*entail*

v. t. (Law) To free from entailment. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. entaile carving, OF. entaille, F., an incision, fr. entailler to cut away; pref. en- (L. in) + tailler to cut; LL. feudum talliatum a fee entailed, i. e., curtailed or limited. See Tail limitation, Tailor. ] 1. That which is entailed. Hence: (Law) (a) An estate in fee entailed, or limited in descent to a particular class of issue. (b) The rule by which the descent is fixed. [ 1913 Webster ]

A power of breaking the ancient entails, and of alienating their estates. Hume. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Delicately carved ornamental work; intaglio. [ Obs. ] “A work of rich entail.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Entailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Entailing. ] [ OE. entailen to carve, OF. entailler. See Entail, n. ] 1. To settle or fix inalienably on a person or thing, or on a person and his descendants or a certain line of descendants; -- said especially of an estate; to bestow as an heritage. [ 1913 Webster ]

Allowing them to entail their estates. Hume. [ 1913 Webster ]

I here entail
The crown to thee and to thine heirs forever. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To appoint hereditary possessor. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To entail him and his heirs unto the crown. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cut or carve in an ornamental way. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Entailed with curious antics. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of entailing or of giving, as an estate, and directing the mode of descent. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The condition of being entailed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A thing entailed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Brutality as an hereditary entailment becomes an ever weakening force. R. L. Dugdale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A peculiar insectivore (Ptilocercus Lowii) of Borneo; -- so called from its very long, quill-shaped tail, which is scaly at the base and plumose at the tip. [ 1913 Webster ]