usually pl. Chevaux de frise. Also 7–9 frize, freize, 9 frieze. [Fr.; lit. ‘horse of Friesland’; because first employed by the Frisians in their struggles for freedom during the latter half of the 17th century to supply their want of cavalry; cf. the Du. name Vriesse ruyters (Frisian horsemen). In 17th c. Horse de Freeze occurs.]
1. A defensive appliance of war, employed chiefly to check cavalry charges, and stop breaches: see description in the quotations.
1688. Lond. Gaz., No. 2375/3. The Count de Serini … posted his men on the other side, and covered them with Chevaux de Frise … fastened together with Chains.
1692. Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), II. 520. Great numbers of chevaux de frize were shipt, an instrument to fix in the ground to keep off a body of horse from attacking the foot.
1704. J. Harris, Lex. Techn., Chevaux de Frise, or Friseland Horse, in Fortification.
1708. Kersey, Chevaux de Frise are large Joists, or pieces of Timber, Ten or Twelve Foot in length, with Six Sides into which are driven a great Number of wooden Pins aboue Six Foot long, crossing one another, and having their Ends armed with Iron-Points.
1710. Lond. Gaz., No. 4675/1. The Danes … had planted themselves … behind their Chevaux de Frize.
1727–38. Chambers, Cycl., Cheval de Frise, a large piece of Timber [etc.].
1810. Wellington, in Gurw., Disp., V. 11. I shall be very glad to see the chevaux de frise.
1869. Parkman, Disc. Gt. West, xiv. (1875), 168. Its declivities were … guarded by chevaux-de-frise.
1885. B. Phillips, in Harper’s Mag., Jan., 219/1. The main trunk seems … to stand upon its lower branches like a cheval-de-frise.
2. transf. a. A line of spikes or nails similarly fixed along the top of a railing, paling or wall. b. fig. Protective lines of spines or hairs in the corolla tube of plants; the eye-lashes, teeth, etc. † c. A name for jagged edges of women’s dresses and caps in the 18th c.
Chevaux-de-frise is sometimes made a collective sing.
1753. Songs Costume (1849), 231. Your neck and your shoulder both naked should be, Was it not for Vandyke, blown with chevaux-de-frize.
1759. Apollo or Muses Choice, xxvi. 21. Each nymp that one sees, Can teach us the use of the Chevaux de Frize.
1802. Forsyth, Culture Fruit-trees, xxiii. (1824), 332. An oak paling … with a cheval-de-frise at top, to prevent the people’s getting over it.
1807–8. W. Irving, Salmag. (1824), 79. When he laughed, there appeared from ear to ear a chevaux-de-frize of teeth.
1813. Examiner, 25 April, 271/2. The top of the wall of the prison, where there is a chevaux de frieze.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., xli. Bounded by a high brick wall, with iron chevaux-de-frise at the top.
1863. Possibil. of Creation, 182. Is it important that the organ of vision should be protected by a cheval-de-frise of bristle?
1879. Lubbock, Sci. Lect., iii. 96. Sometimes … flowers are protected by chevaux de frise of spines and fine hairs pointing downwards.
1883. W. H. Rideing, in Harper’s Mag., July, 172/2. An unsightly fence with chevaux-de-frise of nails.
