hostageship

H4O1S1T1A1G2E1S1H4I1P3

noun

A condition of being held as surety for a pledge, as to appear before a magistrate for trial after release from gaol.

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Meanings

nounhostageship (countable and uncountable, plural hostageships)

plural hostageships

  1. countablehistoricaluncountablelawA condition of being held as surety for a pledge, as to appear before a magistrate for trial after release from gaol.

    English, Norman and French tradition seem all to point to an ancient and extremely rigorous form of suretyship or hostageship which would have rendered the surety liable to suffer the punishment that was hanging over the head of the released prisoner.

    1898, Sir Frederick Pollock, Frederic William Maitland, The history of English law before the time of Edward I, 2nd edition, volume 2, The University Press

Origin

From hostage + -ship.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hostageship. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hostageship

MLA

“hostageship.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hostageship. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hostageship,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hostageship.

Source: hostageship on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.