bivouac

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Bivouac (from Fr.: bivouac or bivac). Often shortened in British army slang to ‘bivvy’, the word has only been used in English since about 1700 and was not in common use before the Napoleonic wars. The French use of the word probably dates from the Thirty Years War. Its origins can be traced into dialectal (Swiss) German and the word beiwacht, a term used in Aargan and Zurich to refer to a patrol of citizens (Schaarwache) which were added (beigegeben) to the ordinary town watch at night at any time of special need or danger. The marriage of the two words beigegeben and Schaarwache produced beiwacht. It denoted special circumstances—a night watch by a whole army kept under arms, at times when the enemy is close and contact is anticipated—what we would now call ‘on alert’. Hence it came to mean a temporary encampment of troops in the field without tents and using only locally available shelter.

The experiences of the British on the eve of Waterloo provide a vivid and grim illustration of what bivouacking entailed in the early 19th century. The 71st Regiment marched for 36 hours to reach Waterloo in time for the battle, and spent the long, cold, rainy night of 17-18 June sitting on their packs. The regiments that had fought at Quatre Bras arrived earlier and managed to set up bivouacs, such as they were, before nightfall. Sleep proved elusive. Capt Cotter of the 69th Regiment ‘preferred standing and walking to and fro during the hours of darkness to lying up on mud through which we sank more than ankle deep’. Another officer kept reasonably warm after he ‘smeared an old blanket with thick clayey mud’ and lay down under it on some straw. The Highlanders of the 92nd had long experience of campaigning and slept well in fours under their ‘united blankets’. The cavalry had a particularly difficult time. The horses of the Scots Greys were frightened by the thunder and kept stepping on their masters, who lay at their heads. In the morning, most of the troops were petrified with cold, exhausted, and mentally numb. Some allied troops drifted away even before the battle, but the downpour contributed to the success of the British and Hanoverian troops who stood. Napoleon, whose army was somewhat better equipped, waited all morning for the ground to dry out, narrowing the time available for battle before the Prussians came up to seal his doom.

Nowadays bivouacs feature light, one- or two-man tents or specially designed ‘bivvy bags’, which combine the functions of a sleeping bag and a bivouac tent.

— Chris Mann

[ܒbivōōܖæk; ܒbivwæk]

ˈbivōōܖæk; ˈbivwæk n. a temporary camp without tents or cover, used especially by soldiers.

v. bivouacked, bivouacking

stay in such a camp.

Etymology: early 18th cent. (denoting a night watch by the whole army): from French, probably from Swiss German Bîwacht ‘additional guard at night, ’ apparently denoting a citizens' patrol supporting the ordinary town watch.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: A short-term camp for soldiers with little shelter.

They set up their bivouac near the blockade.

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For a list of words related to bivouac, see:

• War Machinery and War Zones - bivouac: temporary encampment, often with little or no shelter

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See words rhyming with "bivouac."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Bivouac.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - bivuak
v. intr. - bivuakere

Nederlands (Dutch)
bivakkeren, bivak

Français (French)
n. - bivouac
v. intr. - bivouaquer

Deutsch (German)
n. - Biwak, Nachtlager
v. - biwakieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - καταυλίζομαι προσωρινά, κατασκηνώνω
n. - υπαίθριος καταυλισμός ή στρατόπεδο

Italiano (Italian)
bivaccare, bivacco

Português (Portuguese)
v. - bivacar, acampar
n. - bivaque (m), acampamento (m) sem barracas

Русский (Russian)
располагаться биваком, бивак

Español (Spanish)
n. - vivaque, vivac
v. intr. - vivaquear, acampar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - bivackera, gå i bivack
n. - bivack

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
露营, 露宿, 露宿地

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 露營, 露宿, 露宿地
v. intr. - 露宿

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 야영
v. intr. - 야영하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 露営, ビバーク
v. - 露営する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) عسكر في العراء (الاسم) معسكر مؤقت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מחנה ארעי, מחסה מאולתר‬
v. intr. - ‮חנה במחנה ארעי‬

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