| 释义 |
prisonn. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French prisoun, prison. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman prisoun, preson, presoun, presun, pressun, prisone, prisonne, prisoune, prisune, presone, Anglo-Norman and Old French prisun, prison (Middle French, French prison ) action of taking prisoner (c1100), imprisonment, captivity (c1140), prisoner, captive, detainee (c1140), place of detention (c1210) < classical Latin prensiōn- , prensiō action or power of making an arrest (see prension n.). Compare post-classical Latin prisio captivity, place of captivity (late 12th cent.), seizure, imprisonment (1281, 1313 in British sources), prisona place of captivity (frequently 1200–1483 in British sources; also occasionally as priso), priso prisoner (frequently from 12th cent. in British and continental sources), prisonus, prisona (feminine) prisoner (from 13th cent. in British sources). Compare Old Occitan preisos, Italian prigione (beginning of the 13th cent. as prescione; < French), Spanish prision (c1129), Portuguese prisão (1130).The sense ‘prisoner’ (which occurs in Italian and Spanish as well as in French, English, and Latin) appears to have arisen from a person taken (in war) and held as a captive, being considered as a capture (compare senses of Old French prise at prise n.2, and also prize n.1). With sense 1d compare French prison (1854 or earlier in this sense: compare quot. 1867 at sense 1d). 1. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [noun] OE (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1076 Se kyngc syððan com to Englalande & gefeng Rogcer eorl his mæg, & sette on prisun. lOE (Laud) anno 1112 Rotbert de Bælesme he let niman & on prisune don. ?a1160 (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Þa namen hi þa men..& diden heom in prisun. a1300 Passion our Lord 145 in R. Morris (1872) 41 (MED) Þeyh ich to þe deþe schulle myd þe go Oþer in-to prysune..Ic nele neuer þe vorsake. a1325 (c1250) (1968) l. 2070 Ðu salt ben ut of prisun numen. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 9556 (MED) Til his aun fa felun Was he be-taght for to prisun [v.rr. presoun, preson, prisoun]. ?a1425 (Egerton) (1889) 40 A place whare oure Lord was done in prisoun. 1448 J. Northwood in (2005) III. 59 Sum ben in pryson in the jayll at Couentre. a1464 J. Capgrave (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 124 Ther þe kyng tok þe principalis of London and sette hem in prison at Wyndesore. a1500 (?a1410) J. Lydgate Churl & Bird (Lansd.) 99 in (1934) ii. 472 (MED) Song & prisoun haue noon accordaunce; Trowistow I wole syngen in prisoun? c1503 R. Arnold f. Civ Yf ony thing in this lettre be vntrue I am contente that your grace giue vnto me therfore perpetuell prison. 1535 Psalms cxlv[i]. 7 The Lorde lowseth men out of preson. 1581 J. Marbeck 665 The King caused him to be clapt in prison, but he brake prison. 1607 B. Jonson v. xii. sig. O Thou art to lie in prison, crampt with irons, Till thou bee'st sick, and lame indeed. View more context for this quotation 1621 Execution at Prague in (Malh.) III. 411 Remain in perpetual prison. 1662 C. Culpeper in (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 152 (note) I haue some Quakers..in prison which I doe intend to let goe upon taking the Oath. 1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite i, in 17 While I Must languish in Despair, in Prison die. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet (1724) I. 381 Sir Harbottle's father..lay long in prison, because he would not pay the loan-money. 1749 J. Cleland I. 150 It would go to the very heart of her to send such a tender young creature to prison. 1779 T. Digges Let. 15 Nov. in B. Franklin (1995) XXXI. 98 I fear another squad may be induced to break Prison... These breaking outs, are not only disagreeable, but at times highly distressing. 1817 W. Selwyn (ed. 4) II. 860 If a man be imprisoned..on the 1st day of January, and kept in prison till the 1st day of February..the whole is one entire trespass. 1850 J. Wilson 137 [anno 1727] Walter Scott, town councillor, is degraded as such by the council..in respect of his twice breaking prison, after being convict by the bailies of a riot. 1867 E. A. Freeman I. vi. 490 Others he put in prison, others he embowelled. 1897 30 Aug. 5/1 Prison for lads should be the last, and not the first, resort. 1948 A. Paton i. xiv. 96 He is in prison, arrested for the murder of a white man. 1974 M. Tippett 22 When I was in prison I was struck..by the gaiety and vitality of the group of comrades there. 1997 19 Dec. 9/1 The judges..ruled as unlawful the policy..that ‘whole life’ tariff prisoners would not be able to gain release later through their progress in prison and lack of dangerousness to society. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [noun] > place of confinement a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 131 (MED) He was bihaueded on herodes prisone. c1330 King of Tars (Auch.) 734 in (1889) 11 50 (MED) Ichaue ben in þe prisoun of ston Wiþ wrong. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds v. 23 We founden the prisoun schit with al diligence. c1400 (?c1380) l. 79 (MED) Þay ta me bylyue, Pynez me in a prysoun, put me in stokkes. 1490 W. Caxton tr. xxxii. 120 Thus eschaped dedalus oute of the pryson of Mynos kynge of Crete. c1540 (?a1400) 3518 The kyng þen comaund to..fetur hir fast in a fre prisoune. 1562 xxiii. §8 The same Party..shall remain in the Prison..without Bail, Baston or Mainprize. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus 33 There are no prisons in al his empire: for..iustice is executed out of hand. 1649 R. Lovelace To Althea from Prison in 98 Stone Walls doe not a Prison make, Nor Iron bars a Cage. 1698 C. Mather (1911) I. 271 There are many Miserables, at this Time, in our Prison. 1739 D. Hume II. iii. 302 Thus a man in a strong prison well-guarded, without the least means of escape, trembles at the thought of the rack, to which he is sentenc'd. 1777 J. Howard (title) The State of the Prisons in England and Wales, with Preliminary Observations, and an account of some foreign Prisons. 1823 c. 64 §76 Nothing in this Act contained shall extend to the..Prison of Bridewell, nor to the Fleet Prison, or to the Prison of the Marshalsea. 1852 J. West ii. 150 They departed from the prison with huzzas..exclaiming, ‘what a glorious kangaroo hunt he will have at the Bay’. 1885 Major Griffiths in XIX. 755/2 Where the sentence passes beyond two years..the prisoner becomes a convict, and undergoes his penalty in one or more of the convict prisons. 1914 A. C. McLaughlin & A. B. Hart III. 64/2 Public sentiment in favor of separate prisons for women is rapidly growing. 