oubliette

oubliette
   (oo-blee-EHT) [French: from oublier: to forget] A secret, underground cell in a castle, with an entrance that was only a hole in the stone floor above, where individual prisoners were kept, usually until they died.
   In this final picture the legendary figure of the president of the First Czech Republic gazes from his homemade oubliette like Vodník himself peering from some South Bohemian pond. —The New Criterion, May 1999.

Dictionary of foreign words and phrases. . 2012.

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  • oubliette — [ ublijɛt ] n. f. • fin XIVe; oubliete v. 1360; de oublier ♦ Généralt au plur. Cachot où l on enfermait les personnes condamnées à la prison perpétuelle. ♢ Fosse couverte d une trappe basculante où l on faisait tomber ceux dont on voulait se… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Oubliette — Ou bli ette , n. [F., fr. oublier to forget, fr. (assumed) LL. oblitare, L. oblivisci, p. p. oblitus.] A dungeon with an opening only at the top, found in some old castles and other strongholds, into which persons condemned to perpetual… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • oubliette — secret dungeon reached only via trapdoor, 1819, from Fr. oubliette (14c.), from M.Fr. oublier to forget, from O.Fr. oblider, from V.L. *oblitare, from L. oblitus, pp. of oblivisci to forget (see OBLIVION (Cf. oblivion)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • oubliette — ► NOUN ▪ a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling. ORIGIN French, from oublier forget …   English terms dictionary

  • oubliette — [o͞o΄blē et′] n. [Fr < oublier, to forget < VL * oblitare < pp. of L oblivisci, to forget: see OBLIVION] a concealed dungeon having a trap door in the ceiling as its only opening …   English World dictionary

  • Oubliette — An oubliette (from the French oubliettes (noun plural)) was a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling.HistoryTo exit an oubliette was nearly impossible without outside help. The word comes from the same root as… …   Wikipedia

  • Oubliette — Oubliettes de la prison de la Bastille à Paris Dictionnaire raisonné de l architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle, par Eugène Viollet le Duc …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Oubliette (disambiguation) — Oubliette can refer to: A form of dungeon Oubliette (The X Files), an episode of The X Files The Oubliette, a 1914 film starring Lon Chaney, Sr. A spaceship like prison that appears in Metroid Prime: Hunters PLATO A Moving City of Mars in The… …   Wikipedia

  • Oubliette (The X-Files) — Infobox Television episode | Title = Oubliette Caption = Series = The X Files Season = 3 Episode = 8 Airdate = November 17, 1995 (Fox) Production = 3x08 Guests = Tracey Ellis as Lucy HouseholderMichael Chieffo as Carl WadeJewel Staite as Amy… …   Wikipedia

  • oubliette — noun Etymology: French, from Middle French, from oublier to forget, from Old French oblier, from Vulgar Latin *oblitare, frequentative of Latin oblivisci to forget more at oblivion Date: 1819 a dungeon with an opening only at the top …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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