A temporary camp set up by soldiers or travelers; to camp outdoors in a temporary, makeshift way.
From French bivouac, from German Beiwacht (by-watch), from bei (by) + wacht (watch/guard). The word described soldiers sleeping near their camp while on watch.
Mountain climbers on Everest still use 'bivouacs' as emergency shelters, and there are famous stories of climbers who had to spend unexpected nights in bivouacs at extreme altitudes—some survived, some didn't, which is why mountaineers fear 'unplanned bivouacs.'
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