Refuge

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: ref=uge

CIDE DICTIONARY

Refuge, n. [F. réfuge, L. refugium, fr. refugere to flee back; pref. re- + figere. SEe Fugitive.].

•  Shelter or protection from danger or distress.  [1913 Webster]

  "Rocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these
  Find place or refuge."  [1913 Webster]

  "We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."  [1913 Webster]
•  That which shelters or protects from danger, or from distress or calamity; a stronghold which protects by its strength, or a sanctuary which secures safety by its sacredness; a place inaccessible to an enemy.  [1913 Webster]

  "The high hills are a refuger the wild goats."  [1913 Webster]

  "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed."  [1913 Webster]
•  An expedient to secure protection or defense; a device or contrivance.  [1913 Webster]

  "Their latest refuge
  Was to send him."  [1913 Webster]

  "Light must be supplied, among gracefulrefuges, by terracing "  [1913 Webster]

Cities of refuge (Jewish Antiq.), certain cities appointed as places of safe refuge for persons who had committed homicide without design. Of these there were three on each side of Jordan. Josh. xx. -- House of refuge, a charitable institution for giving shelter and protection to the homeless, destitute, or tempted.

Syn. -- Shelter; asylum; retreat; covert.

Refuge, v. t. 

 To shelter; to protect.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Refuge, n.
1 a shelter from pursuit or danger or trouble.
2 a person or place etc. offering this.
3 a person, thing, or course resorted to in difficulties.
4 a traffic island.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L refugium (as RE-, fugere flee)

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Refuge

n. Anything assuring protection to one in peril. Moses and Joshua provided six cities of refuge -- Bezer, Golan, Ramoth, Kadesh, Schekem and Hebron -- to which one who had taken life inadvertently could flee when hunted by relatives of the deceased. This admirable expedient supplied him with wholesome exercise and enabled them to enjoy the pleasures of the chase; whereby the soul of the dead man was appropriately honored by observations akin to the funeral games of early Greece.

THESAURUS

Refuge

alibi, apology, asylum, blind, bolt-hole, cache, citadel, cloak, color, concealment, corner, cover, cover story, cover-up, covert, coverture, cranny, cubby, cubbyhole, dark corner, defense, den, dernier ressort, device, dodge, dugout, evasion, excuse, expediency, expedient, eye, facade, feint, foxhole, front, funk hole, gloss, guard, guise, handle, harbor, harborage, haven, hideaway, hideout, hidey hole, hiding, hiding place, hole, immunity, lair, lame excuse, lee, locus standi, makeshift, mask, niche, nook, ostensible motive, poor excuse, port, preservation, pretense, pretension, pretext, protection, protective custody, protestation, public motive, put-off, receipt, receiving, reception, recess, recourse, resort, retreat, ruse, safekeeping, safety, sanctuary, screen, secret place, security, semblance, shade, shadow, sham, shelter, shield, shift, show, smoke screen, stalking-horse, stash, stopgap, stratagem, stronghold, substitute, subterfuge, taking in, trick, undercovert, varnish, veil, watchful eye, welcome, welcoming

ROGET THESAURUS

Refuge

Refuge

N refuge, sanctuary, retreat, fastness, acropolis, keep, last resort, ward, prison, asylum, ark, home, refuge for the destitute, almshouse, hiding place, sanctum sanctorum, roadstead, anchorage, breakwater, mole, port, haven, harbor, harbor of refuge, seaport, pier, jetty, embankment, quay, covert, cover, shelter, screen, lee wall, wing, shield, umbrella, barrier, dashboard, dasher, wall, fort, anchor, kedge, grapnel, grappling iron, sheet anchor, killick, mainstay, support, cheek, ballast, jury mast, vent-peg, safety valve, blow-off valve, safety lamp, lightning rod, lightning conductor, safety belt, airbag, seat belt, antilock brakes, antiskid tires, snow tires, means of escape, lifeboat, lifejacket, life buoy, swimming belt, cork jacket, parachute, plank, steppingstone, emergency landing, safeguard, any port in a storm, bibere venenum in auro, valet anchora virtus.