1950 H. Patterson & E. Conrad ii. vii. 133 He would go around the prison saying to anybody about anybody, ‘I kill the sonofabitch, I sure kill the sonofabitch.’ 1994 7 Feb. 59/1 Jails, which are designed for short-term incarceration, provide few educational or work opportunities. Prisons do better. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 33 (MED) Soðliche, on cristes prisune nis nan of þis sere—þet is, in helle. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 44 Eue..leop..to helle þer ha lei iprisun. fouwer þusent ȝer & mare. c1384 (Royal) 1 Pet. iii. 19 To hem that weren closid to gydere in prisoun he comynge in spirit prechide [1611 He went and preached vnto the spirits in prison]. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 377 Aluredus..ladde uncerteyn and unesy lyf in þe wode contrayes of Somersete..Aluredus com out of prison [L. ergastulum]. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xi. 128 Resoun shal..casten hym in arrerage, And putten hym after in a prisone in purgatorie to brenne. c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Legend St. Austin (Harl. 2255) l. 252 in (1911) i. 201 (MED) This hundryd yeer I have enduryd peyne..In a dirk prisoun of desolacioun Mong firy flawmys. 1509 S. Hawes (1845) xxxii. 157 This False Reporte hath broken pryson, With his subtyl crafte and evyl treason. 1526 W. Bonde iii. sig. BB The cytie is to me a prisone and the wyldernesse a paradyse. 1605 Bp. J. Hall II. §5 I may not breake prison, till I bee loosed by death. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. ii. 244 Ham. What haue you..deserued at the hands of Fortune, that she sends you to Prison hither? Guil. Prison, my Lord? Ham. Denmark's a Prison. 1719 D. Defoe 113 The Island was certainly a Prison to me. 1776 E. Gibbon I. iii. 84 When that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a secure and dreary prison for his enemies. 1835 J. Ross xxxiii. 473 Our winter prison was before us. 1880 W. Smith & H. Wace II. 196/1 So Cyril of Jerusalem..speaks of Christ as descending to Hades... The souls that had been long in prison were set free. 1914 S. Lewis vi. 79 Then he remembered that he was in the cold and friendless prison of England. 1985 P. Abrahams ii. ii. 81 Perhaps their former slave masters had made a prison for their minds. 2003 D. Rowe (ed. 3) 235 If you want to find within the context of your Christian beliefs your way out of the prison of depression, you should consider making a retreat. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > roulette > [noun] > compartments 1793 68 The punters who win by the next event, having won their half stake back, redeem their stakes out of prison, the others lose the other half. 1867 H. G. Bohn et al. (new ed.) 346 The punters may..have their stake moved into the middle semicircles of the colour they then choose, called ‘la première prison’, the first prison, to be determined by the next event, whether they lose all or are set at liberty. 1940 P. G. Wodehouse 32 When Zero turns up..stakes on the even chances aren't scooped up—they are what is called put in prison. 1977 P. Arnold 247/1 Prison, a convention whereby a stake on the even-money chances at roulette is left on the table, or ‘put in prison’ when zero appears, to be either retained by the bettor or lost according to the next spin. 1993 S. Kuriscak 32 In Prison. In European roulette, the holding of all bets placed on even chances until the next spin, because the current roll landed on zero. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > open prison 1929 28 Dec. 4/1 A prison without bars. In Ontario there is a prison the like of which cannot be found anywhere in the United States. 1952 ‘J. Henry’ v. 69 I heard a great deal of the many advantages I would enjoy at the prison-without-bars at York. 1993 (Nexis) 25 Sept. 51 It was filmed entirely on location in an experimental prison-without-bars in Chino, California, where, for three months, Bartlett shared the convicts' duties, meals and sleeping quarters. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] society > armed hostility > warrior > defeated or conquered > [noun] > prisoner of war a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 13 Ȝe beoð iscald [read iseald] eower feonde to prisune. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 27 Þe[o þet þolieð þe pine] þet prisuns doð [c1230 Corpus Cambr. þe pinen þe prisuns þolieð & habbeð] þer heo ligeð wið iren ibunden. c1330 (?c1300) (Auch.) l. 1994 Þe prisouns wiþ hem þai lede. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 4436 All þe prisuns [v.rr. presunes, prisouns] þat þar was Þat oþer in prisun war or band. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. 58 Pitousliche and pale as a prisoun þat deyeth. 1438 tr. (1831) 4 Thay tuik na tent to tak presounis. a1500 (?c1425) (1936) 125 (MED) Alle kyndes of presoynes, of peynes of jayles and of jebbet, þat day we oweþ to relese. a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) II. f. cxlviiv They..toke with them all seyntwary men, & the Prysons of Newgate, Ludgate, & of bothe Counters. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iii. 33 Trauailing a bed, A Prison, or a Debtor. Phrases1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine f. cvjv/1 I wil that thou paye me agayn or ellis incontynent thou shalt goo to pryson. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart II. f. cviiv/1 It is clerely determynyd by the hole generall counsayle that ye must go to prison, in to ye towre of London. 1657 T. Jordan iii. ii. sig. E2 The French Knight's arrested at the suit of Mr. Bonaventure an English Merchant for 6000. pound, is gone to prison, no bayl will be taken. 1710 O. Sansom 73 He..threatned me before Witness, That if I did not pay him, I must expect to go to Prison. 1777 R. Watson I. viii. 204 It is the will of the king that you..go to prison. 1827 A. N. Royall xxvi. 275 ‘Gentlemen,’ said the magistrate, ‘must this man go to prison? will none of you venture to bail him?’ 1898 21 Feb. 5/6 In this astonishing country a gentleman of repute chooses his own time for going to prison. 1927 H. Ford & H. J. O'Higgins iii. 85 I shall never go to prison again! If I'm caught, I'll kill myself. 1996 5 Aug. 10/2 Roger went to prison but he never squealed on his pal. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. In sense ‘of or relating to a prison or prisons’. 1859 H. C. Coape tr. E. About 35 To be sure they are sent to prison now and then, but thanks to a favourable word in the right quarter, or to the want of prison accommodation, they are soon set at liberty. 2000 S. McConville in L. Fairweather & S. McConville (2003) i. 1 In 1978, less than a quarter of prison accommodation in England and Wales was twentieth century and purpose-built. 