gayoler

Middle English

Alternative forms

• gailer, gailler, gayholer, gayler, jailer, jailere, jaioler, jaolere, javeler, jayler
• chayler, gaylour, geylere, jaylard, jayllere, jaylere, jaylier, joulour (Late Middle English)

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman jaiolier, gaiolier; equivalent to gayole +‎ -er. For forms with /v/, see gayole.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɡæi̯uˈleːr/, /ˌɡaːuˈleːr/, /ˌd͡ʒæi̯uˈleːr/
• (reduced) IPA^(key): /ˈɡæi̯(ə)lər/, /ˈɡaː(ə)lər/, /ˈd͡ʒæi̯(ə)lər/, /ˈd͡ʒavələr/

Noun

gayoler

1. A prison warden; a jailer/gaoler.
   • late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Monk's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 3621-3624:

     His yonge sone, that three yeer was of age,
     Un-to him seyde, ‘fader, why do ye wepe?
     Whan wol the gayler bringen our potage,
     Is ther no morsel breed that ye do kepe?’

     His young son, who was three years of age,
     Unto him said, ‘Father, why do you weep?
     When will the jailer bring our soup,
     Is there no morsel of bread that you do keep?’

Descendants

• English: jailer, gaoler
• Scots: jiler
• → Middle Irish: seigléir
  • Irish: séiléir, séileoir

References

• “ǧaioler, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.