## Meanings
1. A building where criminals are kept locked up as punishment.
2. The punishment of being kept in such a place.
3. Any situation that feels restrictive and that you cannot easily escape.

## Examples
- He spent five years in prison for robbery.
- Prison changed him, and he came out a quieter man.
- Without a car, the remote village felt like a prison.

## Derived Forms
- antiprison
- cryoprison
- disprison
- emprison
- enprison
- imprison
- megaprison
- nonprison
- postprison
- prislam
- prisneyland
- prison-bound

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʰed-
- Root: prisoun
- Root: prisūn
- Root: prison
- Root: prehensiōnem

## Etymology
From Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension.

## AI Etymology
Prison comes from Middle English prisoun, prison, from Old English prisūn, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiōnem, accusative singular of prehensiō, from the verb prehendō. Doublet of prehension. The historical chain includes *gʰed- (Proto-Indo-European), prisoun (Middle English), prisūn (Old English), prison (Old French), prehensiōnem (Latin). In present-day English it covers a building where criminals are kept locked up as punishment, the punishment of being kept in such a place, and any situation that feels restrictive and that you cannot easily escape. The wider family includes derived forms such as antiprison, cryoprison, disprison, emprison, enprison.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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