English
gaol
Gaol comes from Middle English gayole ‘jail, prison’, from Late Latin caveola ‘little cage’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-1‘to swell’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱowh₁ós1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawos1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus1‘hollow’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*caveus1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavea2‘cavity, coop, cage’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaveola2‘little cage’diminutive of cavea
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500gabiola2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gayole2‘jail, prison’by way of Old French gaiole
- Englishearliest quotation 1963gaol2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cavea
- 2 Wiktionary, English gaol
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Margery Allingham, Miss Thyrza’s Chair: “There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin cavea‘to swell’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱowh₁ósWiktionary, Latin caveauncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosWiktionary, Latin caveareconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavusWiktionary, Latin cavea‘hollow’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*caveusWiktionary, Latin caveareconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaveaWiktionary, English gaol‘cavity, coop, cage’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaveolaWiktionary, English gaol‘little cage’diminutive of cavea
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500gabiolaWiktionary, English gaol
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gayoleWiktionary, English gaol‘jail, prison’by way of Old French gaiole
- Englishearliest quotation 1963gaolWiktionary, English gaol. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Margery Allingham, Miss Thyrza’s Chair: “There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’
church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 37 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós
through Proto-Italic *kawos
through Latin cavus ‘hollow’
cave, cavity, excavation, excavate, cavil, 15 more
through Latin cavea ‘cavity, coop, cage’
through Late Latin caveola ‘little cage’
through Middle English gayole ‘jail, prison’
Today it means
noun Dated spelling of jail.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “gaol”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin cavea. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- / gaol