1787 E. Smith iii. 86 Last night, asleep upon my prison bed, A vine, in three luxuriant branches spread. 1810 R. Southey xvi. 180 Despairingly, he let himself again Fall prostrate on his prison-bed of stone. 1990 A. W. Price 225 The tone is closer to that of Socrates' affectionate toying with Phaedo's hair as Phaedo sits beneath him by his prison bed. 1822 S. Rogers xii. 86 Most nights arrived The prison-boat. 1911 S. A. Clark 76 The officers guarded the girls to the prison boat for their return to New York. 2004 (Nexis) 10 Aug. 12 There are only two ways into and out of Petak: by foot along two rickety wooden bridges, or by prison boat. 1777 J. Howard iv. 140 There is at Ghent a new Prison building by the States of Austrian Flanders. 1851 J. W. Barber 61 The prison buildings stand back about 80 feet from the road. 1992 J. M. Kelly viii. 343 He conceived a prison building which he called the Panopticon (‘see-all’), a set of radiating passages which could be easily surveyed by a single watching eye at the centre. 1772 J. Macgowan II. xvii. 234 The merchant is apprehended, his estate confiscated; he is immured in the prison cells till consumed, either by famine or vermin. 1866 27 Jan. 71/2 Two inmates of our workhouse were recently put into what is pleasantly called the ‘separation ward’. It was a close dirty hole worse than any prison cell. 1985 N. Sahgal xx. 213 Strange things happened in prison cells. Aurobindo, a bomb-throwing terrorist..set up an ashram and became a spiritual leader. society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > chaplain > [noun] > prison 1728 J. Gay Notes Ordinary's Papers: the prison chaplain's record of confessions. 1897 C. Whibley 17 The Prison Chaplain, encouraging him to a final act of hypocrisy, gives him a free pass (so to say) into another and more exclusive world. 1999 26 Sept. 67/4 A prison chaplain (formerly a KGB officer) pipes American Born-Again Country and Western ballads..into the cells. the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > other types of clock 1853 F. A. Durivage 23 Can you not see the prison clock through the bars of your cell door. 2004 (Nexis) 4 Apr. (Sports section) 4 With the exception of Ernie Els, who survived a playoff to win at Muirfield, recent major winners have been as faceless as a prison clock. 1866 Oct. 385 The newly established Prison Commission of California..hardly had time to contribute to the literature of the subject. 1996 23 Aug. 3/2 Pierrepoint appealed to his employers, the Prison Commission, who said it was a matter between him and the under-sheriff. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > order maintained among 1790 25 This system of prison discipline is, with very little variation, adopted throughout the United provinces. 1834 J. S. Mill in 8 590 Has not a notion grown up within a few years, (we believe a very false one), that the increased mildness of prison-discipline has made our gaols..places where the prisoner is actually too comfortable, and too well off? 1985 F. Heidensohn (BNC) 73 By far the highest rates of offences against prison discipline occur in female establishments. a1835 F. D. Hemans (1836) 58 Is thy gaze of reverent love profound, Unto these dear parental faces bound, Which, with their silvery hair, so oft glanced by, Haunting thy prison-dreams? 2004 (Nexis) 3 July (Features section) 17 In Dahab he re-enacted his prison dream by chilling out in cosy cafes while watching the waves roll in. 1788 E. Inchbald v. ii. 62 Second Keeper opens a door, and Twineall enters a prisoner, in one of the prison dresses. c1863 T. Taylor in M. R. Booth (1969) II. 107 I passed out at the gate, not..in my prison dress, with my prison mates..but..a free man. 1979 T. Barling xv. 195 She wore a shapeless grey prison dress. 2004 (Nexis) 8 June (Nation section) 22 It was a strange order because she had nothing on, apart from her prison dress. 1560 Jer. lii. 33 Euil-merodach..broght him out of prison,..And changed his prison garments [ Coverdale clothes of his preson]. 1629 F. Hubert sig. F8 The Prison garment to a Robe of Price, The groanes of wretched Soules to cheerefull tunes. 1728 W. Reading I. xi. 134 He had trimmed himself, and changed his prison garments: and being naturally a very comely man, he appeared to great advantage. 1875 A. Trollope (1876) I. xi. 176 It is easy for most of us to keep our hands from picking and stealing when picking and stealing plainly lead to prison diet and prison garments. 1995 (BNC) He wore the soft, white, flowing robes of a monk..as though it were a prison garment. a1500 (?c1300) (Chetham) l. 1311 Whan he was down in preson ground, Beues handis they on-bound. 1853 C. Brontë I. xii. 216 Little Gustave, on account of his illness, has been removed to a master's chamber—that favoured chamber, whose lattice overlooks your prison-ground. 1935 M. Anderson 50 This sleet and rain that I feel cold here on my face and hands will find him under thirteen years of clay in prison ground. 2003 9 Feb. 13/2 Men..legally marry one of their ‘stand-up girls’ so they can have ‘trailers’—conjugal visits, named after the RV's on the prison grounds where they take place. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > jailer 1722 J. Sterling i. i. 15 I know the Captain of the Prison Guards, Aw'd by the Authority of your Name.., Will ne'er dispute the noble Captive's Freedom. 1853 C. Dickens lii. 497 What with his coolness and his soldierly bearing, he looked far more like the prison guard. 1961 W. T. Ballard i. 15 Two wore the uniform of prison guards, three the striped suits of convicts. 2004 Mar. 72/3 Welcome to Isla Maria Madre off the west coast of Mexico. There are no bars, no cells—‘colonists’ live in houses—no uniforms and only 36 (unarmed) prison guards for the 3,000 inmates. 1730 J. Thomson Summer in 89 Raleigh..with his prison-hours enrich'd the world. a1854 J. Wilson (1858) ii. ii. 197 O strive to think on other prison-hours, When, on your knees together, lost in prayer, You seemed two happy Beings offering up Thanksgiving. 1979 (Nexis) 30 June Miss Fleener said she spent a lot of prison hours reading about Zionism and said she understands why the Israelis fear the PLO. 2003 (Nexis) 20 May (Local section) 4 Speight and about 12 co-accused keep prison hours but beyond that they are largely left to their own devices. 1806 T. Clarkson 201 An agreement is usually made about the price of prison-labour between the inspector of the gaol and the employers of the criminals. 1994 May 24/2 The Federal Bureau of Prisons..boasts that prison labor contributes significantly to the military. society > communication > book > library or collection of books > library, place, or institution > [noun] > other types 1847 Apr. 306 The use of good books from the prison library. 