Added 9 October 2026
jail
/d͡ʒeɪl/ noun
In Latin: carcer, ferriterium Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about jail at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
A place or institution for the confinement of persons held against their will in lawful custody or detention, especially a place where people are held for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding.
serve time in jail
- Confinement in a jail.
- The condition created by the requirement that a horse claimed in a claiming race not be run at another track for some period of time (usually 30 days).
verb
- To imprison, incarcerate, enjail.
Origin
Inherited from Middle English gayole, borrowed from Anglo-Norman jaiole, from Late Latin caveola, from Latin cavea (“cage”) + -ola (diminutive ending). 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”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)