brail
Use Brail in a sentence
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noun
1.
Nautical. any of several horizontal lines fastened to the edge of a fore-and-aft sail or lateen sail, for gathering in the sail.
2.
a leather binding for a hawk's wings, to prohibit flight.
verb (used with object)
3.
Nautical.
a.
to gather or haul in (a sail) by means of brails (usually followed by up ).
b.
to transfer (fish) from a net to the hold of a ship.
4.
to bind (the wings of a bird) in order to prevent it from flying.
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English, variant of brayell < Anglo-French braiel; Old French < Medieval Latin brācāle breechbelt, noun use of neuter of brācālis, equivalent to Latin brāc(ae) trousers (< Gaulish) + -ālis -al1
1400–50; late Middle English, variant of brayell < Anglo-French braiel; Old French < Medieval Latin brācāle breechbelt, noun use of neuter of brācālis, equivalent to Latin brāc(ae) trousers (< Gaulish) + -ālis -al1
Related forms
un·brailed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To brail
00:10
Brail
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
brail (breɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | one of several lines fastened to the leech of a fore-and-aft sail to aid in furling it |
| —vb (sometimes foll by up) | |
| 2. | to furl (a fore-and-aft sail) using brails |
| [C15: from Old French braiel, from Medieval Latin brācāle belt for breeches, from Latin brāca breeches] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
brail
small rope used on ships, mid-15c., from O.Fr. brail, earlier braiel "belt, leather thong," from L. bracale "waistbelt," from bracæ "breeches" (pl., see breeches).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Several examples might be, for the visually impaired, one can have brail lettered terminals and input/output devices.
Persons catching shrimp with cast nets or brail nets shall not remove the heads of shrimp on site.
On seines, the name shall be located on either brail.
For example, the families of blind students were not able to provide them with expensive brail paper and tape recorders.
Nearby Words
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