Jail

Jail

Noun / Verb · /dʒeɪl/

Definition

(Noun) a place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime; (Verb) to put someone in jail; to imprison.

Origin

From Old French jaiole or gaole (a cage, a prison), from Medieval Latin gabiola (a cage), diminutive of Latin cavea (a cage, enclosure), from cavus (hollow). The spelling variants jail and gaol coexisted in English for centuries; gaol remains standard in British legal usage.