gabion
Meanings
noun
- A cylindrical basket or cage of wicker which was filled with earth or stones and used in fortifications and other engineering work (a precursor to the sandbag).
- A woven wire mesh unit, sometimes rectangular, made from a continuous mesh panel and filled with stones sometimes coated with polyvinyl chloride.
- A porous metal cylinder filled with stones and used in a variety of civil engineering contexts, especially in the construction of retaining walls, the reinforcing of steep slopes, or in the prevention of erosion in river banks.
- A knickknack, objet d'art, curiosity, collectable.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian gabbione, augmentative of gabbia (“cage”), itself from Latin cavea (whence also English cage, jail and cajole — the two latter via Latin caveola), from Latin cavus (whence also English cave).
Related words
Derived words
Translations
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