1995 June 92/1 It turned out that he had taken a novel out of the prison library, about coming of age in Montana and Wyoming, and had reset it in Wales. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > jailer 1649 No. 18. 142 In the disorder a woman was kill'd by one of the Prison Officers, another hurt. 1848 Jan. 149 We have traced a considerable portion of them to the authorities cited, the printed reports of the prison officers and Parliamentary documents. 1961 9 Apr. 22/8 He refers to prison officers as prison warders, a title abandoned something like thirty years ago. 2002 18 Jan. ii. 25/2 The work of the prison officer Ian Robertson, who set up patchworking classes three years ago. 1846 Mar. 205/1 We were turned out into the yard, where we found a number of prison officials waiting for us. 1994 Sept. 71/2 Once behind bars, he was transferred to a different facility after prison officials discovered a female visitor had fellated him. the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > [noun] > specific type of society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > effects in prison > prisoner lethargy 1896 Dec. 89/1 His skin was fair and freckled, and had the prison pallor, face and hands. 1935 A. J. Cronin ii. xx. 446 He sat there with his prison pallor upon him. 2004 (Nexis) 10 June (Features section) 16 Whyte, who rarely agrees to interviews, is 31 and has the prison-pallor of someone who sees more nightclub stand-up than sun. 1873 9 Dec. 10/2 Asked to look at the fingers in the prison photograph, he was asked if there was not the appearance of a wart. 1981 16 Sept. 6/5 The state television showed prison photographs of arrested terrorists. 2005 (Nexis) 17 Aug. 25 Lena Baker in a prison photograph taken in 1945. 1677 (title) Prison-Pietie: or, meditations divine and moral. Digested into poetical heads..By Samuel Speed, prisoner in Ludgate. the world > action or operation > amending > [noun] > reform > instance of > specific kinds of reform 1819 7 July 3/2 The information exhibited in this report be of the first importance to the advocates for prison reform, and indeed to all who would blend mercy with justice. 1995 T. G. Blomberg & S. Cohen 10 It would be difficult to understand the specifics of prison reform without looking at broader changes in the theory and methods of punishment. 1845 T. Cooper (title) The purgatory of suicides; a prison-rhyme in ten books. 1916 T. Hake & A. Compton-Rickett I. vii. 179 Faulty and marred by affectation as is the ballad [sc. The Ballad of Reading Gaol], in it is nevertheless a vital poem which has survived, partly..because there is a peculiar and narrow place open and ready to receive it, the place devoted to prison rhymes. 1979 N. Mailer Afterword 1052 The old prison rhyme at the beginning and end of this book is not, alas, an ancient ditty but a new one, and was written by this author ten years ago for his movie Maidstone. 1655 H. Lawes 2 May my speechlesse Tongue give sound To no Accent, but remain To my prison Roof fast bound, If my sad Soul entertain Mirth till Thou rejoice again. 1795 J. Palmer (1796) 197 One stormy night, the rain beat hard against my prison roof. 1859 C. Dickens iii. v. 186 Sometimes when she had quite forgotten him in gazing at the prison roof and grates,..she would come to herself to find him looking at her, with his knee on his bench and his saw stopped in its work. 1989 K. Logan (BNC) 101 Later, as a ‘Christian evangelist’, Gary would speak of meeting God in the hours of comparative tranquility on the prison roof. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison sister. 2002 (Nexis) 17 Nov. d1 Jessica is no longer the youngest inmate at Dade Correctional... Still, her prison sisters say, Jessica remains their ‘baby’—mostly because she enjoys the role. 1633 P. Fletcher vii. viii. 86 There lies he now bruis'd with so sore a fall, To his base bonds, and loathsome prison thrall. 1866 J. H. Newman i. 12 Rescue..the two Apostles from their prison-thrall. 1827 27 Oct. 206/1 Prison torture. A horrible instance of human vengeance occurred a short time since, at Minden, in Westphalia. 1995 19 May 23/1 Even the most admirable socially conscious dramas are no-win during the spring; this year's thanks-but-no-thanks subjects included prison torture (Murder in the First)..and the war in Macedonia (Before the Rain). society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > wall ?1579 Woorthie Enterprise I. Foxe in R. Hakluyt (1589) i. 153 Amongst the Turkes was one..who..fell off from the toppe of the prison wall, and made such a lowing that the inhabitants..came and dawed him. 1646 T. Jordan 12 Harke how the impatient seas beginne to thunder, As if they'd rent their prison walls in sunder. 1709 I. Watts (ed. 2) i. 101 Devotion breaks the Prison-Walls, And speeds my last Remove. 1855 A. Trollope xvi. 248 No convict, slipping down from a prison wall, ever feared to see the gaoler more entirely than Mr. Harding did to see his son-in-law. 1898 O. Wilde 16 The weeping prison-wall. 1997 J. Seabrook Pref. 15 The coded tappings on the prison walls made by the prisoners in Arthur Koestler's book Darkness at Noon. 1856 3 Apr. 2/1 Mayors, magistrates, police officers,..prison wardens and ministers of religion..have all testified to its [sc. prohibition's] vast achievements for humanity and good morals. 1908 14 429 With..this..will come the necessity of replacing our present prison wardens with trained, intelligent, and sympathetic keepers. 1996 May 51/1 Studio two contains a cell, a prison warden's office, a medical lab and a missile warhead store. 1655 (title) The Oppressed Close Prisoner In Windsor-Castle, his Defiance to The Father of Lyes. By Chr. Feake, in his Prison-Watch-tower. 1994 (Nexis) 3 Apr. g6 Its turrets are reminiscent of prison watchtowers. The catwalks recall the ghettos of Poland. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > yard ?1640 J. Lilburne 3 And my Friends..did goe up into Thomas Deanes room over against me, that so they might know how it fared with me, there being the breadth of the Prison yard betwixt us. 1776 (Libr. of Congr.) (1906) IV. 121 Resolved, That the said J. Connolly be allowed..to walk in the prison yard or hall. 1851 J. J. Lancaster in Rep. Sel. Comm. Passengers' Act 142 in XIX. 1 Those in Millbank [sc. a London military hospital] are drawn up in the prison-yard or wards. 1995 K. Toolis (1996) iii. 156 One day we were walking in the prison yard and this prisoner turns round to me and says: ‘Do you know them pistols point two fives?’ b. In sense ‘confined in a prison’. 