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Webster 1913 Edition


Bail

Bail

(bāl)
,
Noun.
[F.
baille
a bucket, pail; cf. LL.
bacula
, dim. of
bacca
a sort of vessel. Cf.
Bac
.]
A bucket or scoop used in bailing water out of a boat.
[Obs.]
The
bail
of a canoe . . . made of a human skull.
Capt. Cook.

Bail

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Bailed
(bāld)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Bailing
.]
1.
To lade; to dip and throw; – usually with out;
as, to
bail
water out of a boat
.
Buckets . . . to
bail
out the water.
Capt. J. Smith.
2.
To dip or lade water from; – often with out to express completeness;
as, to
bail
a boat
.
By the help of a small bucket and our hats we
bailed
her out.
R. H. Dana, Jr.

Bail

,
Verb.
T.
[OF.
bailler
to give, to deliver, fr. L.
bajulare
to bear a burden, keep in custody, fr.
bajulus
he who bears burdens.]
1.
To deliver; to release.
[Obs.]
Ne none there was to rescue her, ne none to
bail
.
Spenser.
2.
(Law)
(a)
To set free, or deliver from arrest, or out of custody, on the undertaking of some other person or persons that he or they will be responsible for the appearance, at a certain day and place, of the person bailed.
☞ The word is applied to the magistrate or the surety. The magistrate bails (but admits to bail is commoner) a man when he liberates him from arrest or imprisonment upon bond given with sureties. The surety bails a person when he procures his release from arrest by giving bond for his appearance.
Blackstone.
(b)
To deliver, as goods in trust, for some special object or purpose, upon a contract, expressed or implied, that the trust shall be faithfully executed on the part of the bailee, or person intrusted;
as, to
bail
cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment; to
bail
goods to a carrier
.
Blackstone. Kent.

Bail

,
Noun.
[OF.
bail
guardian, administrator, fr. L.
bajulus
. See
Bail
to deliver.]
1.
Custody; keeping.
[Obs.]
Silly Faunus now within their
bail
.
Spenser.
2.
(Law)
(a)
The person or persons who procure the release of a prisoner from the custody of the officer, or from imprisonment, by becoming surety for his appearance in court.
The
bail
must be real, substantial bondsmen.
Blackstone.
A. and B. were
bail
to the arrest in a suit at law.
Kent.
(b)
The security given for the appearance of a prisoner in order to obtain his release from custody of the officer;
as, the man is out on
bail
; to go
bail
for any one
.
Excessive
bail
ought not to be required.
Blackstone.

Bail

,
Noun.
[OE.
beyl
; cf. Dan.
böile
a bending, ring, hoop, Sw.
bögel
,
bygel
, and Icel.
beyla
hump, swelling, akin to E.
bow
to bend.]
1.
The arched handle of a kettle, pail, or similar vessel, usually movable.
Forby.
2.
A half hoop for supporting the cover of a carrier’s wagon, awning of a boat, etc.

Bail

,
Noun.
[OF.
bail
,
baille
. See
Bailey
.]
1.
(Usually
pl.
)
A line of palisades serving as an exterior defense.
[Written also
bayle
.]
[Obs.]
2.
The outer wall of a feudal castle. Hence: The space inclosed by it; the outer court.
Holinshed.
3.
A certain limit within a forest.
[Eng.]
4.
A division for the stalls of an open stable.
5.
(Cricket)
The top or cross piece (or either of the two cross pieces) of the wicket.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bail

BAIL

, v.t.
1.
To set free, deliver, or liberate from arrest and imprisonment, upon security given that the person bailed shall appear and answer in court. The word is applied to the magistrate, or the surety. The magistrate bails a man, when he liberates him from arrest or imprisonment, upon bond given with sureties. The surety bails a person, when he procures his release from arrest, by giving bond for his appearance.
2.
To deliver goods in trust, upon a contract, expressed or implied, that the trust shall be faithfully executed on the part of the bailee or person entrusted; as, to bail cloth to a tailor to be made into a garment, or to bail goods to a carrier.
3.
To free from water, as to bail a boat. This word is improperly written bale. The word is probably the same as bail in law, to free, or liberate, and signifies to throw out water, as with a bucket or shovel.

