captivity

The state of being captive.

Noun

  1. The state of being captive.
    • held in captivity
    • escape from captivity
    • The animals lived in captivity at the zoo.
  2. A group of people/beings captive.
  3. The state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved.
    • long captivity

Origin

From Middle English captivite, from Latin captīvitās. By surface analysis, captive + -ity. Entered into the English lexicon around the 14th century.

Forms

captivities

Related

captive captor

Derived

anticaptivity precaptivity semicaptivity