prison
pronunciation
How to pronounce prison in British English:
UK [ˈprɪzn]
How to pronounce prison in American English:
US [ˈprɪzn]
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- Noun:
- a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment
- a prisonlike situation; a place of seeming confinement
Word Origin
- prison
- prison: [12] Like comprehend, prehensile, etc, prison goes back ultimately to Latin praehendere ‘seize’. From this was derived the noun praehensiō ‘seizure’, later contracted to prēnsiō, which passed into Old French as prisun. By now it had come to be used specifically for ‘imprisonment’, and from this it moved on in due course to the concrete ‘place of imprisonment’ – both senses which entered English from Old French in the 12th century.=> apprehend, comprehensive, prehensile, prize, reprehensible
- prison (n.)
- early 12c., from Old French prisoun "captivity, imprisonment; prison; prisoner, captive" (11c., Modern French prison), altered (by influence of pris "taken;" see prize (n.2)) from earlier preson, from Vulgar Latin *presionem, from Latin prensionem (nominative prensio), shortening of prehensionem (nominative *prehensio) "a taking," noun of action from past participle stem of prehendere "to take" (see prehensile). "Captivity," hence by extension "a place for captives," the main modern sense.
- prison (v.)
- "to imprison," early 14c., from prison (n.) or Old French prisoner (v.). Related: Prisoned; prisoning.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Their son was born in prison .
- 2. Dissent can result in harassment and long prison terms .
- 3. His sentence could top 150 years in prison .
- 4. She could still face atrial and prison time .
- 5. Political detainees should be released from prison .