entail

play

verb en·tail \in-ˈtāl, en-\

Definition of entail

transitive verb
1 : to restrict (property) by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof
2a : to confer, assign, or transmit (something) for an indefinitely long time : to confer, assign, or transmit as if by entail entailed on them indelible disgrace — Robert Browningb : to fix (a person) permanently in some condition or status entail him and his heirs unto the crown — William Shakespeare
3 : to impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result the project will entail considerable expense

play \in-ˈtā-lər, en-\ noun

play \in-ˈtāl-mənt, en-\ noun

Pregnancy involves the bodily dependence of the unborn child on its mother; in many cases, it entails a significant physical burden. —Cathleen Kaveny, Commonweal, 4 May 2007
… it was a Master Highlighter Event, a two-day guest appearance by one of Kinkade's specially trained assistants, who would highlight any picture bought during the event for free. Highlighting a picture is not that different from highlighting your hair: it entails stippling tiny bright dots of paint on the picture to give it more texture and luminescence. —Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2001
Life is a difficult and complicated enterprise. It entails joy but also suffering, gain but also loss, hope but also despair. —Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998
Discourse is a social as well as an intellectual activity; it entails interaction between minds, and it revolves around something possessed in common. —David A. Hollinger, In the American Province, (1985) 1992
He accepted the responsibility, with all that it entails.
a lavish wedding entails extensive planning and often staggering expense

Middle English entailen, entaillen, from ¹en- + taile, taille limitation — more at ⁴tail

First Known Use: 14th century

play

noun en·tail \ˈen-ˌtāl, in-ˈtāl\

1a : a restriction especially of lands by limiting the inheritance to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereofb : an entailed (see ¹entail 1) estate
2 : something transmitted as if by entail

First Known Use: 14th century

play

verb

play

transitive verb en·tail \in-ˈtāl\

: to make (an estate in real property) a fee tail : limit the descent of (real property) by restricting inheritance to specific descendants who cannot convey or transfer the property estates are entailed entire on the eldest male heir — Benjamin Franklin

noun

Middle English entaillen, from en-, causative prefix + taille restriction on inheritance — see tail

noun en·tail

1 : an act or instance of entailing real property; also : the practice of entailing property the repeal of the laws of entail would prevent the accumulation and perpetuation of wealth in select families — Thomas Jefferson — see also De Donis Conditionalibus
2 : an entailed estate in real property if entails had not become barrable — Eileen Spring
3 : the fixed line of descent of an entailed estate