donjon
English edit
Etymology edit
A variant of dungeon remodelled on its etymon, Old French donjon.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdɒn.d͡ʒən/
- (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈdɑn.d͡ʒən/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈdɔn.d͡ʒən/
Noun edit
donjon (plural donjons)
- The fortified tower and main residence of a motte or early castle; a keep.
- 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter VII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 106:
- It was a fortress of no great size, consisting of a donjon, or large and high square tower, surrounded by buildings of inferior height, which were encircled by an inner court-yard.
- 2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 132:
- […] the prison fortress called Qomr, a mound of yellowish brick rising up from the left back of the turbid river, in whose donjon by long tradition the warlord was obliged to lay his head.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
fortified tower — see keep
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
donjon m (plural donjons, diminutive donjonnetje n)
Synonyms edit
French edit
Etymology edit
From Old French donjon, from Vulgar Latin *dominiōnem.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
donjon m (plural donjons)
Descendants edit
References edit
- “donjon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle English edit
Noun edit
donjon
- Alternative form of dongeoun
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Vulgar Latin *dominiōnem. Compare Old Occitan domnhon.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
donjon oblique singular, m (oblique plural donjons, nominative singular donjons, nominative plural donjon)
- keep, donjon
- 12th Century, Béroul, Tristan et Iseut:
- Li chiens gardoit par le donjon / Qar mis estoit a grant freor / Quant il ne voiet son seignor.
- The dog looked through the keep, for he felt a great terror when he couldn't see his master.
Descendants edit
- French: donjon (see there for further descendants)
- Picard: donjôn (Athois)
- → Middle English: dongeoun (partly)
- → Medieval Latin: donjōnus
References edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
donjon n (plural donjoane)
Declension edit
Declension of donjon
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) donjon | donjonul | (niște) donjoane | donjoanele |
genitive/dative | (unui) donjon | donjonului | (unor) donjoane | donjoanelor |
vocative | donjonule | donjoanelor |