bivouac

• bivouack
• biouac, bivoac, bihovac (obsolete)
• bivy, bivvy (shortening)

Unadapted borrowing from French bivouac (earlier biouac, bivac), from Alemannic German Biiwacht (“reinforcements of guard or town watch”), from bii- + Wacht (“watch, guard”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪv.u.æk/, /ˈbɪv.wæk/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -æk

bivouac (plural bivouacs)

1. An encampment for the night, usually without tents or covering.
2. Any temporary encampment.
3. A temporary shelter constructed generally for a few nights.
   • September 23, 2005, Boston Globe:

     The outing begins by Thursday noon, when the recreational vehicles start rumbling into town and their owners set up bivouacs.

4. (dated) The watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack.
5. (zoology) A structure formed by migratory ants out of their own bodies to protect the queen and larvae.

• bivouac sack

bivouac (third-person singular simple present bivouacs or bivouacks, present participle bivouacing or bivouacking, simple past and past participle bivouacked)

1. To set up camp.

   We'll bivouac here tonight.

   • 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia:

     They reached the fir wood which had caused them so much trouble while it was still daylight, and bivouacked in a hollow just above it. It was tedious gathering the fire wood; […]

2. To watch at night or be on guard, as a whole army.
3. To encamp for the night without tents or covering.

• bivac, bivoie, biouac

From earlier bivoie, biouac, bivac, from Alemannic German Biiwacht (“a patrol of citizens added - in time of alarm or commotion - to the regular town watch”), from bii- (“by-”) + Wacht (“watch, guard”).

• IPA^(key): /bi.vwak/

bivouac m (plural bivouacs)

1. bivouac (encampment for the night)

• bivouaquer

• → Bulgarian: бивак (bivak)
• → Czech: bivak
• → Danish: bivuak
• → Dutch: bivak
• → English: bivouac, bivouack; biouac, bivoac, bihovac; bivy, bivvy
• → German: Biwak
• → Galician: bivaque
• → Hungarian: bivak
• → Italian: bivacco
• → Japanese: ビバーク (bibāku)
• → Macedonian: бивак (bivak)
• → Polish: biwak
• → Portuguese: bivaque
• → Russian: бивак (bivak), бивуак (bivuak)
• → Slovak: bivak
• → Slovene: bivak
• → Spanish: vivac, vivaque
• → Swedish: bivack

• “bivouac”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.