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Hoosegow

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October 22, 2003, 21:47
Kalleh
Hoosegow
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.