fortify

== English == === Etymology === From Late Middle English fortifien, fortfien (“to strengthen (a castle, etc.) from attack; to strengthen (an army, etc.); to strengthen (a person), aid, support; to reinforce, support; to improve; to increase the efficacy of”), from Old French fortifier (modern French fortifier), from Late Latin fortificāre (“to strengthen, fortify”), from Latin fortis (“powerful, strong”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to ascend, rise up; to be elevated or up high”) or *dʰerǵʰ- (“to be firm; robust, strong”)) + -ficō (suffix forming causative or factitive, or other verbs). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfɔːtɪfaɪ/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹtəˌfaɪ/, [-ɾə-] Hyphenation: for‧ti‧fy === Verb === fortify (third-person singular simple present fortifies, present participle fortifying, simple past and past participle fortified) (transitive) To give power, strength, or vigour to (oneself or someone, or to something); to strengthen. To support (one's or someone's opinion, statement, etc.) by producing evidence, etc.; to confirm, to corroborate. To increase the nutritional value of (food) by adding ingredients, especially minerals or vitamins. [from mid 20th c.] (figurative) To impart fortitude or moral strength to (someone or their determination, or something); to encourage. To make (something) defensible against attack by hostile forces. (archaic) To make (something) structurally strong; to strengthen. (military) To increase the defences of (an army, soldiers, etc.), or put (it or them) in a defensive position. To secure and strengthen (a place, its walls, etc.) by installing fortifications or other military works. [from early 15th c.] (obsolete) To provide (a city, a fortress, an army, etc.) with equipment or soldiers. (wine) To add spirits to (wine) to increase the alcohol content. [from late 19th c.] (intransitive) (military) To install fortifications or other military works; also (sometimes figurative), to put up a defensive position. Synonym: embattle (obsolete) To become strong; to strengthen. (ambitransitive, linguistics) To undergo, or cause to undergo, fortition. ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Synonyms ==== See also Thesaurus:strengthen. ==== Hyponyms ==== (to strengthen (a place, etc.) by installing fortifications): castellate, incastellate, incastle ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== fort fortification fortress ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === food fortification on Wikipedia.Wikipedia fortification on Wikipedia.Wikipedia fortified wine on Wikipedia.Wikipedia fortify (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia