built of red stone, and, according to Von Orlich, is now " a bastioned quinquangle ; the ancient walls with semicircular bastions face the two streams ; the land side is quite regular, and consists of two bastions, and a half-bastion with three ravelins," and stands higher than any ground in face of it."
Etymology
From French ravelin, from Italian rivellino, of unclear origin: perhaps from Latin re- + vallum.
Related phrases
More for "ravelin"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.