▪ I.bail,n.¹|beɪl|Also 5 bayll, baill, 5–7 bayle, 6–7 bayl, bale, baile.[In senses 1 and 2, a.OF.bail ‘power, custody, jurisdiction,’ and ‘delivery,’n.of actionf.baillier, in its senses of ‘take charge of, guard, control,’ and ‘hand over, deliver’(seebail v.¹). The remaining senses are peculiarly English, and their development not quite certain. But from the Latin phrase tradere in ballium alicui, found 1259, and theAF.lesser en bail (1331), it seems that bail was originally related to sense 1, and meant the ‘custody or charge’ (i.e.of the surety);cf.also the equivalent mainprise, manucaptio. But it must soon have been associated in meaning with sense 2, and theAF.bailler to deliver (chattels), since already in 16th c. it was explained as ‘the delivery or handing over of the accused to his surety,’ whence transferred to the security in consideration of which he was so delivered, and finally to the surety himself who became or gave security for his reappearance in court when called for judgement. There is nothing approaching these senses inFr., while, on the other hand, theFr.sense ‘lease’ is not in English.Fr.bail, then.of action, must be carefully distinguished from bail ‘governor, ruler, tutor, guardian’ (=Pr.baile,Sp.bayle,Pg.bailio,It.bailo, balio: —L. bājulus), never adopted in English (though sometimes erroneously stated to be the direct source of sense 6). Bail=bājulus was the primary word; thence thevb.bailler=bājulāre; thence again then.of action bail formed in French, and adopted in English. (The word is discussed by Coke 4th.Inst.178.)]†1.Charge, custody, jurisdiction, power. Obs.a1400Cov.Myst.(1841) 292His body is undyr your bayle.1470HardingChron.xxviii,In battaill greate hir tooke and putte in baill.1489CaxtonFaytes of A. i. xv. 39So grete a thyng as is the bayll and charge of the noblesse.1596SpenserF.Q. vii. vi. 49Faunus, now within their baile.†2.A handing over, delivery, giving. Obs.[perh.not inEng.; butcf.4.][1292Britton ii. ix. §3Cum acun bail de seysine deit estre fet. (When any livery of seisin is to be made.)]†3.The charge or friendly custody of a person who otherwise might be kept in prison, upon security given that he shall be forthcoming at a time and place assigned. Obs.(But the phrase admitted to bail, formerly let to bail, originated in this sense, though subsequently otherwise analysed.)[1259Provisions of Barons (Stubbs Sel.Chart. 396)Quod hii quibus traditur in ballium eum habeant coram justitiis.1331Act 5Edw.III, viii,Et ont este par les ditz Marescaux lessez en bail. (transl. Pulton: And by the Marshalles of the Kings Bench have been let to baile.)]1581LambardeEiren. iii. ii. (1602) 333That no Iustice, nor Iustices of peace, should let to bayle any person contrary to the said statute.1649SeldenLaws ofEng.i. xxxvi. (1739) 53Admitted to Bail if the offences were bailable.1809TomlinsLawDict.s.v.,To admit any to bail who ought not by law to be admitted is punishable by fine.†4.Temporary delivery or release from imprisonment, on finding sureties or security to appear for trial; also, release, in a more general sense. Obs.1466Mann. &Househ.Exp. 169Robard Henengham becam sewerte to my mastyr for the bayle of on Willyam Valenden of Manytre that was in the castell of Colchestre.1509BarclayShip of Fooles (1570) 4There shall be no bayle nor treating of mainprise.1542Act 34 & 35Hen.VIII, xxvii. §50The Prenotarie to haue..for the bayle of euery person of felony, twelue pens.1598RowlandsBetray. Christ 16More dead then Lazarus in his stincking graue, When he deaths vaut till fift daies baile indured.1642Declar.Lords &Comm.22 Dec. 6To some common Goale, there to remaine without Bayle or Mainprize.1768BlackstoneComm.IV. 294The nature of bail is..a delivery, or bailment, of a person to his sureties, upon their giving (together with himself) sufficient security for his appearance.5.Security given for the release of a prisoner from imprisonment, pending his trail.