First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1entail
verb en·tail \in-ˈtāl, en-\
: to have (something) as a part, step, or result
Full Definition of ENTAIL
transitive verb
1
: to restrict (property) by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof
2
a : to confer, assign, or transmit (something) for an indefinitely long time : to confer, assign, or transmit as if by entail <entailed on them indelible disgrace — Robert Browning> b : to fix (a person) permanently in some condition or status <entail him and his heirs unto the crown — Shakespeare>
3
: to impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result <the project will entail considerable expense>
— en·tail·er \-ˈtā-lər\ noun
— en·tail·ment \-ˈtāl-mənt\ noun
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Examples of ENTAIL
- Pregnancy involves the bodily dependence of the unborn child on its mother; in many cases, it entails a significant physical burden. —Cathleen Kaveny, Commonweal, 4 May 2007
- … it was a Master Highlighter Event, a two-day guest appearance by one of Kinkade's specially trained assistants, who would highlight any picture bought during the event for free. Highlighting a picture is not that different from highlighting your hair: it entails stippling tiny bright dots of paint on the picture to give it more texture and luminescence. —Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2001
- Life is a difficult and complicated enterprise. It entails joy but also suffering, gain but also loss, hope but also despair. —Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998
- Discourse is a social as well as an intellectual activity; it entails interaction between minds, and it revolves around something possessed in common. —David A. Hollinger, In the American Province, (1985) 1992
- [+]more
Origin of ENTAIL
Middle English entailen, entaillen, from 1en- + taile, taille limitation — more at tail
Related to ENTAIL
Rhymes with ENTAIL
abseil, airmail, all hail, assail, avail, bake sale, bangtail, blackmail, blacktail, bobtail, broadscale, broadtail, bucktail, bud scale, canaille, cattail, chain mail, coattail, cocktail, contrail, curtail, derail, detail, doornail, dovetail, downscale, ducktail, e-mail, exhale, fan mail, fantail, female, fife rail, fire sale, fishtail, folktale, foresail, foxtail, fresh gale, full-scale, gapped scale, Glendale, gray scale, greenmail, guardrail, Hallel, handrail, hangnail, headsail, hightail, hobnail, horntail, horsetail, impale, inhale, junk mail, Longueuil, lugsail, mainsail, mare's tail, Mondale, moon snail, oxtail, pass-fail, percale, pigtail, pintail, pinwale, plate rail, pot ale, prevail, rattail, regale, resale, rescale, retail, right whale, ringtail, Sangreal, Scottsdale, sea kale, shavetail, shirttail, skysail, slop pail, small-scale, snail mail, soft hail, split rail, springtail, spritsail, square sail, staysail, strong gale, surveil, swordtail, taffrail, tag sale, telltale, third rail, thumbnail, timescale, toenail, topsail, travail, trysail, unnail, unveil, upscale, ventail, voice mail, wage scale, wagtail, wassail, whiptail, white sale, whitetail, white whale, whole gale, wholesale, yard sale
2entail
noun en·tail \ˈen-ˌtāl, in-ˈtāl\
Definition of ENTAIL
1
2
: something transmitted as if by entail
Origin of ENTAIL
(see 1entail)
First Known Use: 14th century
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