calaboose C2+ Topic:Places & Geography US /ˈkæləˌbus/ UK /ˈkæləˌbuːs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a local jail or lockup The sheriff tossed the drunkard into the calaboose overnight. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a local jail or lockup jailprisonlockupclinkjugcoolerslammer Etymology AI details From Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo ('dungeon, jail'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *calafodium ('a digging into rock'). calabozo Spanish View etymology graph -> Topics Places & Geography External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # calaboose **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkæləˌbus/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkæləˌbuːs/ ## Meanings 1. a local jail or lockup ## Examples - The sheriff tossed the drunkard into the calaboose overnight. ## Synonyms - jail - prison - lockup - clink - jug - cooler - slammer ## Roots and Affixes - Root: calabozo ## Etymology From Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo ('dungeon, jail'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *calafodium ('a digging into rock'). ## AI Etymology Calaboose comes from Louisiana French calabouse, from Spanish calabozo ('dungeon, jail'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *calafodium ('a digging into rock'). The historical trail runs through calabozo in Spanish. The history must be left partly open, preserving the uncertainty rather than forcing a single unsupported ancestry. Used as a noun, calaboose now means "a local jail or lockup", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. That uncertainty is part of the entry: the safest account is the attested form and the limited comparisons preserved with it. ## Topics - Places & Geography markdown