Marshalsea
Americannoun
-
the court of the marshal of the royal household.
-
a debtors' prison in London, abolished in 1842.
noun
-
(formerly in England) a court held before the knight marshal: abolished 1849
-
a prison for debtors and others, situated in Southwark, London: abolished in 1842
Etymology
Origin of Marshalsea
1350–1400; Middle English marchalsye, variant of marschalcie. See marshal, -cy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He briefly ran his own financial consultancy, which he named Marshalsea Associates, after the prison in “Little Dorrit.”
From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2021
His grandfather was a servant, and his father, John Dickens, was an impecunious minor civil servant ultimately sent to the notorious debtors’ prison, Marshalsea.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2020
Left: took his selfie while filming at the wall of Marshalsea debtors' prison.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2014
Hence his confinement in the Marshalsea, where "anybody might see that the shadow of the wall was upon him".
From The Guardian • Oct. 8, 2010
This is still more perceptible in a figure not less true to life than the Father of the Marshalsea himself—Flora, the overblown flower of Arthur Clennam’s boyish love.
From Dickens English Men of Letters by Ward, Adolphus William, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
