BASTILLE Definition & Meaning

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bastille

[ ba-steel; French bas-tee-yuh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural bastilles

(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.

Bastille

/ bastij; bæˈstiːl /

noun

a fortress in Paris, built in the 14th century: a prison until its destruction in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution

Bastille

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.

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Notes

The anniversary of the attack, Bastille Day, is the most important national holiday in France .

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of bastille¹

1350–1400; Middle English bastile < Middle French, probably alteration of bastide bastide, with -ile (< Medieval Latin, Latin -ī�� noun suffix of place) replacing -ide; replacing Middle English bastel < Old French basstel, with -el similarly replacing -ide

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of bastille¹

C14: from Old French bastile fortress, from Old Provençal bastida , from bastir to build, of Germanic origin; see baste ¹

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“If we have a fourth one, Jerusalem will become a new bastille.”

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Reading some of the coverage, you’d think someone was storming the bastille.

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“There are more prisoners in my bastille, my jail, and higher costs for arrests.”

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Chains cannot bind that down; bastilles cannot shut it in; and every attempt to crush it is but an effort of tyranny both impotent and cruel.

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"And he is now incarcerated in your bastille."

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