bagne

penal colony

noun BAH-nyuh Rare

Origin: Italian bagno ('bath, prison')

Usage Note

Bagne refers historically to a penal colony or convict prison, most famously French Guiana's bagne de Cayenne and the Île du Diable. Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean was condemned to le bagne. The term is now archaic in legal use but appears frequently in historical and literary contexts.

Examples

"Il fut condamné au bagne pour vingt ans."

Natural Translation

He was sentenced to the penal colony for twenty years.

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