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.
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Idioms
7.
go/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 Middle English bayle < Anglo-French bail custody, charge < Old French, noun derivative of baillier to hand over < Latin bāiulāre to serve as porter verbal derivative of bāiulus porter, perhaps an Imperial Latin borrowing from Moesia < *ba(r)i̯- carry (akin to Albanian m-ba hold) < *bhor-i̯-; see bear1

Dictionary.com Unabridged

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 Middle English beyl, perhaps < Old Norse; compare Old Norse beyglast to become bent, equivalent to baug(r) ring (see bee2) + *-il noun suffix + -ast middle infinitive 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 followed by out ): to bail out a boat.
verb (used without object)
3.
to bail water.
noun
4.
Also, bail·er. a bucket, dipper, or other container used for bailing.
Verb phrases
5.
bail out,
a.
to make a parachute jump from an airplane.
b.
to relieve or assist (a person, company, etc.) in an emergency situation, especially 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 Middle English bayle < Middle French baille a bucket < Vulgar Latin *bāi(u)la; akin to Latin bāiulus carrier. See bail1

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 phrases
4.
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).
Idioms
5.
bail up!, Australian. (the cry of challenge of a pioneer or person living in the bush.)
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English baile < Old French < Latin bacula, plural of baculum stick

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
bail1 (beɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a sum of money by which a person is bound to take responsibility for the appearance in court of another person or himself or herself, forfeited if the person fails to appear
2.  the person or persons so binding themselves; surety
3.  the system permitting release of a person from custody where such security has been taken: he was released on bail
4.  jump bail, forfeit bail to fail to appear in court to answer to a charge
5.  stand bail, go bail to act as surety (for someone)
 
—vb
6.  (often foll by out) to release or obtain the release of (a person) from custody, security having been made
 
[C14: from Old French: custody, from baillier to hand over, from Latin bāiulāre to carry burdens, from bāiulus carrier, of obscure origin]

bail or bale2 (beɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb
(often foll by out) to remove (water) from (a boat)
 
[C13: from Old French baille bucket, from Latin bāiulus carrier]
 
bale or bale2
 
—vb
 
[C13: from Old French baille bucket, from Latin bāiulus carrier]
 
'bailer or bale2
 
—n
 
'baler or bale2
 
—n

bail3 (beɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  cricket either of two small wooden bars placed across the tops of the stumps to form the wicket
2.  agriculture
 a.  a partition between stalls in a stable or barn, for horses
 b.  a portable dairy house built on wheels or skids
3.  (Austral), (NZ) a framework in a cowshed used to secure the head of a cow during milking
 
—vb
4.  See bail up
 
[C18: from Old French baile stake, fortification, probably from Latin baculum stick]

bail or bale4 (beɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  the semicircular handle of a kettle, bucket, etc
2.  a semicircular support for a canopy
3.  a movable bar on a typewriter that holds the paper against the platen
 
[C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse beygja to bend]
 
bale or bale4
 
—n
 
[C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse beygja to bend]

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bail
"bond money," late 15c., a sense that developed from that of "temporary release from jail" (mid-15c.), and that from earlier meaning "captivity, custody" (mid-13c.). From O.Fr. baillier "to control, to guard, deliver" (12c.), from L. bajulare "to bear a burden," from bajulus "porter," of unknown origin.

bail
1610s, "to dip water out of," from baile (n.) "small bucket" (early 14c.), from O.Fr. baille "bucket, pail," from M.L. *bajula (aquae), lit. "porter of water," from L. bajulare "to bear a burden" (see bail (n.1)). To bail out "leave suddenly" (intrans.) is recorded from 1930,
originally of airplane pilots. As a noun, sometimes bailout, it dates from 1955.

bail
"horizontal piece of wood in a cricket wicket," c.1742, originally "any cross bar" (1570s), probably identical with M.Fr. bail "horizontal piece of wood affixed on two stakes," and with English bail "palisade wall, outer wall of a castle" (see bailey).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

bail (out) definition


  1. in.
    to resign or leave; to get free of someone or something. : Albert bailed just before he got fired.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

bail

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Remember if a product doesn't make money our government doesn't bail it out so
  it goes under.
The trick is to bail out when rates are bottoming out.
Thus, the optimum strategy would be to bail out a few credits short of
  graduation in order to pay the loans off.
WE have spent trillions on bail outs and stimulus checks.
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