Etymograph

English

prison

Prison comes from Old French prison, from Latin prehēnsiō ‘an act of seizing’, from prehendō ‘to seize’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find, hold’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-1‘to find’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰnédti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hendō1‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣendō1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehendō2‘to seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehēnsiō3as prehensiōnem‘an act of seizing’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prison3
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150prisūn3‘prison’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prisoun3‘prison’
  10. Englishtodayprison3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin prehendo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin prehensio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English prison

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-Wiktionary, Latin prehendo‘to find’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰnédtiWiktionary, Latin prehendoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*hendōWiktionary, Latin prehendo‘to hold’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*praiɣendōWiktionary, Latin prehendoreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehendōWiktionary, Latin prehensio‘to seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprehēnsiōWiktionary, English prisonas prehensiōnem‘an act of seizing’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400prisonWiktionary, English prison
  8. Old Englishc. 450–1150prisūnWiktionary, English prison‘prison’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500prisounWiktionary, English prison‘prison’
  10. EnglishtodayprisonWiktionary, English prison

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’

yet, guess, prey, predator, 38 more

through Proto-Italic *praiɣendō

15 more

through Latin prehendō ‘to seize’

comprehensive, surprise, prize, apprentice, comprehend, comprehension, comprise, 17 more

Today it means

noun A place or institution where people are held against their will, in the US especially for long-term confinement, as of those convicted of serious crimes or otherwise considered undesirable by the government.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “prison”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin prehendo, Latin prehensio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- / prison

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