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bastille - 4 dictionary results

bas⋅tille

  [ba-steel; Fr. bas-tee-yuh ]
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–noun, plural bas⋅tilles  [ba-steelz; Fr. bas-tee-yuh ] .
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, esp. one conducted in a tyrannical way.
3. a fortified tower, as of a castle; a small fortress; citadel.
Also, bas⋅tile  [ba-steel] .

Origin:
1350–1400; ME bastile < MF, prob. alter. of bastide bastide, with -ile (< ML, L -īle n. suffix of place) r. -ide; r. ME bastel < OF basstel, with -el similarly r. -ide
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bas·tille   (bā-stēl')   
n.  A prison; a jail.

[French, from Old French, fortress, alteration of bastide, from Old Provençal bastida, from bastir, to build, of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bastille [(ba-steel)]

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.

Note: The anniversary of the attack, Bastille Day, is the most important national holiday in France.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bastille 
14c. Paris prison destroyed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789, lit. "fortress, tower" (see bastion).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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