Hurdle

Hurdle (O. Eng. hyrdel, cognate with such Teutonic forms as Ger. Hürde, Dutch horde, Eng. “hoarding”; in pre-Teutonic languages the word appears in Gr. κυρτία, wickerwork, κύρτη, Lat. cratis, basket, cf. “crate,” “grate”), a movable temporary fence, formed of a framework of light timber, wattled with smaller pieces of hazel, willow or other pliable wood, or constructed on the plan of a light five-barred field gate, filled in with brushwood. Similar movable frames can be made of iron, wire or other material. A construction of the same type is used in military engineering and fortification as a foundation for a temporary roadway across boggy ground or as a backing for earthworks.