Bastion
Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.
a fortified place.
anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc.:
a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.
Contemporary Examples
Once known as the most polluted place on earth, the city of Linfen is being held up as bastion of green progress.
China’s Chernobyl Cleans Up Its Act The Telegraph October 24, 2012
The Supreme Court, which has been a bastion of white men throughout its history, is a favorite target for these critics.
Closing the Case Against Sotomayor Scott Horton May 27, 2009
Kaine could be boosted by his subcommittee, a bastion of support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
How Tim Kaine Can Boost the Peace Process Rachel Cohen July 30, 2013
It was a bastion of dot-com excess that managed to survive into the 21st century.
The Google Religion Josh Dzieza July 14, 2011
The historian John Grigg described the present queen as “a bastion of stability in an age of social and moral flux.”
Why Kate Middleton Matters Andrew Roberts November 22, 2010
Historical Examples
The young men rose from their seats on the bastion, and raised their hats as the girl passed.
The North Pacific Willis Boyd Allen
It was a flat mesa rising sharply as a sort of bastion from the rim-rock.
Oh, You Tex! William Macleod Raine
He leaned against the bastion, and looked over the softly darkening water.
The Crusade of the Excelsior Bret Harte
Your bastion is to be stormed this afternoon previous to the general assault.
White Lies Charles Reade
And even then, for the actual assault to succeed, the deep wet ditch at the foot of the bastion had to be crossed.
The Franco-German War of 1870-71 Count Helmuth, von Moltke
noun
a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
any fortified place
a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc: the last bastion of opposition
n.
1560s, from Middle French bastillon, diminutive of Old French bastille “fortress, tower, fortified, building,” from Old Provençal bastir “build,” perhaps originally “make with bast” (see baste (v.1)).
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