calaboose

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 jail prisonlockupclink jug coolerslammer

Etymology

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

General Vocabulary

External links

# 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
- General Vocabulary

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