Where does “jailhouse” come from?
Jailhouse combines English jail and house, where house derives from Middle English hus and Proto-Germanic hūsą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to dwell or inhabit.
jailhouse (English): A building containing a prison
Definitions
- A building containing a prison
Ancestry of “jailhouse”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | jail | A place or institution for the confinement of... |
| 2 | Middle English | gayole | — |
| 3 | Old French | gaiole | prison; gaol; jail |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | gabiola | — |
| 5 | Late Latin | caveola | — |
| 6 | Latin | cavea | hollow, cavity; cage, den, enclosure, stall,... |
| 7 | Latin | cavus | hollow, concave; excavated, channeled;... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | kawos | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱowh₁ós | hollow |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱewh₁- | to swell; to be strong |