Gefängnis

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German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German (ge)vancnisse, (ge)vencnisse (“capture, captivity”), since 15th century for the place of the captivity, equivalent to gefangen (“caught”) + -nis. More at fangen (“to catch”). Cognate with Dutch gevangenis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡəˈfɛŋnɪs/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Gefängnis n (strong, genitive Gefängnisses, plural Gefängnisse)

  1. prison, jail (building)
    im Gefängnis sitzen. ― to be in jail.
    • 1932, Carl von Ossietzky, Rückkehr, in: Die Weltbühne, volume 28, no. 52, Verlag der Weltbühne, page 925:
      Das Gefängnis, das heute in Deutschland nicht mehr strafen sondern bessern und erziehen soll, ist damit sozusagen zum Lazarett der bürgerlichen Ordnung avanciert.
      The prison, which today in Germany is not supposed to punish anymore but to better and educate, has thereby advanced to the military hospital of the bourgeois order, so to speak.
  2. prison sentence
    zehn Jahre Gefängnis bekommen. ― to be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Declension

Declension of Gefängnis
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Gefängnis die Gefängnisse
genitive eines des Gefängnisses der Gefängnisse
dative einem dem Gefängnis, Gefängnisse1 den Gefängnissen
accusative ein das Gefängnis die Gefängnisse

1Now rare, see notes.

Synonyms

See also

Further reading

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