Also 6 forthe. [a. F. fort, absol. use of fort adj.: see next.]
1. Mil. A fortified place; a position fortified for defensive or protective purposes, usually surrounded with a ditch, rampart, and parapet, and garrisoned with troops; a fortress.
1557–75. Diurnal Occurrents (1833), 52. The forthe of Aymouth [was] decernit to be cassin down.
1568. Grafton, Chron., II. 15. He … builded a forte, where as at thys day standeth newe Castell vpon Tyne.
1592. Babington, Comf. Notes Gen. vii. § 12. When … forts, trees, nor any tall towers can saue a man.
1725. De Foe, Voy. round World (1840), 279–80. Orders from the king, to have strong forts erected at the entrance in, and at the coming out of them, as well on the side of Chili, as here; and strong garrisons maintained in them, to prevent foreign nations landing.
1844. H. H. Wilson, Brit. India, III. 178. A detachment from the British force at Bhoj was more successful, drove the insurgents out of the fort, rescued their prisoners, and recovered much of their plunder.
1873. Miss Braddon, L. Davoren, I. i. 7. They are waiting for the return of their guide, an Indian, who has gone to hunt for the lost trail, and to make his way back to a far distant fort in quest of provisions.
b. fig. A strong position, stronghold.
1568. Fulwell, Like Will to Like (1587), D iv.
| Gods promise sure will neuer faile, | |
| His holy woord is a perfect ground, | |
| The forte of vertue oh man assaile, | |
| Where tresure alway dooth abound. |
1592. Daniel, Compl. Rosamond, Wks. (1717), 40.
| There, where as frail and tender Beauty stands, | |
| With all assaulting Powers environed; | |
| Having but Prayers and weak feeble Hands | |
| To hold their Honours Fort unvanquished. |
1605. Bacon, Adv. Learn., I. v. § 11. If there were sought in knowledge a couch, whereupon to rest a searching and restless spirit; or a terrace, for a wandering and variable mind to walk up and down with a fair prospect; or a tower of state, for a proud mind to raise itself upon; or a fort or commanding ground, for strife and contention; or a shop, for profit or sale; and not a rich storehouse, for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man’s estate.
1640. Bp. Hall, Chr. Moder., 29/2. Such [parts of the body] as wherein the main Fort of Life doth not consist.
1708. Brit. Apollo, No. 39. 1/2. Tho’ the Millenaries found their opinion upon several texts of Scripture, yet since they look upon this Passage in the Revelations as their strongest Fort.
c. In British North America and parts of the U.S.: A trading station (originally fortified).
1776. Adam Smith, W. N., V. i. (1869), II. 328. The whole number of people whom they maintain in their different settlements and habitations, which they [the Hudson’s Bay Company] have honoured with the name of forts, is said not to exceed a hundred and twenty persons.
2. The place of security (of a wild animal).
1653. Urquhart, Rabelais, II. xxvi. He perceived under the side of a wood a fair great roe-buck, which was come out of his Fort (as I conceive) at the sight of Panurge’s fire.
1674. N. Cox, Gentl. Recreat., I. (1677), 130. If a Boar intends to abide in his Den, Couch, or Fort, then will he make some crossing or doubling at the entry thereof upon some high-way or beaten path.
† 3. Astrol. Obs.
1686. J. Goad, Astro-meteorologica, I. xii. 48. Unless the Semisextile on each side ante & retro, be reduced to the ☌ and the Quincunx likewise to the Opposition, as their Matrices, their Forts and Principals; the Conjunction as prescinded from this new Semisextile, forsooth, will be found the most insignificant Aspect in the pack.
4. Strong part or point. Now written FORTE, q.v.
5. attrib. and Comb., as fort-breach; fort-crowned adj.; fort-adjutant, ‘an officer in a garrison who is responsible for its internal discipline, and the appropriation of the men to the several corps’; fort-major, in a fort or fortress, the officer next to the governor or commandant. Also FORT-ROYAL.
1876. Voyle, A Military Dictionary (ed. 3), 146/1. *Fort Adjutant—An officer holding an appointment in a fortress analogous to the adjutant of a regiment, his duties being chiefly with detachments of troops which are often located within the fortress.
1649. G. Daniel, Trinarch., Hen. V., cxciii. As they … had found Some *fort-breach.
1894. Daily News, 26 Nov., 4/6. The *fort-crowned heights.
1715. Lond. Gaz., No. 5300/5. *Fort-Major of the said Town.
1844. Regul. & Ord. Army, 3. Officers employed as Town or Fort Majors, if under the rank of Captains, are to take Rank and Precedence as the Junior Captains in the Garrison in which they are serving.
