bail

Pronunciation

• IPA: /baj/^[1]

Forms

bail m (plural baux)^[1] Plural baux.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from bailler “to give, hand over”,^{[3][2][4][1][5]} which is inherited from Latin bāiulāre (“to carry on one's back”).^[4] The Latin verb is from bāiulus (“porter”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears about 1250 (Livre de justice), in the sense of guardianship of a minor, a very common meaning in the old law.^[4][7][8]

Semantic evolution

In Old French bail meant guardianship (Beaumanoir defines it), power, and simply the act of giving, a sense that lasted into the 16th century;^[4][8] Loysel writes that le mari est bail de sa femme.^[8] The modern sense, a contract by which one party lets another use a thing for a set time and price, is recorded in 1264 and became the usual one in the 16th century.^[3][4][2] In some provinces, notably the Dauphiné, bail kept the old sense “giving” in legal phrases such as bail en payement.^[9]

Familiarly c'est un bail ! means “it's been ages!” (un beau bail, Vidocq 1829, un joli bail, 1901).^[10][2] In Anglo-Norman bail also meant delivery into the custody of sureties.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – Bail “guardianship”.^[4]
• 1264 – A lease, a contract of letting.^[3]
• c. 1283 – Beaumanoir's definition of bail.^[8]
• c. 1270 – Bailleur.^[4]
• 1829 – C'est un beau bail “a long time”.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lease: a contract letting property for a fixed time and rent: signer un bail, bail commercial, prendre à bail: to lease.^[2][7]
2. The document recording it.^[2]
3. (familiar) C'est un bail !: it's been ages!^[2][1]

Word family

• bailleur

Related words

• bailler
• bailli
• English bail

Usage notes

A slang bail (plural bails) “thing, business, stuff” is a different word, borrowed from Haitian Creole bagay, itself from French bagage.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 206b
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)