Etymologically
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fortress

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈfɔː.tɹəs/[1]
  • US: /ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/, /ˈfoɹ.tɹəs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman forteresce and Old French forteresse (“strength, strong place”),[2][3][4][5] recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1155,[3] from fort (“strong”);[2] it is a variant of, or a form parallel to, fortelesce, the source of fortalice.[2][6][7] Etymonline, Barnhart and the American Heritage Dictionary trace it to Medieval Latin fortalitia,[4][7][8] while Hoad, Klein and Dictionary.com reconstruct Vulgar Latin *fortaricia;[9][10][11] either way it goes back to Latin fortis (“strong”), the source of fort.[8][5][12] The ending continues -itia, which formed nouns of quality or condition, and is also found in duress and largesse.[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A military stronghold or fortified place: about 1330, in Robert Mannyng's Chronicle.[2] Barnhart finds it probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder,[7] and Etymonline dates it to the early 14th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Anglo-Norman the word already meant protection or support as well as a stronghold,[3] and English uses it figuratively of a place or source of refuge.[13][14] Johnson (1755) defined it as a stronghold, a fortified place, a castle of defence, and quoted "God is our fortress".[15] In modern use the OED notes that it is chiefly a stronghold that can hold a large force, often a fortified town.[2][12] A verb, to furnish with or protect as with a fortress, is recorded from 1542, chiefly in figurative use.[2] The SOED dates the verb to the late 15th century and labels it archaic.[12]

Timeline

  • probably before 1300 – a fortified place, in Kyng Alisaunder.[7]
  • c. 1330 – a military stronghold.[2]
  • 1542 – verb, to protect with or as with a fortress.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A large fort or strongly fortified place, especially a permanent one that may include a town: The fortress overlooked the river crossing.
  2. A place or thing that gives refuge, protection or support.

Verb

  1. (archaic) To protect with or as if with a fortress; to fortify.

Word family

  • superfortress

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  7. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  11. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  12. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  14. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  15. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.