incarcerate

Meaning

Verb

• To lock away; to imprison, especially for breaking the law.
• To confine; to shut up or enclose; to hem in.

Related

Similar words

• imprison
• jail

Origin

• From Medieval Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from Latin in + carcer, meaning "put behind lines (bars)" – Latin root is of a lattice or grid. Related to cancel and chancel.
• See also carcerate and cancer.