hostage

 
Pronunciation: /ˈhɒstɪdʒ/

noun

  • a person seized or held as security for the fulfilment of a condition: they were held hostage by armed rebels

Phrases

hostage to fortune

an undertaking or remark seen as unwise because it invites trouble or could prove difficult to live up to: making objectives explicit is to give a hostage to fortune

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French, based on late Latin obsidatus 'the state of being a hostage' (the earliest sense in English), from Latin obses, obsid- 'hostage'