1907 23 Oct. 16/2 Mrs. Price..had many distinguished predecessors as prison-authors. It was in Newgate that Defoe wrote his ‘Jure Divino’ [etc.]. 2004 (Nexis) 26 Mar. 15 His latest, adapted from a novel by the late prison author Donald Goines, is a dramatized obituary of King David (rapper DMX), a drug kingpin. 1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus v. f. 83 Shall our chyldren, shall our brethren acknowledge vs, beyng prison slaues? 1992 (Nexis) 23 Apr. American trade with China needs to be linked to human rights progress. We should not be buying products from them that are made by prison-slave labor. 1854 A. S. Stephens xxxix. 424 You would hardly have recognized the prison woman, in that neatly clad rosy cheeked female. 1957 S. Harris & J. M. Murtagh 276 If you listened to prison women, you would think there was not a sexually normal officer in the whole sad, strange prison world. 2003 (Nexis) 13 July 3 I've been given a vision, and I go back and minister to the prison women. c. In sense ‘serving as a prison or place of confinement’. 1570 J. Foxe (rev. ed.) II. 1394/1 Marbecke now beyng in his prison chamber, fel to his busines. 1648 T. Gage xiii. 97 Wee knew that wee should have that night in our prison chambers a better supper than any of those before us, who fed upon their three or foure dishes. 1797 A. Radcliffe II. i. 23 The passage..probably led to the prison-chamber, which Olivia had described. 1860 N. Hawthorne I. xxiv. 269 Some of them were prison chambers in times past, as old Tomaso will tell you. 1993 E. C. Bartels 143 Indeed, the regicide takes place in a prison chamber, closed off from the public gaze, unseen even by the king. the world > food and drink > farming > farm > [noun] > other farms 1862 642 (subtitle) An Act to permit the Water Commissioners..to construct their Aqueduct through the State Prison Farm.] 1961 4 Nov. 1 The jury praised the administration and operation of the Atlanta Police Department, the Fulton Tax Commissioner's Office, the Bellwood and Alpharetta prison farms, [etc.]. 2000 1 Jan. a12/3 Three days after a prison guard and an inmate were killed in an escape attempt at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, law-enforcement officials in the area raised questions about the security of the prison farm known as Angola. 1853 N. Wiseman III. 20 An African..prison-fort, where galley-slaves are detained. 1993 (Nexis) 23 June 2 In the Spanish prison fort, many of the imprisoned army officers were once involved in intelligence or antisubversive work. 2004 (Nexis) 22 Mar. 2 President Thabo Mbeki inaugurated South Africa's new Constitutional Court building yesterday in a notorious 100-year-old prison fort where Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and captured Boer war generals were all detained. 1800 82 All the other British captives who had survived their sufferings in the different prison fortresses of Tippoo's dominions. 1830 M. W. Shelley I. vii. 130 He was led back to the prison-fortress, despairing, but unresisting. 1923 F. J. Mather 40 There were allegories of a strong and weak state, in the Bargello, the prison-fortress of the Captain of the People. 2004 (Nexis) 22 July (Foreign Desk section) 10/5 He may have failed to provide the close oversight last fall that could have prevented the debacle at Abu Ghraib, the prison fortress 20 miles west. 1740 On Resurrection 6 in F. Peck sig. 2N2v Thy all subduing arm Hath burst the mighty prison hold of Death, And op'd the golden portals of bright heav'n To all believers! 1837 T. Chalmers I. iv. 68 They chain it, as it were, in the prison-hold of their own corruptions. 1938 24 Feb. 9/1 It was not until they were in the prison hold again that Cabell Banks said confidently: ‘This is our time to escape.’ the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > infirmary in a prison 1784 T. Day 16 William Cutbush, a smith, who mended the hole in the prison hospital, through which one of the felons had made his way out. 1853 H. B. Stowe xiii. 58/2 He was soon promoted to be steward of the prison hospital. 1933 J. Buchan ii. i. 178 You would spend some weeks in a prison hospital till they patched you up. 2000 M. Kneale (2001) xi. 304 Captain James insisted that Dr Potter visit the prison hospital. a1475 (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 8117 (MED) As a derke prisoun pitte Þat no light shineþ in itte. 1646 P. Bulkley i. 21 To see the children of our father in the dungeon, and prison-pit. 1869 W. Smith II. 1257/2 The princes of Judah..threw him into the prison-pit, to die there. 1990 (Nexis) 30 Sept. d1 Imprisoned in one of UNITA's damp prison pits dug deep into the soil, the rotund and jovial Sangumba is alleged to have dwindled to a thin, haggard and sickly reflection of himself before he died. 1743 449/2 Down again it went to the old Prison Place, till by its Detainment it kill'd its foolish Possessor. 1896 18 Apr. 13/1 Their present prison place is a pleasant little villa at Sunnyside, with grounds and gardens attached. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison place. 1680 R. Baxter iii. 45 A Curtain over the midst of the prison-room. 1724 B. Langley 24 You are commanded to repair to your Prison Room..where you are securely lock'd up. 1810 W. Scott vi. 259 'Twas a prison-room Of stern security and gloom. 1982 14 May 13/2 The sisters thrash out their memories and beliefs in bleak surroundings—a museum cafeteria, prison rooms. 2005 (Nexis) 18 Nov. 55 A young daughter isn't even allowed to leave the prison room to go to the bathroom. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > ships used as prisons 1779 8 81/1 I remained on board the prison ship till the beginning of August, when Mr. Murray came on board. 1853 R. H. Horne in 17 Sept. 53/1 The prison-ship contains the worst of the worst. 1902 W. D. Hulbert 110 They journeyed on for nearly an hour longer, she on her prison-ship, and he on land. 1997 27 June 418 The prison ship off the Dorset coast has been closed temporarily after its fire sprinkler system was found to be unsafe. 1612 R. Johnson sig. F5 He was bereft of noble power, committed to his charge: And cast into the prison Tower, his torments to enlarge. 1780 J. Howard 79 In a small dungeon is a stone seat like some I have seen in old prison towers. 1835 L. E. Landon 23 When she left her prison-tower..It was to seek the sea-beat strand. 1993 R. Ash (BNC) You look like Rapunzel in her high prison tower. C2. Objective. 1797 C. Newton 56 Strong, as prison-bursting wind. a1849 J. C. Mangan (1859) 455 Prison-bursting Death! Welcome be thy blow! 2000 (Nexis) 5 Feb. 23 As US attorney for New York's southern district from 1983 to 1989, Giuliani racked up a prison-bursting 4125 convictions. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison cleaner. 