Afrikaans gevangene | ||
Albanian i burgosur | ||
Amharic እስረኛ | ||
Arabic أسير | ||
Armenian բանտարկյալ | ||
Assamese বন্দী | ||
Aymara katuntat jaqi | ||
Azerbaijani məhkum | ||
Bambara kasoden ye | ||
Basque preso | ||
Belarusian вязень | ||
Bengali বন্দী | ||
Bhojpuri कैदी के नाम से जानल जाला | ||
Bosnian zatvorenik | ||
Bulgarian затворник | ||
Catalan pres | ||
Cebuano piniriso | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 囚犯 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 囚犯 | ||
Corsican prigiuneru | ||
Croatian zatvorenik | ||
Czech vězeň | ||
Danish fange | ||
Dhivehi ގައިދީ އެވެ | ||
Dogri कैदी | ||
Dutch gevangene | ||
English prisoner | ||
Esperanto kaptito | ||
Estonian vang | ||
Ewe gamenɔla | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) bilanggo | ||
Finnish vanki | ||
French prisonnier | ||
Frisian finzene | ||
Galician prisioneiro | ||
Georgian პატიმარი | ||
German häftling | ||
Greek φυλακισμένος | ||
Guarani ka’irãime | ||
Gujarati કેદી | ||
Haitian Creole prizonye | ||
Hausa fursuna | ||
Hawaiian paʻahao | ||
Hebrew אָסִיר | ||
Hindi बंदी | ||
Hmong neeg raug kaw | ||
Hungarian rab | ||
Icelandic fangi | ||
Igbo onye nga | ||
Ilocano balud | ||
Indonesian tawanan | ||
Irish príosúnach | ||
Italian prigioniero | ||
Japanese 囚人 | ||
Javanese tahanan | ||
Kannada ಖೈದಿ | ||
Kazakh тұтқын | ||
Khmer អ្នកទោស | ||
Kinyarwanda imfungwa | ||
Konkani कैदी | ||
Korean 죄인 | ||
Krio prizina | ||
Kurdish girtî | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) زیندانی | ||
Kyrgyz туткун | ||
Lao ນັກໂທດ | ||
Latin captivus | ||
Latvian ieslodzītais | ||
Lingala moto ya bolɔkɔ | ||
Lithuanian kalinys | ||
Luganda omusibe | ||
Luxembourgish prisonnéier | ||
Macedonian затвореник | ||
Maithili कैदी | ||
Malagasy gadra | ||
Malay banduan | ||
Malayalam തടവുകാരൻ | ||
Maltese priġunier | ||
Maori herehere | ||
Marathi कैदी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯖꯦꯂꯗꯥ ꯂꯩꯕꯥ ꯃꯤꯑꯣꯏ꯫ | ||
Mizo tang a ni | ||
Mongolian хоригдол | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) အကျဉ်းသား | ||
Nepali कैदी | ||
Norwegian fange | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mkaidi | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବନ୍ଦୀ | ||
Oromo hidhamaa | ||
Pashto بندي | ||
Persian زندانی | ||
Polish więzień | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) prisioneiro | ||
Punjabi ਕੈਦੀ | ||
Quechua preso | ||
Romanian prizonier | ||
Russian пленник | ||
Samoan pagota | ||
Sanskrit बन्दी | ||
Scots Gaelic prìosanach | ||
Sepedi mogolegwa | ||
Serbian затвореник | ||
Sesotho motšoaruoa | ||
Shona musungwa | ||
Sindhi قيدي | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) සිරකරුවා | ||
Slovak väzeň | ||
Slovenian ujetnik | ||
Somali maxbuus | ||
Spanish prisionero | ||
Sundanese tahanan | ||
Swahili mfungwa | ||
Swedish fånge | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) bilanggo | ||
Tajik маҳбус | ||
Tamil கைதி | ||
Tatar тоткын | ||
Telugu ఖైదీ | ||
Thai นักโทษ | ||
Tigrinya እሱር | ||
Tsonga mubohiwa | ||
Turkish mahkum | ||
Turkmen tussag | ||
Twi (Akan) ɔdeduani | ||
Ukrainian в'язень | ||
Urdu قیدی | ||
Uyghur مەھبۇس | ||
Uzbek mahbus | ||
Vietnamese tù nhân | ||
Welsh carcharor | ||
Xhosa ibanjwa | ||
Yiddish אַרעסטאַנט | ||
Yoruba ẹlẹwọn | ||
Zulu isiboshwa |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The word "gevangene" is derived from the Dutch word "gevangen" meaning "captured" or "imprisoned." |
| Albanian | The word “i burgosur” can also be used to refer to someone who is trapped or confined, not necessarily in a prison. |
| Amharic | The word "እስረኛ" can also refer to a captive or a slave. |
| Arabic | "أسير" is also used in Arabic to refer to a captive (a person being held in custody) or even a slave in some contexts. |
