rail
Noun · VerbOpen English WordNet
Noun (5)rails
- a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supportsSynonyms: railingType of barrierKinds bar, safety rail, taffrail, fife railPart of bannister, banisterParts ledger board
- short for railway“he traveled by rail”“he was concerned with rail safety”Type of railway, railroad
- a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can rollSynonyms: trackrailsrunwayType of barKinds third railPart of railroad track, tramline
- a horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal)Type of barKinds split rail, picture rail, plate rail, hitchrack, ledger board
- any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mudType of wading bird, waderKinds notornis, coot, crake, wekaMember of Rallidae, family Rallidae
Verb (10)rails, railed, railing
- complain bitterlySynonyms: inveighMore general complain, kick
- enclose with rails“rail in the old graves”Synonyms: rail inMore general enclose, hold in
- provide with rails“The yard was railed”More general supply, provide
- separate with a railing“rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace”Synonyms: rail offMore general separate, divide
- convey (goods etc.) by rails“fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium”More general transport
- travel by rail or train“They railed from Rome to Venice”“She trained to Hamburg”Synonyms: trainMore general ride
- lay with rails“hundreds of miles were railed out here”
- fish with a handline over the rails of a boat“They are railing for fresh fish”
- spread negative information about“The Nazi propaganda vilified the Jews”Synonyms: vilifyrevilevituperate
- criticize severely“He fulminated against the Republicans' plan to cut Medicare”“She railed against the bad social policies”Synonyms: fulminate
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Noun metal bar
Noun horizontal bar
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. reil, reȝel, AS. hrægel, hrægl, a garment; akin to OHG. hregil, OFries. hreil.
An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women. Fred. William Fairholt
Origin: Etymol. uncertain.
To flow forth; to roll out; to course. obsolete
Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing.— Edmund Spenser
Origin: Akin to LG. & Sw. regel bar, bolt, G. riegel a rail, bar, or bolt, OHG. rigil, rigel, bar, bolt, and possibly to E. row a line.
1. A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
2. Architecture A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.
3. Railroads A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
4. Nautical (a) The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks. (b) The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
5. A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail.
6. a railing.
Rail fence. See under Fence. — Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail of obstructions. (b) A guard rail. See under Guard. — Rail joint Railroads, a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See Fish joint, under Fish. — Rail train Iron & Steel Manuf., a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.
1. To inclose with rails or a railing.
It ought to be fenced in and railed.— John Ayliffe
2. To range in a line. obsolete
They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart.— Francis, Baron Verulam Bacon
Origin: F. râle, fr. râler to have a rattling in the throat; of German origin, and akin to E. rattle. See Rattle, verb
Zoology Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidae, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds.
☞ The common European water rail (Rallus aquaticus) is called also bilcock, skitty coot, and brook runner. The best known American species are the clapper rail, or salt-marsh hen (Rallus longirostris, var. crepitans); the king, or red-breasted, rail (Rallus elegans) (called also fresh-water marshhen); the lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail (Rallus Virginianus); and the Carolina, or sora, rail (Porzana Carolina). See Sora.
Land rail Zoology, the corncrake.
Origin: F. railler; cf. Sp. rallar to grate, scrape, molest; perhaps fr. (assumed) LL. radiculare, fr. L. radere to scrape, grate. Cf. Rally to banter, Rase.
To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; — followed by at or against, formerly by on. William Shakespeare
And rail at arts he did not understand.— John Dryden
Lesbia forever on me rails.— Jonathan Swift
1. To rail at. obsolete Owen Feltham
2. To move or influence by railing. rare
Rail the seal from off my bond.— William Shakespeare
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: 1913 supplement, GCIDE editors
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(2006-11-10)