Curio
Today

jail

JAYL · noun

LatinAnglo-NormanMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

Jail comes from Middle English gayole, borrowed from Anglo-Norman jaiole, which traces to Late Latin caveola — literally a 'little cage,' built from Latin cavea ("cage") plus the diminutive ending -ola.

Journey

The word entered English through Anglo-Norman French and eventually pushed out native English words for prison, like Middle English quartern (from Old English cweartern) and, partially, lok and carcern.

Related words

Jail is a doublet of caveola and is related to cage, since both descend from Latin cavea; it's also connected to cajole.

More words

From Anglo-Norman

Nearby, A–Z

All words A–Z →