prison

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɪzən/, [pʰɹ̠̊ɪzn̩]
• Rhymes: -ɪzən

Noun

prison (countable and uncountable, plural prisons)

1. A place or institution of confinement, especially of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.

   Synonyms: bridewell, big house; see also Thesaurus:prison

   Coordinate terms: gaol, jail, slammer, hoosegow

   Hypernyms: correctional facility, correctional institution

   Hyponyms: panopticon, dungeon

   The cold stone walls of the prison had stood for over a century.

2. (uncountable) Confinement in prison.

   Synonym: imprisonment

   Prison was a harrowing experience for him.

3. (colloquial, figuratively) Any restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home.

   The academy was a prison for many of its students because of its strict teachers.

Derived terms

Terms derived from prison

• imprison
• Prislam
• prison camp
• prison cell
• prison chaser

• prisoner
• prison governor
• prison guard
• prisonhouse
• prison officer

• prison record
• prison sentence
• prison warden

Translations

place of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes

• Abkhaz: абахҭа (abaxta)
• Adzera: karabus
• Afrikaans: tronk (af), gevangenis (af)
• Albanian: burg (sq) m
• Amharic: ከርቼሌ (kärčele), ዘብጥያ (zäbṭəya)
• Arabic: سِجْن‎ (ar) m (sijn)

  Egyptian Arabic: سجن‎ m (sign)

  Moroccan Arabic: حبْس‎ m (ḥəbs)

• Aramaic: ܚܒܘܫܝܐ‎
• Armenian: բանտ (hy) (bant)
• Aromanian: ncljisoari f, hapsi, hãpsani, filichii, zundani, pudrumi
• Asturian: cárcel f, prisión f
• Avar: турма (turma)
• Azerbaijani: həbsxana, zindan, dustaqxana, qazamat, türmə, həbs
• Bashkir: төрмә (törmä)
• Basque: espetxe
• Belarusian: турма́ f (turmá), цямні́ца f (cjamníca), астро́г m (astróh)
• Bengali: কারাগার (karagar)
• Breton: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: затво́р (bg) m (zatvór), дранго́лник (bg) m (drangólnik), тъмни́ца (bg) f (tǎmníca), тюрма́ (bg) f (tjurmá), занда́н (bg) m (zandán)
• Burmese: အကျဉ်းထောင် (my) (a.kyany:htaung), ထောင် (my) (htaung)
• Catalan: presó (ca) f, càrcer (ca) m, presidi m
• Cebuano: bilanggoan, prisohan
• Chechen: набахти (nabaχti)
• Cherokee: ᏗᏓᏍᏚᏗ (didasdudi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 監獄, 监狱 (gaam¹ juk⁶), 牢獄, 牢狱 (lou⁴ juk⁶), 監牢, 监牢 (gaam¹ lou⁴)

  Dungan: йүҗян (yüži͡an), банфонзы (banfonzɨ)

  Hakka: 監獄, 监狱 (kâm-ngiu̍k), 監牢, 监牢 (kâm-lò), 囹仔 (lông-é)

  Mandarin: 監獄 (zh), 监狱 (zh) (jiānyù), 牢獄 (zh), 牢狱 (zh) (láoyù), 監牢 (zh), 监牢 (zh) (jiānláo), 班房 (zh) (bānfáng)

  Min Nan: 監牢, 监牢 (kaⁿ-lô), 監獄 (zh-min-nan), 监狱 (kaⁿ-ga̍k), 櫳仔, 栊仔 (lông-á), 櫳仔內, 栊仔内 (lông-á-lāi)

  Wu: 監獄, 监狱 (ke nyoq)

• Coptic: ϣⲧⲉⲕⲟ m (šteko), ⲕⲉⲣⲟⲩⲥⲓⲁ f (kerousia)
• Cornish: prison m
• Corsican: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: vězení (cs) n, žalář (cs) m, věznice (cs) f
• Danish: fængsel (da) n
• Dutch: gevangenis (nl) f, kerker (nl) m
• Esperanto: malliberejo (eo), prizono
• Estonian: vangla (et)
• Farefare: yʋ'a deem
• Faroese: fongsul n, fangahús n, gegl n
• Finnish: vankila (fi), tyrmä (fi)
• French: prison (fr) f, (slang) cabane (fr) f, geôle (fr) f, pénitencier (fr) m

  Old French: prison f

• Galician: prisión f, cárcere m, cadea (gl) f, trenla (gl) f
• Georgian: ციხე (cixe), საპატიმრო (saṗaṭimro)
• German: Gefängnis (de) n, Knast (de) m (colloquial), Kerker (de) m (slang), Zuchthaus (de) n (dated)
• Greek: φυλακή (el) f (fylakí), δεσμωτήριο (el) n (desmotírio)

  Ancient: δεσμωτήριον n (desmōtḗrion), εἱρκτή f (heirktḗ)

