noun, plural cap·tiv·i·ties.
- the state or period of being held, imprisoned, enslaved, or confined.
- (initial capital letter) Babylonian captivity.
noun plural -ties
- the condition of being captive; imprisonment
- the period of imprisonment
late 14c., Old French *captivite or directly from Latin captivitatem (nominative captivitas), from captivus (see captive (n.)). An Old English cognate word for it was gehæftnes (see haft).