rail

I

[[t]reɪl[/t]]

n.

1) bui a bar of wood, metal, etc., fixed horizontally, as for a support, barrier, or fence

2) bui a fence; railing

3) rai one of a pair of steel bars that provide the running surfaces for the wheels of locomotives and railroad cars.

4) rai the railroad as a means of transportation:

to travel by rail[/ex]

5) bus rails, stocks or bonds of railroad companies

6) spog one of two fences marking the inside and outside boundaries of a racetrack

7) navig. a horizontal member capping a ship's bulwark

8) bui fur any of various horizontal members framing paneling or the like, as in a paneled door or a window sash

Compare stile II

9) to furnish or enclose with a rail or railing

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Etymology: 1250–1300; ME raile < OF raille bar, beam II

rail

[[t]reɪl[/t]] v. i.

to utter bitter complaints or vehement denunciation (often fol. by at or against):

to rail at fate[/ex]

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Etymology: 1425–75; late ME < MF railler to deride < Oc ralhar to chatter < VL *ragulāre III

rail

[[t]reɪl[/t]] n.

orn any of numerous usu. secretive birds of the family Rallidae, having short wings, a narrow body, and long toes, and inhabiting forests, grasslands, and esp. marshes in most parts of the world

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Etymology: 1400–50; late ME rale < OF raale (c. Oc rascla), n. der. of raler < VL *rāsiculāre, freq. of L rādere (ptp. rāsus) to scratch