jail

Etymology

From Middle English gayole, gaylle, gaille, gayle, gaile, via Old French gaiole, gayolle, gaole, from Medieval Latin gabiola, for Late Latin caveola, a diminutive of Latin cavea (“cavity, coop, cage”). Doublet of caveola and related to cage. More at cajole.

noun

1. A place or institution for the confinement of persons held against their will in lawful custody or detention, especially (in US usage) a place where people are held for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding.
   Taking a shower at the high school, Tommy (the Kitten) Cavanaugh kids Ugly Palmers. "Ugly, if you think the world is coming to an end," he says, "what are you wasting your time here at this jail for? You gonna need American history up there?" 1966, Robert Coover, “Part II, section 11”, in The Origin of the Brunists, 1st edition, page 218
   “I’m out!” That, of course, is an excerpt from Robert Durst’s children’s books [sic], Goodbye Jail. “Goodbye money. Goodbye bail. I killed them all, but goodbye jail. Of course! Of course!” Jun 7 2015, “Bail”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 16, John Oliver (actor), via HBO
2. (uncountable) Confinement in a jail.
   He said Robins had not been in trouble with the law before and had no previous convictions. Jail would have an adverse effect on her and her three children as she was the main carer. December 14, 2011, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian
3. (horse racing, uncountable) The condition created by the requirement that a horse claimed in a claiming race not be run at another track for some period of time (usually 30 days).
4. In dodgeball and related games, the area where players who have been struck by the ball are confined.
5. (computing, FreeBSD, usually uncountable) A kind of sandbox for running a guest operating system instance.

verb

1. To imprison.
   It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits. 2013-08-10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
   A 22-year-old man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years for fatally stabbing 22-year-old Tashan Daniel in an unprovoked attack at Hillingdon Underground station on September 24 2019. September 9 2020, “Network News: Man jailed for Hillingdon murder”, in Rail, page 25