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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Entail

En-tāil', n.

noun

n. [Fr. entaille, from entailler, to cut away, from prefix en and tailler, to cut; Pr. & Pg. entalhar, It. intagliare, L. Lat. feudum talliatum, a fee entailed, i. e., curtailed or limited. See TAIL and DETAIL.]

Sense 1. That which is entailed; hence, (Law.) (a.) An estate or fee entailed, or limited in descent to a particular heir or heirs. (b.) The rule by which the descent is fixed or settled.

A power of breaking the ancient entails, and of alienating their estates. Hume.

Sense 2. Delicately carved ornamental work. [Obs.] “A work of rich entail.” Spenser.

En-tāil', v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. ENTAILED; p. pr. & vb. n. ENTAILING.] 1. To settle or fix inalienably on a person or thing, or on a person and his descendants; — said especially of lands and tenements which must descend by a fixed rule from generation to generation. “Allowing them to entail their estates.” Hume. Joab's blood entailed on Judah's crown. Prior. 2. To cut or carve for ornament. [Obs.] “Entailed with curious antics.” Spenser.