[1331Act 5Edw.III, viii,Et ne les soeffrent nulle part aler walkerants ne par bail ne santz bail.]1495Act 11Hen.VII, vii,They[shall]..be put to sufficient baill.1580StowChron.Hen.VIII an. 1540 (R.)Giuing liberty to..his prisoners to go under baill.1605VersteganDec.Intell.x. (1628) 328Putting in bayl to be freed or protected for the time from prison.1607HeywoodWom. KildeWks.1874 II. 130,I am not free, I go but under baile.1671F. PhilippsReg.Necess. 288They ought not to be released until they..give Bayl to appear, and answer the action.1691WoodAth.Oxon.II. 146He had his liberty upon bayle of 40000l.1713SwiftCadenus & V.Wks.1755 III. ii. 30That both parties Shou'd..appear, and save their bail.1742MiddletonCicero I. iii. 193A miserable, needy crew, who had..forfeited their bails.1862TrollopeOrley F. xiii. 98His client..was prepared with bail to any amount.b.fig.Security, surety, guarantee.a1593H. SmithSerm.(1637) 350Death would take no baile, we are all tenants at will and we must leave..at a day's, at an houres warning.1626BernardIsle of Man (1627) 81None being sufficient to lay in bayle to answer God for the sin.1645MiltonTetrach.Wks.1738 I. 251Doubtless this man hath bail enough to be no Adulterer.c.to give leg bail (jocular): to be beholden to one's own legs for escape, to run away.1775AdairAmer.Ind.277,I had concluded to use no chivalry, but give them leg-bail instead of it, by..making for a deep swamp.1841MarryatPoacher xxii,Given them leg bail, I'll swear.6.The person or persons who procure the release of a prisoner from the custody of the officer arresting him, or from prison, by becoming surety for his appearance in court for trial.The bail now becomes answerable with his money, but formerly he might have to give his own person as security, whence the phrase to be bail or become bail,i.e.security, as opposed to give or put in bail of sense 5.1593Shakes.2Hen.VI, v. i. 111Sirrah, call in my sonne to be my bale. 120 The sonnes of Yorke shall be their Fathers baile.1644MiltonAreop. (Arb.) 56His bayl and surety.1649SeldenLaws ofEng.i. xxxvi. (1739) 53If the party bailed made default..his Bail suffered as Principal.1676D'UrfeyMad. Fickle v. iii. (1677) 65Well, leave 'em with me, I'll be Bail for their appearance to morrow.1869J. MartineauEss.II. 112[He]must stand bail for himself in the court of truth.fig.1820ByronJuan v. xcix,I won't be bail for anything beyond.1850ThackerayPendennis xxx. (1884) 292Ye'll spend it like a man of spirit—I'll go bail for that.¶In consequence of the transition of meaning in senses 3–6, many phrases are current which are not easily analysed. ‘To say that the magistrate bails the prisoner(seebail v.¹ 2)is now somewhat old-fashioned. Generally, the magistrate accepts bail, admits to bail, allows bail, or (occasionally) holds to bail, or takes bail. I have also seen grants bail. The regular phrase of the Statute-book is, I think, ‘the magistrate may admit him to bail.’ In 45Geo.III, c. 92, the magistrate also takes bail, the prisoner gives bail. Bail is also offered by the prisoner, and may be refused by the magistrate; on the day appointed his bail surrender, render, bring in, or produce him in court, or the accused surrenders to his bail. In the latter phrase, there is a notion of his delivering himself up in discharge of the recognizances into which he himself, as well as his sureties, has entered, for his appearance. This idea also colours the later use of hold to bail, admit to bail.’ (F. W. Maitland.)7.Comb.bail-bond, the bond or security entered into by a bail; bail-piece:(seequot.).1709Act 7 Anne in Lond.Gaz.No.4538/1All Bail Bonds given by the said Ambassador..are utterly Null and Void.1815ScottGuy M. lii,Where shall we find one to draw the bail-bond?1768BlackstoneComm.III. 291Which recognizance is transmitted to the court in a slip of parchment intitled a bail piece.Add:[7.]bail bandit colloq., one who commits a crime while on bail awaiting trial.1991Times 20 July 6/1The study suggests that ‘bail bandits’ are responsible for between 24 and 39 per cent of recorded crime.1993Independent on Sunday 3 Oct. 5/7After a police campaign against ‘bail bandits’..ministers are considering forcing a suspect to prove he would not be dangerous if allowed to wait at home instead of in jail.▸ bail-jumpern.orig.U.S.a defendant who absconds while on bail.1868N.Y.Times 23 May 2/6 (heading)A *bail-jumper caught.2007South Wales Evening Post (Nexis) 18 Dec. 10A Seasons greetings message is going out to bail jumpers..—turn yourself in or risk facing Christmas Day banged up in a police cell.▸ bail-jumpingn.orig.U.S.the crime of absconding while on bail.1881National PoliceGaz.9 Apr. 3/3She was subsequently arrested here at the instance of the Boston police for *bail jumping and taken to Boston and jailed.2007News (Nigeria) (Nexis) 17 Dec.Mr. Bryant was detained for Bail Jumping. However, he was released the following day after he agreed to appear in court.▸ bail bondsmann.U.S.a person who makes a living by charging a fee to defendants for standing as surety for their bail.a1911D. G. PhillipsSusan Lenox (1917) II. xiii. 311,I gave Sallie and that little Jew girl who's her side partner ten for the *bail bondsman.1994Denver Post 4 Sept. f10/4Her cousin Vinny, a bail bondsman, has a job opening for a skip tracer.▪ II.bail,n.²Forms: 5 beyl, bayl, 5–7 bayle, 7 baile, 7– bail, (8–9erron.bale).[ME.beyl,prob.a.ON.beygla,Da.böile,Sw.bögel, bygel, bending, ring, hoop, guard of a sword-handle, etc.;cf.alsoON.beyla hump, swelling (Vigf.); all fromON.beygja=OE.béᵹan, býᵹan, to bend, bow. There may even have been anOE.*beᵹel, byᵹel;cf.LG.bögel in same sense.]1.A hoop or ring; a half-hoop for supporting the cover of a wagon or cradle, the tilt of a boat. etc.1447O. BokenhamSeyntys 120My right hand arayid..Wyth a precyous beyl of gold hath he.1494Ord.R.Househ.127Twoe cradlebands of crimsonne velvett and a bayle..for the same.1529Privy Purse Exp.Hen.VIII (1827) 11To the same watermen for fowre bayles for the saied barge.1669WorlidgeSyst.Agric.(1681) 216Two small round Hoops or Arches..like unto the two end-Hoops or Bails of a Carriers Waggon, or a Tilt-boat.1748De Foe, etc.TourGt.Brit.(ed.4) I. 143 (D.)An act of Parliament passed in 1736–7..prohibits close Decks and Bails nailed down in the Wherries.1884W. SussexGaz.25 Sept.,A capital large rick cloth, with bail.2.The hoop-handle of a kettle or similar vessel.1463Bury Wills (1850) 23A litell chafour with a beyl and a lyd.1607TopsellSerpents 767About the same vessel[caldron or kettle]..binde this..to the handle or bayl thereof.1741PaynePhil.Trans.XLI. 823A Handle or Bale..by which it may be hung or held up.1865E. BurrittWalk 460The old-fashioned bails of our brass-kettles.1866HowellsVenet.Life 36A small pot of glazed earthenware having an earthen bale.▪ III.bail,bayle,n.³|beɪl|Forms: 3–6 baile, 4 baille, 4–6 bail, bayle, 6 bayl, bayll, 9 bayle (sense 2), bail, bale (sense 4).[ME., a.OF.bail and baile, baille in same sense, of doubtful origin;perh.verbalns.f.baillier to enclose, shut (1321 inGodef.), unless indeed they are the source of that word: see bail v.