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jail

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jail

  [jeyl]
–noun
1. a prison, esp. 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.
Use jail in a Sentence
Also, British, gaol.

Origin:
1225–75; ME gaiole, jaiole, jaile < ONF gaiole, OF jaiole cage < VL *gaviola, var. of *caveola, dim. of L cavea cage; see -ole 1

Related forms:
jail⋅a⋅ble, adjective
jailless, adjective
jaillike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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jail   (jāl)   
n.  

  1. A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons awaiting trial under local jurisdiction.

  2. Detention in a jail.

tr.v.   jailed, jail·ing, jails
To detain in or as if in a jail.

[From Middle English jaiole (from Old French) and from Middle English gaiol, gaol (from Old North French gaiole), both from Vulgar Latin *gaviola, from Latin *caveola, diminutive of cavea, cage, hollow.]
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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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: jail
Pronunciation: 'jAl
Function: noun
: a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody; specifically : such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes —compare HOUSE OF CORRECTION, HOUSE OF DETENTION, LOCKUP, PENITENTIARY, PRISON —jail transitive verb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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