bastille

C2+ Topic:Crime & Justice

US /bæˈstil/ UK /bæˈstiːl/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a fortress or prison

The dissidents languished for years in the king's grim bastille.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a fortress or prison fortress prison stronghold citadel keep dungeon

Word family

Related forms bastionbastide

Etymology

From Old French bastille ('fortress, tower'), from bastir ('to build'), of Germanic origin; generalized from the Paris fortress-prison stormed in 1789.

bastille Old French bastir Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

# bastille

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** bæˈstil
**IPA (UK):** bæˈstiːl

## Meanings
1. a fortress or prison

## Examples
- The dissidents languished for years in the king's grim bastille.

## Synonyms
- fortress
- prison
- stronghold
- citadel
- keep
- dungeon

## Related Forms
- bastion
- bastide

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bastille
- Root: bastir

## Etymology
From Old French bastille ('fortress, tower'), from bastir ('to build'), of Germanic origin; generalized from the Paris fortress-prison stormed in 1789.

## AI Etymology
Bastille is a noun meaning "a fortress or prison". Historically, it is from Old French bastille ('fortress, tower'), from bastir ('to build'), of Germanic origin; generalized from the Paris fortress-prison stormed in 1789. The historical chain links Old French bastille with Old French bastir. Close English family members include bastion, and bastide. This keeps the modern noun sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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bastille

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