prison French · revision 16534

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (prisun)|origins=la prehendō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pʁi.zɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''prison''' ''f'' (plural prisons)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''prisun'' (''Chanson de Roland''), ''prison'' from about 1155.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|prisun]], [[inh|la|prehēnsiō|alt=prehēnsiōnem|t=a seizing; arrest]], from [[m|la|prehendō|t=to seize]] (see [[prendre]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|9, 354a) The word went through a contracted popular form “*prensiōnem”, “*presiōnem”, which gave “preison” in three syllables, then “prison” under the influence of “pris”, the past participle of “prendre”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi) [[préhension]] is a learned doublet.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|prigione]], [[es|prisión]], [[pt|prisão]] and [[ca|presó]].^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) ''prisun'' is a capture, and ''meiner en sa prisun'' means to lead away captive.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By metonymy it named captivity (about 1140, Gaimar), whence ''jeter en prisun'' and ''tenir en prison'' (1155), and the prisoner himself (about 1140), a sense lost when ''prisonnier'' (1176–81) replaced it.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The place of detention is recorded about 1210.^(TLFi) In courtly language ''prison'' was the lover's service to his lady (about 1165), and Littré quotes Couci's ''Debonaire prison''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) The word drove out the older [[chartre]] and [[geôle]] in the sense “prison”.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ''Gracieux comme une porte de prison'' (Oudin, 1640) was ironic, Musset has ''triste comme la porte d'une prison'' (1842), and today one says ''aimable comme une porte de prison''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Prisun'', a capture, ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1135 – ''Emprisonner''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1140 – Captivity; a captive, Gaimar.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – The lover's service, ''Roman de Troie''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176–81 – ''Prisonier''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1210 – A place of detention.^(TLFi)

+ * 1640 – ''Gracieux comme une porte de prison''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|prison]], jail: ''aller en prison'', ''gardien de prison''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # Imprisonment as a penalty: ''deux ans de prison'', ''prison à vie''.^(Larousse)^(Littré 1873)

+ # A place where one is or feels shut in: ''cette maison est une prison''.^(Larousse)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''(figurative, literary)'' Whatever confines, restrains: ''la prison du corps''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prisonnier]]

+ * [[emprisonner]]

+ * [[emprisonnement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[prendre]]

+ * [[préhension]]

+ * [[la|prehēnsiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}