refuge
/ˈɹɛfjuːd͡ʒ/ noun, verb
Forms refuges refuging refuged
- noun A state of safety, protection or shelter.
- noun A place providing safety, protection or shelter.
- noun Something or someone turned to for safety or assistance; a recourse or resort.
- noun An expedient to secure protection or defence.
- noun A refuge island.
- noun (Buddhism) A kind of daily prayer or recitation.
- verb (intransitive) To return to a place of shelter.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To shelter; to protect.
Synonyms
haven sanctuary zoar asylum bield shelter safety recourse resort
Etymology
From Middle English refuge, from Old French refuge, from Latin refugium, from re- + fugiō (“flee”). Doublet of refugium.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Shelter or protection from danger or distress.
- noun That which shelters or protects from danger, or from distress or calamity; a stronghold which protects by its strength, or a sanctuary which secures safety by its sacredness; a place inaccessible to an enemy.
- verb To shelter; to protect. [Obs.]
Etymology [F. réfuge, L. refugium, fr. refugere to flee back; pref. re- + figere. SEe Fugitive.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “refuge”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details