bailey

[bey-lee]

noun, plural bai·leys.

the defensive wall surrounding an outer court of a castle.
the courtyard itself.

Also ballium.

Origin of bailey

1250–1300; Middle English, variant of bail⁴

Bailey

[bey-lee]

noun

Liberty Hyde,1858–1954, U.S. botanist, horticulturist, and writer.
Nathan or Nathaniel,died 1742, English lexicographer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bailey

Contemporary Examples of bailey

Circus parades often became as large a sight as the performance itself; one Barnum and Bailey parade stretched for three miles.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014
In 1881, along came Bailey, operator of another circus, and two circuses joined to give rise to the first three-ring spectacle.
We’re All Carnies Now: Why We Can’t Quit the Circus
Anthony Paletta
November 27, 2014
Bailey and one of the other women said that Freundel specifically instructed them not to tell others about the re-dunk.
Women Describe How Top D.C. Rabbi Allegedly Spied on Them in the Nude
Steven I. Weiss
October 22, 2014
Bailey, who is also dating the director, said working on a Leigh production was incredibly arduous.
Mike Leigh Is the Master Filmmaker Who Hates Hollywood
Nico Hines
October 14, 2014
“My balls are getting stuck,” Bailey Jay complains at one point, crossing and re-crossing her mile-long legs.
Jim Norton And His Many Vices
Lloyd Grove
July 25, 2014

Historical Examples of bailey

It was on the brink of the Barrage itself that I spoke to Bailey.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
"Will, let's go to meeting to-night," he said, the next time he came across Will Bailey.
Tip Lewis and His Lamp
Pansy
Now Mr Bailey, take this gentleman home, and see him safely in.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
He might have died and welcome, fifty times, and not been such a loss as Bailey!'
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
"Well, sometimes he thinks 'Yes' and then again he thinks 'No,'" replied Bailey.
Cy Whittaker's Place
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for bailey

bailey

noun

the outermost wall or court of a castle

Word Origin for bailey

C13: from Old French baille enclosed court, from bailler to enclose; see bail ³

Bailey

noun

David . born 1938, English photographer
Nathan or Nathaniel . died 1742, English lexicographer: compiler of An Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1721–27)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bailey

"wall enclosing an outer court," early 14c. (c.1200 in Anglo-Latin), baylle, variant of bail, from Old French bail "stake, palisade, brace," of unknown origin, perhaps ultimately connected to Latin bacula "sticks," on notion of "stakes, palisade fence." Old Bailey, seat of Central Criminal Court in London, was so called because it stood within the ancient bailey of the city wall. The surname Bailey usually is from Old French bailli, a later form of baillif (see bailiff).