from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Jail \Jail\ (j[=a]l), n. [OE. jaile, gail, gayhol, OF. gaole,
gaiole, jaiole, F. ge[^o]le, LL. gabiola, dim. of gabia cage,
for L. cavea cavity, cage. See {Cage}.]
A kind of prison; a building for the confinement of persons
held in lawful custody, especially for minor offenses or with
reference to some future judicial proceeding. [Written also
{gaol}.]
[1913 Webster]
This jail I count the house of liberty. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
{Jail delivery}, the release of prisoners from jail, either
legally or by violence.
{Jail delivery commission}. See under {Gaol}.
{Jail fever} (Med.), typhus fever, or a disease resembling
it, generated in jails and other places crowded with
people; -- called also {hospital fever}, and {ship fever}.
{Jail liberties}, or {Jail limits}, a space or district
around a jail within which an imprisoned debtor was, on
certain conditions, allowed to go at large. --Abbott.
{Jail lock}, a peculiar form of padlock; -- called also
{Scandinavian lock}.
[1913 Webster]