Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Newgate

Newgate

1 9.9
A former prison in London with very bad conditions
  • proper noun
translation icon : Newgate
  • The infamous Newgate prison was known for its brutal treatment of inmates.
  • Newgate Calendar
  • Newgate novel
  • Newgate prison

Examples

  • In London, those radical ideas could land you in Newgate prison.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Despite its closure in 1902, stories about Newgate continue to intrigue historians.

  • We're going to Newgate Jail to save him.

    Tom Jones (1963)

  • The name of the Newgate Calendar, in turn, comes from London's infamous Newgate Prison.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Outside Newgate Prison.

    A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

  • Those are the death masks of various murderers... some of whom were publicly hanged outside Newgate Jail.

    The Lodger (1944)

  • A convicted murderer called George Forster had just been hanged in Newgate.

    The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)

  • Prisoners from Newgate prison in London, who were destined to hang, were convinced to try the smallpox inoculation.

    Blog text (10)

  • Many historical figures were incarcerated in Newgate during its operation as a prison.

Synonyms

Newgate Prison
vsNewgate
8.6

Former London prison with harsh conditions, demolished in 1902

is the shorter, simpler name without the extra historical emphasis

Compounds

Newgate Prison
8.6

Former London prison with harsh conditions, demolished in 1902

Surface Forms

Newgate main

Morphology

Newgate = new + gate (opaque) = new + gate

Although formed from 'new' + 'gate', the sense 'a notorious prison' is a place name meaning that cannot be derived by standard morpheme logic.

Etymology

Newgate comes from the name of a city gate, made of New + gate, literally a 'new gate' in the old walls of London, and a prison stood by that gate so the place took the gate's name. That's why Newgate refers to the famous old prison in London.