dungeon
Meanings
- An underground prison or vault, typically built underneath a castle.
- The low area between two drumlins.
- The main tower of a motte or castle; a keep or donjon.
- A shrewd person.
- An area inhabited by enemies, containing story objectives, treasure, and bosses.
- A room dedicated to sadomasochistic sexual activity.
- To imprison in a dungeon.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English dongeoun (“keep of a castle; dungeon; abyss, cave, den; whirlpool”), from Anglo-Norman donjun (“keep of a castle; keep used as a prison; dungeon”) and continental Old French donjon (“keep of a castle”), from Vulgar Latin *dominiōnem, seemingly derived from Latin dominus (“master, lord”) perhaps via some figurative sense like “dominant building”. Doublet of donjon. The sense of “prison (associated with a castle)”, first attested in Anglo-Norman (13th c.) and apparently never in continental Old French, likely developed in combination with Old English dung (“underground prison cell”), whence Middle English donge (“pit, abyss”, senses that are also attested for Middle English dongeoun). The game term has been popularized by Dungeons & Dragons.