A
prisoner of war (
POW,
PoW,
PW,
P/W,
WP,
PsW,
enemy prisoner of war (
EPW) or
"missing-captured") is a person, whether
combatant or
non-combatant, who is held in custody by a
belligerent power during or immediately after an
armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates to 1660.