Etymograph

English

jailer

Jailer comes from Middle English gayoler ‘a prison warden’, from Late Latin caveola ‘little cage’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-1‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱowh₁ós1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawos1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus1‘hollow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*caveus1reconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavea2‘cage’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaveola2‘little cage’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jaiole3‘prison’
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jaiolier3
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gayoler3‘a prison warden’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1775jailer3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin cavea
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French jaiole
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English jailer
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1775, Samuel Palmer: “Sometimes some of the ejected ministers preached to them…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin cavea‘to swell’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱowh₁ósWiktionary, Latin caveauncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosWiktionary, Latin caveareconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavusWiktionary, Latin cavea‘hollow’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*caveusWiktionary, Latin caveareconstructed
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaveaWiktionary, Old French jaiole‘cage’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaveolaWiktionary, Old French jaiole‘little cage’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jaioleWiktionary, English jailer‘prison’
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jaiolierWiktionary, English jailer
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gayolerWiktionary, English jailer‘a prison warden’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1775jailerWiktionary, English jailer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1775, Samuel Palmer: “Sometimes some of the ejected ministers preached to them…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’

church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 38 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós

cavernous, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *kawos

concave, cavern, 14 more

through Latin cavus ‘hollow’

cave, cavity, excavation, excavate, cavil, 16 more

through Latin cavea ‘cage’

cage, caul, 4 more

through Late Latin caveola ‘little cage’

gaol, 1 more

Today it means

noun One who enforces confinement in a jail or prison.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jailer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cavea, Old French jaiole. 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- / jailer

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