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dungeon

dun·geon

UK/ˈdʌn.d͡ʒən/ US/ˈdʌndʒʌn/ fairly common

noun

1.

the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress

Synonyms
2.

a dark cell (usually underground) where prisoners can be confined

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • dungeon crawl
  • dungeon crawler
  • dungeon master
  • dungeon mastering
  • dungeon mistress
  • dungeon monitor
  • dungeon rap
  • dungeon synth

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

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.