asylum
/əˈsaɪləm/noun
1
- mass noun（亦作 political asylum）the protection granted by a state to someone who has left their native country as a political refugee政治避难：
people seeking asylum in Britain.
到英国寻求政治避难的人们。
1.1
- shelter or protection from danger避难所; 收容所：
asylum for those too ill to care for themselves.
重病人看护所。
2
- dated an institution offering shelter and support to the mentally ill〈旧〉精神病院：
he'd been committed to an asylum.
他被送进精神病院。
词源
late Middle English （in the sense 'place of refuge'， especially for criminals）： via Latin from Greek asulon 'refuge'， from asulos 'inviolable'， from a- 'without' + sulon 'right of seizure'. Current senses date from the 18th cent.