prison
/ˈpɹɪzn̩/ noun, verb
Forms prisons prisoning prisoned
- noun A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government. “The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century.”
- noun (uncountable) Confinement in prison (sense 1). “Prison was a harrowing experience for him.”
- noun (colloquial, figurative) Any restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home. “The academy was a prison for many of its students because of its strict teachers.”
- verb (transitive) To imprison.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A place where persons are confined, or restrained of personal liberty; hence, a place or state o Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name. Ps. cxlii.
- noun Specifically, a building for the safe custody or confinement of criminals and others committed by lawful authority. Prison bars, or Prison base. See Base, n., 24.
- verb To imprison; to shut up in, or as in, a prison; to confine; to restrain from liberty.
- verb To bind (together); to enchain. [Obs.]
Etymology [F., fr. L. prehensio, prensio, a seizing, arresting, fr. prehendre, prendere, to lay hold of, to seize. See Prehensile, and cf. Prize, n., Misprision.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “prison”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details