gaiole

Old French

Alternative forms

• gaole

Etymology

From Medieval Latin gabiola, from Vulgar Latin *caveola, a diminutive of Latin cavea (“cavity, coop, cage”). Cognate to Spanish gayola, Portuguese gaiola.

Noun

gaiole oblique singular, f (oblique plural gaioles, nominative singular gaiole, nominative plural gaioles)

1. prison; gaol; jail

Descendants

• Middle French: geole
  • French: geôle
  • → Asturian: xaula
  • → Old Galician-Portuguese: jaula
    • Galician: xaula
    • Portuguese: jaula
  • → Spanish: jaula
• → Middle English: gayole, gajol, gaylle, gaille, gayle, {l|enm|gaile}}
  • English: gaol; jail
• → Galician: gaiola

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (jaiole)
• gaiole on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub