'bailee' originates from Old French and Middle English, specifically from the verb 'bail' (from Old French 'baillier' or 'bailler') combined with the suffix '-ee' (from French), where 'baill-' meant 'to deliver, to entrust' and '-ee' indicated the recipient.

'bailee' changed from the Middle English/Old French verb form 'bail'/'baillier' and the agent/recipient-forming suffix '-ee', and eventually became the modern English legal noun 'bailee'.

Initially related to the action 'to deliver' or 'to entrust,' but over time it evolved into the specific noun meaning 'the person who receives goods for safekeeping' in legal usage.