October 22, 2003, 21:47
KallehHoosegow
I know that
hoosegow is slang, but, still, I can't understand why it means "jail" when it seems to come from the Latin word "iudicare", meaning "to judge". I thought
alleged criminals were supposed to be innocent, until
proven guilty. I wonder if other judicial words have etymologies with the assumption of guilt. Or, maybe it is just in the U.S. that we are innocent until proven guilty?
October 22, 2003, 22:53
<Asa Lovejoy>While my dictionaries also give it the Latin, then Spanish origins, I can't help but suspect that there may have been a Gaelic origin. I can't prove it, though.