bastille

[ ba-steel; French bas-tee-yuh ]

noun

, plural bas·tilles [ba-, steelz, b, a, s-, tee, -y, uh].

1. (initial capital letter) a fortress in Paris, used as a prison, built in the 14th century and destroyed July 14, 1789.
2. any prison or jail, especially one conducted in a tyrannical way.
3. a fortified tower, as of a castle; a small fortress; citadel.

Bastille

/ bastij; bæˈstiːl /

noun

1. a fortress in Paris, built in the 14th century: a prison until its destruction in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution

Bastille

1. A prison in Paris where many political and other offenders were held and tortured until the time of the French Revolution . It was attacked by workers on July 14, 1789, during the revolution; the prisoners were released, and the building was later demolished.

Notes

The anniversary of the attack, Bastille Day, is the most important national holiday in France .

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastille¹

1350–1400; Middle English bastile < Middle French, probably alteration of bastide bastide, with -ile (< Medieval Latin, Latin -īle noun suffix of place) replacing -ide; replacing Middle English bastel < Old French basstel, with -el similarly replacing -ide

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastille¹

C14: from Old French bastile fortress, from Old Provençal bastida , from bastir to build, of Germanic origin; see baste ¹

Example Sentences

With a fine (if unnoticed) stroke of irony, the bill was signed into law on Bastille Day, July 4.

From The Daily Beast

Neither the Bastille nor the Beatles could inspire us to overhaul life itself.

From The Daily Beast

The bloody effervescence of the Bastille gave way to Robespierre and then Napoleon; Stalin crushed Trotsky.

From The Daily Beast

Witness a brown cardboard sign held high on Sunday night at the Bastille.

From The Daily Beast

Anyone hoping to learn what Bastille Day is all about would do well to start here.

From The Daily Beast

Father Griffet, a Jesuit, has communicated to the public the journal of the Bastille, which certifies the dates.

From Project Gutenberg

As for his age, he himself told the apothecary of the Bastille, a little before his death, that he believed he was about sixty.

From Project Gutenberg

For him the world, set spinning on a mad career when the Bastille fell, was moving too slowly again.

From Project Gutenberg

When he left the Bastille, he plotted with his willing mistress his revenge upon her father.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1698, M. de Saint Mars was made governor of the Bastille.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• apprehend
• commit
• detain
• hold
• incarcerate
• jail
• lock up
• remand