captivity

What it means

1. countableuncountableThe state of being captive.

   held in captivity

   3 more examples

   escape from captivity

   The animals lived in captivity at the zoo.

   He wrote a memoir about his years in captivity.

2. countableobsoleteuncountableA group of people/beings captive.
3. countableuncountableThe state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved.

   long captivity

In a sentence

held in captivity

Where it comes from

1. Latincaptīvitās
2. Middle Englishcaptivite
3. Englishcaptivity

From Middle English captivite, from Latin captīvitās. By surface analysis, captive + -ity. Entered into the English lexicon around the 14th century.