• Greenlandic: parnaarussivik
• Gujarati: તુરંગ (turaṅg)
• Hebrew: כֶּלֶא‎ (he) m (kéle), בֵּית כֶּלֶא‎ (he) m (beit kéle), בֵּית סֹהַר‎ (he) m (beit sóhar), בֵּית הָאֲסוּרִים‎ m (beit haasurím)
• Hiligaynon: bilanggoan
• Hindi: कारागार (hi) m (kārāgār), बन्दीघर (hi) m (bandīghar), जेल (hi) m (jel), क़ैदख़ाना m (qaidxānā)
• Hungarian: börtön (hu)
• Icelandic: fangelsi (is) n
• Ido: karcero (io)
• Ilocano: pagbaludan
• Indonesian: penjara (id)
• Irish: príosún (ga) m, carcair f
• Italian: prigione (it) f, carcere (it) m, fresco (it) m
• Japanese: 監獄 (ja) (かんごく, kangoku), 刑務所 (ja) (けいむしょ, keimusho), 牢屋 (ja) (ろうや, rōya), 牢 (ja) (ろう, rō)
• Jarai: sang krư̆, sang mơnă
• Kannada: ಜೈಲು (kn) (jailu)
• Kazakh: түрме (kk) (türme), абақты (abaqtı)
• Khmer: គុក (km) (kuk), ពន្ធនាគារ (km) (pŏənthĕəʼniəkiə)
• Korean: 교도소 (ko) (gyodoso), 감옥 (ko) (gamok), 형무소 (hyeongmuso)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: بەندیخانە‎ (ku) (bendîxane), گرتوخانە‎ (girtuxane), زندان‎ (ku) (zindan)

  Northern Kurdish: girtîgeh (ku) f, zindan (ku)

• Kyrgyz: түрмө (ky) (türmö), абак (ky) (abaq)
• Lao: ຄຸກ (lo) (khuk), ເຮືອນຈຳກາງ (hư̄an cham kāng)
• Latin: carcer m
• Latvian: cietums m
• Lithuanian: kalėjimas

• Livonian: vizākuodā
• Luxembourgish: Prisong (lb) m
• Macedonian: за́твор m (zátvor), зандана f (zandana)
• Malay: penjara
• Malayalam: കാരാഗൃഹം (ml) (kārāgṛhaṃ), ജയില് (jayilŭ), തുറുങ്ക് (ml) (tuṟuṅkŭ)
• Maltese: ħabs m
• Manx: pryssoon
• Maori: whare herehere
• Marathi: तुरुंग (mr) (turuṅga)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: шорон (mn) (shoron), гяндан (mn) (gyandan), хар гэр (khar ger)

• Moore: bãens-roogo, bi-bees roogo
• Navajo: awáalya
• Nepali: थाना (thānā)
• Northern Sami: fáŋgal, ladni
• Norwegian: fengsel (no) n
• Occitan: preson (oc) f
• Ojibwe: gibaakwa'odiiwigamig
• Okinawan: 監獄 (かんぐく, kanguku), 牢屋 (るーや, rūya), 牢 (るー, rū)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: тьмьница f (tĭmĭnica), острогъ m (ostrogŭ)

• Old East Slavic: тюрма f (tjurma), тьмьница f (tĭmĭnica), острогъ m (ostrogŭ)
• Old English: cweartern n, carcern n
• Oromo: mana hidhaa
• Ossetian: ахӕстон (axæston)
• Pashto: زندان‎ (ps) m (zendãn), اړتون‎ (ps) m (aṛtǔn), بنديخانه‎ f (bandixāná), جېل‎ (ps) m (ǰel), جېلخانه‎ f (ǰelxāná), قيدخانه‎ (ps) f (qaydxāná), محبس‎ m (mahbás)
• Persian: زندان‎ (fa) (zendân)
• Plautdietsch: Kjarkja m, Jefenkjniss n
• Polish: więzienie (pl) n, pierdel (pl) m (colloquial)
• Portuguese: prisão (pt) f, cadeia (pt) f, xadrez (pt) m (slang, Brazil), cárcere (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਜੇਲ੍ਹ f (jelh), ਬੰਦੀਖਾਨਾ m (bandīkhānā), ਬੰਦੀਖ਼ਾਨਾ m (bandīxānā), ਕੈਦਖਾਨਾ m (kaidkhānā), ਕੈਦਖ਼ਾਨਾ m (kaidxānā)
• Quechua: laqha wasi
• Romanian: închisoare (ro), pușcărie (ro), temniță (ro)
• Romansch: praschun f
• Russian: тюрьма́ (ru) f (tjurʹmá), темни́ца (ru) f (temníca) (dated), остро́г (ru) m (ostróg) (dated), куту́зка (ru) f (kutúzka) (slang), катала́жка (ru) f (katalážka) (slang), тюря́га (ru) f (tjurjága) (slang), зо́на (ru) f (zóna) (slang), казема́т (ru) m (kazemát) (dated, low colloquial)
• Scots: preeson
• Scottish Gaelic: prìosan m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: затвор m, тамница f

