Lexic.us

Definition of Hostage

1. Noun. A prisoner who is held by one party to insure that another party will meet specified terms.

Definition of Hostage

1. n. A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or stipulations of any kind, on the performance of which the person is to be released.

Definition of Hostage

1. Noun. A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or stipulations of any kind, on the performance of which the person is to be released. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Hostage

1. a person held as security [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Hostage

Literary usage of Hostage

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Law of Nations: Or, Principles of the Law of Nature, Applied to the by Emer de Vattel, Joseph Chitty (1883)
"Sometimes the principal persons of the state, and even princes, are given in hostage. Francis I. gave his own sons as security for the treaty of Madrid. ..."

2. The Law of Nations, Or, Principles of the Law of Nature Applied to the by Emer de Vattel, Joseph Chitty, Edward Duncan Ingraham (1852)
"The hostage, on his side, conformably to the presumed intention of his sovereign, ought faithfully to remain with him to whom he is delivered, ..."

3. Halleck's International Law, Or, Rules Regulating the Intercourse of States by Henry Wager Halleck (1893)
"Sometimes a hostage is taken for the faithful per- tur°dP" formance of the contract on ... The death or the recapture of the hostage does not discharge the ..."

4. U. S. Strategy to Counter Domestic Political Terrorism by James B. Motley (1993)
"An individual who points a gun at a hostage's head and demands television cameras and reporters. The fear that this particular terrorist strives to escape ..."

5. Draft Outlines of an International Code by David Dudley Field (1876)
"A hostage is a person accepted as a pledge for the fulfillment of an ... If the giver of a hostage fail to perform his obligation, the hostage may be ..."

6. A Treatise on International Public Law by Hannis Taylor (1901)
"Ransom; hostage.—The right to take a ransom or a ransom bond (billet de ... As a stronger assurance, a hostage is often given in addition to the bond. ..."

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