gaol

English

The old Melbourne gaol

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒeɪl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪl

Noun

gaol (countable and uncountable, plural gaols)

1. (UK) Dated spelling of jail.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, “Miss Thyrza’s Chair”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 42:

     There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet, and that's unique. The Van Hoyer Museum in New York hasn't that very rare second version of Maria Marten's Red Barn over there, nor the little Frederick George Manning – he was the criminal Dickens saw hanged on the roof of the gaol in Horsemonger Lane, by the way —

   • 2000 July 8, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “The Scar”, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter; 4), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 26:

     There was a simple reason for Sirius' complete absence from Harry's life until then – Sirius had been in Azkaban, the terrifying wizard gaol guarded by creatures called Dementors, […]

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:jail

Derived terms

• engaol
• gaolable
• gaolbird
• gaol-bird, gaolbird
• gaolbreaker
• gaoldom
• gaol fever
• gaolish
• gaolkeeper
• gaolless
• gaolmate
• gaolward
• gaolwards
• gaolyard

Related terms

• gaoler

Verb

gaol (third-person singular simple present gaols, present participle gaoling, simple past and past participle gaoled)

1. (UK) Dated spelling of jail.

Translations

jail — see jail

Usage notes

In British English, gaol was the more commonly published spelling between approximately 1730 and 1960, and it is still preferred in proper names in some regions. Most Australian newspapers use jail, citing either narrower print widths or the risk of transposing the letters in gaol to produce goal. In Canada, the most common spelling by far is jail, although a handful of legal writers still use gaol; see, for example, [1], para. 26.

The revised 10th edition of the Oxford Authors' and Printers' Dictionary (1965) cites jail, /-er as preferred. So, too, does the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (2005), "excepting usage in historical contexts".

Anagrams

• algo-, Olga, gola, Gola, algo, Lago, goal, Galo

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish gáel (“relationship”), from Proto-Celtic *gailos (compare Lithuanian gailùs (“compassionate”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gailjan, “gladden”), German geil (“wanton”)).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /ɡeːl̪ˠ/, [ɡëːə̯l̪ˠ]
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ɡiːlˠ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ɡiːlˠ/, (older) /ɡɯːlˠ/

Noun

gaol m (genitive singular gaoil, nominative plural gaolta)

1. relationship, kinship; kindred feeling
2. relation, kin; relative
3. relation between things, connection

Declension

Declension of gaol (first declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative gaol gaolta vocative a ghaoil a ghaolta genitive gaoil gaolta dative gaol gaolta forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an gaol na gaolta genitive an ghaoil na ngaolta dative leis an ngaol don ghaol leis na gaolta

Derived terms

• bean ghaoil (“female relative”)
• fear gaoil (“male relative”)
• gaolmhar (“associated; related”)
• neasghaol (“next of kin”)
• salachar gaoil (“distant relationship”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of gaol

radical	lenition	eclipsis
gaol	ghaol	ngaol

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “gaol”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish gáel (“relationship”). Cognate with Irish gaol.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɯːl̪ˠ/, (Lewis) [kɯ̽ːl̪ˠ]
• Hyphenation: gaol

Noun

gaol m (genitive singular gaoil, plural gaoil)

1. love, affection

   Tha gaol agam ort. ― I love you. (literally, “is love at me on you”)

   Ghabh i trom ghaol air. ― She fell madly in love with him.

2. love (object of love)
   • “Gaol ise Gaol i [My love is she]”‎^[2]:

     Gaol ise gaol i.

     She is my love.

     (literally, “Love she love her.”)

Usage notes

• The love expressed by gaol is more intimate in nature than that of gràdh.

Declension

Declension of gaol (type I masculine noun)

indefinite
	singular	plural
nominative	gaol	gaoil
genitive	gaoil	ghaol
dative	gaol	gaoil; gaolaibh1
definite
	singular	plural
nominative	(an) gaol	(na) gaoil
genitive	(a') ghaoil	(nan) gaol
dative	(a') ghaol	(na) gaoil; gaolaibh1
vocative	ghaoil	ghaola; ghaolaibh

¹ archaic or poetic form

Derived terms

• gabh gaol air (“fall in love with”)
• tha gaol agam ort

Mutation

Mutation of gaol

radical	lenition
gaol	ghaol

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “gaol”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[3], Stirling, →ISBN
• Mark, Colin (2003), “gaol”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 324

Toba Batak

Noun

gaol

1. banana

References

• Warneck, J. (1906). Tobabataksch-Deutsches Wörterbuch. Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, p. 70.