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  1. dungeon love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A dark, often underground chamber or cell used to confine prisoners.
  2. n. A donjon.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The principal tower of a medieval castle. It was usually raised on a natural or artificial mound and situated in the innermost court or bailey, and formed a last refuge into which the garrison could retreat in case of necessity. Its lower or underground part was often used as a prison. Also called keep, dungeon-keep, or tower. See cut under castle.
  2. n. Hence A close cell; a deep, dark place of confinement.
  3. To confine in or as in a dungeon.

Wiktionary

  1. n. An underground prison or vault, typically built underneath a castle.
  2. n. obsolete The main tower of a motte or castle; a keep or donjon.
  3. n. games An underground area inhabited by enemies, containing story objectives, treasure and bosses.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A close, dark prison, commonly, under ground, as if the lower apartments of the donjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons.
  2. v. To shut up in a dungeon.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
  2. n. a dark cell (usually underground) where prisoners can be confined

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English dungeon, dungeoun, dungun ("castle keep, prison cell below the castle, dungeon"), from Old French donjon ("castle keep"), from Frankish *dungjo (“prison, dungeon, underground cellar”), from Proto-Germanic *dungijō, *dungijōn (“enclosed space, vault, bower, treasury”), from Proto-Germanic *dungaz, *dungō (“dung, manure”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰengʰ- (“to cover”). Cognate with Old English dung ("prison, dungeon"), Old Saxon dung ("underground cellar"), Old High German tung ("underground cellar"; > German Tunk ("manure or soil covered basement, underground weaving workshop")), Old Norse dyngja ("a detached apartment, a lady's bower"; > Icelandic dyngja ("chamber")). More at dung. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English donjon, castle keep, dungeon, from Old French, keep, probably from Medieval Latin domniō, domniōn-, the lord's tower, from Latin dominus, master; see dem- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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synonyms (2)

Words with the same meaning

  1. donjon
  1. keep

hyponyms (1)

Words that are more specific

  1. oubliette

same context (21)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. cavern
  2. cellar
  3. prison
  4. vault
  1. basement
  2. fortress
  3. alley
  4. courtyard
  1. tomb
  2. pit
  3. chamber
  4. corridor
  1. castle
  2. den
  3. abyss
  4. chapel
  1. swamp
  2. cemetery
  3. crypt
  4. chasm
  1. bedroom

reverse dictionary (9)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. oubliette
  1. Black Hole of Calcutta
  1. dungeon
  1. hell
  1. keep
  1. black hole
  1. endungeon
  1. murky
  1. hole

tags (1)

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  1. weirdnet

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tagging (1)

Words tagged ‘dungeon’

  1. donjon

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‘dungeon’ has been looked up 1704 times, added to 25 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 9.