Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CIR-CUM-VAL-LA'TION, n. [L. circumvallo, to wall round; circum and vallo, to fortify with a rampart.]

1. In the art of war, a surrounding with a wall or rampart; also, a wall, rampart, or parapet with a trench, surrounding the camp of a besieging army, to prevent desertion, and guard the army against any attempt of an enemy to relieve the place beseiged. – Encyc.
2. The rampart, or fortification surrounding a besieged place. Note. – This word, from the Latin vallo, or vallum, vallus, denotes properly the wall or rampart thrown up; but as the rampart is formed by entrenching, and the trench makes a part of the fortification, the word is applied to both. [See Eng. Wall.]