bivouac
pronunciation
How to pronounce bivouac in British English:
UK [ˈbɪvuæk]
How to pronounce bivouac in American English:
US [ˈbɪvuˌæk, ˈbɪvˌwæk]
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- Noun:
- temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
- a site where people on holiday can pitch a tent
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- Verb:
- live in or as if in a tent
Word Origin
- bivouac
- bivouac: [18] Bivouac appears to be of Swiss- German origin. The early 19th-century writer Stalder noted that the term beiwacht (bei ‘additional’ + wacht ‘guard’ – a relative of English watch and wake) was used in Aargau and Zürich for a sort of band of vigilantes who assisted the regular town guard. Beiwacht was borrowed into French as bivac, and came to English in a later form bivouac.Its original application in English was to an army remaining on the alert during the night, to guard against surprise attack; in so doing, of course, the soldiers did not go to sleep in their tents, and from this the term bivouac spread to ‘improvised, temporary camp’, without the luxury of regular tents.=> wake, watch
- bivouac (n.)
- 1702, from French bivouac (17c.), ultimately from Swiss/Alsatian biwacht "night guard," from bei- "double, additional" + wacht "guard" (see wait (v.)). Original meaning was an army that stayed up on night watch; sense of "outdoor camp" is 1853. Not a common word in English before the Napoleonic Wars. Italian bivacco is from French. As a verb, 1809, "to post troops in the night;" meaning "camp out of doors" is from 1814.
Example
- 1. There is a semi-circular bivouac tent on the grass .
- 2. Yesterday the bivouac , firmly caught with a net a mermaid !
- 3. They established their bivouac beyond rossomme .
- 4. The bivouac must finish choosing a place , not the case has been tragic .
- 5. Demons have been seen by many who have spent the night there , mostly soldiers in bivouac ( camps ) .