jail

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A place where people are locked up, especially while awaiting trial or for minor crimes.

   He spent three months in jail for theft.

2. 2
   verb

   To put someone in prison.

   The court jailed him for five years.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Jail ultimately comes from Latin caveloa, “little cage,” from cavea, “hollow, cave, cell,” and cavus, “hollow.” Medieval English borrowed a hard-g form from Anglo-Norman gaole and a soft-j form from Old French jaiole; the former survives in the old-fashioned British spelling gaol.

From Middle English gayole, gaylle, gaille, gayle, gaile, from Old French gaiole, gayolle, gaole, from Medieval Latin gabiola, from Late Latin caveola (“small cage, cell”), a diminutive of Latin cavea (“cavity, coop, cage”). Doublet of caveola and related to cage. More at cajole. Fully displaced native Middle English quartern (“prison, jail, cell”), from Old English cweartern (“jail, prison”). Partially displaced native Middle English lok, from Old English loc (“enclosure, pen; jail, prison”), whence lock; and Middle English carcern, from Old English carcern, from Latin carcer (“prison, jail”)…

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