Bailment
/ˈbeɪl.mənt/noun
A legal relationship in which personal property is transferred into someone else's possession for a specific purpose, with an obligation to return it or dispose of it as agreed.
Did you know?Bailment comes from the same French root as *bail* and *bailiff*, from Old French *baillier* meaning “to deliver, entrust, or hand over,” originally tied to legal control rather than modern freedom.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʷel-
“to throw, reach, or drive”
Latin
Latin
*bajulare*
“to carry a burden”
Old French
Old French
baillier
“to hand over, deliver, entrust”
Middle English
English
bailen
“to deliver or commit into another's keeping”
14th–15th Century
Law French / English
bailement
“the act of delivering property into another's custody”
Modern English
English
bailment
“the legal transfer of possession of personal property without transfer of ownership”