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558 entries found
jail (n.)
c. 1300 (c. 1200 in surnames) "a jail, prison; a birdcage." The form in j- is from Middle English jaile, from Old French jaiole "a cage; a prison," from Medieval Latin gabiola "a cage," from Late Latin caveola, diminutive of Latin cavea "a cage, enclosure, stall, coop; a hollow place, a cavity" (see cave (n.)).

The form in g- was the more usual in Middle English manuscripts (gaile, also gaiole), from Old French gaiole "a cage; a prison," a variant spelling that seems to have been frequent in Old North French, which would have been the system familiar to Norman scribes. Now pronounced "jail" however it is spelled. Persistence of gaol (preferred in Britain) is "chiefly due to statutory and official tradition" [OED], and, probably, the fact that it is known the Americans spell it the other way.

In U.S. usually a place of confinement for petty offenders. The Medieval Latin word also is the source of Spanish gayola, Italian gabbiula.
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jail (v.)
"to put in jail, to confine as if in jail," c. 1600, from jail (n.). Related: Jailed; jailing.
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jail-bait (n.)
also jailbait, "girl under the legal age of consent conceived as a sex object," 1928, from jail (n.) + bait (n.).
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jail-bird (n.)
also jailbird, 1610s, based on an image of a caged bird; from jail (n.), which in its Middle English, French, and Latin ancestry also meant "cage" + bird (n.1).
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jail-break (n.)
also jailbreak, "prison escape," 1828, from jail (n.) + break (n.). Verbal phrase to break jail is from 1735.
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jail-house (n.)
also jailhouse, late 15c., from jail (n.) + house (n.). Earlier was jail-hall (late 14c.).
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jailer (n.)
also gaoler, late 14c., from Old North French gayolierre, Old French jaioleur (Modern French geôlier), agent noun from jaole/geole (see jail (n.)). Jail-keeper is attested from 1620s.
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Jain (n.)
1805, from Hindi Jaina, from Sanskrit jinah "saint," literally "overcomer," from base ji "to conquer," related to jayah "victory." The sect dates from 6c. B.C.E.
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Jainism (n.)
1858, from Jain + -ism. Jainist is attested from 1816.
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Jake 
colloquial or familiar abbreviation of the masc. proper name Jacob (q.v.). As the typical name of a rustic lout, from 1854. (Jakey still is the typical name for "an Amishman" among the non-Amish of Pennsylvania Dutch country). Slang meaning "excellent, fine" is from 1914, American English, of unknown origin.
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