A-sȳ'lum, n.
n.; pl. Eng. A-Sȳ'LUMS, Lat. A-Sȳ'LĀ. [Lat. asylum, Gr. ἀσύλον, from ἄσυλος, exempt from spoliation, inviolable, from ἀ priv. and σῦλον, spoil; συλᾶν, to plunder.]
Sense 1. A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be taken without sacrilege. In later times Christian churches were regarded as asylums in the same sense. “So sacred was the church to some, that it had the right of an asylum or sanctuary.” Ayliffe.
The name was anciently given to temples, altars, statues of the gods, &c.
Sense 2. Any place of retreat and security.
Earth has no other asylum for them than its own cold bosom. Southey.
Sense 3. Specifically, an institution for the protection or relief of the unfortunate; as, an asylum for the poor, for the deaf and dumb, or for the insane.