the.com/hostage
A bargaining chip with a heartbeat, valuable only as long as the deal stays open.
means A person held captive by someone who threatens them to force a third party into doing, paying, or promising something.
from From Old French 'ostage,' meaning lodging or the keeping of someone, which entered English in the 13th century. It traces back to Latin 'hospes' (guest/host) — the same root behind 'hostel' and 'hospitality' — through the idea of one held in another's keeping. There's also been confusion with Latin 'obses' (a hostage given as a pledge), which may have nudged the meaning; but the lodging-and-keeping line is the well-attested one, leaving 'hostage' as an uneasy cousin of the words for welcoming a guest.
- stockholm syndrome
- Named after a 1973 Swedish bank robbery
- original meaning
- Latin hostis, related to enemy and guest
- medieval pawns
- Royals swapped child hostages to guarantee treaties
- survival odds
- Most negotiated hostage situations end without deaths
- longest held
- Some captives endured years before any release
terry anderson — ap journalist held by hezbollah in beirut for 2,454 days (1985-1991)
iran hostage crisis — 52 american embassy staff held in tehran for 444 days (1979-1981)
gilad shalit — israeli soldier held by hamas in gaza for 5 years (2006-2011)