Carceration
/ˌkɑː.səˈreɪ.ʃən/noun
The act of imprisoning or the state of being imprisoned.
Did you know?Its root, Latin *carcer*, referred to a prison or enclosure, and it also survives in words like *carceral*, a modern term for systems of punishment and confinement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gher-
“to grasp, enclose, or hold”
Latin
Latin
carcer
“a prison, cage, or place of confinement”
Late Latin
Latin
carceratio
“imprisonment; the act of confining”
Old French
Old French
carceration
“imprisonment”
Modern English
English
carceration
“the act of imprisoning or the state of being imprisoned”