different between rampart vs obstacle

English

Etymology

From Old French rempart (“a rampart of a fort”), from remparer (“to defend, fortify, inclose with a rampart”), from re- (“again”) + emparer (“to defend, fortify, surround, seize, take possesion of”), from en- + parer (“to defend”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??æm.p??(?)t/

Noun

rampart (plural ramparts)

1. A defensive mound of earth or a wall with a broad top and usually a stone parapet; a wall-like ridge of earth, stones or debris; an embankment for defensive purpose.
2. A defensive structure; a protective barrier; a bulwark.
3. That which defends against intrusion from outside; a protection.
4. (usually in the plural) A steep bank of a river or gorge.

Translations

Verb

rampart (third-person singular simple present ramparts, present participle ramparting, simple past and past participle ramparted)

1. To defend with a rampart; fortify or surround with a rampart.
   • 1793, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Ode on the Departing Year

     Those grassy hills, those glittering dells, / Proudly ramparted with rocks.

Derived terms

• ramparted

Related terms

• fraise

Translations

Further reading

• rampart in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• rampart in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• rampart at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obst?culum.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bst?kl?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bst?kl?/
• Hyphenation: ob?sta?cle

Noun

obstacle (plural obstacles)

1. Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress

   A big obstacle to understanding the manual was that it had been poorly translated from the Japanese.

Synonyms

• impediment
• hindrance
• hurdle
• barrier
• complication
• snag
• See also Thesaurus:hindrance

Translations

Anagrams

• Casebolt, costable

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin obst?culum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /ops?ta.kl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ups?ta.kl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ops?ta.kle/

Noun

obstacle m (plural obstacles)

1. obstacle

Derived terms

• obstaculitzar

Further reading

• “obstacle” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obstaculum, from obst?

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p.stakl/

Noun

obstacle m (plural obstacles)

1. obstacle

Derived terms

• course d'obstacles
• faire obstacle
• saut d'obstacles

Further reading

• “obstacle” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).