Caged

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Being held or kept inside a physical cage or enclosure that limits movement ; constrained in freedom or expression like being trapped by circumstances or emotions
2. Physically enclosed within bars or fencing that prevent escape ; feeling limited or oppressed as if confined by external or internal forces
3. Kept within a protective metal or wire structure to prevent leaving ; prevented from acting freely due to restrictions or controlling influences

Etymology: The adjective "caged" is simply the past participle of the verb "cage," so its history is really the history of the noun it grows from. That noun came into Middle English from Old French "cage," which in turn descends from the Latin "cavea," meaning an enclosure or hollow place, a word built on "cavus," "hollow." The Latin sense was already about containing something: a space shaped to hold living things in. Some of that Latin heritage shows up in unexpected places. "Cadge," a verb meaning to beg or obtain by asking, is a doublet of "cage," meaning the two words developed from the same Latin source but took different routes into English. "Jail," which entered English through Old French, is related in the same way to the idea of confinement.

Synonyms: confined, enclosed, imprisoned, restrained, held

Antonyms: free, liberated, released, unbound, unconfined