'bailee' originates from Anglo-French/Old French, specifically the word 'baillier' (related forms 'baillie') where the root 'baill-' meant 'to give into charge or custody', combined with the agent/patient-forming suffix '-ee' (from Old French '-é') meaning 'person affected by an action'.

'bailee' changed from Middle English forms such as 'bailee' or 'bailée' (borrowed from Old French) and eventually became the modern English word 'bailee'.

Initially, it meant 'a person to whom goods are delivered in bailment', and over time it has retained and been used specifically for 'a person entrusted with the custody of goods (in a bailment)'.