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Just as English is full of nouns referring to places where prisoners are confined, from the familiar (jail and prison) to the obscure (calaboose and bridewell), so we have multiple verbs for the action of putting people behind bars. Some words can be used as both nouns and verbs, if in slightly different forms: one can be jailed in a jail, imprisoned in a prison, locked up in a lockup, or even jugged in a jug. Incarcerate does not have such a noun equivalent in English—incarceration refers to the state of confinement rather than a physical structure—but it comes ultimately from the Latin noun carcer, meaning “prison.” Incarcerate is also on the formal end of the spectrum when it comes to words related to the law and criminal justice, meaning you are more likely to read or hear about someone incarcerated in a penitentiary or detention center than in the pokey or hoosegow.
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Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- + carcer prison
1575, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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“Incarcerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarcerate. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
incarcerate
verbLegal Definition
incarcerate
transitive verbLatin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- in + carcer prison
More from Merriam-Webster on incarcerate
Nglish: Translation of incarcerate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of incarcerate for Arabic Speakers
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