What Anglicized French word for an outdoor shelter or camp likely derives from Swiss-German 'biwacht' for night patrol?
Bivouac shelter also be without tents or full cover. In modern mountaineering the nature of the bivouac shelter will depend on the level of preparedness; in particular whether existing camping and outdoor gear may be incorporated into the shelter. A bivouac shelter is colloquially known as a bivy, bivvy, or bivi. The word "bivouac" is French and ultimately derives from an 18th-century Swiss German usage of "beiwacht (bei" by, "wacht" watch or patrol). It referred to an additional watch that would be maintained by a military or civilian force to increase vigilance at an encampment. Following use by the troops of the
Swiss German native words "Zmorge", "härzig" and "dehei" are used. Swiss dialects have quite a few words from French and Italian, which are perfectly assimilated. "Glace" (ice cream) for example is pronounced in French but or in many Swiss German dialects. The French word for 'thank you', "merci", is also used as in "merci vilmal", literally "thanks many times". Possibly, these words are not direct adoptions from French but survivors of the once more numerous French loanwords in Standard German, many of which have fallen out of use in Germany. In recent years, Swiss dialects have also taken some English words which