Someone who removes water from a boat using a bucket or similar container, or someone who provides bail.
From Middle English 'baile' (bucket), combining with Old Norse 'balir' (ball). The nautical sense comes from the action of 'bailing out' water, while the legal sense derives from 'bail' (to pledge money).
Bailers were essential crew on medieval ships—during a typical voyage, several crew members would work in rotation bailing out seawater that constantly leaked through wooden hulls. The job was so grueling that it's where the phrase 'bailing out' originated.
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