asylum

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Protection given by a country to someone who has fled danger in their own country.

   The refugees applied for asylum after escaping the war.

2. 2
   noun

   A safe place where someone can find shelter and protection.

   The old church had long served as an asylum for the poor and homeless.

3. 3
   noun

   An old word for a hospital for people with serious mental illness.

   In the past, patients were often locked away for years in a grim asylum.

Simplified etymology

Asylum entered English in the late Middle English period through Latin from Greek asulon, “refuge,” formed from a-, “without,” and sulon, “right of seizure.” It first meant a place of refuge, especially for criminals; its political-refuge and mental-institution senses date from the 18th century.

From Latin asylum, from Ancient Greek ἄσυλον (ásulon).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary