Jail
/dʒeɪl/noun
A place where people are legally held in confinement.
Did you know?English jail and the legal term gaol come from Old French gaiole, ultimately from Vulgar Latin caveola, a little cage, showing how punishment vocabulary grew out of the language of containment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gheh₂-
“to gape, yawn, or open wide”
Late Latin
Latin
caveola
“a little cage or enclosure”
Old French
Old French
gaiole
“a prison, cage, or detention place”
Middle English
English
gaile / jail
“a prison”
Modern English
English
jail
“a place of lawful confinement”