English
prisoner
Prisoner comes from Old French prison, from Latin prehensiō ‘an act of seizing, apprehending, arresting,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-‘to find’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰnédtireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hendō‘to hold’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣendōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehendō‘to seize’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehensiōas prehensiōnem‘an act of seizing, apprehending, arresting, capturing’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400prison
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400prisonier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prisoner
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588prisoner
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-‘to find’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰnédtireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hendō‘to hold’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣendōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehendō‘to seize’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehensiōas prehensiōnem‘an act of seizing, apprehending, arresting, capturing’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400prison
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400prisonier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prisoner
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588prisoner
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “And gainſt the General we will lift our ſwords…”
Formed from prison + -er
Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’
…
Latin prehēnsiō ‘an act of seizing’
Old French prison
Old English prisūn ‘prison’
Middle English prisoun ‘prison’
English prison
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’
yet, guess, prey, predator, apprehend, predation, reprieve, impregnable, beget, prehensile, 31 more
through Proto-Italic *praiɣendō
through Latin prehendō ‘to seize’
surprise, comprehensive, prize, apprentice, comprehend, comprehension, comprise, apprehensive, reprehensible, apprehension, 13 more
through Old French prison
Today it means
noun A person incarcerated in a prison, while on trial or serving a sentence.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- / prisoner