Word of the Day : June 4, 2017

redoubt \rih-DOUT\ noun

Definition

1 a : a small usually temporary enclosed defensive work

b : a defended position : protective barrier

2 : a secure retreat : stronghold

Examples

From his redoubt on the ninth floor, the fugitive could see the line of police cars that had surrounded the building.

"Near Moore's home were the remains of the old earth walls of Fort Marcy built by Zachary Taylor's soldiers in 1845. These were dirt embankments, or redoubts, but there really was no 'fort' except on paper." — Murphy Givens, The Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 15 Mar. 2017

Did You Know?

Based on its spelling, you might think that redoubt shares its origin with words such as doubt and redoubtable, both of which derive from the Latin verb dubitare, meaning "to be in doubt." But that's not the case. Redoubt actually derives via the French redoute and the Italian ridotto from a different Latin verb—reducere, meaning "to lead back," the same root that gives us reduce. How that b ended up in redoubt is a lingering question, but some etymologists have posited that the word might have been conflated with another redoubt—a now-archaic transitive verb meaning "to regard with awe, dismay, or dread." Unlike its homographic twin, that redoubt does derive from the same root as doubt and redoubtable.

Aired June 4, 2017

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com