Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Asylum
A-sy′lum
,Noun.
pl. E.
Asylums
, L. Asyla
. [L.
asylum
, Gr. [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] exempt from spoliation, inviolable; ἀ
priv. + [GREEK] right of seizure.] 1.
A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege.
So sacred was the church to some, that it had the right of an
asylum
or sanctuary. Ayliffe.
☞ The name was anciently given to temples, altars, statues of the gods, and the like. In later times Christian churches were regarded as asylums in the same sense.
2.
Any place of retreat and security.
Earth has no other
asylum
for them than its own cold bosom. Southey.
3.
An institution for the protection or relief of some class of destitute, unfortunate, or afflicted persons;
as, an
asylum
for the aged, for the blind, or for the insane; a lunatic asylum
; an orphan asylum
.Webster 1828 Edition
Asylum
ASY'LUM
,Noun.
1.
A sanctuary, or place of refuge, where criminals and debtors shelter themselves from justice, and from which they cannot be taken without sacrilege. Temples and altars were anciently asylums; as were tombs, statues and monuments. The ancient heathens allowed asylums for the protection of the vilest criminals; and the Jews had their cities of refuge.2.
Any place of retreat and security.Definition 2024
asylum
asylum
English
Noun
asylum (plural asylums or asyla)
- A place of safety.
- The protection, physical and legal, afforded by such a place.
- A place of protection or restraint for one or more classes of the disadvantaged, especially the mentally ill.
- 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
- Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.
-
Synonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
place of safety
|
|
mental asylum
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See also
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἄσυλον (ásulon).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /aˈsyː.lum/, [aˈsyː.ɫũ]
Noun
asȳlum n (genitive asȳlī); second declension
Inflection
Second declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | asȳlum | asȳla |
| genitive | asȳlī | asȳlōrum |
| dative | asȳlō | asȳlīs |
| accusative | asȳlum | asȳla |
| ablative | asȳlō | asȳlīs |
| vocative | asȳlum | asȳla |
References
- asylum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- asylum in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “asylum”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
- asylum in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- asylum in Samuel Ball Platner (1929), Thomas Ashby, editor, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, London: Oxford University Press
- asylum in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin