Where Did The Word “Lockdown” Come From? (Answers & Explanations)

Where Did The Word “Lockdown” Come From? (History of Lockdowns)

LOCKDOWN – Amid the coronavirus quarantines and lockdowns, some people are wondering, “where did the word lockdown come from”?

Much like many words, lockdown once had a completely different meaning than it hand when the word was first introduced. According to an article from the Guardian, the word “Lock” is actually an old Germanic word for a fastening mechanism.

This is the reason why in modern English, a “lock” is used to describe a barrier in a canal. Meanwhile, the phrase “to lock in” or to “lock-up” (the chamber door itself) could be dated back to the 15th and 16th centuries.

Where Did The Word "Lockdown" Come From? (Answers & Explanations)

However, it was only during the 1970s that the phrase “lockdown” was coined. As per the article, the word was described as an extended state of confinement for inmates of prisons, psych wards, and any period of isolation for security purposes.

Although during the 19th-century America, a “lock-down” was actually a strip of wood or peg which secured the poles or a raft together while transporting timber by the river. If you would think about it, the previous definition is sort of ironic in today’s times.

Right now, our current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic has left us under a strict lock-down. A far cry from its previous definition as a mechanism that once ensured the reliability of outside travel.

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