1998 (Nexis) 12 Mar. 11 She used the machine in her allocated role as a prison cleaner. 2004 (Nexis) 29 Jan. 6 The 21-year-old also works as a prison cleaner. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison-escaping. 2001 (Nexis) 4 Feb. 7 b How can the word ‘glory’ be used to describe prison-escaping, cop-killing, convicted felons? a1845 S. Smith (1860) 200/1 Right and wrong, innocence and guilt, must not be confounded, that a prison-fancying justice may bring his friend into the prison. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison fancying. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison-making. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > visiting time 1838 H. Martineau I. 224 I trust that the practice of prison-visiting will gain ground. 1992 May (BNC) The Howard League is producing an Information Pack..giving advice on..the complexities of prison visiting. society > society and the community > social attitudes > philanthropy > [noun] > visiting for philanthropic purposes > philanthropic visitor 1837 H. Martineau II. iii. iv. 285 Every prison visitor has been conscious, on first conversing privately with a criminal, of a feeling of surprise at finding him so human. 1997 1 Aug. 14/3 Sr Annunciata of the Daughters of Joseph and Mary, a 72-year-old prison visitor who has been doing what she can to help lifers at Kingston Prison in Portsmouth for nearly 30 years. C3. Instrumental and locative. 1660 T. Fuller i. vii. 12 I lack..many things more, which thou being Prison-born, neither art nor can be sensible of. 1846 A. McLachlan 14 The captive bird, tho' prison born, Methinks has sadness in its song. 1952 F. E. Halliday 467 She [sc. the wife of Antigonus]..brings him the prison-born Perdita. 2001 (Nexis) 12 Aug. a4 The New York state women's prison in Bedford Hills was the first in the nation, in the early 1900s, to allow female convicts to live with their prison-born children. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison-caused. 1954 19 Nov. 1/5 Both..have entered a Budapest hospital for treatment of prison-caused illnesses. 1999 (Nexis) 2 Mar. Flat settlements based on their experience in prison-caused violent incidents and their security classification. 1908 at Prison sb. Prison flavoured. 1858 5 May 3/3 (advt.) Sale Agent for selling Auburn Power Loom, and Auburn Prison-made three-ply, Ingrain and Venetian Carpets. 1998 R. Anderson et al. 16 The next year even saw the establishment of a store specializing in prison-made goods. 1877 4 Dec. 7/3 It is instructive to consider the result of the compulsory training of stonemasons and artificers as exemplified at a convict establishment now being erected by prison taught labour in the Metropolis. 1998 (Nexis) 30 Mar. 192 He was a prison-taught bird expert who had to leave his avian companions behind when he was transferred from Leavenworth Prison. C4. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > one who has been long or often in jail a1640 P. Massinger (1658) i. i. 98 I sent the prison-bird this morning for em. 1899 W. Besant Prol. 15 ‘I venture to ask who you are.’ ‘A prison bird, madam. Nothing more.’ 1994 (Nexis) 17 Nov. 26 The boy in question, however, is still attached to his prison-bird natural father. the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [noun] > from restraint or confinement > from prison 1657 W. Prynne 615 Pardon granted. Dover Castle. Prison-breach. a1734 R. North (1740) 263 An whole Battery of records, being Convictions, Outlawries and Judgements..Pillory, Prison Breach. 1857 J. T. Adams 432 Let it not be wondered at, that, in consequence of the prison breach, several innocent persons were arrested. 1903 Ld. W. B. Nevill vi. 63 A most irregular proceeding,..calculated to lead to conspiracy, prison-breach. 2004 (Nexis) 11 June b1 The Crown also filed an indictment charging Alexson, 34, with assault while threatening to use a weapon, arson, escaping custody, prison breach, [etc.]. the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [noun] > one who escapes > from confinement or the law 1704 T. Wood iii. x. 287 Prison Breakers also may be punished extraordinarily according to the discretion of the Judge. 1862 H. Mayhew & J. Binny 125 A notoriously desperate prison-breaker. 1945 J. M. Thompson 217 The queen, in every fibre of her being, was a rebel and a prison-breaker. 2004 (Nexis) 21 Apr. 2 One of the most renowned prison breakers was safecracker ‘Gentle’ Johnny Ramensky, who escaped from Peterhead five times in the 1950s. 1710 W. J. 401 For Prison Breaking, and Escapes. 1861 C. Dickens II. ix. 147 He was tried again for prison breaking, and got made a Lifer. 1924 J. B. Cabell 93 That art is a criticism of life, appears a favorite apothegm... Yet the statement is true enough, in the sense that prison-breaking is a criticism of the penitentiary. 2002 (Nexis) 31 Dec. 6 A Crown Office spokeswoman said: ‘A 30-year-old man appeared on petition at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday charged with prison breaking’. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > place of detention or lock-up 1865 27 Just on the same principle, our prison camps are to hold secure our prisoners. 1925 Oct. 386/1 The scene is a Turkish prison-camp during the recent war. 1970 D. Brown i. 7 From the prison camps they were started westward to Indian Territory. 2006 (Nexis) 4 Feb. After being shipped to Scotland he was sent to a prison camp near Braintree, Essex, to work on farms, and has remained in the region ever since. the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > cut or cropped c1863 T. Taylor III. 58 Your hair hasn't grown so fast but I can see traces of the prison-crop. 2002 (Nexis) 7 May 2 ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung..sports a prison crop as he and fellow activist Koo Sze-yiu shout slogans on being freed from jail. the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > people with styles of hair > [adjective] > cut or shaved 1882 25 May I have no doubt, he is now, though prison-cropped, as smiling and light-hearted a do-nothing as he was here. 1987 (Nexis) 23 Feb. A man gave him a light blue yarmulke to replace the fur hat covering his prison-cropped hair. society > communication > journalism > journalist > editor of journal or newspaper > [noun] > editor taking legal responsibility 1850 9 Oct. 4/2 We do not mean what somebody has called a go-to-prison-editor, or any contrivance of that obvious description.] 