captivity
cap·ti·vity
noun
1.
the state of being imprisoned
- “he was held in captivity until he died”
- “the imprisonment of captured soldiers”
- “his ignominious incarceration in the local jail”
- “he practiced the immurement of his enemies in the castle dungeon”
2.
- “So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity” -Shakespeare
Origin
From Middle English captivite, from Latin captīvitās. By surface analysis, captive + -ity. Entered into the English lexicon around the 14th century.
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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.