Dictionary

bastille en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• [bæˈstɪəɫ] (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbɑː-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /bæˈstil/ (General-American)
• /bɑː-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbæstɪl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• (Australia) audio
• /bæˈstiːl/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English bastile, bastel (“fortification for attack mounted on a barge or wheels; projecting part of a fortification, bastion, turret; fortified encampment of a besieging army; structure carrying armed men on an elephant’s back; (figuratively) refuge, shelter; protector”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman bastile, bastille, Middle French bastille, and Old French baastel, basstel (“fortification; fortified tower; temporary fortification constructed for attack or defence; (small) castle or fortress”) (modern French bastille; compare Medieval Latin bastīle), from bastide (“fortification; fortress”) with the ending modified after nouns ending in -ille (from Latin -īle (suffix forming place names)). Bastide is derived from Old Occitan bastida (“fortification; (Provence) country mansion”), from bastir (“to build, construct”) + -ida (suffix forming nouns); while bastir is from *bastīre, from Frankish *bastijan (“to sew; to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bast (“fibre; rope”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰask- ~ *bʰasḱ- (“bundle, heap, load”) but this is disputed. Compare typologically Russian опло́т (oplót), плете́нь (pleténʹ) (akin to плести́ (plestí)). Noun sense 2.1 (“jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners”) is from the Bastille in Paris, France. Known in full as the Bastille Saint-Antoine, it was a former fortress used as a prison by the French monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bastille was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution and later demolished, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement. Noun sense 2.2 (“workhouse”) was possibly popularized by the English politician William Cobbett (1763–1835) who opposed the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 William IV, chapter 76; often called the “New Poor Law”). This Act made relief or welfare for poor people only available through workhouses, and ensured that the working conditions were harsh so that only the truly destitute would apply for relief. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates Late Latin bastile (“wooden siege tower”), bastilla, bastillia, bastillus, bastellum (“fortification; wooden siege tower”)

Meanings

1. Chiefly in French contexts: a bastion (“projecting part of a rampart or other fortification”) or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.
   • H' incounters Talgol, routs the Bear, / And takes the Fidler Prisoner; / Conveys him to enchanted Castle, / There shuts him fast in wooden Bastile. 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto II.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 28:
2. (figuratively) A jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners.
   • But Nigel was somewhat immured within the Bastile of his rank, as some philosopher, (Tom Paine, we think,) has happily enough expressed that sort of shyness which men of dignified situations are apt to be beset with, […] 1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume III (in English), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, pages 55–56:
   • ―The devil it is! ſaid I—but I vvill go to ten thouſand Baſtiles firſt— […] 1765, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XXXV, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume VII, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], →OCLC, page 129:
   • 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; / By strange enchantment made to fetter / The lesser parts, and free the greater. / For though the Body may creep through, / The Hands in Grate are fast enough. 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto II.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 57:
   • Whithersoever you choose; but by what means of conveyance[?] […] Shall it be the Great Northern, hard by Battle Bridge and Pentonville's frowning bastille? 1859, George Augustus Sala, “Seven o’Clock a.m.—A Parliamentary Train”, in Twice Round the Clock; or The Hours of the Day and Night in London. […], London: Houlston and Wright, […], →OCLC, page 58:
3. (UK, derogatory, figuratively) Synonym of workhouse (“an institution for homeless poor people funded by the local parish, where the able-bodied were required to work”).
4. (historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.
   • VVhen they ſhould have ſtood to it in field, and fought, then they fled back to their tends: vvhen they vvere to guard and defend their trench and rampart, they ſurrendered them to the enemy: good no vvhere, neither in battel nor in baſtil. 1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XXII]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 380:

Forms

Deriveds

bastle · bastle house

Relateds

Bastille Day · bastion · Bastille

Synonyms

workhouse

Translations (20)

pt bastilha (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · fr bastille (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · nl donjon (fortified tower or other building) · fi bastilji (fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; any of the buildings in such an encampment) · de Festung (fortified tower or other building) · ru кре́пость (fortified tower or other building) · hi क़िला (fortified tower or other building) · mk кре́пост (fortified tower or other building) · hy ամրոց (fortified tower or other building) · fi tyrmä (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · nl donjon (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · ru басти́лия (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · cmn 城堡 (fortified tower or other building) · mk басти́лја (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · hy աշտարակ (fortified tower or other building) · es fortaleza (fortified tower or other building) · fr bastion (fortified tower or other building) · pt bastilha (fortified tower or other building) · de Kerker (jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners — see also jail, prison) · fi bastilji (fortified tower or other building)

wikipedia: William Cobbett · wikipedia: French Revolution · wikipedia: William IV · wikipedia: Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 · wikipedia: storming of the Bastille

bastille en · VERB

Pronunciation

• [bæˈstɪəɫ] (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbɑː-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /bæˈstil/ (General-American)
• /bɑː-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈbæstɪl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• (Australia) audio
• /bæˈstiːl/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English bastile, bastel (“fortification for attack mounted on a barge or wheels; projecting part of a fortification, bastion, turret; fortified encampment of a besieging army; structure carrying armed men on an elephant’s back; (figuratively) refuge, shelter; protector”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman bastile, bastille, Middle French bastille, and Old French baastel, basstel (“fortification; fortified tower; temporary fortification constructed for attack or defence; (small) castle or fortress”) (modern French bastille; compare Medieval Latin bastīle), from bastide (“fortification; fortress”) with the ending modified after nouns ending in -ille (from Latin -īle (suffix forming place names)). Bastide is derived from Old Occitan bastida (“fortification; (Provence) country mansion”), from bastir (“to build, construct”) + -ida (suffix forming nouns); while bastir is from *bastīre, from Frankish *bastijan (“to sew; to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *bast (“fibre; rope”); further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰask- ~ *bʰasḱ- (“bundle, heap, load”) but this is disputed. Compare typologically Russian опло́т (oplót), плете́нь (pleténʹ) (akin to плести́ (plestí)). Noun sense 2.1 (“jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners”) is from the Bastille in Paris, France. Known in full as the Bastille Saint-Antoine, it was a former fortress used as a prison by the French monarchy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bastille was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution and later demolished, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement. Noun sense 2.2 (“workhouse”) was possibly popularized by the English politician William Cobbett (1763–1835) who opposed the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 William IV, chapter 76; often called the “New Poor Law”). This Act made relief or welfare for poor people only available through workhouses, and ensured that the working conditions were harsh so that only the truly destitute would apply for relief. The verb is derived from the noun. Cognates Late Latin bastile (“wooden siege tower”), bastilla, bastillia, bastillus, bastellum (“fortification; wooden siege tower”)

