bail

Etymology 1

From Middle English baille, from the Old French verb bailler (“to deliver or hand over”) and noun bail (“lease”), from Latin bāiulāre, present active infinitive of bāiulō (“carry or bear”), from baiulus (“porter; steward”) (English: bailiff).

noun

1. (uncountable) Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
   The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution forbids excessive bail, and state bail laws are usually designed to prevent discrimination in setting bail. 2009, George Cole, Christopher Smith, The American System of Criminal Justice, International Edition, page 338
   The purpose of bail is to ensure the return of the accused at subsequent proceedings. If the accused is unable to make bail, he or she is detained in jail. 2011, Larry J. Siegel, Criminology, page 658
2. (law, UK) Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
3. (law, UK) The person providing such payment.
4. A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc.
   The bail of a canoe […] made of a human skull. 1770, James Cook, Voyages Round the World
5. A person who bails water out of a boat.
6. (obsolete) Custody; keeping.

verb

1. To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
   For the first time, the arrests broadened beyond payments to police, with a Ministry of Defence employee and a member of the Armed forces held by police before also being bailed to a date in May. 11 February 2012, David Barrett, “Rupert Murdoch moves to reassure Sun staff after arrests”, in The Telegraph, UK
2. (law) To release a person under such guarantee.
3. (law) To hand over personal property to be held temporarily by another as a bailment.
   to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to bail goods to a carrier
4. (nautical, transitive, intransitive) To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out.
   to bail water out of a boat
   November 4, 1857, Henry William Harper, letter to St. John we had hard work to reach our haven, having to bail out the water with my straw hat.
5. (nautical, transitive) To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out.
   to bail a boat
   By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out. 1840, Richard Henry Dana Jr., Two Years Before the Mast, Chapter XVIII
6. To set free; to deliver; to release.

Etymology 2

From a shortening of bail out, which from above.

verb

1. (slang) To exit quickly.
   With his engine in flames, the pilot had no choice but to bail.
   The Teacher Home Visit Program takes a huge commitment—time, energy, patience, diplomacy. Quite a few schools […] have tried it and bailed. 2010 September, Jeannette Cooperman, "Bringing It Home", St. Louis magazine, ISSN 1090-5723, volume 16, issue 9, page 62
2. (informal, transitive with on) To fail to meet a commitment (to a person).
   "No one bails on Bennie Milagros. No one, comprende? I'm gonna hold you to that midnight run — " 1997, Eric Lustbader, Dark homecoming
   And I ain't got no help. Goddamn Fitch bails on me, scrambles over to Finance. 1999, Robert Draper, Hadrian's walls
   A guy who bails on his young wife and son the way he did. Leaving us to fend for ourselves. 2010, David Handler, The Shimmering Blond Sister, page 119
   "We'll just tell Peter that you got called back to work. He bails on vacations all the time for that reason." 2010, Deborah Cooke, Whisper Kiss

Etymology 3

From Middle English beyle, from Old English bīeġels, from bīeġan + -els. , Queensland, March 1952]]

noun

1. A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).
   I reached across beneath the cow to attach a metal bail to each end of the strap so that the bail hung about 5 inches below the cow's belly.[…]While stroking and talking to the cow, I reached under and suspended the machine on the bail beneath the cow, with its four suction cups dangling to one side. 2010, John M. Findley, Just Lucky, page 78
2. A stall for a cow (or other animal) (usually tethered with a semi-circular hoop).
   1953, British Institute of Management, Centre for Farm Management, Farm Management Association, Farm Managememt, 1960, John Wiley, page 160, More recently, the fixed bail, sometimes called the ‘milking parlour’, with either covered or open yards, has had a certain vogue and some very enthusiastic claims have been made for this method of housing.
   2011, Edith H. Whetham, Joan Thirsk, The Agrarian History of England and Wales, Volume 8: Volumes 1914-1939, page 191, Ten men thus sufficed for the milking of three hundred cows in five bails, instead of the thirty men who would normally have been employed by conventional methods.
3. A hinged bar as a restraint for animals, or on a typewriter.
4. (chiefly Australia and New Zealand) A frame to restrain a cow during milking or feeding.
   But until he had poured enough milk into the vat above the separator, I drove unmilked cows into the bail where he had previously milked and released one. He moved from one bail to the other to milk the next one I had readied. I drove each cow into the empty bail, chained her in, roped the outer hind leg then washed and massaged the udder and teats. 2011, Bob Ellis, Hush Now, Don't Cry, page 153
5. A hoop, ring, or other object used to connect a pendant to a necklace.
6. (cricket) One of the two wooden crosspieces that rest on top of the stumps to form a wicket.
   As Jason Roy's throw came in from deep mid-wicket, a diving Guptill was short when Buttler removed the bails, sending England and the whole of Lord's into delirious celebrations. 14 July 2019, Stephan Shemilt, “England win Cricket World Cup: Ben Stokes stars in dramatic finale against New Zealand”, in BBC Sport, London
7. (furniture) Normally curved handle suspended between sockets as a drawer pull. This may also be on a kettle or pail.

verb

1. To secure the head of a cow during milking.

Etymology 4

From French baillier.

verb

1. (rare) To confine.
2. (Australia, New Zealand) To secure (a cow) by placing its head in a bail for milking.
3. (Australia, New Zealand, usually with up) To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up.
   The transition over the rooftop would have been quicker if Sellers had not been bailed up by a particularly hostile spiritual presence speaking Swedish. 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 128
   While celebrating our “graduation”, a handsome Scot bailed me up outside a pub and insisted I help him solve the cryptic crossword. 2023-01-31, Clem Bastow, “My bad trip – I met a handsome Scot with a crossword and thought it was true love”, in The Guardian