Word of the Day for Tuesday April 12, 2005 redoubt \rih-DOWT\, noun: 1. A small and usually temporary defensive fortification. 2. A defended position or protective barrier. 3. A secure place of refuge or defense; a stronghold. Evicting the intruders from their mountain redoubts with ground forces alone was beginning to look like a protracted and expensive task. --"Kashmir's violent spring," [1]The Economist, May 29, 1999 First, Milosevic himself will be absent, apparently fearful of leaving his redoubt in Belgrade. --"Lessons of Balkans Applied to Kosovo," [2]New York Times, February 1, 1999 _________________________________________________________ Redoubt derives from French redoute, from Italian ridotto, from Latin reductus, "a refuge, a retreat," from reducere, "to lead or draw back," from re-, "back" + ducere, "to lead." References 1. http://www.economist.com/ 2. http://www.nytimes.com/ Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=redoubt