1887 E. L. Parry 186 A certain man, salaried for the regular position, bears the name of editor, receives the sentence, and takes his term in prison, while the real editor..continues his liberal writing...The people think that a ‘Prison Editor’ (his general name), drawing a fixed salary for ‘sitting his time’, is quite a huge joke. 1931 157 145/2 Ten years' experience as a prison editor brings to mind but a scant dozen men who had the ability to express themselves in such a manner as to make interesting reading. 1942 16 Apr. In such a case the prison editor goes to jail without interrupting the even tenor of the newspaper. 1984 (Electronic text) 22 Dec. Governor Refuses to Free Louisiana Prison Editor...Gov. Edwin Edwards refused today to free a prisoner who became an award-winning journalist. 1749 L. Pilkington (new ed.) II. 109 He was confined in Newgate,—had taken the Prison-fever, and declared he could not die in Peace, unless he saw me. 1852 B. J. Lossing II. 665 The heroic mother..on board a prison-ship, was seized with prison-fever, and died. 1928 M. Morris tr. E. Halévy 82 Each prison was a school of vice and a centre of contagion where prison fever raged. 2006 (Nexis) 28 Jan. 12 There he [sc. Henry] caught prison fever and died. 1684 P. Ker 7 He left his Fathers Court, to visit thee, And Flesh became, to set thee Prison-free. 1828 Lang Johnny Moir in P. Buchan I. 256 They've ta'en the lady by the hand, And set her prison free. 2004 (Nexis) 2 Aug. 1 Few considers the relatively light, prison-free sentence a godsend. the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > drab or dingy grey society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [adjective] > gloomy as prison 1882 4 Apr. 5/2 Soukhanoff, dressed in prison gray, with half-a-dozen gendarmes, was taken by special train to Oranienbaum. 1956 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ 90 A flash of sun in a country all prison-grey. 1992 109 When a ‘jail plant’ in prison grey questions another inmate in a prison. 2003 R. Johnson 502 Dark flaking rust had replaced prison-gray paint, making the area look even more foreboding. the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > cut or cropped 1948 11 May 2/7 The men..were given regular prison haircuts when they entered Western penitentiary ten days ago. 2006 (Nexis) 19 Jan. 7 The pair, who had been given crude prison haircuts since their trial last week, stood barefoot, in leg irons and handcuffs. 1604 T. Middleton sig. f3v Meaning indeede to stop some Prison hole with me (as your souldiers when the wars haue done with them, are good for nothing else but to stop holes withall). 1797 T. Holcroft VI. xiv. 165 My attention was called to the iron bars of the one window of my prison hole. 1885 W. Hodge 86 After the soldier was finally in the prison hole..he applied some bitter epithets to Godfrey. 1998 (Nexis) 14 Dec. 19 Send that genocidal right-wing thug to the most brutal electrode-filled prison hole on Earth. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > reformatory prison 1965 M. H. Cooper & R. D. King in P. Halmos 150 We are to have a prison industrial complex, with an industrialist at the head, organised around specialised workshops with production runs and..competing in both the private and public sectors. 1973 6 Dec. 7 c/3 What is cold, hard fact..is that enormous profits are made on prisoners who labor for the state for very little, by the correctional bureaucracy whose numbers grow as their efforts result in less and less achievement, and by the hordes of suppliers for the prison industrial complex. 1988 13 Mar. 4/1 Hutchinson would get a new 400-bed prison-industrial complex on the grounds of a former mobile home plant. 2008 A. Y. Davis (2012) viii. 148 The prison-industrial complex has become so big and powerful that it works to perpetuate itself... The raw materials are immigrant youth and youth of color throughout the world. 1843 XXV. 156/2 In India also manual labour is so cheap, and machinery so expensive, that it is improbable that the produce of prison industry will ever be profitable. 1968 29 Aug. 271/3 Up to 1964, ‘prison industries were little better than a joke—something to keep the men quiet’. 1985 29 Mar. v. 26/1 We have built a prison industry based on concrete walls, guard towers and the overclassification of inmates. 2002 27 Nov. 55/1 More and more non-citizens are crammed into detention facilities..spurring the prison industry. 1791 J. Long 19 The prisoners were left at Fort St. Vielle, or Prison Island, at the foot of the Falls, under a proper guard. 1871 18 Aug. 10/2 Who..have been sent to the hulks at the ports and prison islands between Brest and La Rochelle. 1991 G. Ehrlich v. 63 That's what the Spanish alcatraz means: pelican. But the name was also a joking reference to the prison island. 1814 J. D'Alton vi. 175 Burst the prison isle to view, Where the good King O'Donoghue Confined dark Maoldun of old. 1939 G. G. Andrews 85 Almost a hundred years after Napoleon died on his prison isle, the late Frédéric Masson wrote: ‘The idea of Napoleon is not one of those which one takes up and drops at will.’ 2004 (Nexis) 27 July 17 I suggest she be locked away on a prison isle for 26 years. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > jailer 1623 R. Aylett iv. 58 God gaue me power my Iailours hands to charme; And sent me in the Prison-Keepers sight. 1768 W. Blackstone III. 285 When once the defendant is taken into custody of the marshall, or prison-keeper of this court [of king's bench]. 1855 C. Dickens (1857) i. i. 4 The prison-keeper appeared, carrying..a basket. 1938 F. Tannenbaum 424 A prison keeper called for him after work and took him to his cell, to be locked up while the rest of his friends stayed out in the yard. 2004 (Nexis) 18 July (Fanfare section) c11 They want to put everything in a box so they can be the prison keeper, but they get put in the prison themselves. 1804 J. Grahame 25 The lark, his prison mate, quivers the wing With more than wonted joy. c1863 T. Taylor in M. R. Booth (1969) II. 107 I passed out at the gate, not..in my prison dress, with my prison mates..but..a free man. 1930 13 401 The one trace of humor that escaped Don Ramón's lips while telling of the affair was in reference to his prison mates. 1998 (Nexis) 26 Feb. 9 To his prison mates Archie was a swaggering hard man who never let a sliver of emotion through the tough exterior he had built against the world. 1848 Apr. 522 The appointment of prison matrons, or female officers to have the custody of female prisoners. 1914 A. C. McLaughlin & A. B. Hart III. 62/1 Prison matrons have been found exceedingly useful in caring for children. 2004 (Nexis) 14 May a11 A subsequent investigation found that Norfolk had neither a metal detector to screen visitors for weapons nor a prison matron to search female visitors. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > judging > sentencing > [noun] > sentence > custodial sentence 1867 E. C. Wines & T. W. Dwight Contents p. xviii Careful revision of the question of prison sentences needed. 