fosse
nounUK /fɒs/ · US /fɑs/
Etymology From Middle English fosse, from Old French fosse, from Latin fossa (“ditch, trench”).
1
A ditch or moat.
- [T]he ground was […] scattered with the masses of ruined buildings, that had formerly been part of the outward fortifications, but of which some were fallen into the fosse, and others overgrown with alder, ash, and arbeal.1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 486:
- Elberich endeavours to persuade her to become a Christian, and espouse Otnit; and to convince her of the incapacity of her gods, he tumbles their images into the fosse.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 212: