noun
Rare, formal term for a person taken as a slave or captive, typically in historical or military contexts. Not used in modern everyday language.
古文書には、戦で捕らえられた被虜人の記録が残っている。
Ancient documents contain records of captives taken in battle.
捕虜 means 'prisoner of war' and is more common than 被虜人, which specifically refers to a person enslaved after capture.
Compound of 被 (ひ, 'suffer, receive') + 虜 (りょ, 'captive') + 人 (にん, 'person'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning 'captive person' or 'slave'.