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English word origin

Etymology of gaol

From Middle English gayole, gaiol, 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”). See also ca

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

Dated spelling of jail.

noun

Dated spelling of jail.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English gayole, gaiol, 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”). See also cage.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "gayole"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English gayole"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "gaiole"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French gaiole"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "gabiola"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin gabiola"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-lat",
        "3": "caveola"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin caveola"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "cavea",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cavity, coop, cage"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin cavea (“cavity, coop, cage”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gayole",
      "gayole#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gaiol",
      "gaiol#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gaylle",
      "gaylle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gaille",
      "gaille#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gayle",
      "gayle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gaile",
      "gaile#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "gaiole",
      "gaiole#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "gayolle",
      "gayolle#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "gaole",
      "gaole#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "gabiola",
      "gabiola#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "caveola",
      "caveola#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "cavea",
      "cavea#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "cage",
      "cage#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Dated spelling of jail."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ],
      "recordId": "424ce4181154dbcd05f76f23974930ff08058cef05b6aaba5ed9c8ffb2987c5b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a755ca50a34ea98bdd93db2e23864b3e8219cb3b04ebea71e1df56c1d591a980",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216831
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Dated spelling of jail."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "d408f7909421168b0e1cbc7bbdc7b34a6c7f4da0ede93c21a4e77f4c5ca6298f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "bff3612603e01b6dc2661fc4cb57a2ee85d79906ba6f4ec0819b74adae7e3cea",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216830
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gaol →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Z2FvbA