asylum

Noun

Synonyms: refuge sanctuary mental hospital psychiatric hospital mental institution institution mental home insane asylum

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

a shelter from danger or hardshipSynonyms: refuge sanctuary
a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced personSynonyms: mental hospital psychiatric hospital mental institution institution mental home insane asylum

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Asylum \A*sy"lum\, n.; pl. E. Asylums, L. Asyla. [L. asylum, Gr. ?, fr. ? exempt from spoliation, inviolable; 'a priv. + ? right of seizure.]

1.A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege. [1913 Webster]

So sacred was the church to some, that it had the right of an asylum or sanctuary.— Ayliffe.[1913 Webster]

Note: The name was anciently given to temples, altars, statues of the gods, and the like. In later times Christian churches were regarded as asylums in the same sense. [1913 Webster]

2.Any place of retreat and security. [1913 Webster]

Earth has no other asylum for them than its own cold bosom.— Southey.[1913 Webster]

3.An institution for the protection or relief of some class of destitute, unfortunate, or afflicted persons; as, an asylum for the aged, for the blind, or for the insane; a lunatic asylum; an orphan asylum. [1913 Webster]