dungeon

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“
Plonked in the middle of this dungeon is the rather incongruous-looking school blackboard.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A dark, often underground chamber or cell used to confine prisoners.
  2. noun A donjon.
  3. Word History
    The word dungeon may have gone down in the world quite literally, if one etymology of the word is correct. Dungeon may go back to a Medieval Latin word, domniō, meaning "the lord's tower,” which came from Latin dominus, "master.” In Middle English, in which our word is first recorded in a work composed around the beginning of the 14th century, it meant "a fortress, castle” and "the keep of a castle,” as well as "a prison cell underneath the keep of the castle.” Dungeon can still mean "keep,” although the usual spelling for this sense is donjon, but the meaning most usually associated with it is certainly not elevated. It is also possible that dungeon goes back to a Germanic word related to our word dung. This assumed Germanic word would have meant "an underground house constructed of dung.” If this etymology is correct, the word dungeon has ended up where it began.

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Examples (50)

  • And the list of those in the dungeon is at least seventy-five. —  BEWITCHING FAMILIAR
  • None of these pathetic creatures locked in the dungeon is a witch. —  BEWITCHING FAMILIAR
  • Just going back and fourth to the dungeon was annoying a little bit but fun since you had to run away from the phantoms. sound better? —  Aussie-Nintendo.com Forums
  • Chocobo and all the monsters in the dungeon are all controlled through this system. —  Nintendo Life | Latest Updates
  • Perhaps one, if not the most, important thing you need to take into consideration when traversing a dungeon is your job. —  Nintendo Life | Latest Updates
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. 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.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Also archaically in some senses donjon; from Middle English dongeon, dongeoun, dongon, dongoun, donyon, donioun, etc., a dungeon (in both uses), from Old French dongeon, dongon, donjon, etc., French donjon = Provencal donjon, dompnhon, domejo (Middle Latin reflex dunjo(n-), dungeo(n-), donjio(n-), dangio(n-), domgio(n-), etc.), from Middle Latin domnio(n-), a dungeon (tower), contr. from and a particular use of Middle Latin dominio(n-), domain, dominion, possession: see dominion, domain, demain, demesne.
  2. from dungeon, n.
 

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/ˈdəndʒən/
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