captive

See also: captivé

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English captif; derived from Latin captīvus, probably through a borrowing from a Middle French intermediate. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“seize, hold”). Doublet of caitiff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæptɪv/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cap‧tive

Noun

captive (plural captives)

1. One who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 44:

     I envy not in any moods
     ⁠The captive void of noble rage,
     ⁠The linnet born within the cage,
     That never knew the summer woods: […]

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him. The captive made no resistance […].

2. One held prisoner.
3. (figurative) One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.
4. A captive insurance company, a subsidiary of a company used as its internal insurer.

Derived terms

• captivance
• captively
• encaptive
• recaptive
• semicaptive

Translations

a person who has been captured

• Abaza: гъар (ɣar)
• Adyghe: гъэр (ğɛr)
• Albanian: rob (sq) m
• Arabic: أَسِير m (ʔasīr), أَسِيرَة m (ʔasīra), مَحْبُوس m (maḥbūs), مَحْبُوسَة f (maḥbūsa)

  Egyptian Arabic: يسير m (yasīr)

• Armenian: գերի (hy) (geri)
• Azerbaijani: əsir (az)
• Belarusian: пало́нны m (palónny), пало́нная f (palónnaja), пало́ннік m (palónnik), пало́нніца f (palónnica), вя́зень m (vjázjenʹ)
• Bengali: বন্দী (bn) (bondi)
• Bulgarian: пле́нник (bg) m (plénnik), пле́нничка f (plénnička), пле́нница f (plénnica), затво́рник (bg) m (zatvórnik), затво́рничка f (zatvórnička), затво́рница f (zatvórnica)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: captiu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 俘虜 / 俘虏 (zh) (fúlǔ)

• Czech: zajatec (cs) m, zajatkyně f
• Danish: fange (da) c
• Dutch: gevangene (nl) m or f
• Estonian: vang (et)
• Finnish: vanki (fi)
• French: captif (fr) m, captive (fr) f
• Galician: cativo (gl) m
• Georgian: ტყვე (ṭq̇ve)
• German: Gefangener (de) m, Gefangene (de) f
• Greek: δεσμώτης (el) m (desmótis)

  Ancient: αἰχμάλωτος m or f (aikhmálōtos)

• Hebrew: שָׁבוּי m (shavúy), שְׁבוּיָה f
• Hindi: बंदी (hi) m (bandī), असीर (hi) m (asīr)
• Hungarian: fogoly (hu)
• Irish: cime m, príosúnach m, braighdeanach m, broid f (literary)
• Italian: prigioniero (it)
• Japanese: 俘虜 (ja) (ふりょ, furyo, とりこ, toriko), とりこ (ja) (toriko)
• Kabardian: гъэр (kbd) (ğɛr)
• Kazakh: тұтқын (kk) (tūtqyn)
• Khmer: ឈ្លើយ (km) (chləəy)
• Korean: 포로(捕虜) (ko) (poro)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: دیل (dîl)

  Northern Kurdish: dîl (ku) m or f, êsîr (ku) m or f, girtî (ku) m or f

• Kyrgyz: туткун (ky) (tutkun)
• Lao: ຊະເລີຍ (sa lœ̄i), ເຊີຍ (sœ̄i)
• Latin: captīvus m, captus (la) m
• Latvian: gūsteknis m, sagūstītais m
• Lithuanian: belaisvis m
• Macedonian: заробеник m (zarobenik), заробеничка f (zarobenička), заробеница f (zarobenica)
• Malay: orang tawanan
• Maltese: isir m, maqbud m
• Manchu: ᠣᠯᠵᡳ (olji)
• Maori: whakarau
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хоригдол (mn) (xorigdol)

• Nahuatl: malli (nah)
• Navajo: yisnááh
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fange (no) m

• Old English: hæft
• Ottoman Turkish: اسیر (esir), طالاق (dalak)
• Pashto: اسير (ps) m (asír), بندي (ps) m (bandí)
• Persian: اسیر (fa) (asir), بندی (fa) (bandi)
• Plautdietsch: Jefangna m
• Polish: jeniec (pl) m, więzień (pl) m, więźniarka (pl) f
• Portuguese: cativo (pt) m
• Romanian: captiv (ro) m, prizonier (ro) m
• Russian: пле́нный (ru) m (plénnyj), пле́нная (ru) f (plénnaja), пле́нник (ru) m (plénnik), пле́нница (ru) f (plénnica), у́зник (ru) m (úznik), у́зница (ru) f (úznica)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: су̑жањ m, заробљѐнӣк m, заробљѐница f

