Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] dongeon, donjon, from Anglo-French donjun, from Vulgar [[Latin]] *domnion-, domnio keep, mastery, from [[Latin]] dominus lord — more at [[dominate]]

[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English] dongeon, donjon, from Anglo-French donjun, from Vulgar [[Latin]] *domnion-, domnio keep, mastery, from [[Latin]] dominus lord — more at [[dominate]]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_century 14th Century]

The word '''dungeon''' comes from Old French donjon (also spelt dongon), which in its earliest usage, meant "a keep, the main tower of a castle which formed the final [[defensive]] position to which the garrison could retreat when outer [[fortifications]] were overcome". The first recorded instance of the [[word]] in [[English]] near the beginning of the 14th century also meant "an underground [[prison]] cell beneath the castle keep". While some sources cite Medieval Latin dom(i)niōn- "[[property]]" (and ultimately dominus "lord") as the [[original]] [[source]], it is more likely that the [[word]] derives from the Frankish *dungjo, *dungjon- ("dungeon, vault, bower"), from Proto-Germanic *dungjōn, *dungō ("a cover, enclosed space, treasury, vault"), from Proto-Indo-European *dhengh- ("to cover, hide, conceal"), related to Old High German tung ("a cellar, underground living quarter"), [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] dung ("a dungeon, [[prison]]"), and Old Norse dyngja ("a lady's bower"). In [[English]], a dungeon now usually only [[signifies]] the sense of underground prison or oubliette, typically in a basement of a castle, whereas the alternate spelling donjon is generally reserved for the [[original]] meaning.

The word '''dungeon''' comes from Old French donjon (also spelt dongon), which in its earliest usage, meant "a keep, the main tower of a castle which formed the final [[defensive]] position to which the garrison could retreat when outer [[fortifications]] were overcome". The first recorded instance of the [[word]] in [[English]] near the beginning of the 14th century also meant "an underground [[prison]] cell beneath the castle keep". While some sources cite Medieval Latin dom(i)niōn- "[[property]]" (and ultimately dominus "lord") as the [[original]] [[source]], it is more likely that the [[word]] derives from the Frankish *dungjo, *dungjon- ("dungeon, vault, bower"), from Proto-Germanic *dungjōn, *dungō ("a cover, enclosed space, treasury, vault"), from Proto-Indo-European *dhengh- ("to cover, hide, conceal"), related to Old High German tung ("a cellar, underground living quarter"), [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._600-1100.09THE_OLD_ENGLISH.2C_OR_ANGLO-SAXON_PERIOD Old English] dung ("a dungeon, [[prison]]"), and Old Norse dyngja ("a lady's bower"). In [[English]], a dungeon now usually only [[signifies]] the sense of underground prison or oubliette, typically in a basement of a castle, whereas the alternate spelling donjon is generally reserved for the [[original]] meaning.

In French the term donjon still refers to a "keep", and the term oubliette is a more appropriate [[translation]] of [[English]] "dungeon". Donjon is therefore a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend false friend] to "dungeon" (for instance, the game "Dungeons and Dragons" is titled "Donjons et Dragons" in its French editions).

In French the term donjon still refers to a "keep", and the term oubliette is a more appropriate [[translation]] of [[English]] "dungeon". Donjon is therefore a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend false friend] to "dungeon" (for instance, the game "Dungeons and Dragons" is titled "Donjons et Dragons" in its French editions).

An oubliette (from the French oubliette, [[literally]] "forgotten place") was a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling. The [[word]] comes from the same [[root]] as the French oublier, "to [[forget]]," as it was used for those prisoners the captors wished to forget.

An oubliette (from the French oubliette, [[literally]] "forgotten place") was a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling. The [[word]] comes from the same [[root]] as the French oublier, "to [[forget]]," as it was used for those prisoners the captors wished to forget.

The earliest use of oubliette in French dates back to 1374, but its earliest adoption in [[English]] is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Scott Walter Scott]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanhoe Ivanhoe] in 1819: 'The place was utterly [[dark]]—the oubliette, as I suppose, of their accursed convent.' There is no [[reason]] to suspect that this particular place of incarceration was more than a flight of [[romantic]] elaboration on existing unpleasant places of confinement described during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Revival Gothic Revival] period.

The earliest use of oubliette in French dates back to 1374, but its earliest adoption in [[English]] is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Scott Walter Scott]'s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanhoe Ivanhoe] in 1819: 'The place was utterly [[dark]]—the oubliette, as I suppose, of their accursed convent.' There is no [[reason]] to suspect that this particular place of incarceration was more than a flight of [[romantic]] elaboration on existing unpleasant places of confinement described during the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Revival Gothic Revival] period.

==Definitions==

==Definitions==

*1: a [[dark]] usually underground [[prison]] or vault  

*1: a [[dark]] usually underground [[prison]] or vault  

*2: related to Donjon- : a massive inner tower in a medieval castle

*2: related to Donjon- : a massive inner tower in a medieval castle

==Description==

==Description==

A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval medieval] castles, though their [[association]] with [[torture]] probably belongs more to the [[Renaissance]] period. An ''oubliette'' is a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling.

A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval medieval] castles, though their [[association]] with [[torture]] probably belongs more to the [[Renaissance]] period. An ''oubliette'' is a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling.

Although many real dungeons are simply a single plain room with a heavy door or with [[access]] only from a hatchway or trapdoor in the floor of the room above, the use of dungeons for [[torture]], along with their association to common human [[fears]] of being trapped underground, have made dungeons a powerful [[metaphor]] in a variety of [[contexts]]. Dungeons, in the plural, have come to be associated with underground complexes of cells and [[torture]] chambers. As a result, the number of true dungeons in castles is often exaggerated to interest tourists. Many chambers described as dungeons or oubliettes were in fact storerooms, water-cisterns or even latrines.

Although many real dungeons are simply a single plain room with a heavy door or with [[access]] only from a hatchway or trapdoor in the floor of the room above, the use of dungeons for [[torture]], along with their association to common human [[fears]] of being trapped underground, have made dungeons a powerful [[metaphor]] in a variety of [[contexts]]. Dungeons, in the plural, have come to be associated with underground complexes of cells and [[torture]] chambers. As a result, the number of true dungeons in castles is often exaggerated to interest tourists. Many chambers described as dungeons or oubliettes were in fact storerooms, water-cisterns or even latrines.

An example of what might be popularly termed an "oubliette" is the particularly claustrophobic cell in the dungeon of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Castle Warwick Castle]'s Caesar's Tower, in central England. The access hatch consists of an iron grille. Even turning around (or moving at all) would be nearly impossible in this tiny chamber.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon]

An example of what might be popularly termed an "oubliette" is the particularly claustrophobic cell in the dungeon of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Castle Warwick Castle]'s Caesar's Tower, in central England. The access hatch consists of an iron grille. Even turning around (or moving at all) would be nearly impossible in this tiny chamber.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon]

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: History]]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]