dungeon English · revision 2253

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdʌn.d͡ʒən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dongeon]], ''donjon'',^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro|donjon|t=great tower of a castle, keep]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[der|la-vul|*domniō|t=keep, mastery; lord's tower]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Late Latin ''dominium'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from Latin ''dominus'' “lord, master”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary mentions another possible source, a Germanic word related to ''dung'' meaning “an underground house built of dung”.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The great tower or keep of a castle (before 1325 per Barnhart, c. 1300 per Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The OED's first quotation for this sense is from 1375.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The tower was probably named for its commanding position;^(Etymonline) from the keep, the word passed to the prison cell beneath it and so to any dark, strong, often underground cell (before 1338).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD) The original sense went with the variant spelling ''donjon''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The American Heritage Dictionary notes that the word “went down in the world” literally.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1325 – the great tower of a castle.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * a1338 – a strong close cell.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1615 – verb, to imprison in a dungeon.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1773 – ''(Scots)'' a person of profound learning.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A dark, usually underground prison or cell, as in a medieval castle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The keep of a castle; a donjon.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(video games)'' An area full of enemies, treasure and objectives.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To imprison in a dungeon.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[donjon]]

+ * [[dominion]]

+ * [[dominate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}