bulwark
noun
- a solid wall-like structure raised for defense : rampart
- breakwater, seawall
- a strong support or protection
- (nautical) the side of a ship above the upper deck —usually used in plural
verb
- to furnish with bulwarks
- to provide defense or protection for
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈbʊl.wək/ / /ˈbʊl.wɚk/ / /ˈbʉl.wəɹk/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English bulwerk, from Middle Dutch bolwerk, bolwerc and Middle Low German bolwerk, equivalent to bole (“tree trunk”) + work. Cognate with German Bollwerk, Danish bolværk, Swedish bålverk, Dutch bolwerk. Doublet of boulevard (from French boulevard, from Dutch); cognate with Portuguese and Spanish baluarte and Italian baluardo.
- A defensive wall or rampart.
“Let thouſands die, their ſlaughtered Carkaſſes Shal ſerue for walles and bulwarkes to the reſt:”
- A defense or safeguard.
“The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence, […] the floating bulwark of the island.”
- A breakwater.
- The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard.
“Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft.”
- Any means of defence or security.
“The party stalwarts constitute the bulwark that ensures the president's term of office.”
“Willing to upend the nation’s postwar role as a bulwark against authoritarianism, he promises to usher in a foreign policy rooted in “America First” transactionalism.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English bulwerk, from Middle Dutch bolwerk, bolwerc and Middle Low German bolwerk, equivalent to bole (“tree trunk”) + work. Cognate with German Bollwerk, Danish bolværk, Swedish bålverk, Dutch bolwerk. Doublet of boulevard (from French boulevard, from Dutch); cognate with Portuguese and Spanish baluarte and Italian baluardo.
- To fortify something with a wall or rampart.
- To provide protection of defense for something.