entail

American  

[en-teyl, en-teyl, en-teyl] / ɛnˈteɪl, ɛnˈteɪl, ˈɛn teɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to cause or involve by necessity or as a consequence.

   a loss entailing no regret.

2. to impose as a burden.

   Success entails hard work.

3. Law. to limit the passage of (real estate) to a specified line of heirs, so that it cannot be transferred or bequeathed to anyone else.

4. Law. to cause (anything) to descend to a fixed series of possessors.

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noun

1. the act of entailing.

2. Law. the state of being entailed.

3. any predetermined order of succession, as to an office.

4. Law. something that is entailed, as an estate.

5. Law. the rule of descent settled for an estate.

entail British  

/ ɪnˈteɪl /

verb

1. to bring about or impose by necessity; have as a necessary consequence

   this task entails careful thought

2. property law to restrict (the descent of an estate) to a designated line of heirs

3. logic to have as a necessary consequence

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noun

1. property law

   1. the restriction imposed by entailing an estate

   2. an estate that has been entailed

Other Word Forms

• entailer
  noun
• entailment
  noun
• preentail
  verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of entail

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle English entailen (verb), entail (noun), equivalent to en- ¹ + tail ² ( def. )

Explanation

To entail is to involve. A job at a movie theater might entail sweeping popcorn off the floor, probably because watching a movie entails eating popcorn in the dark. It’s a small price to pay! The word entail, which comes from Latin, is connected to the idea of preconditions. If you want something, you better figure out what it entails. If it’s only 8 o’clock and you want to see a movie at 9, that will entail waiting for an hour. If you want to stay out of trouble, that will entail calling your parents and letting them know you're going to be late. That’s what being responsible entails!

Example Sentences

South of the river at Vauxhall's Fire, Gui Boratto appears alongside comrade Tobias Thomas for glistening, hard-hitting tech house, with rising London promoters Entail and Caret taking care of two more rooms lasting until 8am.

From The Guardian • Jul. 6, 2013

Entail Records Presents Okie Dokie Warehouse Party, Crucifix, SE1, 3 Aug, residentadvisor.net German rural techno don and sometime park ranger Dominik Eulberg makes a rare trip to London.

From The Guardian • Aug. 2, 2012

For one thing, she unearthed copies of the much-debated Columbus "Entail of Property," in which Ferdinand and Isabella gave their Admiral the right to one tenth of all the spices and jewels he might discover.

From Time Magazine Archive

But on further inquiry it was found that his title to the estate ceased with the abolition of the entail under the Entail Amendment Act of 1848.

From Australian Writers by Byrne, Desmond

Entail, a term in law which came to be used in connection with the practice of limiting the inheritance of estates to a certain restricted line of heirs.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Related Words

• bring about
• call for
• encompass
• involve
• lead to
• necessitate
• require