Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Bridewell

Bride′well

,
Noun.
A house of correction for the confinement of disorderly persons; – so called from a hospital built in 1553 near
St. Bride’s (or Bridget's) well
, in London, which was subsequently a penal workhouse.

Webster 1828 Edition

Bridewell

BRI'DEWELL

,
Noun.
A house of correction, for the confinement of disorderly persons; so called from the palace built near St. Bride's or Bridget's well, in London, which was turned into a workhouse.

Definition 2024

bridewell

bridewell

English

Noun

bridewell ‎(plural bridewells) (Sometimes capitalised)

  1. (dated in Britain, rare elsewhere) A small prison, or a police station that has cells.
    • 2002, Joseph O'Conner, Star of the Sea, Vintage 2003, p. xix:
      Two Fermanagh girls who never laughed were certain that he must have served time in a bridewell, so cold was his expression and so calloused his small hands.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:bridewell.

Usage notes

  • Several English cities have streets named "Bridewell" where a police station is located.

Etymology

From Bridewell (named after a well dedicated to St Bride), an area of London that once had a "house of correction".

Similar Results