| Azerbaijani | The word məhkum comes from the Arabic root حكمة (ḥikma), meaning "wisdom" or "judgment", and originally meant a person who has been judged by a court. |
| Basque | The Basque word "preso" also means "forced" or "obliged". |
| Belarusian | "Вязень" is derived from the Old Belarusian verb "вязати", meaning "to bind" or "to chain." |
| Bengali | The word "বন্দী" is derived from the Sanskrit word "bandha", meaning "bond" or "fetter". |
| Bosnian | The word zatvorenik in Bosnian can also refer to someone who is confined or restricted. |
| Bulgarian | The word "затворник" (prisoner) in Bulgarian comes from the word "затвор" (lock) and literally means "one who is locked up." |
| Catalan | The Catalan word "pres" (prisoner) comes from the Latin word "prensus" (seized). |
| Cebuano | The term 'piniriso' in Cebuano can also refer to someone who is bound or restrained, reflecting its historical usage in the context of slavery and human trafficking. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 囚犯源自囚禁的犯人,囚禁是关押限制人身自由之意,与监禁近义。 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "囚犯" (囚犯) is the Chinese word for "prisoner". It is a combination of the characters "囚" (prison) and "犯" (criminal). |
| Corsican | The Corsican word "prigiuneru" is derived from the Latin word "prehendo", meaning "to seize" or "to grasp". Alternate meanings include "captive" or "detainee" |
| Croatian | The word zatvorenik comes from the verb zatvoriti (to close) and literally means 'someone who is closed off' |
| Czech | "Vězeň" is derived from the Old Czech word "vęzati," meaning "to bind" or "to capture." |
| Danish | The term "fange" derives from Old Norse word "fangi" or "fanga" referring to "capture," "catch," "prey," and "booty." |
| Dutch | The word "gevangene" in Dutch is derived from the medieval Dutch word "gevanc", meaning "capture". It can also refer to a person who has been captured or arrested. |
| Esperanto | The word "kaptito" is derived from the Latin word "captivus", meaning "one taken in war". |
| Estonian | "Vang" is also a derogatory term in Indonesian and Thai. |
| Finnish | Vanki shares the same etymology as vankka meaning 'solid' and 'stable', both originating from Germanic *wankôz meaning 'bent' |
| French | The word "prisonnier" in French comes from the Latin word "prehensus," meaning "taken" or "seized." |
| Frisian | The word "finzene" in Frisian is derived from the Old Frisian word "fena", meaning "to hold back". |
| Galician | The Galician word "prisioneiro" comes from the Latin word "prensio," meaning "seizure," and is shared with the Portuguese word for prisoner, "prisioneiro." |
| Georgian | "პატიმარი" is also used to describe people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. |
| German | "Häftling" derives from "haften" (to stick) and refers to someone who is bound or detained. |
| Greek | The word "φυλακισμένος" is derived from the verb "φυλάκω" (to guard), ultimately coming from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₂pewḱ-, meaning "to protect". |
| Gujarati | The word કેદી is derived from the Persian word 'qaid', meaning a fetter or chain. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "prizonye" can also refer to a pet or any animal that is kept in captivity. |
| Hausa | 'Fursuna' also refers to a person under the guardianship of another. |
| Hawaiian | "Paʻahao" can also mean "fastened" or "tied up" in Hawaiian. |
| Hebrew | The Hebrew word for "prisoner" ("אָסִיר") originates from the root "אָסר" ("to bind"), which also gives rise to the words "bond" and "restriction"} |
| Hindi | The Hindi word "बंदी" (bandi) originates from the Sanskrit word "bandhan," meaning "to bind" or "captivate." |
| Hmong | The term "neeg rau kaw" literally translates to "tiger caged person" in the Hmong language. |
| Hungarian | The word "Rab" was once used to mean "bondsmen" in Hungarian. |
