bas|tille

Bas|tille «bas TEEL», noun.

an old fort in Paris used as a prison, especially for enemies of the king. A mob captured it on July 14, 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution, and later destroyed it.

bas|tille or bas|tile «bas TEEL», noun.

1. a prison, especially an oppressive one.

2. any prison, jail, or other place of detention.

╂[< Middle French bastille, alteration of Old French bastide < Old Provençal bastida wooden siege tower < bastir build < Late Latin bastīre]