Fortress

Definition: Fortress

Fortress

Noun

1. A fortified defensive structure.

Date "fortress" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Etymology: Fortress \For"tress\, noun; plural Fortresses. [French forteresse, Old French forteresce, fortelesce, Late Latin foralitia, from Latin fortis strong. See Fort, and compare to Fortalice.]. (references)

Domain	Definition
Dream Interpretation	To dream that you are confined in a fortress, denotes that enemies will succeed in placing you in an undesirable situation. To put others in a fortress, denotes your ability to rule in business or over women. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonym: Fortress

Synonym: fort (n). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Defense	Hold, stronghold, fastness; asylum; (refuge); keep, donjon, dungeon, fortress, citadel, capitol, castle; tower of strength, tower of strength; fort, barracoon, pah, sconce, martello tower, peelhouse, blockhouse, rath; wooden walls.
Prison	Noun: prison, prison house; jail, gaol, cage, coop, den, cell; stronghold, fortress, keep, donjon, dungeon, Bastille, oubliette, bridewell, house of correction, hulks, tollbooth, panopticon, penitentiary, guardroom, lockup, hold; round house, watch house, station house, sponging house; station; house of detention, black hole, pen, fold, pound; inclosure; isolation (exclusion); penal settlement, penal colony; bilboes, stocks, limbo, quod; calaboose, chauki, choky, thana; workhouse.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Fortress

English words defined with "fortress": A forlorn hope, Afforcement, Alcayde, Alhambra ♦ Bastile Bastille ♦ Castle in the air ♦ Demilune, donjon, dungeon ♦ Fortification agate, Fortresses ♦ Granada ♦ Intenable ♦ keep ♦ Presidio, Propugnacle ♦ Storming party, Strategic point ♦ Taborite, Tower of London ♦ Weak. (references)

Specialty definitions using "fortress": Antonia, Armoni ♦ Bedford ♦ Fear Fortress, Field Works ♦ Iron Mask ♦ Joktheel ♦ KILL CARE CLUB ♦ Machaerus ♦ Pi-hahiroth ♦ Silver Weapon. (references)

Etymologies containing "fortress": town. (references)

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Concealed within his fortress, the lord of Mordor sees all. His gaze pierces cloud, shadow, earth, and flesh (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; writing credit: Frances Walsh) Our only home was a fortress in space (Enemy Mine; writing credit: Barry Longyear; Edward Khmara) They locked down their fortress -- with locks (Invader ZIM; writing credit: Carel Donck) I'm with Island fortress cleaner service sir. (Undercover Brother; writing credit: John Ridley;) In a related matter, you'll all be delivering a sack of children's letters directly to Santa at his death fortress on Neptune (Futurama; writing credit: Lance Smith; Carl Colpaert)
Lyrics	And if I've built this fortress around your heart (Fortress Around Yur Heart; performing artist: Sting) In a castle dark or a fortress strong (If You Could Read My Mind; performing artist: Gordon Lightfoot) I was your fortress (The Power Of Good-Bye; performing artist: Madonna) I will be your fortress, tall and strong (For You I Will; performing artist: Monica) A fortress deep and mighty, (I Am a Rock; performing artist: Simon and Garfunkel)
Movie/TV Titles	Fortress of the Dead (1965) White Fortress (1949) The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) Flying Fortress (1942) The Plans of the Fortress (1910)
Song Titles	Fortress Around Your Heart (performing artist: Sting)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
References	Fortress Group, Inc. (The): International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) Fortress Holdings PLC: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) (more reference examples)

