Bail definition | Dictionary.com

bail

1 [beyl]

Law.

–noun

1.	property or money given as surety that a person released from custody will return at an appointed time.

2.	the person who agrees to be liable if someone released from custody does not return at an appointed time.

3.	the state of release upon being bailed.

4.	on bail, released or free as a result of having posted bond: He was out on bail within 10 hours of his arrest.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to grant or obtain the liberty of (a person under arrest) on security given for his or her appearance when required, as in court for trial.

6.	to deliver possession of (goods) for storage, hire, or other special purpose, without transfer of ownership.

—Idioms

7.	go or stand bail for, to provide bail for: They spent the night in jail because no one would stand bail for them.

8.	jump bail, to abscond while free on bail: The suspect jumped bail and is now being sought.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME bayle < AF bail custody, charge < OF, n. deriv. of baillier to hand over < L bāiulāre to serve as porter v. deriv. of bāiulus porter, perh. an Imperial L borrowing from Moesia < *ba(r)i̯- carry (akin to Albanian m-ba hold) < *bhor-i̯-; see bear ¹

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bail

2 [beyl]

–noun

1.	the semicircular handle of a kettle or pail.

2.	a hooplike support, as for the canvas cover on a Conestoga wagon.

3.	a metal band or bar equipped with rollers for holding a sheet or sheets of paper against the platen of a printing press, typewriter, etc.

Also, bale.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME beyl, perh. < ON; cf. ON beyglast to become bent, equiv. to baug(r) ring (see bee ² ) + *-il n. suffix + -ast middle inf. suffix

bail

3 [beyl]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to dip (water) out of a boat, as with a bucket.

2.	to clear of water by dipping (usually fol. by out): to bail out a boat.

–verb (used without object)

3.	to bail water.

–noun

4.	Also, bailer. a bucket, dipper, or other container used for bailing.

—Verb phrase

bail out,

a.	to make a parachute jump from an airplane.

b.	to relieve or assist (a person, company, etc.) in an emergency situation, esp. a financial crisis: The corporation bailed out its failing subsidiary through a series of refinancing operations.

c.	to give up on or abandon something, as to evade a responsibility: His partner bailed out before the business failed.

Also, bale (for defs. 1–3).

Origin:
1425–75; late ME bayle < MF baille a bucket < VL *bāi(u)la; akin to L bāiulus carrier. See bail ¹

bail

4 [beyl]

–noun

1.	Cricket. either of the two small bars or sticks laid across the tops of the stumps which form the wicket.

2.	British, Australian. a bar, framework, partition, or the like, for confining or separating cows, horses, etc., in a stable.

3.	bails, Obsolete. the wall of an outer court of a feudal castle.

—Verb phrase

bail up, Australian.

a.	to confine a cow for milking, as in a bail.

b.	to force (one) to surrender or identify oneself or to state one's business.

c.	to waylay or rob (someone).

—Idiom

5.	bail up! Australian. (the cry of challenge of a pioneer or person living in the bush.)

Origin:
1350–1400; ME baile < OF < L bacula, pl. of baculum stick

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Bail

bail¹ (bāl)

Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
Release from imprisonment provided by the payment of such money.
A person who provides this security.

tr.v. bailed, bail·ing, bails

To secure the release of by providing security.
To release (a person) for whom security has been paid.
Informal To extricate from a difficult situation: always bailing you out of trouble.
To transfer (property) to another for a special purpose but without permanent transference of ownership.

[Middle English, custody, from Old French, from baillier, to take charge of, from Latin bāiulāre, to carry a load, from bāiulus, carrier of a burden.]
bail'er n.

bail² (bāl)

v. bailed, bail·ing, bails

v. tr.

To remove (water) from a boat by repeatedly filling a container and emptying it over the side.
To empty (a boat) of water by bailing.

v. intr.
To empty a boat of water by bailing.
n. A container used for emptying water from a boat.
Phrasal Verb(s):
bail out

To parachute from an aircraft; eject.
To abandon a project or enterprise.

[From Middle English baille, bucket, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *bāiula, water container, from Latin bāiulāre, to carry a load.]
bail'er n.

bail³ (bāl)

The arched hooplike handle of a container, such as a pail.
An arch or hoop, such as one of those used to support the top of a covered wagon.
A hinged bar on a typewriter that holds the paper against the platen.
The pivoting U-shaped part of a fishing reel that guides the line onto the spool during rewinding.

[Middle English beil, perhaps from Old English *bēgel or of Scandinavian origin; see bheug- in Indo-European roots.]

bail⁴ (bāl)

Chiefly British A pole or bar used to confine or separate animals.
Sports One of the two crossbars that form the top of a wicket used in the game of cricket.

[Old French dialectal, probably from Latin baculum, stick; see bacillus.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bail

Bail\, n. [F. baille a bucket, pail; cf. LL. bacula, dim. of bacca a sort of vessel. Cf. Bac.] A bucket or scoop used in bailing water out of a boat. [Obs.]

