gaoler

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English

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Etymology

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By surface analysis, gaol +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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gaoler (plural gaolers)

  1. (Commonwealth, dated) Alternative spelling of jailer
    • 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], chapter XXIII, in Wuthering Heights: [], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Cautley Newby, [], →OCLC:
      The Grange is not a prison, Ellen, and you are not my gaoler.
    • 1890, William Booth, chapter 7, in In Darkest England and the Way Out[1]:
      One very important section of the denizens of Darkest England are the criminals and the semi-criminals. They are more or less predatory, and are at present shepherded by the police and punished by the gaoler.
    • 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 41:
      A gaoler struck him, pushing him back in place in the hopeless, helpless line of prisoners.

Anagrams

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