Newgate Prison
- proper noun
:
Prisión de Newgate
- Many famous criminals were incarcerated at Newgate Prison during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Examples
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Did you know that Newgate Prison was demolished in 1902?
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The notorious Newgate Prison riots of 1780 resulted in the building being severely damaged by fire.
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In Dickens’s novels, Newgate Prison often appears as a symbol of despair and injustice.
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Many notorious criminals were held in Newgate Prison.
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In Dickens’s novels, Newgate Prison often appears as a symbol of despair and injustice.
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Many famous criminals were incarcerated at Newgate Prison during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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The notorious Newgate Prison riots of 1780 resulted in the building being severely damaged by fire.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A former prison in London with very bad conditions
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a place-name + institution: a learner who knows the constituents can infer it is a prison called Newgate (the pattern 'X Prison' is transparent cross-linguistically). However, the specific historical information (location in London, that it was former/notorious and demolished in 1902) requires cultural/historical knowledge and is not predictable from the words alone.
Etymology
Newgate Prison was a real jail in London: Newgate was the old city gate and Prison was the jail, and the place became famous for its cruel cells and public hangings. So, writers used Newgate Prison to mean 'despair' and 'injustice'.