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calaboose

 - 4 dictionary results

cal⋅a⋅boose

  [kal-uh-boos, kal-uh-boos]
Use calaboose in a Sentence
–noun Slang.
jail; prison; lockup.
Origin:
1785–95, Americanism; (< North American F) < Sp calabozo dungeon, of obscure orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cal·a·boose   (kāl'ə-bōōs')   
n.   Chiefly Southern & Western U.S.
A jail.

[Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo, dungeon.]
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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Slang Dictionary
calaboose [ˈkæləbus]

  1. n.
    jail. (From a Spanish word.) : Are we going to tell what happened, or are we going to spend the night in the calaboose?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

calaboose 
1792, Amer.Eng., from Louisiana Fr. calabouse, from Sp. calabozo "dungeon," probably from V.L. *calafodium, from pre-Roman *cala "protected place, den" + L. fodere "to dig."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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