bridewell

[brahyd-wel, -wuh l]

noun British.

a prison.

Origin of bridewell

First recorded in 1545–55; after a prison that formerly stood near the church of St. Bride in London

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bridewell

Historical Examples of bridewell

To this it was remarked, that they were only fit for Bridewell.
Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745
Mrs. Thomson
Another public granary was established in 1610 at Bridewell Palace.
The History of London
Walter Besant
Labour is sweet, sir: but not hard labour in the dungeons of a Bridewell.
What Will He Do With It, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
"I was not speaking of the Bridewell, but of the Prison," I said.
The Reckoning
Robert W. Chambers
Thence home and to the Tower to see the men from Bridewell shipped.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete
Samuel Pepys

British Dictionary definitions for bridewell

bridewell

noun

a house of correction; jail, esp for minor offences

Word Origin for bridewell

C16: after Bridewell (originally, St Bride's Well), a house of correction in London

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bridewell

"prison," 1550s, from Bridewell, house of correction in London, originally a royal lodging (given by Edward VI for a hospital, later converted to a prison) near Bride's Well, short for St. Bridget's Well.