1912 135 243/2 Defendant was persistent in saving his wife from a prison sentence. 1997 7 June (Midlands ed.) 97/4 90 per cent of young law breakers re-offend after a prison sentence. 1863 6 June 10/4 Convict Prison Service—The Deputy-Governership of Chatham convict prison has become vacant.] 1868 9 Nov. 13/4 Somerset County Prison... Wanted... Person..to keep books and accounts..and be willing to assist in any duties for the prison service required by the Governor. 1901 25 July 2/2 The prison service is no longer a refuge for the superannuates of the Army and the Navy. 1959 ‘O. Mills’ xvi. 167 The prison service isn't quite like the Army, Colonel Clive. 2005 (Electronic ed.) 18 Feb. Prison Action and Reform president Caroline Dean said she thought it was time for an injection of new blood into the prison service. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > prison or police van society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > [noun] > for taking criminals to prison 1829 31 Aug. 4/1 He was conveyed to the gaol along with several other prisoners in the prison van. 1968 J. Lock xiv. 123 I had already been to Holloway..whilst on prison van duty. 2006 (Nexis) 8 Feb. 13 Why do photographers try to take pictures through the blacked-out windows of prison vans? society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > jailer 1854 15 Aug. 8/4 Another prisoner..stabbed two of the prison warders, under similar circumstances. 1898 22 Mar. 5/2 Wherever there are park-keepers wanted, customs watchers, prison warders, inland revenue, or pensioner messengers, there the retired soldier has his chance. a1902 S. Butler (1903) lxiv. 286 The prison warder..sent for the doctor. 2004 (Nexis) 1 Aug. 21 You'd think that, after that, playing a lesbian prison warder in Bad Girls would be a piece of cake. Derivatives society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [adjective] > resembling 1607 C. Lever sig. G2v Thus prepar'd, she iournies to the Court, Where in her chamber prison-like retirde, She liues shut vp from any ones resort. 1795 E. Fenwick I. x. 180 Here I am already arrived almost within sight of the castle's prison like towers. 1839 E. A. Poe in Oct. 206 This prison-like rampart formed the limits of our domain. 1916 D. H. Lawrence 77 The town Glimmers with subtle ghosts Going up and down In a common, prison-like dress. 2004 (Nexis) 7 Sept. Despite the facility's prison-like appearance, many of the boys and girls in the mental health wings said they are content, or at least feel safe. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). prisonv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: prison n. Etymology: < prison n. Compare post-classical Latin prisonare (from 12th cent. in British sources; also in continental sources), prisionare (12th cent.), Anglo-Norman and Old French prisouner to take prisoner, imprison (first half of the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman as prisener ), Middle French prisonner to put animals into a pound (1530 in Palsgrave), Old Occitan preizonar to take prisoner, imprison. Compare imprison v.In Middle English prefixed and unprefixed forms of the past participle are attested (see y- prefix). Now chiefly literary. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > imprison [verb (transitive)] society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > confine [verb (transitive)] ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 33 Þu sechȝe þiblisfule sune, þet þe gius wenden for to Prisunen [c1230 Corpus Cambr. aþrusmin] In þruch. c1380 (1879) 3491 (MED) Charlys be-het me þan þat if..y wer prisoned..A sholde delyuery me out of prisoun. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 181 (MED) His felawes were..i-prisoned to her lyves ende. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) ii. 101 Sir William Crispyn with þe duke was led, Togider prisoned. ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif (1880) 79 Trewe prestis schullen be cursed & prisoned. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 39 Cordeilla the doȝter of kynge Leir,..whom Morganus and Cunedagius prisonede at the laste. 1526 Acts xxii. 19 I presoned and bett in euery sinagoge them that beleued on the. ?1542 H. Brinkelow xii. sig. C8 Many tymes thei preson men for their fryndes pleasure. 1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas (new ed.) ii. iv. 143 Even as a Lion, prisoned in his grate,..Roars hideously. 1657 G. Fox in 40 To prison them contrary to the Just is to make them to grow. 1794 W. Anderson 15 He's prison'd, an' examin'd too. 1814 Ld. Byron ii. xi. 50 A chief on land—an outlaw on the deep—Destroying—saving—prison'd—and asleep! 1898 2 Apr. 7/3 Dey'll summons, an' prison, an' fine a puir body for shuttin' a corby. 1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer iv All this long time you are prisoned in the island and put no term to the delay, though the spirit of your company diminishes. 1994 B. Hambly iv. 44 Kirk thought about the thin, green-haired young man..prisoned behind the crystalplex doors. the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > restriction of free action > restrict in free action [verb (transitive)] society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > restrict or limit [verb (transitive)] > in free action ?a1425 (a1415) (Harl.) (1917) 100 Wiþ þis þei prisoun many a houngry soule. c1450 C. d'Orleans (1941) 90 (MED) When slepy rest he felith his hert hath take, Prysone his eyen lest that ellis they him move, For if thei goon at large they wol him wake. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville (Caxton) (1859) 67 Here myght thou see the meschyef of vntrewe counceylle, that made this gentil Lyberalite prisond. 1530 (Fawkes) (1873) i. 11 Our soulles ar prysoned in these dedly bodyes. 1594 W. Shakespeare sig. E4 His true respect will prison false desire. View more context for this quotation 1633 Bp. J. Hall ii. 358 Whose spirits are now fast prisoned in hell. 1742 E. Young 34 From Winds, and Waves, and central Night, Tho' prison'd there, my Dust too I reclaim. 1847 C. Brontë III. xi. 273 I arrested his wandering hand, and prisoned it in both mine. 1878 R. Browning xxv Why prison his career while Christendom Lay open to reward acknowledged worth? 1891 O. Wilde xvi. 280 He was prisoned in thought. Memory..was eating his soul away. 1983 F. Warner I. xii. 30 We live, as Plato taught, our earthly life Inside a fire-lit cave, in which we see Only the shadows of reality, Moving reflections, prisoned in our flesh. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.OE v.?c1225 |
