gaol

JAYL/d͡ʒeɪ(ə)l/

US spellingjail

3 meanings of gaol

1
prisonnouncountable
A place where people are lawfully held in custody against their will; a prison.
The new gaol was built outside the city walls, with separate wings for men and women.
The Victorian county gaol has been turned into a museum and a hotel.
UsageSaid exactly like jail. In Britain most writers now spell it jail, so gaol looks dated there, though it is still common in Australia.
Similarprison
2
prisonnoununcountable
The state of being locked up in prison.
The magistrate warned him that he faced gaol if he offended again.
Gaol would mean losing the business she had spent twenty years building.
UsageNo article for the state: face gaol, be sent to gaol. The gaol means a particular building.
Similarprison, imprisonment, custody
Oppositefreedom, liberty
3
put in prisonverbtransitive
To send someone to prison or have them locked up there.
The regime continues to gaol its critics without a fair trial.
He was gaoled for life for the murder of a shopkeeper.
UsageOften passive: gaoled for a crime or a term (gaoled for life). British news writing now mostly prints jailed.
Similarimprison, incarcerate, detain
Oppositefree, release

Used only in American English, spelled jail: a claimed racehorse's ban from other tracks; the out area in dodgeball; a sandbox for a guest operating system.

Practice

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Origin

Middle English spelt it in several ways, among them gayole and gayle, and took it from Old French gaiole. Behind that is Medieval Latin gabiola, standing for Late Latin caveola, a small form of Latin cavea, which meant a hollow, a coop or a cage. Compare the word cage.