bail English · revision 10468

+ Bail, security for release, is from Old French baillier, to control, hand over; bail, to scoop water, is from an old word for a bucket from the same Latin root; bail, the cricket crossbar, is from French bail, a crossbar.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /beɪl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|security}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1338|origins=fro baillier|origins=la baiulare}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English baille, [[bor|fro|bail|t=custody, jurisdiction]], from baillier, to control, guard, hand over, deliver,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Latin bāiulāre, to bear a burden, later to care for,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from bāiulus, a porter, carrier, of unknown or uncertain origin;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) de Vaan thinks a PIE origin unlikely.^(Etymonline) [[bailiff|alt=Bailiff]] is related.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Captivity, custody, stewardship: before 1338, in Mannyng's ''Chronicle'';^(Barnhart 1988) charge, guardianship, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Temporary release from jail into another's custody is from 1423, in the Rolls of Parliament (the early 15th century),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and the security or bond money given to obtain it from 1485 (the late 15th century).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The person who provides the security is from 1593.^(OED 1989) ''To go to bail'' is from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and in 18th-century criminal slang ''to give leg bail'' was to run away (1775).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb, to release on bail, is from the mid-16th century,^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) and to get someone out of difficulty, ''bail out'', a later sense.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1338 – custody.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1423 – release from custody.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1485 – bond money.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-16th century – to release on bail (verb).^(SOED 2002)

+ * 1593 – a surety.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1775 – give leg bail.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Money or security given for the release of an arrested person, guaranteeing his or her appearance at trial.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Release on such security: ''released on bail''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person who provides such security; a surety.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To secure the release of someone by giving bail.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To release a person on bail.^(AHD)

+ # ''(bail out)'' To rescue from a difficult situation, especially a financial one.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bailable]]

+ * [[bailout]]

+ * [[bailee]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|scoop water}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1613|origins=fro baille|origins=la baiulus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from Middle English baile, balie, a small wooden bucket (1336, mid-14th century),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|baille|t=bucket, pail]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Medieval Latin *bāiula, literally a porter of water,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Latin bāiulus, porter (see the first block).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To dip water out of a boat: 1613 in Barnhart, the 1610s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''To bail out'', to leave suddenly, originally of airmen jumping from an aircraft, is recorded from 1930, perhaps influenced by bail, to procure someone's release.^(Etymonline) In Britain the word is also spelled bale.^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1336 – balie, a bucket.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1613 – to scoop water.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1930 – to bail out of an aircraft.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To remove water from a boat with a container, or to empty a boat of water.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(bail out)'' To jump from an aircraft by parachute, or to abandon a situation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A container for bailing water from a boat.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bailer]]

+

+ {{homograph|3|crossbar}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1570s|origins=fr bail}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably the same as French bail, a horizontal piece of wood fixed on two stakes, and English bail, a palisade or outer wall of a castle (see [[bailey]]).^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A crossbar of any kind: the 1570s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ One of the two small crossbars on top of a cricket wicket is from about 1742.^(Etymonline) A bar separating animals in a stable is another use,^(AHD) and in Australia and New Zealand a frame to hold a cow's head while milking.^(SOED 2002) The hinged bar holding the paper on a typewriter is from 1904.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1570s – a crossbar.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1742 – a cricket bail.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1904 – a typewriter bail.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(cricket)'' Either of the two small crossbars on top of the stumps.^(AHD)

+ # A bar or pole separating animals in a stable.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bailiff]]

+ * [[bailey]]

+ * [[bale]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A further bail, the hooped handle of a pail or kettle, or a hoop supporting a wagon cover, is probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse beygla, a bend.^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}