oubliette
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˌuːbliˈɛt/
- Archaic
:
oubliette
- Legend says the king used the oubliette to confine his most dangerous enemies.
Examples
-
Bread and cheese appeared at the door to her oubliette.
Fiction book (1999) -
Come on, maybe we'll find another oubliette.
-
When they brought Lisa out of the oubliette, Dr. X had gone down to help her.
Fiction book (1994) -
From the oubliette, Dr. X said calmly, "I thought you were more mature than this, Kevin."
Fiction book (1994) -
She is standing on the cement bottom of the pit, or oubliette, about 15 feet below floor level.
Fiction book (1991) -
She's in the oubliette.
-
UNITED KINGDOM: Deep below the Nottingham Galleries of Justice, now a tourist attraction, workers uncovered what may be a medieval oubliette (French for "forgotten place"), a bottle-shaped dungeon where prisoners were left.
Academic text (2009) -
The ancient castle featured an oubliette where prisoners were kept in solitude.
-
Explorers found remnants of the oubliette hidden beneath the old fortress.
Synonyms
How Hidden
Surface Forms
Etymology
Oubliette comes from the French word oublier, meaning 'to forget', plus the small ending -ette, meaning 'little'. Think of it as a 'little forgotten place' — a secret dungeon where people were thrown and left to be forgotten, which is why an oubliette is a hidden prison cell with an opening only in the ceiling.