hostage - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

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hostage

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Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
hostage/ˈhɒstɪʤ/

▶noun a person seized or held as security for the fulfilment of a condition.

– phrases
a hostage to fortune an act or remark seen as unwise because it invites trouble.

– origin ME: from OFr., based on late L. obsidatus ‘the state of being a hostage’, from L. obses, obsid- ‘hostage’.

'hostage' also found in these Oxford entries:

Forum discussions with the word(s) "hostage" in the title:

Captive vs hostage
held hostage(s)
held to ransom by/ held hostage to

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