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bastille

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Etymology and origin of the French word bastille

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1370 Archives nationales More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Frankish *bastjan

Pronunciation

Forms

bastille f (plural bastilles)[1] Middle French bassetille (1370), then bastille (about 1400).[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French bastide (“fortification”) with a change of suffix.[4][5][3][6] The TLFi derives it directly from the Old Occitan form bastida.[2] The Occitan word comes from bastir (“to build”), from Frankish *bastjan (“to work with bast, to build”).[1][7][8] Wiktionary says the ending was remodelled after nouns in ⟨-ille⟩.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A 1370 document in the Archives nationales speaks of fortifying une bassetille devant le fort de Thury, a fortified work.[2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval warfare a bastille was a fortified work built to defend a place or to besiege it;[2][9] Christine de Pizan has the form bastille about 1400.[2][9] In 1476 a letter of Louis XI uses it for the castle begun in Paris under Charles V, which served as a state prison.[2][3] The Bastille became the symbol of royal oppression and was taken and destroyed by the insurgents in 1789.[3][6]

By metaphor the word has meant any prison (1783, Mercier, Linguet), and figuratively, from the late 18th century, a moral or intellectual barrier.[3] The English Bastille names the Paris fortress.[10]

Timeline

  • 1370 – Bassetille “fortified work” is recorded.[2]
  • c. 1400 – Christine de Pizan uses the form bastille.[2]
  • 1476 – A letter of Louis XI uses it for the Paris fortress and prison.[2]
  • 1606 – Nicot names the castle by the Porte Saint-Antoine la Bastille.[2]
  • 1671 – The heraldic adjective bastillé is recorded.[2]
  • 1783 – Mercier and Linguet use it for any prison.[3]
  • 1789 – The Bastille is taken and destroyed.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (historical) A medieval fortification or castle built to defend or besiege a place.[6][2]
  2. La Bastille: the fortress in Paris used as a state prison, taken in 1789: la prise de la Bastille.[6][5]
  3. (by extension) A prison, especially for political prisoners.[5][11]
  4. (figurative) A means of oppression.[5][3]

Word family

  • embastiller
  • bastillé

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 77a
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
  10. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“Bastille.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/bastille. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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