gaol
2 synonyms for gaol, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The British spelling of jail, a building where people are held as punishment for a crime or while awaiting trial.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun dated
The British spelling of jail, a building where people are held as punishment for a crime or while awaiting trial.
“He spent five years in gaol for fraud.”
How to use gaol
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Gaol is a formal, older spelling that has largely been replaced by jail in everyday British writing.
Etymology
Gaol reached English through Old French gaiole, which came from Medieval Latin gabiola. That in turn traces back to Late Latin caveola, a small form of the Latin word cavea, meaning a cage or coop.
Full origin of gaol →