bastille

See also Bastille

English

WOTD - 14 July 2011    

Alternative forms

• bastile (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French bastille, from Late Latin bastilia, plural of bastile, from bastire (“to build”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /bɑːˈstiːl/, /baˈstiːl/

Noun

bastille (plural bastilles)

1. A castle tower, or fortified building; a small citadel or fortress.
2. A prison or jail.
   • 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, I.2:

     Thither arriv'd, th' advent'rous Knight / And bold Squire from their Steeds alight, / At th' outward Wall, near which there stands / A Bastile, built t' imprison Hands [...].

Translations

castle tower, or fortified building; small citadel or fortress

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Armenian: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Czech: please add this translation if you can Dutch: please add this translation if you can Finnish: bastilji (fi) French: please add this translation if you can German: please add this translation if you can

Hindi: please add this translation if you can Italian: please add this translation if you can Japanese: please add this translation if you can Korean: please add this translation if you can Portuguese: please add this translation if you can Russian: крепость (ru) (krépost’) f. Spanish: please add this translation if you can Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

prison or jail

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Armenian: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Czech: please add this translation if you can Dutch: please add this translation if you can Finnish: vankila (fi), tyrmä (fi) French: please add this translation if you can German: please add this translation if you can

Hindi: please add this translation if you can Italian: please add this translation if you can Japanese: please add this translation if you can Korean: please add this translation if you can Portuguese: please add this translation if you can Russian: тюрьма (ru) (tjur’má) f. Spanish: please add this translation if you can Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

Anagrams

• bile salt, listable

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French

Etymology

From Late Latin bastilia, plural of bastile, from bastire (“to build”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bastij/

Noun

bastille f. (plural bastilles)

1. fortress