banquette n : an upholstered bench

see banquet

English

Etymology

French. Diminutive of banca: of German origin

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛt

Noun

1. A (typically uphostered) bench-like seat that runs along a wall.
2. A similar bench in a military trench which soldiers stand on to shoot.

For the town in the United States, see Banquette, Texas

In fortification, a banquette is a little foot path or elevated step along the inside of a rampart or parapet, by which the musketeers get up to view the counterscarp, or to fire on the enemies in the moat. These are generally a foot and a half high, and almost three feet wide.

References

1. http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&entity=HistSciTech000900240230&isize=L

See also

• List of established military terms