A person taken and held by someone as a way to force others to do or agree to something.
From Old French “ostage,” from Late Latin “obsidaticum,” related to Latin “obses,” meaning “one held as security.” In the past, important people were given as hostages to guarantee peace or promises.
Hostages used to be high-status people, like princes, traded to guarantee peace between kingdoms. The word still carries this idea of a human being turned into a living contract.
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