Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tete-de-pont \T[^e]te`-de-pont"\ (t[=a]t`de*p[^o]N"), n.; pl.
   {T[^e]tes-de-pont}. [F., head of a bridge.] (Mil.)
   A work thrown up at the end of a bridge nearest the enemy,
   for covering the communications across a river; a bridgehead.