³Cf.also next, and bailey.It is phonetically possible that bail, baille, represent L. baculum,pl.bacula, sticks, in the sense of ‘stakes, palisade,’ but historical evidence of such a development of sense is wanting.]1.pl.Outer line of fortification, formed of stakes; palisades, barriers.1523Ld.Berners Froiss. I. xxxviii. 52The heynows conquered by force the baylles.Ibid.xlvii. 66A lytell skirmyssh before the bayles.Ibid.67They rode in good order, and came to the bayls.1795SoutheyJoan of Arc viii. 156O'er the bayle, The bayle now levell'd by victorious France, The assailants pass'd.2.The wall of the outer court of a feudal castle; extended to each of the successive walls which separate the courts. Hence, sometimes used for the courts themselves. See bailey.a1300Cursor M. 10023Þe baile midelmast o thre, Bitakens wel hir chastite..Nam o bail it hat for-þi For it hir heild als in baili.c1320Cast. Loue 687Seþþe beoþ þre Bayles wiþ-alle So feir i-diht wtstrong walle.c1450Merlin vii. 113That thei wolde ley siege environ the baile.1570–87HolinshedScot.Chron.(1806) II. 368The lord Fleming..fled out by the postern gate, at the neither baile.1813HoggQueen's Wake 253Both bayle and keep rang with the din.†3.pl.The bulwarks of a boat. Obs.1577HolinshedChron.III. 921/2His barge..with yeomen standing vpon the bails.1558–1603NicholsProgr. Q.Eliz.II. 285One of the watermen..being the second man next unto the bales of the said barge.4.A bar or pole to separate horses standing in an open stable; a swinging bail is hung at one end from the manger, and at the other from the ceiling.1844Regul. &Ord.Army 351When the horse is deposited in the hold..it is the duty of the ship's carpenter to fix the bails which are to secure him.1851Ord.& Regul. R. Engineers xix. 96Battery Stables..70 Bail Stalls..9 ft. by 5½ ft.1859‘Stonehenge’Rural Sports 583With bales horses can be stowed much more thickly than with travises.1877―Horse xiii. 205A Gangway-Bail is..a strong piece of oak which is dropped into a mortice in the stall-post at one end, and into another made in the wall opposite.5.(In Australia andN.Z.): A framework for securing the head of a cow while she is milked.1847‘A. Harris’Settlers & Convicts xiv. 287Next get up a moderate sized stockyard... Let it contain milking bales.Ibid.xvi. 345,I..had seen my own cow in his bale, and the milk carried into his dairy.1859F. Fuller5Yrs.Residence inN.Z.viii. 170[The heifer]is secured by fastening the bails.1861Newcastle Advertiser (N.S.W.) 24 Apr. 1Next day I was dragged by the neck to a bail, And milked by a hairy-faced man with a pail.1874W. M. BainesNarr.Edw.Crewe x. 225The former bovine female..would have been impossible to milk without a ‘bail’.1885E. A. Petherickin letter:The cows are taken to the bails, which may be in the open air, in a shed, or in stalls as in a stable.1952G. WilsonJulien Ware i. 5In the yard outside the bail a second cow..stumbled uncertainly.6.Of a typewriter: a hinged bar which holds the paper against the platen. Also bail bar, bail roller.1931M. CrooksBk.Underwood Typewriter xii. 85The paper is normally held by the Carriage Bail.1950― & DawsonDict.Typewriting (ed.5) 23Bail. The complete term, namely ‘Paper Bail’, is the name given to the swivelled arm which holds the paper down on to the paper cylinder.1959Observer 4 Oct. 15/4Every typewriter has a ‘bail-bar’ to hold the paper down, and usually this has to be lifted up and down when inserting paper.1962Which? Dec. 353 (caption)Paper bail bar.Ibid.354The bail bar, which should hold the paper against the platen, was thin and bent easily... Bail rollers on the bail bar are an additional way of holding the paper on to the platen.▪ IV.bail,n.