Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Entail

Entail , noun

[Old English entaile carving, Old French entaille, French, an incision, from entailler to cut away; pref. en- (Latin in) + tailler to cut; Late Latin feudum talliatum a fee entailed, that is, curtailed or limited. See Tail limitation, Tailor.]

1.
(Law) That which is entailed.
(a)
(Law) An estate in fee entailed, or limited in descent to a particular class of issue.
(b)
(Law) The rule by which the descent is fixed.
A power of breaking the ancient entails, and of alienating their estates. — Hume
2.
Delicately carved ornamental work; intaglio. [Obsolete]
A work of rich entail. — Spenser

Entail , transitive verb

[Old English entailen to carve, Old French 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.
Allowing them to entail their estates. — Hume
I here entail The crown to thee and to thine heirs forever. — Shakespeare
2.
To appoint hereditary possessor. [Obsolete]
To entail him and his heirs unto the crown. — Shakespeare
3.
To cut or carve in an ornamental way. [Obsolete]
Entailed with curious antics. — Spenser