bastille

[ba-steel; French bas-tee-yuh] /bæˈstil; French basˈti yə/
noun, plural bastilles
[ba-steelz; French bas-tee-yuh] /bæˈstilz; French basˈti yə/ (Show IPA)
1.
(initial capital letter) a fortress in Paris, used as a prison, built in the 14th century and destroyed July 14, 1789.
2.
any prison or jail, especially one conducted in a tyrannical way.
3.
a fortified tower, as of a castle; a small fortress; citadel.
Also, bastile
[ba-steel] /bæˈstil/ (Show IPA).
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English bastile < Middle French, probably alteration of bastide bastide, with -ile (< Medieval Latin, Latin -īle noun suffix of place) replacing -ide; replacing Middle English bastel < Old French basstel, with -el similarly replacing -ide
British Dictionary definitions for bastille

Bastille

/bæˈstiːl; French bastij/
noun
1.
a fortress in Paris, built in the 14th century: a prison until its destruction in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution
Word Origin
C14: from Old French bastile fortress, from Old Provençal bastida, from bastir to build, of Germanic origin; see baste1
Word Origin and History for bastille

Bastille

n.

14c. Paris prison destroyed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789, French, literally "fortress, tower" (see bastion).

bastille in Culture
Bastille [(ba-steel)]

A prison in Paris where many political and other offenders were held and tortured until the time of the French Revolution. It was attacked by workers on July 14, 1789, during the revolution; the prisoners were released, and the building was later demolished.

Note: The anniversary of the attack, Bastille Day, is the most important national holiday in France.
Slang definitions & phrases for bastille

bastille

noun

A jail or prison

[1880s+; fr the former French royal prison]