Prisoun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling of prison, meaning a place where people are confined against their will as punishment
2. Obsolete form of prison referring to a building or enclosure in which captives are held under guard
3. Old variant spelling for a jail or stronghold where someone is kept locked away and deprived of liberty

Etymology: Behind the word for a place of confinement is the idea of grasping. It comes from Latin "prehensio," meaning a seizing or taking hold, from the verb "prehendere," which also gave English "apprehend," "comprehend," and "prehensile." Old French turned the sense of seizing into a word for a captive, and then for the place where captives are kept. English borrowed the Old French word in the Middle English period, when it was often spelled "prisoun," with the French-style ending. The modern spelling became standard later, but the older form still appears in English writing from earlier centuries.

Synonyms: prison, jail