Etymology : Middle English raile, from Middle French reille ruler, bar, from Latin regula ruler, from regere to keep straight, direct, rule; more at RIGHT
Pronunciation : rA(&)l
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. bar, bannister; bar used to hang objects; railroad track. lay railroad tracks; send by train; construct a fence. rack rail.
2. An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women.
3. To flow forth; to roll out; to course.
4. 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.
5. A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling.
6. See Illust. of Style.
7. A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll.
8. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
9. The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks.
10. The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed.
11. To inclose with rails or a railing.
12. To range in a line.
13. Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidæ, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera.
14. They are prized as game birds.
15. To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; followed by at or against, formerly by on.
16. To rail at.
17. To move or influence by railing.
18. A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail. any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for running on soft mud a horizontal bar short for railway; "he traveled by rail"; "he was concerned with rail safety" complain bitterly fish with a hand-line over the rails of a boat; "They are railing for fresh fish" lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed out here" convey by rails; "fresh fruit are railed from Italy to Belgium" separate with a railing; "rail off the crowds from the Presidential palace" provide with rails; "The yard was railed" enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves".
19. 1. A rail is a horizontal bar attached to posts or fixed round the edge of something as a fence or support. She gripped the hand rail in the lift.
20. A rail is a horizontal bar that you hang things on. This pair of curtains will fit a rail up to 7ft 6in wide.
21. Rails are the steel bars which trains run on. The train left the rails but somehow forced its way back onto the line. = track.
22. If you travel or send something by rail, you travel or send it on a train. The president traveled by rail to his home town.
23. If you rail against something, you criticize it loudly and angrily. He railed against hypocrisy and greed see also:
railing.
24. If something is back on the rails, it is beginning to be successful again after a period when it almost failed. They are keen to get the negotiating process back on the rails.
25. If someone goes off the rails, they start to behave in a way that other people think is unacceptable or very strange, for example they start taking drugs or breaking the law. They've got to do something about these children because clearly they've gone off the rails. Any of various marsh birds of the family Rallidae, characteristically having brownish plumage and short wings adapted only for short flights. Any of about 100 species (family Rallidae) of slender marsh birds found almost worldwide. Rails have short rounded wings, a short tail, large feet, and long toes. Their loud call, especially at night, reveals their presence in dense vegetation. They are mostly dull grays and browns, often with barred patterns. Species vary from 4 to 18 in. (11-45 cm) long. Short-billed species are often called crakes. The king (Rallus elegans), clapper (R. longirostris), and Virginia (R. limicola) rails and the sora, or Carolina rail (Porzana carolina), have been hunted in the U.S.; several of the rails are now endangered, and some species have been exterminated.