Skip to content

bastion

bastion, stronghold

noun bahs-TYOHN Rare
Travel & Places Landmarks

Origin: From Italian 'bastione', from 'bastire' (to build), of Germanic origin.

Usage Note

Bastion entered French from Italian military architecture, referring to a projecting part of a fortification. Figuratively it is widely used to describe an institution, group, or place that is a last stronghold of something: un bastion de la résistance ('a bastion of resistance'). The figurative use now far outweighs the literal in modern French.

Examples

"Cette ville est un bastion de la tradition."

Natural Translation

This city is a bastion of tradition.

Explore French by topic