An escape from prison, or in modern tech, a process to remove restrictions on a device so you can modify it however you want.
Compound word from 'jail' (from Old French 'jaole') and 'break' (from Old English 'brecan'). The literal meaning dates to the 1800s in criminal contexts; the tech meaning emerged in the 2000s with smartphones.
The term 'jailbreak' is fascinating because it shows how old words get new meanings—criminals literally broke out of jails, and decades later, tech users used the same word metaphorically to break free from corporate software restrictions!
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