Books	Digital Fortress (reference) Fortress Draconis (Book One of the DragonCrown War Cycle) (reference) Fortress of Frost and Fire (The Bard's Tale, Book 2) (reference) The Contemporary Quest for Jesus (Facets (Fortress Press).) (reference) Wealth Protection : Build and Preserve Your Financial Fortress (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	The Hidden Fortress - Criterion Collection (reference) Fortress (reference) The Hidden Fortress (reference) The Memphis Belle - A Story of a Flying Fortress (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	Fortress (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech	Best Power Fortress 1050 1050Va Line-Int 5 Min-Full 6-Outlets with Software (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Members of 17th FAOB at Ehrenbreitstein Fortress L to R - Deily, Bacon, Richey, Harding, Riback, Snyder, Stewart Photo from 17th FAOB Album. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		[A fortress used as a temporary Military Hospital, Vladivostok]. Credit: National Library of Medicine.
	Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", January-June 1862, page 277, depicting the gunboats Octorara and Naugatuck firing on Confederate warships, including CSS Virginia, near Fortress Monroe, Virginia, circa March 1862. Credit: NAVY.		Union soldiers in Andersonville prison / The rebel leader, Jeff Davis, at Fortress Monroe. Credit: Library of Congress.
	With lookouts and gunners on the battle-scarred fortress, showing broad San Juan, Nicaragua, C. A. Credit: Library of Congress.		Pre-Columbian ruins of Sacsahuamán fortress, Cuzco City, Peru. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Fort Ripraps, Fortress Monroe, Va. Credit: Library of Congress.		Upper Saranac Lake, N.Y., midwinter carnival, the ice fortress (after the thaw). Credit: Library of Congress.
	The Casemate, Fortress Monroe, Jeff Davis in Prison. Credit: Library of Congress.		Fleet at Fortress Monroe. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Author	Quotation
Heinrich Heine	In these times we fight for ideas and newspapers are our fortress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Young Zaphod Plays It Safe	Douglas Adams	exclaimed both of Zaphod's heads in chorus. "So safe that you have to build a zarking fortress ship to take the by-products to the nearest black hole and tip them in
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	The peculiarity of prudery is to multiply sentinels, in proportion as the fortress is less threatened
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Economic History	Turkmenistan	Russia sent forces to Turkmenistan, and in 1881 fighting climaxed with the massacre of 7,000 Turkmen at the desert fortress of Geok Depe, near modern Ashgabat; another 8,000 were killed trying to flee across the desert. (references)
	Estonia	However, the Danes conquered Toompea, the hilled fortress at what is now the center of Tallinn, and in 1227 the German crusading order of the Sword Brethren defeated the last Estonian stronghold; the people were Christianized, colonized, and enserfed. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
John Quincy Adams	1825-1829	The school of artillery practice established at Fortress Monroe Hampton, VA is well suited to the same purpose, and may need the aid of further legislative provision to the same end.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Fortress" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 93.96% of the time. "Fortress" is used about 447 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	93.96%	420	13,547
Noun (proper)	5.59%	25	69,787
Lexical Verb (base form)	0.45%	2	245,945
Total	100.00%	447	N/A

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "fortress".
Name	Gender	Language	Meaning
Pisgah	N/A	Biblical	Fortress
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Country	Name	Country	Name
United Kingdom	Fortress Holdings PLC	USA	Fortress Group, Inc. (The)
	(more examples...)

Expression using "fortress": flying fortress. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "fortress": fortress-cities, fortress-den, fortress-farm, fortress-like, fortress-monastery, Fortress-shrine, fortress-walling, fortress-windowed.
	Ending with "fortress": hive-turned-fortress, rock-fortress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "fortress"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		fortesë (bastion, citadel, Fort, gusset, presidio, stronghold), kala (acropolis, aerie, aery, Castle, citadel, Fort, hold, presidio, stronghold, tower). (various references)

Arabic		‏معقل (bastion, castle, citadel, fort, hold, redoubt, strong point, stronghold), ‏قلعة (castle, citadel, fort, stronghold, tower), ‏حصن (arm, bastion, beef up, bulwark, castle, chateau, citadel, entrench, fort, fortification, fortify, hold, immunize, redoubt, stronghold, tower, trench). (various references)

