prisoner of war

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prisoner of war

n. pl. prisoners of war

A person taken by or surrendering to enemy forces in wartime.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

prisoner of war

(Military) a person, esp a serviceman, captured by an enemy in time of war. Abbreviation: POW

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pris′oner of war`

a person who is captured and held by an enemy during war, esp. a member of the armed forces. Abbr.: POW

prisoner of war

A detained person as defined in Articles 4 and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949. In particular, one who, while engaged in combat under orders of his or her government, is captured by the armed forces of the enemy. As such, he or she is entitled to the combatant's privilege of immunity from the municipal law of the capturing state for warlike acts which do not amount to breaches of the law of armed conflict. For example, a prisoner of war may be, but is not limited to, any person belonging to one of the following categories who has fallen into the power of the enemy: a member of the armed forces, organized militia or volunteer corps; a person who accompanies the armed forces without actually being a member thereof; a member of a merchant marine or civilian aircraft crew not qualifying for more favorable treatment; or individuals who, on the approach of the enemy, spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces. Also called POW or PW.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

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Noun

prisoner of war - a person who surrenders to (or is taken by) the enemy in time of war

POW

captive, prisoner - a person who is confined; especially a prisoner of war

Translations

سَجين حَرْب، أسير

válečný zajateczajatec

krigsfange

Kriegsgefangene

αιχμάλωτος πολέμου

sotavanki

prisonnier

hadifogoly

stríðsfangistríîsfangi

prigioniero di guerra

krigsfange

военнопленный

vojnový zajatec

savaş tutsağı

бранець

战俘

prisoner of war

n → prigioniero/a di guerra

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

prison

(ˈprizn) noun

a building in which criminals are kept; a jail. He was sent to prison; He is in prison.

ˈprisoner noun

anyone who has been captured and is held against his will as a criminal, in a war etc. The prisoners escaped from jail.

prisoner of war – plural prisoners of war

– a member of the armed forces captured in a war.

take/keep/hold prisoner

to (capture and) confine (a person) against his will. Many soldiers were killed and the rest taken prisoner; She was kept prisoner in a locked room.

References in classic literature ?

I crope out, all a-tremblin', en crope aroun' en open de do' easy en slow, en poke my head in behine de chile, sof' en still, en all uv a sudden I says POW! jis' as loud as I could yell.

View in context

"Somebody's hair on the top of her head in the place where it ought not to be;" and Tom went whistling away with an air of sublime indifference as to the state of his own "curly pow."

View in context

The complex political, social, and emotional consequences of German POWs return to a devastated Germany after WWII are discussed in this heavily researched and thoughtful volume.

Homecomings; returning POWs and the legacies of defeat in postwar Germany

- Partial Award - Prisoners of War - Ethiopia's Claim 4: Eritrea held approximately 1,100 Eritrean POWs. Eritrea is liable, for example, for refusing Red Cross access to Ethiopian POWs, failing to protect the lives of Ethiopian POWs at and after capture, permitting physical abuse of Ethiopian POWs, depriving Ethiopian POWs of footwear during long walks, the confiscation of personal property of the Ethiopian POWs, and for failing to provide for the bare necessities of the Ethiopian POWs.

Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission issues partial awards against both parties, citing violations of customary international law and the 1949 Geneva Conventions

It also identified certain diagnoses as presumptive service-connected conditions for former POWs. Subsequent public laws and policy decisions by the secretary of Veterans Affairs have added others to the list of presumptive conditions.

Last chance?

Of course, it also helped the POWs to relax and distract them from their imprisonment.'

University of Exeter: WW1 prisoners of war ran their own cinemas in German camps, records show

A 2001 war film "To End All Wars," which depicts the story of POWs held in a Japanese camp during World War II, was then screened.

Far East POWs remembered in Taiwan

(See page 17.) The Pentagon claims similarly about Vietnam, and has spent years trying to dismiss POW sightings, electronic intelligence, and even messages from POWs themselves.

Evidence of POWs FROM VIETNAM: After the end of the Vietnam War, it was widely accepted that the United States had left many POWs behind, but high-ranking members of government said no, despite the evidence

When Linda Wong first received an electronic ang pow for Chinese New Year last year, she was 'surprised' by the gesture.

E-ang pow gaining popularity in Malaysia, Singapore

Last month, JEM announced the release of all detainees and POWs from government forces in response to appeals from religious leaders, civil society organizations and prestigious national figures.

JEM leader says all detainees and POWs are released

Aside from releasing the two POWs, we will also turn over before you two other captives we held today, Ibarra said.

NPA frees 3 Army soldiers, 1 militiaman in Agusan del Sur

Clearly, Holmes possessed the expertise with many books published on POWs held in Japan during World War II.