English edit

Etymology edit

Calque of French prisonnier de guerre, prisonier de guerre (obsolete).[1]

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

prisoner of war (plural prisoners of war)

  1. A combatant or soldier who is captured by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. [from early 17th c.]
    Synonyms: (abbreviations) POW, PW
    As a prisoner of war, he was interrogated by his enemy captors.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

References edit

  1. ^ prisoner of war, n.”, in OED Online  , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2022; prisoner of war, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading edit