# fortress

Pronunciation: US say "FOR-tris" /ˈfoɹ.tɹɪs/; UK say "FAW-truhs" /ˈfɔː.tɹəs/

## Noun

1. A large, permanent fortified place, such as a fort or castle, sometimes including a town; more broadly, a stronghold or any place of defense or security.
   - Simple: A large, strong place built to keep people safe from attack, like a castle, or any well-protected place.
   - _The old town grew up inside a hilltop fortress that had guarded the river crossing for centuries._
   - _One by one, the border fortresses fell to the invading army._

## Verb

2. To equip a place with one or more fortresses, or to protect and strengthen something against attack.
   - Simple: To build a fortress to protect a place, or to make something safe from attack.
   - _Rather than fortress every border town, the general concentrated his troops in three great strongholds._
   - _A ring of mountains fortresses the valley on three sides._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A position that, if obtained by the weaker side, will prevent penetration by the opposing side, generally achieving a draw.

## Origin

English took this word in the early 14th century from Old French forteresce or forteresse ("strong place, fortification"), a variant of fortelesse. That form came from Medieval Latin fortalitia, built from Latin fortis ("strong") plus -itia, a suffix that turns adjectives into nouns of quality or condition and also appears in words like duress, largesse, and riches. The Old French shift from -l- to -r- matches other changes, such as orne ("elm") from Latin ulmus.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fortress (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).