Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun a street in the City between Holborn circus and St Paul's Cathedral
  • proper noun the Central Criminal Court in this street

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the central criminal court in London

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Originally "The Bailey", a street running outside the western wall of medieval London; from the word "bailey," a Middle English term for the outermost wall or court of a fortification. The courthouse built nearby in the 16th century, alongside old Newgate Prison, took its name from the street.

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