Definition 2024


bail

bail

See also: baìl and bàil

English

Noun

bail (plural bails)

  1. Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
    • 2009, George Cole; Christopher Smith, The American System of Criminal Justice, International Edition, page 338:
      The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution forbids excessive bail, and state bail laws are usually designed to prevent discrimination in setting bail.
    • 2011, Larry J. Siegel, Criminology, page 658:
      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.
  2. (law, Britain) Release from imprisonment on payment of such money.
  3. (law, Britain) The person providing such payment.
  4. A bucket or scoop used for removing water from a boat etc.
    • Captain Cook
      The bail of a canoe [] made of a human skull.
  5. (obsolete) Custody; keeping.
    • Spenser
      Silly Faunus now within their bail.
Derived terms
  • jump bail
  • out on bail
Translations

Verb

bail (third-person singular simple present bails, present participle bailing, simple past and past participle bailed)

  1. To secure the release of an arrested person by providing bail.
    • 2016 February 11, David Barrett, “Rupert Murdoch moves to reassure Sun staff after arrests”, in The Telegraph, UK:
      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.
  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) To remove (water) from a boat by scooping it out.
    to bail water out of a boat
    • Capt. J. Smith
      buckets [] to bail out the water
  5. (nautical, transitive) To remove water from (a boat) by scooping it out.
    to bail a boat
    • R. H. Dana, Jr.
      By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out.
  6. To set free; to deliver; to release.
    • Spenser
      Ne none there was to rescue her, ne none to bail.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From a shortening of bail out, which from above.

Verb

bail (third-person singular simple present bails, present participle bailing, simple past and past participle bailed)

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

Etymology 3

From Middle English beyl, from Old Norse beygla (a bend, ring or hoop).

Calf feeding bails in Rosevale, Queensland, March 1952

Noun

bail (plural bails)

  1. A hoop, ring or handle (especially of a kettle or bucket).
    • 2010, John M. Findley, Just Lucky, page 78,
      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.
  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.
    • 2011, Bob Ellis, Hush Now, Don't Cry, page 153,
      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.
  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.
  7. (furniture) Normally curved handle suspended between sockets as a drawer pull. This may also be on a kettle or pail.
Translations

Verb

bail (third-person singular simple present bails, present participle bailing, simple past and past participle bailed)

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

Etymology 4

From French baillier.

Verb

bail (third-person singular simple present bails, present participle bailing, simple past and past participle bailed)

  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) To keep (a traveller) detained in order to rob them; to corner (a wild animal); loosely, to detain, hold up. (Usually with up.)
    • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p. 128:
      The transition over the rooftop would have been quicker if Sellers had not been bailed up by a particularly hostile spiritual presence speaking Swedish.

Anagrams


French

Etymology

From bailler.

Pronunciation

Noun

bail m (plural baux)

  1. lease (contract)
  2. (colloquial) yonks, ages
    • 2004, David Foenkinos, Le potentiel érotique de ma femme:
      Il disait que ça faisait un bail qu'ils ne s'étaient pas vus, qu'il lui manquait […].
      He was saying that it had been ages since they'd seen each other, and that he missed him.

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish bal (state (of affairs), condition, situation; prosperity, good luck, good effect).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bˠalʲ/

Noun

bail f (genitive singular baile)

  1. prosperity
    Proverb: Is fearr bail ná iomad. ― Better enough than too much.
  2. proper condition, order
  3. state
  4. treatment
  5. validity

Declension

Derived terms

  • bailchríoch f (finishing touch)
  • gan bhail (invalid, void)

Synonyms

  • (prosperity): rath

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
bail bhail mbail
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

  • "bail" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
  • bal” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Latvian

Etymology

Originally a reduced form of *bailu, an u-stem parallel form to the archaic singular form baile of bailes “fear” (cf. Lithuanian bailùs “afraid”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bâjl]

Adverb

bail (+ dat. + (no +) gen.)

  1. afraid, scared (in the mental state typical of fear)
    viņam ir bail no suņiem ― he is afraid of dogs
    zēnam kļūst bail ― the boy becomes afraid
    bail, ka nesaaukstējas ― he is afraid of catching a cold
    bail no aukstuma, no ūdensafraid of heights, of water
    bail svešu ļaužuafraid of strangers
    bail skatīties lejupafraid of looking down
    bērnam bail runāt ar svešiem ― the child is afraid of talking to strangers
    man tā vēja bail: tas nolauza manu egli ― I am afraid of that wind: it broke my spruce tree
    man metas bail, ka tiešām Hibšs nekļūst traks ― I suddenly became afraid that Hibšs of all people might go crazy

References

  1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), bailes”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

Noun

bail f

  1. thrift, frugality
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

bail f

  1. sling, ballista