23 August 2015
enfilade
[en-fuh-leyd, -lahd, en-fuh-leyd, -lahd]
noun
1. Military.
a position of works, troops, etc., making them subject to a sweeping fire from along the length of a line of troops, a trench, a battery, etc.
the fire thus directed.
2. Architecture.
an axial arrangement of doorways connecting a suite of rooms with a vista down the whole length of the suite.
an axial arrangement of mirrors on opposite sides of a room so as to give an effect of an infinitely long vista.
verb (used with object), enfiladed, enfilading.
3. Military. to attack with an enfilade.
Origin of enfilade
1695-1705; < French, equivalent to enfil (er) to thread, string ( en- en-1+ -filer, derivative of fil < Latin fīlum thread) + -ade -ade1
Related forms
unenfiladed, adjective
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for enfilade
Historical Examples
The attack came under artillery and enfilade rifle fire and the enemy lost heavily.
New Zealanders at Gallipoli
Major Fred Waite
If successful, it was to enfilade the Wylie kopjes from that position.
Story of the War in South Africa
Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.N.
enfilade Fire, fire directed down the length of a trench or a line of troops from a point at right angles to their front.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia
Various
Contemporary examples
‘You try that enfilading maneuver’, he said, starting away.
Revival, Stephen King.
Anagram
fine lead
leafed in
deaf line
Today’s quote
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
– John F. Kennedy
On this day
23 August 1305 – Sir William Wallace, leader of Scottish rebellion, executed for high treason in England.
23-24 August 1572 – St Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Part of the French Wars of Religion, the massacre was a undertaken against Huguenot Protestants by Catholics following the assassination of Admiral de Coligny by the Guises (Cardinal of Lorraine and his nephews). Two leading Huguenot princes, Henry of Navarre and his cousin, the Prince of Conde) were spared their lives by converting to Catholicism. French Catholic peasants attacked Protestants during August to October. The exact death toll is unknown and depends on who reports it. Catholics claim it was 2,000. Protestants claim it was 70,000.
23 August 1791 – St Domingue Slave Revolt – commencing 21 August, the slaves of St Domingue (now known as Haiti) revolted against the French colonial government, plunging the country into civil war. This revolt was the catalyst for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
23 August 1946 – birth of Keith Moon, British musician, drummer for ‘The Who’.
23 August – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. The United Nations chose this date as it is the anniversary of the St Domingue Slave Revolt.