This week’s theme
Words coined after buildings and venues

This week’s words
tammany
Grand Guignol
chamber of horrors
bastille
Hawthorne effect

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ba-STEEL)

MEANING:

noun: A prison.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Bastille, a fortress in Paris, that was used to hold prisoners. From Old French bastille (fortress), alteration of bastide, from Old Provençal bastir (to build). Earliest documented use: 1400.

NOTES:

Bastille (French pronunciation: bas-TEE-yuh) was built in the 14th century and stormed on Jul 14, 1789, marking the beginning of the revolution. The anniversary (Bastille Day) is celebrated as a national holiday in France.

USAGE:

“It sounded like the perfect solution: Simply ask the man in the bulletproof booth to switch the (carwash) machine off and allow me to escape from my bubbly bastille.”
Pat Craig; ‘Survivor: Carwash’; Honk If You’re Stuck; Contra Costa Times (California); Mar 29, 2004.

See more usage examples of bastille in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: