# borstal

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #84,043

## Definitions
1. A way up a hill in the South Downs.
2. Any of the prisons set up in Britain for delinquent boys from 1895 to 1983.
3. Any institution which provides education to young offenders.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English *borstile, *borghstile, from Old English beorh (“a hill”) + stigel (“a stile”).
The institutions are named after Borstal Prison in Borstal, Rochester, Kent, England.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/borstal