Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

entail

/ɛnˈteɪl/ noun

Latin root: taliare Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about entail at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Land received by fee tail.
The act of entailing property; the creation of a fee tail from a fee simple.

verb

Have as a logical consequence.
The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers
Impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result.
What does this move entail?
Limit the inheritance of property to a specific class of heirs.

Origin

From Middle English entaillen, from Old French entaillier, entailler (“to notch”, literally “to cut in”); from prefix en- + tailler (“to cut”), from Late Latin taliare, from Latin talea. Compare late Latin feudum talliatum (“a fee entailed, i.e., curtailed or limited”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word