outpost

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-Germanic *ūt- Old English ūt- Middle English ut- English out- English post English outpost From out- + post.

1. A military post stationed at a distance from the main body of troops.

   “The outpost did not have enough ammunition to resist a determined assault.”

2. The body of troops manning such a post.

   “Sgt. Smith fleeced most of the rest of the outpost of their earnings in their weekly game of craps.”

3. A sentinel positioned outside.

   “The net had been fully drawn; every member of the gang had been accounted for and now the outposts stationed in the garden were coming in to take over the work of guarding and escorting the haul of prisoners.”

4. An outlying settlement.

   “Beyond the border proper, there are three small outposts not officially under government protection.”

   “On March 9, 1903, an extension, 50 miles in length, was opened from Letterkenny to the remote outpost of Burtonport, a small township on the shores of the Atlantic in the far north-west corner of Co. Donegal, running through some of the wildest and bleakest parts of the country.”

5. A square protected by a pawn that is in or near the enemy's stronghold.