Definition

1. Noun:
   • A sloping or horizontal rampart of pointed stakes: In military fortification, a "fraise" refers to a defensive obstacle made of sharpened wooden stakes, typically arranged on a slope or horizontally to impede attackers.
   • A ruff for the neck worn in the 16th century: In historical fashion, a "fraise" is a large, stiff, pleated collar worn around the neck, popular during the Renaissance period.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Military):
  • The castle's defenses included a deep ditch lined with a fraise to deter infantry.
  • Engineers constructed a fraise around the perimeter of the encampment.
• Noun (Historical Clothing):
  • The portrait shows the nobleman wearing an elaborate lace fraise.
  • Fashion in the late 1500s often featured a starched linen fraise.

Advanced Usage

• The term is highly specialized and is primarily used in historical or technical contexts (military history, historical costume design). It is not common in everyday modern English.

Variants and Related Words

• Fraises (plural noun): The standard plural form.
• Fraised (adjective): Describing something equipped with or resembling a fraise (e.g., a ).

Synonyms

• For the rampart: Palisade, stockade, defensive barrier.
• For the collar: Ruff, millstone collar (a specific, very wide type of ruff).

Notes on Different Meanings

• The two meanings are entirely distinct, belonging to different fields (military engineering and historical fashion). Context is essential to determine which is intended.

Noun

1. sloping or horizontal rampart of pointed stakes
2. a ruff for the neck worn in the 16th century