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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bailey en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

From Old French baile (“palisade, enclosure”), from Latin bacula, plural of baculum (“stick, rod”).

Meanings

  1. The outer wall of a feudal castle.
  2. The space immediately within the outer wall of a castle or fortress.
  3. (in certain proper names) A prison or court of justice.
    • the Old Bailey in London; the New Bailey in Manchester
  4. An argument which is controversial and more difficult to defend (in the context of a motte and bailey fallacy).
    • "Birds are dinosaurs" is the bailey; "birds are more similar to dinosaurs than anything else" is the motte. 2023 February 10, “Why Birds Are Not Dinosaurs (And Why It Matters)”, in Answers in Genesis, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2023:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
baileys Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

motte and bailey

Translations (9)

scn bagghiu (space contained by the outer wall of a castle) · ga bábhún (outer wall of a castle) · pt paliçada (outer wall of a castle) · fi linnanpiha (space contained by the outer wall of a castle) · scn bagghiu (outer wall of a castle) · de Burghof (space contained by the outer wall of a castle) · de Burgmauer (outer wall of a castle) · la ballium (outer wall of a castle) · fi ulkomuuri (outer wall of a castle)