bastille
[ ba-steel; French bas-tee-yuh ]
/ bæˈstil; French basˈti yə /
noun, plural bas·tilles [ba-steelz; French bas-tee-yuh] /bæˈstilz; French basˈti yə/.
(initial capital letter)
a fortress in Paris, used as a prison, built in the 14th century and destroyed July 14, 1789.
any prison or jail, especially one conducted in a tyrannical way.
a fortified tower, as of a castle; a small fortress; citadel.
Also
bas·tile
[ba-steel] /bæˈstil/.
Origin of bastille
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
Words nearby bastille
Example sentences from the Web for bastille
British Dictionary definitions for bastille
Bastille
/ (bæˈstiːl, French bastij) /
noun
a fortress in Paris, built in the 14th century: a prison until its destruction in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution
Word Origin for Bastille
C14: from Old French
bastile fortress, from Old Provençal
bastida, from
bastir to build, of Germanic origin; see
baste
1
Cultural definitions for bastille
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.
notes for Bastille
The anniversary of the attack, Bastille Day, is the most important national holiday in
France.