noun
1.
a prison, especially one for the detention of persons awaiting trial or convicted of minor offenses.
verb (used with object)
2.
to take into or hold in lawful custody; imprison.
Also, British, gaol.
Origin:
1225–75; Middle English gaiole, jaiole, jaile < Old North French gaiole, Old French jaiole cage < Vulgar Latin *gaviola, variant of *caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea cage; see -ole1
1225–75; Middle English gaiole, jaiole, jaile < Old North French gaiole, Old French jaiole cage < Vulgar Latin *gaviola, variant of *caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea cage; see -ole1
Related forms
jail·a·ble, adjective
jail·less, adjective
jail·like, adjective
non·jail·a·ble, adjective
re·jail, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Jail
00:10
Jail
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to bark; yelp. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
jail or gaol (dʒeɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a place for the confinement of persons convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or of persons awaiting trial to whom bail is not granted |
| 2. | informal get out of jail, get out of jail free to get out of a difficult situation |
| —vb | |
| 3. | (tr) to confine in prison |
| [C13: from Old French jaiole cage, from Vulgar Latin caveola (unattested), from Latin cavea enclosure; see | |
| gaol or gaol | |
| —n | |
| —vb | |
| [C13: from Old French jaiole cage, from Vulgar Latin caveola (unattested), from Latin cavea enclosure; see | |
| 'jailless or gaol | |
| —adj | |
| 'gaolless or gaol | |
| —adj | |
| 'jail-like or gaol | |
| —adj | |
| 'gaol-like or gaol | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
jail
c.1275, gayhol, from O.N.Fr. gaiole and O.Fr. jaole, both meaning "a cage, prison," from M.L. gabiola, from L.L. caveola, dim. of L. cavea "cage." Both forms carried into M.E.; now pronounced "jail" however it is spelled. Norman-derived gaol (preferred in Britain) is "chiefly due to statutory and official
tradition" [OED]. The verb "to put in jail" is from 1604. Jailbird is 1603, an allusion to a caged bird. Jail-break "prison escape" is from 1910. Jail bait "girl under the legal age of consent" is attested from 1934.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
One journalist even told his colleagues he would be ready to go to jail for doing so.
Steps involved in developing an understanding of jail population dynamics and factors behind jail crowding are delineated.
If you say that you can be fined or arrested or go to jail.
If he spoke about his allegations now, he could go to jail.
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