01 n. A kind of prison; a building for the confinement of persons held in lawful custody, especially for minor offenses or with reference to som…
-
1.
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.“This jail I count the house of liberty.” — Milton.
Phrases & compounds
Jail delivery —
the release of prisoners from jail, either legally or by violence.
Jail delivery commission —
See under Gaol.
Jail fever —
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 —
a space or district around a jail within which an imprisoned debtor was, on certain conditions, allowed to go at large.
Jail lock —
a peculiar form of padlock; -- called also Scandinavian lock.