prison

A2 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /ˈpɹɪzn̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #894

Meanings

1

noun
A building where criminals are kept locked up as punishment.

He spent five years in prison for robbery.
2

noun
The punishment of being kept in such a place.

Prison changed him, and he came out a quieter man.
3

noun
Any situation that feels restrictive and that you cannot easily escape.

Without a car, the remote village felt like a prison.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a building where criminals... jail

2 noun · the punishment of being... imprisonment

Word family

Forms prisonedprisons

Derived forms antiprisoncryoprisondisprisonemprisonenprisonimprisonmegaprisonnonprisonpostprisonprislamprisneylandprison-bound

Appears in

Phrases (9)

See all

local prison
a prison located near the area where an offender was tried

Adjective + noun
escape prison
to break out of prison without authorisation

Verb + noun
leave prison
to be released from prison after serving a sentence

Verb + noun
high-security prison
a prison with strict measures to prevent escapes and hold dangerous offenders

Adjective + noun
maximum-security prison
a prison with the highest level of security for the most dangerous offenders

Adjective + noun
open prison
a low-security prison with minimal physical restraints for inmates near the end of their sentence

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

There are no ugly loves, nor handsome prisons

Simplified etymology

Prison, recorded in Old English, came through Old French from Latin prehendere, meaning “to seize.”

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.

*gʰed- Proto-Indo-European prisoun Middle English prisūn Old English prison Old French prehensiōnem Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# prison

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɹɪzn̩/
**Frequency rank:** 894

## 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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