Bulgarian		укрепен град, крепост (bastille, bulwark, fastness, tower). (various references)

Chinese		堡垒 (fort, Fortresses, stronghold). (various references)

Czech		pevnost (fastness, firmness, fixedness, Fort, keep, post, solidity, stability, steadiness, strength, stronghold, strong-hold, validity). (various references)

Danish		fæstning Europa (fortress Europe). (various references)

Dutch		vesting. (various references)

Esperanto		fortreso. (various references)

Faeroese		borg (castle, palace). (various references)

Finnish		linnoitus (citadel, fortification, stronghold), linna (castle, palace, prison). (various references)

French		forteresse. (various references)

German		Festung (Castle, Fort, fortification, garrison, stronghold, tower). (various references)

Greek		φρούριο (citadel, fastness, fort, stronghold). (various references)

Hebrew		משגב (high place, protection, refuge, stronghold), מעוז (force, protection, redoubt, shelter, strength, stronghold), מבצר (bastion, citadel, fortification, stronghold), מצודה (acropolis, citadel, keep, stronghold), מצוד (comb out, hunting), מצור (besiegement, blockade, distress, fortification, siege, straits), תלפיות (citadel), עוז (forcel, glory, heroism, main, might, power, strength, valour, vehemence, vigour), בירנית (citadel), בצרון (drought, stronghold). (various references)

Hungarian		vár (abide, await, Castle, expect, fastness, hang fire, hold, stronghold, time and tide wait for no man, to await, to hang fire, to tend, to wait, to wait for, wait, wait for), erõd (Fort, fortification, presidio, stronghold), erődítmény (barbican, fortification, stronghold), erőd (fastness, fortification, stronghold). (various references)

Indonesian		benteng (breastwork, bulwark, casemate, citadel, fortification, rampart, rook, vallum), baluarti (bastion). (various references)

Italian		fortezza (bastille, citadel, Fort, keep, stronghold). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		砦 , 城砦 , 城廓 (castle, castle walls, enclosure), 城塞 (citadel, stronghold), 城塁 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		じょうさい (citadel, imperial decision, stronghold), じょうかく (castle, castle walls, citadel, enclosure, passenger), じょうるい, とりで. (various references)

Manx		rhaa (fort). (various references)

Norwegian		festning. (various references)

Pig Latin		ortressfay.(various references)

Polish		warownia, twierdza. (various references)

Portuguese		forte (accomplished, acute, bold, bouncing, brawny, cogent, decuman, firm, forceful, forcible, fort, forte, full-blooded, hale, hard, heavy, hefty, high, high-hearted, intense, intensive, keen, loud, lusty, manly, masculine, masterful, mighty, nappy, penetrating, pithy, potent, presidio, racy, red-blooded, salt, sanguineous, seaworthy, sharp, sinewy, snorting, solid, stalwart, stark, stout, strapping, sturdy, substantial, swingeing, telling, tough, two-fisted, unfailing, vehement, venturous, vigorous, wakeless, wholesome), fortaleza (burg, castle, fastness, fort, fortification, keep, strength, stronghold, tower), castelo (castle, chateau), alcaçer. (various references)

Romanian		fortãreaţã (fastness, Fort, stronghold). (various references)

Russian		крепость (alcazar, citadel, concentration, fastness, firmness, hardiness, hardness, heartiness, kick, lustiness, presidio, strength, stronghold). (various references)

Scottish		dùn (a heap, heap, mound, mount). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		tvrđava (castle, citadel, stronghold). (various references)

Spanish		fortaleza (fastness, Fort, fortitude, lieu, stronghold), forta leza. (various references)

Swedish		fästning (fastness, Fort). (various references)

Turkish		kale (bastion, Castle, citadel, Fort, goal, home, home plate, keep, rook, stronghold, tower, uprights), hisar (Castle, citadel, Fort, tower). (various references)

Turkmen		gala. (various references)

