Definition

1. Verb:
   • To involve (something) as a necessary or inevitable part or consequence. This is the most common meaning.
   • (In law, historical) To limit the inheritance of (property) to a specific, unalterable line of heirs.

Usage

• As a verb, "entail" is used to describe a situation where one thing logically requires or causes another. It often introduces what is required, needed, or involved.
  • Common structures: "X entails Y", "What does X entail?", "X entails doing Y", "X entails that..."
• The legal meaning is now largely historical but appears in legal and historical texts.

Examples

• Verb (General meaning):
  • Accepting the new job entails moving to another city.
  • The project will entail significant financial investment.
  • What exactly does the procedure entail?
  • Such a large order entails careful planning.
• Verb (Legal meaning):
  • The estate was entailed on the eldest son, preventing it from being sold.

Advanced Usage

• "to entail on/upon" (Formal/Legal): To settle or bestow (property) under a legal entail.
  • The land was entailed upon the descendants of the first earl.

Variants and Related Words

• Entailment (Noun): 1. Something that is involved as a necessary result. 2. The legal act or condition of entailing property.
  • Higher speed is a logical entailment of a more powerful engine.
  • The entailment of the estate was recorded in 1742.

Synonyms

• Involve: To have or include as a necessary part.
• Necessitate: To make necessary.
• Require: To need for a particular purpose.
• Mean: To have as a consequence.
• Imply: To suggest or involve as a necessary consequence.

Different Meanings

1. Primary Modern Meaning: To involve as a necessary condition or result. (e.g., )
2. Historical/Legal Meaning: To restrict the inheritance of property to a designated line of heirs, creating a "fee tail." (e.g., )

Idioms / Fixed Phrases

• "What does that entail?": A common question asking for a detailed explanation of what is involved in a situation or task.
  • You want to be a pilot? What does that entail in terms of training?

Noun

1. the act of entailing property; the creation of a fee tail from a fee simple
2. land received by fee tail

Verb

1. limit the inheritance of property to a specific class of heirs
2. impose, involve, or imply as a necessary accompaniment or result
   • What does this move entail?
3. have as a logical consequence
   • The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers