Captivity
/kæpˈtɪv.ə.ti/noun
The state of being imprisoned or confined.
Did you know?Captivity ultimately traces back to Latin captīvus, “taken prisoner,” from capere, a verb so powerful it also gave English capture, capable, and captive.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kap-
“to seize, grasp”
Latin
Latin
capere
“to take, seize, capture”
Latin
Latin
captīvus
“a prisoner; one taken captive”
Old French
OF
captive
“a prisoner; captive person”
Middle English
English
captivite
“the state of being held prisoner”
Modern English
English
captivity
“the state of being imprisoned or confined”