/mazh"euh noh'/ ; Fr. /mann zhee noh"/
1. a zone of heavy defensive fortifications erected by France along its eastern border in the years preceding World War II, but outflanked in 1940 when the German army attacked through Belgium.
2. any elaborate line of defense or set of barriers.
[ 1925-30; after André Maginot (1877-1932), French minister of war ]