oubliette

[ oo-blee-et ]

/ ˌu bliˈɛt /

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See synonyms for oubliette on Thesaurus.com

noun

a secret dungeon with an opening only in the ceiling, as in certain old castles.

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Origin of oubliette

1810–20; <French, Middle French, equivalent to oubli(er) to forget, Old French oblider<Vulgar Latin *oblītāre, derivative of Latin oblītus (past participle of oblīvīscī to forget; see oblivion) + Middle French -ette-ette

Words nearby oubliette

Ouagadougou, ouananiche, oubaas, Oubangi, Oubangui, oubliette, ouch, oud, Oudh, Oudry, Oudtshoorn

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oubliette in a sentence

In the centre of the chamber there is an oubliette to the darkness below.
Winged Wheels in France|Michael Myers Shoemaker
It was an oubliette—a pit with a trap-door, which drew the veil of oblivion over the man who had vanished.
Historical Miniatures|August Strindberg
In this there used to be in olden times an oubliette in which unhappy prisoners were let down.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science|Various
It was an oubliette, a dungeon where the prisoner might be buried alive, and never come forth again, alive or dead.
Passages From the French and Italian Notebooks, Volume 1|Nathaniel Hawthorne

As he plunged into the deep water of the oubliette a fiendish laugh echoed in his ears.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective|Ellis Parker Butler

British Dictionary definitions for oubliette

oubliette

/ (ˌuːblɪˈɛt) /

noun

a dungeon, the only entrance to which is through the top

Word Origin for oubliette

C19: from French, from oublier to forget

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

oubliette

Origin of oubliette

Words nearby oubliette

Words related to oubliette

How to use oubliette in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for oubliette

Word Origin for oubliette