⁴[Godefroy says ‘In the arrondissement of Vervains and of Avesnes bail is the name of a horizontal piece of wood fixed upon two stakes.’ This is exactly the cricket bail of the last century: the origin of theFr.is uncertain;perh.identical with the preceding word; scarcely an independentrepr.of L. baculum.]†1.A cross bar. Obs.1575TurbervileBooke of Falconrie 358Set them uppon some pearche or bayle of wood that they maye by that meanes the better keepe their feathers unbroken, and eschue the dragging of their traines upon the ground.2.In Cricket, name of each of the two pieces of wood laid across the tops of the three stumps which form the wicket. Also attrib., as bail ball=bailer².(The bails are at present made 4 inches long, turned and shaped on the lathe; but originally the wicket consisted of a single bail, two feet long, laid across two stumps.c1742J. LoveCricket iii. 20To such impetuous Might compell'd to yield The Bail.1770J. LoveCricket 19The Bail, and mangled Stumps bestrew the Field.1799inHoyle's Games (1803) 301The striker is out if the bail is bowled off.1813Sports of Childhood Cricket 22The Wicket consists of two pieces of wood fixed upright, and kept together by another piece, which is laid across the top and is called a Bail.1833StruttSports & Past. (Hone) 106Of late years the wicket consists of three stumps and two bails.1833J. Mitford inGentl.Mag.Sept. 235/2Tom Walker laid down a bail ball.1861G. J. Whyte-MelvilleTilb. Nogo 167My bails fly upwards; and..I am disagreeably conscious of being ‘bowled out.’▪ V.†bail,n.⁵ Naut.Obs.Forms: 5 beyle, 7 baile, 8 bail.[In earlier form baile, a. F. baille (in nautical language) a bucket, a pail,prob.:—late L. bacula,dim.of baca, bacca, backn.²]A bucket or shallow tub used on board ship,esp.for emptying out water; any small vessel used to bail the water out of a boat.1466Mann. &Househ.Exp. 211My master paid to Perse berebrewer for vj beyles for the spynas vijd.1772–84CookVoy.(1790) I. 157The gentlemen likewise saw the bail of a canoe..made of a human skull.1867SmythSailor's Word-bk.,Bayle, an old term for bucket.▪ VI.bail,v.¹|beɪl|Forms: 5–7 bayl(e, 6 bale, baal, 6–7 baile, 6– bail.[a.OF.baillier, bailier, bailler (=Pr.bailar):—L. bājulāre ‘to bear a burden, to carry,’ afterwards ‘to carry on, manage, rule,’ and ‘to be guardian or tutor,’ whence baillier ranged inOF.from ‘bear, carry, handle, treat, manage, conduct, govern, control, rule, take charge of, guard,’ to ‘take hold of, receive, take, take away,’ and ‘hand over, deliver, give.’ From the last of these arose the Anglo-French legal sense of ‘deliver,’ narrowed down in use to ‘deliver on trust on certain conditions.’ Sense 2 is probably immediately from bailn.¹ 3, 4, as if short for ‘let to bail, admit to bail,’ but clearly influenced byAF.bailler in sense 1, so as to make ‘deliver’ or ‘liberate’ at length the leading idea. Hence extended from the act of the magistrate to that of the surety, and used in various transferred senses.]I.Immediately from F. baillier.1.‘To deliver (goods) in trust, upon a contract expressed or implied that the trust shall be faithfully executed on the part of the bailee.’ Blackstone.[See bailment, bailor, bailee.][c1320Year-bk.Edw.II, 270A tort luy detient viij escritz, les queux il luy bailla a rebailler a sa volounte.]1768BlackstoneComm.II. 452If cloth be delivered, or (in our legal dialect) bailed, to a taylor to make a suit of cloaths.II.Immediately from bailn.