horse de frise

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• Cheval de frise — at the Confederate Fort Mahone defenses at Siege of Petersburg The cheval de frise (plural: chevaux de frise) was a Medieval defensive obstacle consisting of a portable frame (sometimes just a simple log) covered with many long iron or wooden… …   Wikipedia

• Cheval-de-frise — Che*val de frise , n.; commonly used in the pl. {Chevaux de frise}. [F.; cheval horse + Frise Friesland, where it was first used.] (Mil.) A piece of timber or an iron barrel traversed with iron pointed spikes or spears, five or six feet long,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• Chevaux-de-frise — Cheval de frise Che*val de frise , n.; commonly used in the pl. {Chevaux de frise}. [F.; cheval horse + Frise Friesland, where it was first used.] (Mil.) A piece of timber or an iron barrel traversed with iron pointed spikes or spears, five or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• che|val-de-frise — «shuh VAL duh FREEZ», noun, plural chevaux de frise. 1. a piece of wood with spikes sticking out, formerly used to hinder the advance of enemy cavalry: »Let us sink in our channel some chevaux de frise And then let em come (Philip Freneau). 2. a… …   Useful english dictionary

• cheval-de-frise — che•val de frise [[t]ʃəˈvæl dəˈfriz[/t]] n. pl. che•vaux de frise [[t]ʃəˈvoʊ dəˈfriz[/t]] for Usu., chevaux de frise. a portable defensive obstacle, typically a beam from which rows of sharpened stakes protrude, used in field fortifications or to …   From formal English to slang

• cheval-de-frise — [shə val΄ də frēz′] n. pl. chevaux de frise [shə vō΄də frēz′] [Fr < cheval, a horse + de, of + Frise, FRIESLAND: first used by Frisians, who lacked cavalry, against Spaniards] 1. an obstacle, usually a piece of wood with projecting spikes,… …   English World dictionary

• cheval-de-frise — /sheuh val deuh freez /, n., pl. chevaux de frise /sheuh voh deuh freez /. Usually, chevaux de frise. a portable obstacle, usually a sawhorse, covered with projecting spikes or barbed wire, for military use in closing a passage, breaking in a… …   Universalium

• cheval de frise — 1680s, from French, lit. horse of Frisia, supposedly because it was first employed there as a defense against cavalry. Plural chevaux de frise …   Etymology dictionary

• cheval-de-frise — noun (plural chevaux de frise) Etymology: French, literally, horse from Friesland Date: 1668 1. a defense consisting typically of a timber or an iron barrel covered with projecting spikes and often strung with barbed wire 2. a protecting line (as …   New Collegiate Dictionary

• cheval-de-frise — /ʃəvæl də ˈfriz/ (say shuhval duh freez) noun (plural chevaux de frise /ʃəvoʊ də ˈfriz/ (say shuhvoh duh freez)) Military (usually plural) an obstacle of projecting spikes or barbed wire used to close a gap to the enemy. {French: literally, horse …