fossedadj.
/fɒst/, U.S. /fɑst/ Fortification.
Encircled by a fosse or defensive ditch. Frequently with about.In quot. 1846 figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > moat > [adjective]
moated1580
fossed1682
1682 G. Wheler Journey into Greece i. 60 A square Toure, or Castle, Fossed without but not very deep.
1758 W. Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornwall xxvi. 298 A much larger one, of higher mound, fossed on the outside..is the ampitheater in the parish of Piran-sand.
1846 W. S. Landor Siege Ancona in Wks. II. 584 Burnt-offerings raised In your high places, and fossed round with blood!
1884 W. D. Howells Tuscan Cities 209 Belcaro..afforded a satisfying image of a mediæval castle, walled and fossed about.
1903 P. W. Joyce Social Hist. Anc. Ireland I. iv. 75 Whence is named Dinn Tradui , i.e. the triple fossed fort.
1954 E. Hardy Thomas Hardy vi. 133 An ancient earthwork, dyked and fossed about, near Bere Regis.
1998 M. Stout in W. Nolan & T. P. O'Neill Offaly ii. 40 The large number of double banked and fossed examples [sc. of ringfort] contribute to this group having much larger than average overall diameters.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1682