asile

asylum, refuge

noun ah-ZEEL Less Common

Origin: Latin asylum, Greek asylon

Also means

mental institution (dated)

Usage Note

Asile covers both political asylum (demander l'asile = to seek asylum; droit d'asile = right of asylum) and, in older usage, a psychiatric institution (un asile de fous). The modern term for the latter is hôpital psychiatrique. Demandeur d'asile is the standard term for an asylum seeker.

Examples

"Il a demandé l'asile politique dans ce pays."

Natural Translation

He sought political asylum in that country.

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