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Origin and history of prison

prison(n.)

late Old English, prisoun, "place of confinement or involuntary restraint, dungeon, jail," 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" (from prae- "before," see pre-, + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take").

In early use often "captivity, the condition of being in captivity or confinement;" hence, by extension, "a place for captives, a public building for confinement or safe custody of criminals and others committed by legal process," the main modern sense.

prison(v.)

"to imprison, shut up in a prison, restrain from liberty," literally or figuratively, early 14c., from prison (n.) or Old French prisoner (v.). Related: Prisoned; prisoning.

also from early 14c.

Entries linking to prison

prize(n.2)

"something taken by force," mid-13c., prise "a taking, holding," from Old French prise "a taking, seizing, holding," noun use of fem. past participle of prendre "to take, seize," from Latin prendere, contraction of prehendere "lay hold of, grasp, seize, catch" (from prae- "before," see pre-, + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take").

Especially of a ship captured legally at sea (1510s). The spelling with -z- is from late 16c.

imprison(v.)

c. 1300, from Old French emprisoner "imprison; be in prison" (12c.), from assimilated form of in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") + prison (see prison). Formerly also emprison. Related: Imprisoned; imprisoning.

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prisoner
"person confined in a prison, captive person," mid-14c. (earlier "a jailer," mid-13c., but this did not survive Middle English), from Old French prisonier "captive, hostage" (12c., Modern French prisonnier), from prisoun (see prison (n.)) and from Medieval Latin prisonarius. Figu
*ghend-
also *ghed-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to seize, to take."  It forms all or part of: apprehend; apprentice; apprise; beget; comprehend; comprehension; comprehensive; comprise; depredate; depredation; emprise; enterprise; entrepreneur; forget; get; guess; impresario;
reprieve
1570s, reprive, "take back to prison," alteration (perhaps by influence of reprove) of Middle English repryen "to remand,...Meaning "to suspend an impending execution" is recorded from 1590s; this sense evolved probably because being sent back to prison...
cage
of wires, reeds, etc.," typically for confining domesticated birds or wild beasts, c. 1200, from Old French cage "cage, prison...From c. 1300 in English as "a cage for prisoners, jail, prison, a cell."...
deadline
do-not-cross" line in Civil War prisons, which figured in the trial of Henry Wirz, commander of the notorious Confederate prison...And he, the said Wirz, still wickedly pursuing his evil purpose, did establish and cause to be designated within the prison...enclosure containing said prisoners a "dead line," being a line around the inner face of the stockade or wall enclosing said prison...shifting strips of [boards nailed] upon the tops of small and insecure stakes or posts, he, the said Wirz, instructed the prison...
hock
"pawn, debt," 1859, American English, in hock, which meant both "in debt" and "in prison," from Dutch hok "jail, pen, doghouse...Among thieves a man is in hock when he is in prison. [G.W. Matsell, "Vocabulum," 1859]...
remit
From c. 1400 as "refer for consideration or performance from one person or group to another;" early 15c. as "send to prison...or back to prison."...
nick
"notch, groove, slit," mid-15c., nik, nyke, a word of unknown origin, possibly from a variant of Old French niche (see niche). Nick of time is attested by 1640s (nick of opportunity is 1610s), possibly from an old custom of recording time as it passed by making notches on a tally
situation
early 15c., situacioun, "place, position, or location," from Old French situacion or directly from Medieval Latin situationem (nominative situatio) "a position, situation," noun of action from past-participle stem of situare "to place, locate," from Latin situs "a place, position
Bastille
14th century Paris fortress later used as a prison and destroyed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789, as a symbol of royal despotism; French, literally "fortress, gate tower" (see bastion). Many French cities kept their medieval gate-towers as prisons after other fortifications w

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