The bail of a canoe . . . made of a human skull. --Capt. Cook.

Bail

Bail\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bailing.]

1. To lade; to dip and throw; -- usually with out; as, to bail water out of a boat.

Buckets . . . to bail out the water. --Capt. J. Smith.

2. To dip or lade water from; -- often with out to express completeness; as, to bail a boat.

By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out. --R. H. Dana, Jr.

Bail

Bail\, v.?t. [OF. bailler to give, to deliver, fr. L. bajulare to bear a burden, keep in custody, fr. bajulus ? who bears burdens.]

1. To deliver; to release. [Obs.]

Ne none there was to rescue her, ne none to bail. --Spenser.

2. (Law) (a) To set free, or deliver from arrest, or out of custody, on the undertaking of some other person or persons that he or they will be responsible for the appearance, at a certain day and place, of the person bailed.

Note: The word is applied to the magistrate or the surety. The magistrate bails (but admits to bail is commoner) a man when he liberates him from arrest or imprisonment upon bond given with sureties. The surety bails a person when he procures his release from arrest by giving bond for his appearance. --Blackstone. (b) To deliver, as goods in trust, for some special object or purpose, upon a contract, expressed or implied, that the trust shall be faithfully executed on the part of the bailee, or person intrusted; as, to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to bail goods to a carrier. --Blackstone. Kent.

Bail

Bail\, n. [OF. bail guardian, administrator, fr. L. bajulus. See Bail to deliver.]

1. Custody; keeping. [Obs.]

Silly Faunus now within their bail. --Spenser.

2. (Law) (a) The person or persons who procure the release of a prisoner from the custody of the officer, or from imprisonment, by becoming surely for his appearance in court.

The bail must be real, substantial bondsmen. --Blackstone.

A. and B. were bail to the arrest in a suit at law. --Kent. (b) The security given for the appearance of a prisoner in order to obtain his release from custody of the officer; as, the man is out on bail; to go bail for any one.

Excessive bail ought not to be required. --Blackstone.

Bail

Bail\, n. [OE. beyl; cf. Dan. b["o]ile an bending, ring, hoop, Sw. b["o]gel, bygel, and Icel. beyla hump, swelling, akin to E. bow to bend.]

1. The arched handle of a kettle, pail, or similar vessel, usually movable. --Forby.

2. A half hoop for supporting the cover of a carrier's wagon, awning of a boat, etc.

Bail

Bail\, n. [OF. bail, baille. See Bailey.]

1. (Usually pl.) A line of palisades serving as an exterior defense. [Written also bayle.] [Obs.]

2. The outer wall of a feudal castle. Hence: The space inclosed by it; the outer court. --Holinshed.

3. A certain limit within a forest. [Eng.]

4. A division for the stalls of an open stable.

5. (Cricket) The top or cross piece ( or either of the two cross pieces) of the wicket.

Language Translation for : Bail

Spanish: fianza,

German: die Kaution,

Japanese: 保釈金

More Translations »

bail (n.1)

"bond money," 1485, developed from "temporary release from jail" (1466), and that from earlier meaning "captivity, custody" (1259). From O.Fr. baillier "control, guard, deliver," from L. bajulare "to bear a burden," from bajulus "porter," of unknown origin.

bail (v.)

1613, from baile "bucket" (1336), from O.Fr. baille "bucket," from M.L. *bajula (aquae), lit. "porter of water," from L. bajulare "to bear a burden" (see bail (n.1)).

bail (n.2)

"horizontal piece of wood in a cricket wicket," c.1742, originally "any cross bar" (1575), probably identical with M.Fr. bail "horizontal piece of wood affixed on two stakes," and with Eng. bail "palisade wall, outer wall of a castle" (see bailey).

Main Entry: bail
Pronunciation: 'bAl
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, act of handing over, delivery of a prisoner into someone's custody in exchange for security, from bailler to hand over, entrust, from Old French, from Latin bajulare to carry (a burden)
1 : the temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given for the prisoner's appearance at a later hearing bail>
2 : the security given for a prisoner's release; also : the amount or terms of the security bail shall not be required —U.S. Constitution amendment VIII> bail> bail>
3 : one who provides bail and is liable for the released prisoner's appearance <bail may arrest or authorize arrest of principal —Code of Alabama>—jump bail : to flee the jurisdiction while released on bail—make bail : to be released on bail

Main Entry: bail
Function: transitive verb
1 : to release on bail
2 : to obtain the release of by giving bail —often used with out
3 : to place (personal property) under a bailment bailed —Peet v. Roth Hotel Company, 253 North Western Reporter 546 (1934)>
NOTE: Property is usually bailed by putting it temporarily in the custody of another for a specific purpose, as safekeeping or delivery to a third party.

bail

In addition to the idiom beginning with bail, also see make bail; out on bail; skip bail.

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