Definition of "batardeau" [ba•tar•deau]

• A cofferdam. (noun)
• A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall. (noun)

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• "Now I wished indeed for the batardeau, with which I might have slit the arras and so peered out; as the deep voice spoke again, it struck me that others who had stood where I stood must have had the same thought, and sharp knives to boot."
• "For a moment I considered taking his batardeau to replace the knife I had lost so many chiliads ago, but the thought of wielding a poisoned blade was repugnant."
• "His outstretched hand had lost its grip upon the venom-daubed batardeau lying across its palm."