Gaol Meaning
/d͡ʒeɪl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounDated spelling of jail.
Sentence Examples
Tyrannical governments frequently gaol their political opponents.
Soon we'll be able to send you to gaol.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The thief was locked up in ____ for his robbery.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Victorian ____ was a somber and imposing building where many notorious criminals were imprisoned.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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 —"
— 1963, Margery Allingham, “Miss Thyrza’s Chair”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 42:
"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, […]"
— 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:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The thief was locked up in ____ for his robbery.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Victorian ____ was a somber and imposing building where many notorious criminals were imprisoned.