History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 125

Wagonborough (1548), a defensive enclosure or barricade, formed of baggagewagons placed close together; ad. Du. or G. wagenburg. Sconce (1571), a small fort
or earthwork, a protective screen or shelter; ad. Du. schans, with assimilation of form
to the Eng. nouns, meaning lantern and head respectively; in the 16th century it had in
Du. the senses brushwood, bundles of sticks, screen of brushwood for soldiers,
earthworks made with gabions.
Of later borrowing is the compound Lopesconce (1624), an entrenchment; ad. Du.
lopeschans, from loopen, to run, and schans. Slot (1578), a castle; ad. Du. or LG. slot,
castle.
Bint, Binte (1629), O.E.D. says that the meaning and derivation of this word are
doubtful, but compares Du. bindte, joint, cross-beam; Bense has thrown light on this
word, referring it to a passage quoted in Ndl. Wdb., relating to a siege, in which bint
means a kind of sheltering roof made of sandbags; the passages quoted by O.E.D.
refer to the building of a sconce, and bint is undoubtedly the Du. bint, M.Du. bint,
bindt, a bundle.
Graff (1637), a trench serving as a fortification, a dry or wet ditch, a foss or moat,
rarely, a canal (in Holland); probably ad. Du. graf. Graft (1641), a ditch, moat, also (in
Holland) a street on either side of a canal; ad. Du. graft (M.Du. and Du. gracht, from
graven, to dig).
Slaught-boom (1637), a beam used as a barrier; ad. Du. or LG. slagboom (which
also gave Da. and Sw. slagbom), from slagen, to strike, and boom, tree, beam.
Stacket (1637, from Sc.), a palisade; ad. Du. staket, of F. origin.
Skite gate (1677), an opening or loophole in a wall for a cannon or other piece of
artillery; ad. Du. schietgat, from schieten, to shoot, and gat, hole.
Berm (1729), a narrow space or ledge; esp. in fortifications, a space of ground, from 3
to 8 feet wide, sometimes left between the ditch and the base of the parapet;
according to O.E.D. ad. F. berme, ad. Du. or G. berme; the M.Du. forms were barm,
baerm, barem, Du. berm and barm, but berm and berme are very common in
Flanders, so there is no reason why not directly from Dutch.
2. 7.
A single term of the practice of warfare appears in the ME. period. Reise (c. 1386,
Chaucer), to go on a military expedition, to make inroads, to travel; ad. M.Du., MLG.,
or MHG. reisen, reysen, in the same sense. The sb. is later: Reise (1390, in the nonEng. context of E. Derby's Exped., c. 1440), ad. M.Du., MLG., or MHG. reise, a
military expedition, raid, also in OF. from Germanic as reise.

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