Ukrainian		фортеця (alcazar, bastille, citadel, muniment, presidio). (various references)

Vietnamese		pháo đài (bastion, fastness, keep, kept). (various references)

Welsh		caerfa (fort), amddiffynfa. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Sumerian	3100 BCE-2500 BCE	1. unug, bad. (various references)
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	arx, arx, arcis, burgus, castellum, castra, castraque, castris, castrorum, castrum, clausura, fortis, moenia, pugnaculum. (various references)
Old French	900-1400	forteresse. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Language	Date	Source	Jeremiah Chapter 10, Verse 17
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Sunhgagen exwqen thn upostasin sou katoikousa en eklektoiV
Latin	405	Vulgate	Congrega de terra confusionem tuam quae habitas in obsidione
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	Gedere fro the erthe thi confusion, that dwellist in seging;
Jacobean English	1611	King James	Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	Get your goods together and go out of the land, O you who are shut up in the walled town.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Jeremiah Chapter 10, Verse 17
Cebuano	¶ Hipusa ang tanan nimong mga galamiton gawas sa yuta, Oh ikaw nga nagpabilin sa kuta.
Croatian	Skupi prnje svoje sa zemlje, ti koja stanuješ u utvrdi!
Danish	Tag din Bylt op fra Jorden, du, som sidder belejret!
Dutch	Raap uw kramerij weg uit het land, gij inwoneres der vesting!
Finnish	Kokoa tavarasi maasta pois, sinä, joka piiritettynä istut.
French	Emporte du pays ce qui t`appartient, Toi qui es assise dans la détresse!
German	Tue deinen Kram weg aus dem Lande, die du wohnest in der Feste.
Haitian Creole	¶ Nou menm moun lavil Jerizalèm, lènmi sènen nou toupatou. Ranmase pakèt nou!
Hungarian	Gyûjtsd össze a földrõl a te árúidat, a ki erõsített városban lakozol!
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Penduduk Yerusalem, kamu dikepung! Karena itu, berkemas-kemaslah!
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Angkutlah barang-barangmu dari dalam negeri, hai orang yang duduk di dalam kota benteng!
Italian	Raccogli il tuo fardello fuori dal paese, tu che sei cinta d'assedio,
Korean	에 워 싸 인 가 운 데 앉 은 자 여, 네 꾸 러 미 를 이 땅 에 서 수 습 하 라
Maori	¶ Kohikohia au mea i te whenua, e koe e noho na i te pa e whakapaea ana.
Norwegian	Sank ditt gods sammen fra landet, du* som bor i kringsatte byer! # <* d.e. du folk.>
Rumanian	,,Ia din yarq legqtura cu ce este al tqu, tu, care ewti kn strkmtorare!``
Russian	хВЙТБК У ЪЕНМЙ ЙНХЭЕУФЧП ФЧПЕ, ЙНЕАЭБС УЙДЕФШ Ч ПУБДЕ;
Spanish	Recoge del suelo tu equipaje, tú que habitas en un lugar bajo asedio.
Swedish	Samlen edert gods och fören det bort ur landetri I som sitten under belägring.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "fortress": fortressed, fortresses, fortressing, fortresslike. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Fortress" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: fortezza, fortness, fotress. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "fortress" (pronounced fô"rtrus)
4	-t r u s	actress, ambidextrous, buttress, citrus, dextrous, disastrous, estrous, estrus, headmistress, huntress, idolatrous, lustrous, mattress, mistress, monstrous, nitrous, seamstress, temptress, waitress.
3	-r u s	ambassadress, arris, Brontosaurus, chorus, Cirrus, congress, Cypress, Cyprus, cytomegalovirus, desirous, embarrass, ferrous, fibrous, hantavirus, heiress, hubris, hydrous, Iris, ludicrous, Madras, maquiladoras, Morris, nonferrous, ogress, polyandrous, porous, puris, retrovirus, sorus, stegosaurus, terrace, thesaurus, Tyrannosaurus, virus, walrus, wondrous.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "e-f-o-r-r-s-s-t"
	-1 letter: forests, fosters, resorts, rosters, sorters.
	-2 letters: fetors, forest, fortes, foster, frosts, resort, retros, rosets, roster, softer, sorest, sorter, stores, torses, tosser, tsores.
	-3 letters: fetor, fores, forte, forts, fosse, frets, froes, frore, frost, ofter, rests, retro, roses, roset, rotes, serfs, softs, sorer, sores, sorts, store, tores, torse, tress.
	-4 letters: efts, eros, errs, erst, fess, fets.
	Words containing the letters "e-f-o-r-r-s-s-t"
	+1 letter: foresters, fosterers, reforests.
	+2 letters: defrosters, firestorms, forestries, fortressed, fortresses, reformists.
	+3 letters: cotransfers, floristries, forecasters, fortressing, permafrosts, rainforests, reafforests, shorefronts, starflowers, storefronts, transferors.
	+4 letters: craftsperson, draftsperson, foreshortens, forestallers, fortresslike, professorate, professoriat, retransforms, strawflowers, superprofits, transformers.
	+5 letters: agroforesters, craftspersons, draftspersons, horsefeathers, postfractures, professorates, professoriate, professoriats, sternforemost.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
fortress	315	download fortress team	19
flying fortress	197	fortress hong kong	19
team fortress	185	fortress harry potter shadow	18
team fortress classic	157	fortress map team	18
b-17 flying fortress	132	classic fortress script team	17
b17 flying fortress	88	team fortress half life	17
augsburg fortress	64	cheat fortress team	17
detector fortress metal service technology	51	doom fortress lufia	15
team fortress 2	48	fortress technology	14
bots fortress team	40	fortress louisburg	14
fortress team update	32	fortress europe	14
fortress louisbourg	24	patch team fortress	12
team fortress classic update	23	fortress of solitude	12
fortress telecom	23	team fortress 1.5	12
augsberg fortress	21	classic fortress patch team	12
fortress press	21	fortress investment	11
fortress anchor	21	bots classic fortress team	11
classic download fortress team	20	bu.b flying fortress raf	11
a mighty fortress is our god	19	bank fortress	11
fortress maximus	19	fortress scientific	11
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.