¹2.To admit to bail, to liberate on bail; to release (a person) from immediate arrest or imprisonment, on security being given by one or more sureties that the person so released shall be duly presented for trial. Said of the magistrate. arch.1548HallChron.Hen.VIII an. 14 (R.)Al the other, if they would be bayled, to fynde sureties for their trueth and allegeaunce.1555Act 2–3 Mary x. §1 (1632),Such Justices..as haue authority to baile any prisoner brought before them.1641Termes de la Ley 35 b,Upon the Bonds of these Sureties..he is bailed, that is to say, set at liberty, untill the day appointed for his appearance.1715BurnetOwn Time iii. (R.)Jeffries was bolder, so he bailed him.1771JuniusLett.lxv. 328You have bailed a man..whom the lord mayor of London had refused to bail.1827HallamConst.Hist.(1876) II. viii. 3Charles..told them he was content the prisoners should be bailed.†b.fig.and gen.To liberate from imprisonment.1581J. StudleySeneca's Herc. Œtæus 216 b,Hath hell no power to hold thy sprite..Or else hath Pluto baalde thee out?1592GreeneConny Catch. ii. 31Sirra see if your pick⁓locks will serue the turne to bale you hence.1600S. NicholsonAcolastus (1876) 27It's hard to bayle imprisoned thoughts againe.3.To procure the liberation of (any one) from prison or arrest, by becoming bail or security for him. (To bail out implies that he is already in prison.) Also fig.1587FlemingContn. Holinshed III. 353/1A woman..whome the same Bruistar had bailed out of Bridewell.1588Shakes.Tit.A. ii. iii. 299Thou shalt not baile them, see thou follow me.1642FullerHoly & Prof.St.i. iv. 11The dearest Husband cannot bail his wife when death awaits her.1791BoswellJohnson (1831) I. 233,I shall have my old friend to bail out of the round-house.a1832MackintoshRevol.of 1688Wks.1846 II. 281Twenty-eight peers were prepared to bail them, if bail should be required.1859Mrs. GaskellRound the Sofa 58,I offer to bail the fellow out, and to be responsible for his appearance at the sessions.4.fig.To be security or pledge for; to secure, guarantee, protect.1587Myrr.Mag., Madan xii. 4Grace and prudence bayles our carefull bandes.1620SandersonSerm.I. 166This stranger, this Lot..hath bayled you hitherto, and given you protection.a1659OsbornQ.Eliz.(1673) 464Let the Proverb As sure as Check bayl me from the least suspicion of hyperboly.▪ VII.bail,v.² ? Obs.[f.bailn.²]To hoop, gird.1548[see bailedppl.a.].1594NasheUnfort.Trav.59Close soldered, and bailde about with yron.▪ VIII.bail,v.³Also 6 bale.[App.ad.OF.baillier to enclose, shut, of doubtful source: immediately related to bail, baille, bailn.³, though it is not yet certain which is derived from the other; if thevb.be the source, it may beperh.only another sense of baillier, to have charge of, control, guard, etc.: see bail v.¹]1.To confine. rare.c1600Shakes.Sonn.No.133Prison my heart in thy steele bosomes warde, But then my friends heart let my poore heart bale, Who ere keepes me, let my heart be his garde.1852Sir W. HamiltonDisc.303The infinite spirit does not bail itself under proportion and number.2.To secure the head of a cow in a ‘bail’ while she is milked. (One leg is also usually secured.) Usu. with up. Austral.and N.Z.1846C. J. PharazynJrnl.25 Aug. (MS.) 54Helped George in bailing up Durham[a cow].1853J. RochfortAdv.SurveyorN.Z.iii. 24We were just in time to see his men bailing up some cattle[at the station]; i.e. the cow is made to put her head between two posts, when a bar slides across the space and catches her by the neck, rendering it impossible to get her head back.1860R. DonaldsonBush Lays & Rhymes 14A young cow must be bailed.a1885Mod.(from E. A. Petherick)‘Have you bailed up the cows?’ ‘Yes, they're bailed up.’1888‘R. Boldrewood’Robbery under Arms I. vii. 89She could frighten a wildish cow, and bail up anything that would stay in a yard with her.1906E. W. ElkingtonAdrift inN.Z.i. 16The cows..refused to be bailed up.1950N.Z.Jrnl.Agric.Sept. 268After the heifer has been bailed in the normal way the board is swung into position.3.