paradoses

paradoses is the plural of parados.

paradoses is the plural of paradosis.

Meaning of parados

parados (plural parados or paradoses)

Generally a screen or embankment to protect the rear of a position from enemy attack, from bomb splinters from behind, from enemy fire from a commanding height, or fire from flanking positions. In common English usage since World War II, the term "parados", particularly in trench warfare, has largely been discarded in favour of "rear parapet", which, etymologically speaking, is a contradiction in terms. In some contexts the term "rear traverse" is preferred, but no usage is exclusive.
- ...an elevation of earth which is effected behind fortified places, to secure them from any attack that may be made in reverse. Parapet and parados come from terms signifying in the front or in the rear of anything.1810, Charles James, A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary, T. Egerton, pages 87–
In fortifications that were enfiladed by enemy in positions commanding the fort, an internal parados could defilade the enemy, serving as physical protection and blindage. Usages of the term have varied inconsistently according to times and sources. Some sources use parados as a synonym for a traverse; some other sources represent parados as a special class of traverse and not necessarily at the back of any particular position.
In trench warfare parados referred to a bank of earth or similar material behind the rear of the trench, opposite the parapet, affording protection from explosions and fragments when shells or bombs overshot the trench.

paradosis (plural paradoses)

Adapted from Wiktionary: paradoses (page history and authors); parados (page history and authors); paradosis (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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