  Roman: sȗžanj (sh) m, zarobljènīk (sh) m, zarobljènica (sh) f

• Slovak: zajatec m, zajatkyňa f
• Slovene: ujetnik (sl) m, ujetnica f
• Spanish: cautivo (es) m, prisionero (es) m, captivo (es) m (disused)
• Swedish: fånge (sv)
• Tagalog: bihag
• Tajik: асир (tg) (asir), бандизан (bandizan)
• Tatar: әсир (tt) (äsir)
• Thai: เชลย (th) (chá-ləəi)
• Turkish: esir (tr)
• Turkmen: ýesir
• Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎒𐎗 (ảsr)
• Ukrainian: полоне́ний m (polonényj), полоне́на f (polonéna), бра́нець (uk) m (bránecʹ), бра́нка (uk) f (bránka), в'я́зень (uk) m (vʺjázenʹ), полоня́нин m (polonjányn), полоня́нка f (polonjánka), полоне́ник m (polonényk)
• Urdu: اسیر m (asīr), بندی m (bandī)
• Uyghur: ئەسىر (esir)
• Uzbek: asir (uz), tutkun (uz), bandi (uz)
• Vietnamese: người tù binh
• Yiddish: געפֿאַנגענער m (gefangener)

a person held prisoner

• Bulgarian: затво́рник (bg) m (zatvórnik), затво́рничка f (zatvórnička), затво́рница f (zatvórnica)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏴᎩ (ayvgi)
• Czech: zajatec (cs) m, zajatkyně f
• Dutch: gevangene (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: kaptito, malliberulo
• Finnish: vanki (fi)
• German: Gefangener (de)
• Irish: cime m
• Italian: prigioniero (it)
• Nahuatl: malli (nah)
• Navajo: yisnááh
• Ottoman Turkish: اسیر (esir)
• Persian: اسیر (fa) (asir)
• Plautdietsch: Jefangna m
• Polish: więzień (pl) m, jeniec (pl) m
• Portuguese: prisioneiro (pt) m
• Russian: пле́нник (ru) m (plénnik), пле́нница (ru) f (plénnica), у́зник (ru) m (úznik), у́зница (ru) f (úznica)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: заробљѐнӣк m, заробљѐница f

  Roman: zarobljènīk (sh) m, zarobljènica (sh) f

• Slovak: zajatec m, zajatkyňa f
• Spanish: preso (es) m
• Swahili: ghanima
• Thai: เชลย (th) (chá-ləəi)
• Turkish: esir (tr), mahkum (tr), tutuklu (tr), hükümlü (tr)

Adjective

captive (not comparable)

1. Held prisoner; not free; confined.
   • 1671, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:

     A poor, miserable, captive thrall.

2. Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     Even in so short a space, my woman's heart / Grossly grew captive to his honey words.

3. Of or relating to bondage or confinement; serving to confine.

   captive chains; captive hours

Antonyms

• non-captive, noncaptive

Derived terms

• captive audience
• captive audience meeting
• captive bead ring
• captive bolt pistol
• captive candidate
• captive insurer
• captive nation
• captive portal

Translations

held prisoner

• Arabic: أَسِير (ʔasīr), مَحْبُوس (maḥbūs)
• Belarusian: пало́нны (palónny)
• Bulgarian: пленен (bg) (plenen)
• Catalan: captiu (ca)
• Czech: zajatý
• Dutch: gevangen (nl)
• Finnish: vangittu (fi)
• French: captif (fr)
• German: gefangen (de)
• Hungarian: fogságba esett, foglyul ejtett, fogva tartott, rabul ejtett
• Italian: catturato (it), intrappolato (it)
• Latin: captīvus
• Macedonian: заробен (zaroben)
• Malay: tawanan
• Maori: aromea
• Ottoman Turkish: دربند (derbend, derbent)
• Portuguese: cativo (pt)
• Romanian: captiv (ro)
• Russian: пле́нный (ru) (plénnyj)
• Slovak: zajatý
• Spanish: cautivo (es), captivo (es) (disused)
• Ukrainian: поло́нений (polónenyj)

Verb

captive (third-person singular simple present captives, present participle captiving, simple past and past participle captived)

1. (transitive, archaic) To capture; to take captive.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kap.tiv/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

captive f (plural captives, masculine captif)

1. female captive

Verb

captive

1. inflection of captiver:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Latin

Adjective

captīve

1. vocative masculine singular of captīvus

Middle English

Noun

captive

1. alternative form of captif