Main Difference
The main difference between Jail and Sail is that the Jail is a place in which people legally are physically confined and usually deprived of a range of personal freedoms and Sail is a surface supported by a mast to propel a sailing vessel
Jail
A prison, also known as a correctional facility, jail, gaol (dated, British and Australian English), penitentiary (American English), detention center (American English), or remand center is a facility in which inmates are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the authority of the state. Prisons are most commonly used within a criminal justice system: people charged with crimes may be imprisoned until their trial; those pleading or being found guilty of crimes at trial may be sentenced to a specified period of imprisonment.
Prisons can also be used as a tool of political repression by authoritarian regimes. Their perceived opponents may be imprisoned for political crimes, often without trial or other legal due process; this use is illegal under most forms of international law governing fair administration of justice. In times of war, prisoners of war or detainees may be detained in military prisons or prisoner of war camps, and large groups of civilians might be imprisoned in internment camps.
In American English, prison and jail are usually treated as having separate definitions. The term prison or penitentiary tends to describe institutions that incarcerate people for longer periods of time, such as many years, and are operated by the state or federal governments. The term jail tends to describe institutions for confining people for shorter periods of time (e.g. for shorter sentences or pre-trial detention) and are usually operated by local governments. Outside of North America, prison and jail have the same meaning.
Common slang terms for a prison include: “the pokey”, “the slammer”, “the clink”, “the joint”, “the calaboose”, “the hoosegow” and “the big house”. Slang terms for imprisonment include: “behind bars”, “in stir” and “up the river” (a possible reference to Sing Sing).
Sail
A sail is a tensile structure—made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or bonded filaments—usually in a three- or four-sided shape.
A sail provides propulsive force via a combination of lift and drag, depending on its angle of attack—its angle with respect to the apparent wind. Apparent wind is the air velocity experienced on the moving craft and is the combined effect of the true wind velocity with the velocity of the sailing craft. Angle of attack is often constrained by the sailing craft’s orientation to the wind or point of sail. On points of sail where it is possible to align the leading edge of the sail with the apparent wind, the sail may act as an airfoil, generating propulsive force as air passes along its surface—just as an airplane wing generates lift—which predominates over aerodynamic drag retarding forward motion. The more that the angle of attack diverges from the apparent wind as a sailing craft turns downwind, the more drag increases and lift decreases as propulsive forces, until a sail going downwind is predominated by drag forces. Sails are unable to generate propulsive force if they are aligned too closely to the wind.
Sails may be attached to a mast, boom or other spar or may be attached to a wire that is suspended by a mast. They are typically raised by a line, called a halyard, and their angle with respect to the wind is usually controlled by a line, called a sheet. In use, they may be designed to be curved in both directions along their surface, often as a result of their curved edges. Battens may be used to extend the trailing edge of a sail beyond the line of its attachment points.
Other non-rotating airfoils that power sailing craft include wingsails, which are rigid wing-like structures, and kites that power kite-rigged vessels, but do not employ a mast to support the airfoil and are beyond the scope of this article.
Jail (noun)
A place or institution for the confinement of persons held in lawful custody or detention, especially for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding.
Jail (noun)
Confinement in a jail.
Jail (noun)
The condition created by the requirement that a horse claimed in a claiming race not be run at another track for some period of time (usually 30 days).
Jail (noun)
In dodgeball and related games, the area where players who have been struck by the ball are confined.
Jail (noun)
A kind of sandbox for running a guest operating system instance.
Jail (verb)
To imprison.
Sail (noun)
A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
Sail (noun)
The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.
“Take in sail, a storm is coming.”
Sail (noun)
The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use this power for travel or transport.
Sail (noun)
A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.
“Let’s go for a sail.”
Sail (noun)
A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft. Plural sail.
“Twenty sail were in sight.”
Sail (noun)
The blade of a windmill.
Sail (noun)
A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
Sail (noun)
The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
Sail (noun)
A sailfish.
“We caught three sails today.”
Sail (noun)
an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
Sail (noun)
Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.
Sail (verb)
To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by steam or other power.
Sail (verb)
To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
Sail (verb)
To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
Sail (verb)
To set sail; to begin a voyage.
“We sail for Australia tomorrow.”
Sail (verb)
To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
Sail (verb)
To move briskly.
“The duchess sailed haughtily out of the room.”
Sail (noun)
a piece of material extended on a mast to catch the wind and propel a boat or ship or other vessel
“all the sails were unfurled”
“the boat can no longer carry that area of sail”
Sail (noun)
the use of sailing ships as a means of transport
“this led to bigger ships as steam replaced sail”
Sail (noun)
a sailing ship
“sail ahoy!”
Sail (noun)
a wind-catching apparatus attached to the arm of a windmill.
Sail (noun)
the broad fin on the back of a sailfish or of some prehistoric reptiles.
Sail (noun)
a structure by which an animal is propelled across the surface of water by the wind, e.g. the float of a Portuguese man-of-war.
Sail (noun)
a voyage or excursion in a ship, especially a sailing ship or boat
“they went for a sail”
Sail (noun)
the conning tower of a submarine.
Sail (noun)
a canvas sheet or tarpaulin
“the sail covering the load of crates broke loose from the truck”
Sail (verb)
travel in a boat with sails, especially as a sport or recreation
“Ian took us out sailing on the lake”
Sail (verb)
travel in a ship or boat using sails or engine power
“the ferry caught fire sailing between Caen and Portsmouth”
Sail (verb)
begin a voyage; leave a harbour
“the catamaran sails at 3:30”
Sail (verb)
travel by ship on or across (a sea) or on (a route)
“plastic ships could be sailing the oceans soon”
Sail (verb)
navigate or control (a boat or ship)
“I stole a small fishing boat and sailed it to the Delta”
Sail (verb)
move smoothly and rapidly or in a stately or confident manner
“the ball sailed inside the right-hand post”
Sail (verb)
succeed easily at (something, especially a test or examination)
“Ali sailed through his exams”
Sail (verb)
attack physically or verbally with force.