counterscarp (kounterskarp)

[= F. con trescarpe = Pg. It. contra scarpa; as counter- + scarp. In fort., the exterior talus or slope of the ditch, or the talus that supports the earth of the covered way. It often signifies the whole covered way, with its parapet and glacis, as when it is said that the enemy have lodged themselves on the counterscarp. Wee placed a great watch in that way, which was couered with a counterscharfe. Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 122. Counterscarp gallery, a framework covered with a sheeting, within the counterscarp at the salients, the en trance being by a narrow door. Counterscarp wall, the revetment of the counterscarp, generally made of stone or brick, but sometimes of timber.