Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A prison; a jail.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A castle tower, or fortified building; a small citadel or fortress.
  • noun A prison or jail.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, fortress, alteration of bastide, from Old Provençal bastida, from bastir, to build, of Germanic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French bastille, from Late Latin bastilia, plural of bastile, from bastire ("to build").

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