bastione

bastion

noun bah-STYOH-neh Rare

Origin: French bastion, from Italian bastione, from bastire, to build

Also means

bulwark

Usage Note

Bastione originally referred to a projecting fortification in military architecture, but is now widely used figuratively for any stronghold or last line of defence — un bastione della democrazia (a bastion of democracy). The plural is bastioni. It is also used as a proper name for sections of old city walls, as in Bastione Saint Remy in Cagliari.

Examples

"Il bastione dominava la vallata sottostante."

Natural Translation

The bastion dominated the valley below.

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