(Orig.said of Australian bushrangers.) To ‘stick up’ travellers in order to rob them; to ‘corner’ a wild boar (or other hunted animal); (in weakened sense) to detain (a person); also transf.Also intr., to surrender (by throwing up the arms). Usu. with up. Austral.and N.Z.1840Sydney Herald 31 Jan. 2/4Only think of one man[sc. a bushranger]bailing up the master and twelve men.1853Mrs. C. ClacyLady's Visit to Gold Diggings xvi. 235But can picture their horror when ordered to ‘bail up’ by a party of Australian Turpins.1855W. HowittLand, Labour, & Gold II. xxxix. 309So long as that is wrong, the whole community will be wrong, — in colonial phrase, ‘bailed up’ at the mercy of its own tenants.1872M. A. Barker in D. M. DavinN.Z.Short Stories (1953) 25Our head shepherd recognized an old enemy in the dead boar, and declared that he and his dogs had bailed him up unsuccessfully ‘many a time and oft’.1879W. J. BarryUp & Down xii. 112She bailed me up, and asked me if I was going to keep my promise and marry her?1880Melbourne Argus 22 July 1/7We were bailed up by an armed man on horseback.Ibid.in Leisure Ho. (1885) 197‘Bail up! Throw up your arms, I'm Ned Kelly!’1885H. Finch-HattonAdvance Australia! vii. 105A little further on the boar ‘bailed up’ on the top of a ridge.1888A. H. DuncanWakatipians x. 105We are bailed up by the snow, and look like frozen Esquimaux.1894J. K. ArthurKangaroo & Kauri II. iii. 98The pigs will oftentimes ‘bale up’, or stop, and with their back to a rock, tree, or other obstacle, keep two or more dogs at bay for a long time.1894H. NisbetBush Girl's Romance 144Reginald..acted like a wise man and ‘bailed up’, that is, he dropped his knife and threw up his hands as a sign of his submission.1895G. ChamierSouth-Sea Siren xiv. 205He was immediately ‘bailed up’[by the surveyors], and made to dismount against his will to partake of some refreshment.1900D. McK. WrightWisps of Tussock 50He bailed me up straight for a shilling.1904M. CradockSport inN.Z.i. iii. 67Unless he[s.c. the pig]is a peculiarly obstinate beast the dogs very soon ‘bail him up’ again.1911Chambers'sJrnl.4 Mar. 222/2The dogs have ‘bailed’ a fighting old boar in a rock-cleft.1930E. WallaceWhite Face xiii. 213‘Bail up!’ It was an expression of the old Australian bushrangers. It's still used by the hold-up men in Australia.1943F. Davison inCoast to Coast 1942 194,I didn't like the colour of those who had him bailed up.1946―Dusty (1947) ix. 94The border collie's shrill barking when he had a goanna bailed up always brought him to the scene.1960B. CrumpGood Keen Man 84,I couldn't see eye-to-eye with Jim on the matter of going in on bailed boars with a slasher.▪ IX.bail,v.⁴Also 5–7 baile, bayle, (7–9 bale).[f.bailn.⁵]1.Now often less correctly bale,q.v.To lade or throw water out of a boat, etc., with buckets (formerly called bails), pails, basins, or other vessels.a.To bail the water (out).1613PurchasPilgr. ix. xiv. 911They bailed and pumped two thousand tuns and yet were ten foot deepe.1622R. HawkinsVoy.S. Sea 226In clearing and bayling the water.1624Capt.Smith Virginia v. 174Buckets..to baile out the water.1829MarryatF. Mildmay xi,One[man]to bail the water out.b.To bail the boat (out).1840R. DanaBef. Mast xviii. 50By the help of a small bucket and our hats we bailed her out.1841CatlinN.Amer.Ind.(1844) II. xlviii. 111Ladles to bail them out.c.absol.1624Capt.Smith Virginia v. 174Bailing and pumping three daies and three nights without intermission.1682Sir J. Berry inLond.Gaz.No.1720/7Still working with the Pumps and Bailing, but to no purpose.2.to bail out (Aeronaut.): see bale v.² 2.