gabion
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈɡeɪ.bɪən/
Noun

gabion (plural gabions)

  1. (historical, military) 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).
    • 1563, Ambroise Paré, The Journey to Havre de Grace.
      quote en
  2. A woven wire mesh unit, sometimes rectangular, made from a continuous mesh panel and filled with stones sometimes coated with polyvinyl chloride.
  3. (civil engineering) 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.
  4. A knickknack, objet d'art, curiosity, collectable.
    Reliquiae Trotcosienses: Or, the Gabions of the Late Jonathan Oldbuck Esq. of Monkbarns — title of unfinished novel by Walter Scott.
    • 1774, James Cant, introduction, The Muses Threnodie p. vi, quoted in 2004, Walter Scott Reliquiae Trotcosiensis, Edinburgh University Press, p.6,
      quote en
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