prison
/ˈprɪz(ə)n
/noun
A building in which people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed or while awaiting trial: he died in prison both men were sent to prison...
- The significance of this duty to those detained in prison, not least where prisons are crowded and prisoners often dangerous, is obvious.
- I was told that Mr Young is in prison in the USA awaiting trial on charges of fraud.
- People who have been in prison and who visit prisons will be with us.
Synonyms
jail, penal institution, place of detention, lock-up, place of confinement, guardhouse, detention centre;
British young offender institution;
North American penitentiary, correctional facility, jailhouse, boot camp, stockade, house of correction
informal the clink, the slammer, inside, stir, the jug, the big house, the brig, the glasshouse
British informal the nick
North American informal the can, the pen, the cooler, the joint, the pokey, the slam, the skookum house, the calaboose, the hoosegow
British informal, dated the chokey, bird, quod
historical pound, roundhouse
British historical youth custody centre, approved school, borstal, bridewell
Scottish historical tollbooth
French, historical bastille
North American historical reformatory
verb (prisons, prisoning, prisoned) [with object] literary
Imprison: the young man was prisoned behind the doors...
- The soft gaze of his eyes vanished as they adjusted to the metal grates prisoning and protecting his eyeholes.
Origin
Late Old English, from Old French prisun, from Latin prensio(n-), variant of prehensio(n-) 'laying hold of', from the verb prehendere.
This comes via Old French from Latin prehendere ‘to seize’. Prehendere is a rich source of English words, being found, amongst many, in apprehend (late 16th century), comprehend (late 16th century); prehensile (late 18th century); and reprehensible (Late Middle English). A shortening of prehendere lies behind praedari ‘plunder’ and praeda ‘booty’, which lie behind depredation (Late Middle English); predatory [L16]; and prey (Middle English).