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rail

 - 12 dictionary results

rail

1[reyl]
–noun
1. a bar of wood or metal fixed horizontally for any of various purposes, as for a support, barrier, fence, or railing.
2. a fence; railing.
3. one of two fences marking the inside and outside boundaries of a racetrack.
4. one of a pair of steel bars that provide the running surfaces for the wheels of locomotives and railroad cars.
5. the railroad as a means of transportation: to travel by rail.
6. rails, stocks or bonds of railroad companies.
7. Nautical. a horizontal member capping a bulwark.
8. Carpentry, Furniture. any of various horizontal members framing panels or the like, as in a system of paneling, paneled door, window sash, or chest of drawers. Compare stile 2 .
9. Slang. a line of cocaine crystals or powder for inhaling through the nose.
–verb (used with object)
10. to furnish or enclose with a rail or rails.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME raile < OF raille bar, beam < L rēgula bar, straight piece of wood, regula


railless, adjective
raillike, adjective

rail

2[reyl]
–verb (used without object)
1. to utter bitter complaint or vehement denunciation (often fol. by at or against): to rail at fate.
–verb (used with object)
2. to bring, force, etc., by railing.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME railen < MF railler to deride < Pr ralhar to chatter < VL *ragulāre, deriv. of LL ragere to bray


railer, noun
rail⋅ing⋅ly, adverb


1. fulminate, inveigh, castigate, rant, revile.

rail

3[reyl]
–noun
any of numerous birds of the family Rallidae, that have short wings, a narrow body, long toes, and a harsh cry and inhabit grasslands, forests, and marshes in most parts of the world.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME rale < OF raale (c. Pr rascla), n. deriv. of raler < VL *rāsiculāre freq. of L rādere (ptp. rāsus) to scratch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rail
rail 1   (rāl)   
n.  
    1. A bar extending horizontally between supports, as in a fence.

    2. A structure made of such bars and supports and forming a barrier or guard; a railing.

  1. A steel bar used, usually in pairs, as a track for railroad cars or other wheeled vehicles.

  2. The railroad as a means of transportation: goods transported by rail.

  3. A horizontal framing member in a door or in paneling.

tr.v.   railed, rail·ing, rails
To supply or enclose with rails or a rail.

[Middle English raile, from Old French reille, from Latin rēgula, straight piece of wood, ruler; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
rail 2   (rāl)   
n.  Any of various marsh birds of the family Rallidae, characteristically having brownish plumage and short wings adapted only for short flights.

[Middle English raile, from Old French raale, perhaps from Old French raler, racler, to scrape, from Old Provençal rasclar; see raclette.]
rail 3   (rāl)   
intr.v.   railed, rail·ing, rails
To express objections or criticisms in bitter, harsh, or abusive language. See Synonyms at scold.

[Middle English railen, from Old French railler, to tease, joke, from Old Provençal ralhar, to chat, joke, from Vulgar Latin *ragulāre, to bray, from Late Latin ragere.]
rail'er n.
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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Slang Dictionary
line

  1. n.
    a story or argument; a story intended to seduce someone. (See also lines.) : Don't feed me that line. Do you think I was born yesterday?
  2. n.
    and rail. a dose of finely cut cocaine arranged in a line, ready for insufflation or snorting. : Let's you and me go do some lines, okay? , The addict usually “snorts” one or two of these “rails” with some sort of a tube.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

rail  (n.1)
"bar," c.1320, from O.Fr. reille, from V.L. *regla, from L. regula "straight stick," dim. form related to regere "to straighten, guide" (see right). Used figuratively for "thinness" from 1872. Technically, railings (1471) are horizontal, palings are vertical.

rail  (n.2)
"small bird," c.1450, from O.Fr. raale (13c.), related to râler "to rattle," of unknown origin, perhaps imitative.

rail  (v.)
"complain," 1460, from M.Fr. railler "to tease or joke" (15c.), perhaps from O.Prov. ralhar "scoff, to chat, to joke," from V.L. *ragulare "to bray" (cf. It. ragghiare "to bray"), from L.L. ragere "to roar," probably of imitative origin. See rally (2). Raillery "good-humored ridicule" is from 1653.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

RAIL robotics
Automatix. High-level language for industrial robots.
(2006-11-10)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

rail

see off the rails; thin as a rail; third rail.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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