"Leopoldskron Castle" by Hans Meiser Commentary: "A beautiful castle near Salzburg/Austria. Through the fog you can see the Hohensalzburg Fortress in the back."	"Ruined tower" by Leonid Doroshenko Commentary: "Ruined tower of the Kremenets fortress. Location: Kremenets, Ternopil region, Ukraine."
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

Fortress

Definition: Fortress

Fortress

Noun

Specialty Definition: Fortress

Specialty Definition: Fortification

See also

Synonym: Fortress

Synonyms within Context: Fortress

Defense

Prison

Crosswords: Fortress

Modern Usage: Fortress

Screenplays

Lyrics

Movie/TV Titles

Song Titles

Commercial Usage: Fortress

References

Books

Theater & Movies

Music

High Tech

Image Slideshow: Fortress

Photos:Fortress

Illustrations:Fortress

Computer Images:Fortress

Photo Album: Fortress

Digital Photo Gallery: Fortress

Familiar Quotations: Fortress

Heinrich Heine

Use in Literature: Fortress

Young Zaphod Plays It Safe

Douglas Adams

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Non-Fiction Usage: Fortress

Speeches: Fortress

John Quincy Adams

Usage Frequency: Fortress

Derived & Related Names: Fortress

Usage in Company Names: Fortress

Fortress Holdings PLC

Fortress Group, Inc. (The)

Expressions: Fortress

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Fortress

Modern Translation: Fortress

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Faeroese

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Manx

Norwegian

Pig Latin

Polish

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Scottish

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Turkmen

Ukrainian

Photos:
Fortress

Illustrations:
Fortress

Computer Images:
Fortress