| Icelandic | Fangi is derived from the Proto-Germanic verb *ǥangaz meaning captive or bound. |
| Igbo | The word "onye nga" also refers to a person who is indebted to another. |
| Indonesian | The word "tawanan" can also mean "captive" or "bondage" in Indonesian. |
| Irish | The Irish word "príosúnach" is derived from the Latin word "captivus", meaning "prisoner" or "slave." |
| Italian | "Prigioniero" comes from the Latin "prehendere," meaning "to seize". |
| Japanese | The word "囚人" can also mean "confine" or "restrict" in Japanese. |
| Javanese | The word 'tahanan' in Javanese can also refer to a person who seeks refuge or protection. |
| Kannada | The term "ಖೈದಿ" (prisoner) in Kannada originates from the Hindi word "Qaydi". |
| Kazakh | The word "тұтқын" in Kazakh also means "captive" or "hostage". |
| Khmer | The word អ្នកទោស (prisoner) is derived from the word "ទោស" meaning "fault" and is used to describe those who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison. |
| Korean | The word 죄인 (joein) literally means “guilty person” or “sinner” in Korean. |
| Kurdish | The word girtî 'prisoner' derives from New Persian girîftan 'to seize, arrest', hence 'one who has been arrested'. |
| Kyrgyz | The Kyrgyz word “туткун” also means “a guest”, highlighting the traditional hospitality towards strangers and their protection in times of conflict. |
| Latin | The Latin word "captivus" also refers to someone or something that captivates or charms. |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "ieslodzītais" derives from the Slavic root "sloda", meaning "to catch, grasp, imprison" and originally referred to a caught creature or something held captive. |
| Lithuanian | The word "kalinys" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*kel-," meaning "to hide," and is related to the English word "cell." |
| Luxembourgish | "Prissonéier" means "prisoner" in Luxembourgish but is the name of a type of cheese from Lorraine in France. |
| Macedonian | "Затвореник" also means "hermit" in Macedonian. |
| Malagasy | The word "gadra" in Malagasy has the same root as the word for "slave" and is used figuratively in the context of a prison. |
| Malay | The word "banduan" in Malay is derived from the Sanskrit word "bandhana" meaning "bondage" or "fetters". |
| Maltese | The word "priġunier" is derived from the Old French "prisonier", which is in turn derived from the Latin "prehendere" (to seize). |
| Maori | The word 'herehere' is derived from a verb meaning to tie or fasten, suggesting imprisonment as a form of constraint. |
| Marathi | The word कैदी is derived from the Sanskrit word कद, meaning an enemy or villain. |
| Mongolian | "Хоригдол" is based on the Mongolian verb "хоригдох," which means "to be prohibited" or "to be restricted." |
| Nepali | The word "कैदी" in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word "कैदिय" (kaidiya), which means "one who is confined". It can also refer to a person who is held captive or in custody. |
| Norwegian | The word "fange" is derived from the Old Norse word "fangi", meaning "to seize" or "to capture". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word 'mkaidi' may have derived from the word for 'enemy' or 'adversary'. |
| Pashto | The word "بندي" has other meanings in Pashto, such as "slave" and "servant". |
| Persian | The Persian word "زندانی" is derived from "زندان" meaning "prison" and the suffix "-ی" indicating "being in, belonging to". |
| Polish | The word 'więzień' is derived from the Proto-Slavic word 'vęzь', meaning 'bondage' or 'restraint'. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | In Portuguese, "prisioneiro" (prisoner) comes from "prisão" (prison), ultimately deriving from the Latin "prehensio" (capture). |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਕੈਦੀ' (prisoner) in Punjabi shares its etymology with the word 'ਕੈਦ' (imprisonment) and 'ਕੱਟਣਾ' (to cut), as a prisoner is one who has been cut off from society or whose freedom has been restricted. |
