Definition

Noun: 1. Cell: A small, secure room in a prison, typically for holding one or a few inmates, especially for solitary confinement. Historically, this term specifically refers to the dark, cramped cells used in prisons during the French colonial period in Vietnam. 2. (Historical context): A solitary confinement cell used by French colonial authorities to imprison individuals they considered dangerous, particularly political prisoners and revolutionaries.

Usage Examples

• (The prisoner was locked in a cell.)
• (Patriots were imprisoned in dark cells.)
• (He was punished with ten days in solitary confinement.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "xà lim" carries a strong historical and emotional weight in Vietnamese, evoking the hardship and oppression of the colonial prison system. It is more specific and connotative than the general modern word for prison cell, "phòng giam".

Variants and Related Words

• Biệt giam / cách ly (v/n): Solitary confinement; to place in solitary confinement.
  • Hình phạt biệt giam rất khắc nghiệt. (Solitary confinement is a very harsh punishment.)
• Phòng giam (n): (General) prison cell, detention room.
  • Phòng giam này có thể chứa sáu người. (This cell can hold six people.)
• Ngục tù (n): Prison, jail (a more literary or general term for the prison system).

Synonyms

• Cell: A small room for a prisoner.
• Dungeon: A dark, underground prison cell (emphasizing the medieval or harsh aspect).
• Solitary confinement cell: A cell used for isolating a prisoner.

Related Idioms

• Vào xà lim ra pháp trường: To enter the cell and go to the execution ground. This idiom describes the brutal fate of revolutionaries and prisoners under oppressive regimes, moving from imprisonment to execution.
  • Số phận của nhiều chiến sĩ cách mạng là "vào xà lim ra pháp trường". (The fate of many revolutionaries was to "enter the cell and go to the execution ground.")

noun

1. cell