Etymology

Old Bailey

Today it means: A street in the City between Holborn Circus and St Paul's Cathedral. Full definition →

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The story

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.