laager means A defensive encampment encircled by wagons, especially by South African Boers. It carries an Arena rating of 1516, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, laager ranks #1,111 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #2,350 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,396 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,389 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
laager is pronounced /ˈlɑː.ɡə/.
Why “laager” is a great word
A temporary defensive encampment formed by arranging wagons or vehicles in a circle. It derives from obsolete Afrikaans *lager* (now *laer*), from German *Lager* ('camp, storehouse'), from Middle High German *leger*, from Old High German *legar*, from Proto-Germanic *legrą* ('a lying place, camp'). Doublet of 'lager' and 'lair'. First attested in English c. 1840–50. Unlike a 'fort'—which implies a permanent, stone-built edifice—or a 'bivouac'—a simple, exposed stop for troops—a laager is a mobile, pragmatic fortress of necessity. It is the dry crack of whips, the groaning of wooden axles locked into a rough circle, and the small, defiant ring of firelight holding back a vast, encircling unknown—a brief geometry of order drawn against a formless wilderness.
Etymology
From South African Dutch lager (“camp”) (modern Afrikaans laer), from German Lager, from Middle High German leger, from Old High German legar, from Proto-Germanic *legrą. Doublet of lager and lair.
noun
- A defensive encampment encircled by wagons, especially by South African Boers.e.g.“Wagons […] can be readily formed into a laager, a camp, by being drawn into a circle, with the oxen placed inside and so kept safe from the attacks of wild beasts.” — 1897, James Bryce, Impressions of South Africa:
- A temporary formation of armoured vehicles for resupply.
verb
- To arrange in a circular formation for defence.e.g.“At the foot of this isolated mount, whereof the aspect somehow filled me with alarm, we camped on the night of January 21, taking no precautions against attack by way of laagering the wagons.” — 1917, H. Rider Haggard, Finished:
- To camp in a circular formation.e.g.“That evening, we laagered close to a large open area covered with elephant grass about six feet high.” — 2000, Jeff Dossett, Delayed Detonation, page 44:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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