Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Word of the day: cantonment

The word of the day is cantonment:


Etymology:  < French cantonnement , < cantonner : see canton v. and -ment suffix.
 
1. The cantoning or quartering of troops. 
2. The place of lodging assigned to a section of a force when cantoned out; also (often in pl.) the place or places of encampment formed by troops for a more permanent stay in the course of a campaign, or while in winter quarters; ‘in India the permanent military stations are so termed’ (Stocqueler Mil. Encycl.). 
3. transf. Quarters; places of occupation. (OED)


"After the attack on the Mehran base, people working on behalf of Hizb ut-Tahrir distributed leaflets at military bases and in cantonments in Karachi, with the aim of stirring up a revolt."

 - Dexter Filkins, "The Journalist and the Spies: The murder of a reporter who exposed Pakistan's secrets", 19 September 2011 The New Yorker

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