brattice

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   A partition of boards or cloth in a mine shaft or tunnel used to guide the flow of air through it.

   Grammar: Countable: a brattice, several brattices.

   Patterns

   • brattice in something

   Workers hung a canvas brattice to push fresh air to the coal face.

   A damaged brattice can leave pockets of dangerous gas.

   The inspector checked that every brattice in the tunnel was secure.

2. 2nouncountablearchaicspecialist

   A temporary wooden tower or parapet built on a castle wall in medieval times for defence.

   Grammar: Countable and historical: the brattice overlooked the gate.

   Archers took up position on the brattice above the gate.

   The castle's wooden brattice was burned in the siege.

   Historians have found the stone footings of a brattice on the north wall.

Word forms

Common combinations

hang a brattice

They hung a brattice across the tunnel.

canvas brattice

A canvas brattice divides the shaft into two passages.

brattice cloth

Brattice cloth is fire-resistant.

wooden brattice

The wooden brattice was added in wartime.

Synonyms and how they differ

partition

It is the everyday word for any divider, while brattice names a specific mining or castle structure.

baffle

It describes a barrier that directs flow, and is used in many fields besides mining.

hoarding

It is the old word for a wooden gallery on a castle wall and is also quite rare.

Word family

bretasche noun

an older medieval spelling of the castle structure

bratticing noun

the building or materials of brattices

Commonly confused: brattice or brattle?

Practice

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