different between incarcerate vs prison

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^(key): /?n?k??.s???e?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?k??.s???e?t/

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.
   • 2013 September 23, Masha Gessen, "Life in a Russian Prison," New York Times (retrieved 24 September 2013):

     Tolokonnikova has also been an effective public speaker even while incarcerated, but she has spoken out on politics and freedom in general rather than prisoners’ rights.

2. To confine; to shut up or enclose; to hem in.

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

• imprison
• jail

Derived terms

• incarceration

Related terms

• carceral
• carcerate
• decarcerate

Translations

Further reading

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

Italian

Verb

incarcerate

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

Anagrams

• accentrerai

English

Etymology

From Middle English prisoun, prison, a borrowing from Old French prison, from Latin prehensi?nem, accusative singular of prehensi?, from the verb prehend?. Doublet of prehension.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p??z?n/, [p?????zn?]
• Rhymes: -?z?n

Noun

prison (countable and uncountable, plural prisons)

1. A place or institution of confinement, especially of long-term confinement for those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.

   Synonyms: bridewell, big house; see also Thesaurus:prison

   Coordinate terms: gaol, jail, slammer, hoosegow

   Hypernyms: correctional facility, correctional institution

   Hyponyms: panopticon, dungeon

2. (uncountable) Confinement in prison.

   Synonym: imprisonment

3. (colloquial, figuratively) Any restrictive environment, such as a harsh academy or home.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

prison (third-person singular simple present prisons, present participle prisoning, simple past and past participle prisoned)

1. (transitive) To imprison.

Translations

Further reading

• prison at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• porins, prions, proins, ripons, spinor

French

Etymology

From Old French prison, inherited from Latin prehensi?, prehensi?nem, from prehend?. Doublet of préhension.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?i.z??/

Noun

prison f (plural prisons)

1. prison

Derived terms

• aimable comme une porte de prison
• emprisonner
• prison dorée
• prisonnier

Further reading

• “prison” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• prions, ripons

Norman

Etymology

From Old French prison, from Latin prehensi?, prehensi?nem (“seizing, apprehending, arresting, capturing”).

Noun

prison f (plural prisons)

1. (Jersey) prison

Related terms

• emprisonner, mettre en prison (“to imprison”)

Old French

Alternative forms

• prisoun (less common)
• prisun (less common)

Etymology

From Latin prehensi?, prehensi?nem, from prehend?.

Noun

prison f (oblique plural prisons, nominative singular prison, nominative plural prisons)

1. prison

Noun

prison m (oblique plural prisons, nominative singular prisons, nominative plural prison)

1. prisoner

Derived terms

• prisonnier

Descendants

• ? Middle English: prisoun
  • English: prison
  • Scots: preeson
• French: prison
• Norman: prison (Jersey)