incarcerate

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare (“to imprison”), from Latin in (“in”) + carcer (“a prison”), meaning "put behind lines (bars)" – Latin root is of a lattice or grid. Related to cancel (“cross out with lines”) and chancel (“area behind a lattice”).

See also carcerate and cancer.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ɪnˈkɑː.sə.ɹeɪt/

Verb

incarcerate (third-person singular simple present incarcerates, present participle incarcerating, simple past and past participle incarcerated)

1. To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.
2. To confine.

Usage notes

As a Latinate term, somewhat formal, compared to imprison.

Synonyms

• imprison
• jail

Derived terms

• incarceration

Related terms

• carceral
• carcerate

Translations

to lock away in prison

Chinese: 禁闭 (jinbi) Mandarin: 困 (cmn) Danish: indespære (da), fængsle (da) Dutch: opsluiten (nl), gevangenzetten (nl) Finnish: vangita (fi) French: incarcérer, imprisonner German: einsperren (de)

Greek: φυλακίσει (phylakísei) Italian: incarcerare (it), imprigionare (it) Japanese: 投獄する (tōgoku suru) Latin: incarcerare, in carcerem conjicere Polish: uwięziony Russian: заключить в тюрьму (zaklyuchit v turmu) Spanish: encarcelar (es)

to confine

Dutch: intomen (nl)

Italian: imprigionare (it)

External links

• incarcerate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• incarcerate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Italian

Verb

incarcerate

1. second-person plural present tense of incarcerare
2. second-person plural imperative of incarcerare
3. feminine plural past participle of incarcerare

Anagrams

• accentrerai