| Romanian | The word "prizonier" derives from the Latin term "prehendere", meaning "to seize" or "to capture". |
| Russian | The word "пленник" originally meant "captive" or "slave" in Old Church Slavonic. |
| Samoan | The word "pagota" also means "a place of confinement" in Samoan. |
| Scots Gaelic | The term 'prìosanach' in Scots Gaelic has no alternative meanings beyond 'prisoner', but it originates from the French word 'prisonnier'. |
| Serbian | The verb part of 'затвореник' ('prisoner') is 'затворити' ('to close, to shut') so originally the word referred to someone locked in the house. |
| Sesotho | The word 'motšoaruoa' is derived from the verb 'ho tšoara', meaning 'to catch or hold'. |
| Shona | The name "musungwa" also refers to a type of tree used for traditional medicines and rituals in some cultures in Zimbabwe. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "قيدي" can also mean "chained, fettered, or handicapped". |
| Slovak | Slovak "väzeň" derives from "väz", meaning "bond" and refers to the bondage of imprisonment. |
| Slovenian | The term 'ujetnik' is thought to have originated from an old word for 'fugitive' and is also sometimes used to describe those held as hostages or slaves |
| Somali | The word "maxbuus" in Somali may also refer to a person who is being held captive or involuntarily confined. |
| Spanish | The word "prisionero" derives from the Latin word "prehendere," meaning "to seize" or "to capture." |
| Sundanese | Tahanaan in Sundanese can mean "the one being held captive" or "the one who is bound by circumstances." |
| Swahili | The Kiswahili word "mfungwa" (literally meaning "the bound one") |
| Swedish | The word "fånge" can be traced back to the Old Norse word "fangi, |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | Bilanggo, in Tagalog, can also refer to a member of a group of prisoners. |
| Tajik | The Tajik word "маҳбус" can also refer to a captive animal or a person who is confined or restricted in some way. |
| Tamil | The word 'கைதி' in Tamil derives from the root word 'கை' (hand), implying someone who is 'handcuffed' or restrained. |
| Telugu | The word "ఖైదీ" is derived from the Arabic word "Qayid", meaning "fetters" or "shackles". |
| Thai | "นักโทษ" is a Thai word with multiple meanings, including "criminal" and "debtor". |
| Turkish | "Mahkum" also means "doomed" or "fated" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The word "в'язень" derives from the Old Slavonic word "в'язати" meaning "to bind" or "to tie up". |
| Urdu | The primary, literal meaning of قیدی is 'subject to a legal or other constraint' |
| Uzbek | The word "mahbus" in Uzbek is derived from the Arabic word "mahbus", which means "restrained" or "confined". |
| Vietnamese | "Tù nhân" literally means "criminal slave", with "tù" meaning "prison" and "nhân" meaning "slave." |
| Welsh | The Welsh word "carcharor" also means "captive" and "criminal". |
| Xhosa | The word "ibanjwa" also means "a person who is caught in a trap" in Xhosa. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "אַרעסטאַנט" (arestant) derives from the Polish word "aresztant," which in turn comes from the Italian word "arresto" (arrest). |
| Yoruba | "Ẹlẹwọn" is a Yoruba word that also means "one who is caught in a trap" or "one who is entangled". |
| Zulu | The Zulu word isiboshwa, meaning "prisoner" in English, also refers to the "person in custody of or held by another"} |
| English | The word 'prisoner' is derived from the Old French word 'prisun' (meaning 'capture' or 'seizure') and ultimately from the Latin word 'prehendere' (meaning 'to seize' or 'to grasp'). |