an ancient term for an officer of the stables.

or ABATTIS, in Military Affairs, a kind of retrenchment made of felled trees. In sudden emergencies, the trees are merely laid lengthwise beside each other, with the branches pointed outwards to prevent the approach of the enemy, while the trunks serve as a breastwork to the defendants. When the abatis is employed for the defence of a pass or entrance, the boughs of the trees are stripped of their leaves and pointed, the trunks are planted in the ground, and the branches interwoven with each other.