Meanings

1. (also, figuratively, transitive) To confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille (noun sense 2.1) or prison; to imprison.
   • All the doleful stories of prisoners of earlier or later ages, in the Bastile, including much sentimental balderdash, are drawled out by a very stupid and would-be effective writer, for the purpose of proving that the imprisonment of political offenders and captives by the North is precisely on a par with that of ‘Bastiling’ them, and that Abraham Lincoln is only a revival of the worst kings of France in an American form. 1862 October, “A Southern Review”, in [Charles Godfrey Leland], editor, The Continental Monthly. Devoted to Literature and National Policy, volume II, number IV, New York, N.Y.: John F[owler] Trow, […], →OCLC, page 467, column 1:
   • Although people equated going into a workhouse with being "bastilled," this was not the sure result of asking a relieving officer for help. Before the 1870s, most London paupers received cash or bread weekly according to local officials' scale of what constituted fair or equitable relief. 1990, Lynn Hollen Lees, “The Survival of the Unfit: Welfare Policies and Family Maintenance in Nineteenth-century London”, in Peter Mandler, editor, The Uses of Charity: the Poor on Relief in the Nineteenth-century Metropolis, Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press, →ISBN, pages 72–73:
   • I know that peaceable and unoffending citizens of my own State have been "bastiled" in different parts of the United States—"cut off from their family, their friends, and their every connection." 1863 January 8, Willard Saulsbury Sr., “Discharge of State Prisoners”, in John C. Rives, editor, The Congressional Globe: […] (United States Senate, 27th Congress, 3rd session), number 15 (New Series), Washington, D.C.: John C. Rives […] , →OCLC, page 233, column 2:
   • Behold them Bastilling the mildest and most indulgent monarch that ever sat upon their throne; […] 1793 January 17, Anna Seward, “Letter LXII. Miss Helen Williams, at Paris.”, in Letters of Anna Seward: Written between the Years 1784 and 1807. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] George Ramsay & Company, for Archibald Constable and Company; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, William Miller, and John Murray, published 1811, →OCLC, page 204:
   • Marriage had baſtilled me for life. 1798, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, “[Maria: or, The] Wrongs of Woman”, in W[illiam] Godwin, editor, Posthumous Works of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. […], volume II, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […]; and G[eorge,] G[eorge] and J[ohn] Robinson, […], →OCLC, chapter X, page 34:
   • Inſtead of forging Chains for Foreigners, / Baſtile thy Tutor: Grandeur All thy Aim? 1745, [Edward Young], “Night the Ninth and Last. The Consolation. Containing, among Other Things, I. A Moral Survey of the Nocturnal Heavens. II. A Night-Address to the Deity. […]”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, London: […] [Samuel Richardson] for A[ndrew] Millar […], and R[obert] Dodsley […], published 1750, →OCLC, page 332:
   • For a lampoon on the Regent [Philippe II, Duke of Orléans] he [Voltaire] had been bastilled. For a fight with Rohan [Guy Auguste de Rohan-Chabot] he had been bastilled again. In prison he had changed his name and dreamt of liberty. 1904 August, S. G. Tallentyre, “The English Friends of Voltaire”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XVII, number 98 (New Series), London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 221:
   • Eh bien! there is another one who is beloved by one of your daughters, which did not prevent you from Bastilling him with a vengeance. 1845, Alexandre Dumas, “What Takes Place at the House in the Rue du Bac while Waiting for Gaston”, in Charles H. Town, transl., The Regent’s Daughter. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, part III, page 72, column 1:
   • "Ideas cannot be Bastilled. They pierce walls, vaults—" / "No phrases, my dear fellow: that does very well for the public, otherwise the fools. Ideas are very easily Bastilled, as you call it." 1852, chapter VI, in The Court and the Desert; or, Priests, Pastors, and Philosophers, in the Time of Louis XV. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley […], →OCLC, page 109:
   • [W]hy if you don't ſcamper, you'll be baſtil'd, before you can ſay, "Killarney." 1791 (first performance), [Frederic] Reynolds, Notoriety: A Comedy, Dublin: […] P. Byrne, […], published 1792, →OCLC, Act IV, scene [i], page 43:

Forms

Synonyms

imprison · bang up · mew up · incarcerate · put away · bastille · lock up · clap up · roof · gaol · immure · jail · send down · confine

Translations (6)

pt aprisionar (to confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille or prison — see also imprison) · fr embastiller (to confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille or prison — see also imprison) · pt encarcerar (to confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille or prison — see also imprison) · de gefangen halten (to confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille or prison — see also imprison) · de einkerkern (to confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille or prison — see also imprison) · fi heittää tyrmään (to confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille or prison — see also imprison)

wikipedia: William Cobbett · wikipedia: French Revolution · wikipedia: William IV · wikipedia: Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 · wikipedia: storming of the Bastille