One taken in war. Captives were often treated with great cruelty and indignity (1 Kings 20:32; Joshua 10:24; Judges 1:7; 2 Samuel 4:12; Judges 8:7; 2 Samuel 12:31; 1 Chronicles 20:3). When a city was taken by assault, all the men were slain, and the women and children carried away captive and sold as slaves (Isaiah 20; 47:3; 2 Chronicles 28:9-15; Psalm 44:12; Joel 3:3), and exposed to the most cruel treatment (Nahum 3:10; Zechariah 14:2; Esther 3:13; 2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16, 18). Captives were sometimes carried away into foreign countries, as was the case with the Jews (Jeremiah 20:5; 39:9, 10; 40:7).

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) A prisoner taken by force or stratagem, esp., by an enemy, in war; one kept in bondage or in the power of another.

2. (n.) One charmed or subdued by beauty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.

3. (a.) Made prisoner, especially in war; held in bondage or in confinement.

4. (a.) Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.

5. (a.) of or pertaining to bondage or confinement; serving to confine; as, captive chains; captive hours.

6. (v. t.) To take prisoner; to capture.