  Roman: zatvor (sh) m, tamnica (sh) m

• Sinhalese: සිරගෙදර (siragedara)
• Slovak: väznica (sk) f, väzenie n, žalár (sk) m
• Slovene: zapor (sl) m, ječa f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: popajźeństwo n

  Upper Sorbian: jastwo

• Southern Altai: тӱрме (türme)
• Spanish: cárcel (es) f, prisión (es) f, penitenciaría (es) f, chirona (es) f (colloquial), trullo (es) (colloquial), talego (es) (Spain, colloquial)
• Svan: дѵліг (dəlig)
• Swahili: jela (sw), gereza (sw) 5 or 6
• Swedish: fängelse (sv) n
• Tagalog: bilangguan, piitan
• Tajik: зиндон (tg) (zindon)
• Tamil: சிறை (ta) (ciṟai), சிறைச்சாலை (ta) (ciṟaiccālai)
• Tatar: төрмә (tt) (törmä)
• Telugu: జైలు (te) (jailu), కారాగారం (te) (kārāgāraṃ)
• Thai: คุก (th) (kúk), กรงขัง (th) (grong-kǎng)
• Tibetan: བཙོན་ཁང (btson khang)
• Tigrinya: ቤት ማእሰርቲ (bet maʾsärti)
• Tocharian B: prautke
• Tok Pisin: kalabus
• Turkish: hapis (tr), hapishane (tr), cezaevi (tr)
• Turkmen: türme
• Tuvan: кара-бажың (kara-bajıñ)
• Ukrainian: в'язни́ця (uk) f (vʺjaznýcja), тюрма́ f (tjurmá), темни́ця f (temnýcja), остро́г (uk) m (ostróh)
• Urdu: کاراگار‎ m (kārāgār), بندیگھر‎ m (bandīghar), جیل‎ m (jēl), قیدخانہ‎ m (qaidxānā)
• Uyghur: تۈرمە‎ (türme), قاماقخانا‎ (qamaqxana)
• Uzbek: turma (uz), qamoqxona (uz)
• Vietnamese: tù (vi), nhà tù (vi)
• Volapük: fanäböp (vo)
• Walloon: prijhon (wa) m or f
• Welsh: carchar (cy) m
• West Frisian: finzenis
• Yiddish: טורמע‎ f (turme), תּפֿיסה‎ f (tfise)
• Yonaguni: 牢屋 (どぅや, duya)
• Zhuang: banfuengz, gam, lauz, fuengz

confinement in a prison

• Bashkir: төрмә (törmä)
• Czech: věznění n
• Danish: fængsling c, indespærring c, fængselsstraf (da) c, frihedsstraf c (formal), hæfte n (up to six months in an open prison), hæftestraf c (up to six months in an open prison)
• Finnish: vankeus (fi), vankeusrangaistus (fi)
• French: prison (fr) f
• German: Haft (de) f, Gefangenschaft (de) f
• Greek: φυλάκιση (el) f (fylákisi), κάθειρξη (el) f (kátheirxi)
• Ido: karcero (io)

• Italian: prigione (it) f, carcere (it) m
• Norwegian: fengsel (no) n
• Polish: więzienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: cárcere (pt) m
• Russian: тюре́мное заключе́ние n (tjurémnoje zaključénije), заточе́ние в тюрьму́ n (zatočénije v tjurʹmú), тюрьма́ (ru) f (tjurʹmá), срок (ru) m (srok)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: popajźeństwo n

• Volapük: fanäbam (vo)

Verb

prison (third-person singular simple present prisons, present participle prisoning, simple past and past participle prisoned)

1. (transitive) To imprison.

Translations

imprison — see imprison

Further reading

• prison at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• porins, prions, proins, ripons, spinor

---

French

Etymology

From Old French prison, inherited from Latin prehensiō, prehensiōnem, from prehendō. Doublet of préhension.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁi.zɔ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

prison f (plural prisons)

1. prison

Derived terms

• aimable comme une porte de prison
• emprisonner
• prison dorée
• prisonnier

Further reading

• “prison” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• prions, ripons

---

Norman

Etymology

From Old French prison, from Latin prehensiō, prehensiōnem (“seizing, apprehending, arresting, capturing”).

Noun

prison f (plural prisons)

1. (Jersey) prison

Related terms

• emprisonner, mettre en prison (“to imprison”)

---

Old French

Alternative forms

• prisoun (less common)
• prisun (less common)

Etymology

From Latin prehensiō, prehensiōnem, from prehendō.

Noun

prison f (oblique plural prisons, nominative singular prison, nominative plural prisons)

1. prison
   • c. 1200, 'Aucassin et Nicolette':

     Por vos sui en prison mis
     dans ce celier sousterin

     For you, I have been put in this prison
     in this underground cellar

Noun

prison m (oblique plural prisons, nominative singular prisons, nominative plural prison)

1. prisoner

Derived terms

• prisonnier

Descendants

• → Middle English: prisoun
  • English: prison
  • Scots: preeson
• French: prison
• Norman: prison (Jersey)