bulwark

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbʊl.wək/ (UK); /ˈbʊl.wɚk/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bulwerke,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle Dutch bolwerc,^[4][2][3][5] or Middle Low German bolwerk,^[3] literally “plank work”, from Middle Dutch bolle (“plank, tree trunk”) + werc (“work”).^[2][3][5][6] Etymonline traces bole to Proto-Germanic *bul- and the PIE root *bhel- “to blow, swell”.^[5][4] It is a doublet of boulevard.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A substantial defensive work of earth or other material; a rampart or fortification (c1418).^[7][5] Barnhart dates the form bulwerke to about 1416.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The original bulwark was a construction of logs.^[5] The figurative sense, “a powerful defence or safeguard”, sometimes applied to a person, is dated mid-15th century by Etymonline and 1577 by the OED and Barnhart.^[5][7][3] Other concrete senses followed: a breakwater or sea wall (1555) and the raised sides of a ship above the deck (1804).^[7]

Timeline

• c1416 – bulwerke, a rampart or fortification.^[3][7]
• 1450 – verb, to throw up bulwarks.^[7]
• 1555 – a breakwater or sea wall.^[7]
• 1577 – a powerful defence or safeguard.^[7][3]
• 1610 – verb, to defend or protect.^[7]
• 1804 – the sides of a ship above the deck.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A wall or embankment raised for defence; a rampart.
2. Something that serves as a defence, safeguard or strong support.
3. A breakwater or sea wall.
4. (nautical) The side of a ship above the upper deck; usually used in the plural.

Verb

1. To fortify with a wall or rampart.
2. To defend or protect.

Related words

• bole
• work
• rampart

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes bulwark from barricade, breastwork, earthwork, rampart, bastion and parapet.^[4] A barricade is usually built hastily against an imminent threat, a breastwork is a low and often temporary wall, a rampart is the main permanent defensive wall, and a bastion is a projecting section of a fortification.^[4] Bulwark, barricade, rampart and bastion are the ones most often used figuratively for a safeguard.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press