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Taffrail

 - 3 dictionary results

taff⋅rail

  [taf-reyl, -ruhl]
Use Taffrail in a Sentence
–noun Nautical.
1. the upper part of the stern of a ship.
2. a rail above the stern of a ship.
Origin:
1805–15; syncopated var. of taffarel; -ai- sp. D -ee-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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taff·rail   (tāf'rāl', -rəl)   
n.   Nautical

  1. The rail around the stern of a vessel.

  2. The flat upper part of the stern of a vessel, made of wood and often richly carved.


[Alteration of tafferel, carved panel, from Dutch tafereel, panel for carving or painting, from Middle Dutch tafeleel, tafereel, from Old French tablel; see tableau.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

taffrail 
1814, alteration of tafferel "upper panel on the stern of a ship (often ornamented)" (1704), earlier, "a carved panel" (1622), from Du. tafereel "panel for painting or carving," dissimulation from *tafeleel, dim. of tafel "table," from the general W.Gmc. borrowing of L. tabula "slab, board" (see table). The word developed in Du. from the custom of ornamenting the high, flat stern of old sailing ships; spelling and sense altered in Eng. by infl. of rail (n.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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