escalade Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an act of scaling by the use of ladders (especially the walls of a fortification)
  2. verb climb up and over
    • They had to escalade canyons to reach their destination

WordNet

Es`ca*lade" noun
Etymology
F., Sp. escalada (cf. It. scalata), fr. Sp. escalar to scale, LL. scalare, fr. L. scala ladder. See Scale, v. t.
Definitions
  1. (Mil.) A furious attack made by troops on a fortified place, in which ladders are used to pass a ditch or mount a rampart.
    Sin enters, not by escalade, but by cunning or treachery. Buckminster.
Es`ca*lade" transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Escaladed; present participle & verbal noun Escalading
Definitions
  1. (Mil.) To mount and pass or enter by means of ladders; to scale; as, to escalate a wall.

Webster 1913