Etymologically
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prisoner

Etymology and origin of the English word prisoner

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1350
Borrowed from
Old French prisonier
Ultimate origin
Old French (prisonier)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɹɪzənə/, /ˈpɹɪznə/ (UK); /ˈpɹɪzənɚ/, /ˈpɹɪznɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French prisonier (“captive, hostage”) (Anglo-Norman prisoner),[2][3][4] from prisoun (see prison) and -ier, as well as Medieval Latin prisonarius.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who is kept in prison or custody: the 14th century in the OED and MWU, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[6][3][2] An earlier prisoner, a jailer, from the mid-13th century (about 1250), did not survive Middle English.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

A person captured in war is from about 1350,[6] though the phrase prisoner of war dates from the 1670s.[2] The figurative one deprived of liberty is from the late 14th century (about 1380).[2][6] The children's game prisoner's base is from the 1590s.[2] The logic problem called the prisoner's dilemma is from 1957.[2][6]

Timeline

  • c. 1250 – a jailer (obsolete).[6]
  • c. 1350 – a captive in war.[6]
  • c. 1380 – figurative use.[6]
  • 1670s – prisoner of war.[2]
  • 1957 – prisoner's dilemma.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person kept in prison as a punishment or awaiting trial.
  2. A person taken and held captive, especially in war.
  3. A person or thing restricted or confined by something: a prisoner of his past.

Word family

  • prisoner of war

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Prisoner.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/prisoner. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·