Hypertext Webster Gateway: "rail"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, n.
A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a
place not accesible by rail.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, n. [OE. reil, re[yogh]el, AS. hr[ae]gel, hr[ae]gl a
garment; akin to OHG. hregil, OFries. hreil.]
An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women.
--Fairholt.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, v. i. [Etymol. uncertain.]
To flow forth; to roll out; to course. [Obs.]
Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing.
--Spenser.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, n. [Akin to LG. & Sw. regel bar, bolt, G. riegel a
rail, bar, or bolt, OHG, rigil, rigel, bar, bolt, and
possibly to E. row a line.]
1. 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.
2. (Arch.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See
Illust. of {Style}.
3. (Railroad) A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the
track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with
reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by
chairs, splices, etc.
4. (Naut.)
(a) The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the
bulwarks.
(b) The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at
the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such
protection is needed.
{Rail fence}. See under {Fence}.
{Rail guard}.
(a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each
side for clearing the rail obstructions.
(b) A guard rail. See under {Guard}.
{Rail joint} (Railroad), a splice connecting the adjacent
ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is
merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among
several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See
{Fish joint}, under {Fish}.
{Rail train} (Iron & Steel Manuf.), a train of rolls in a
rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms
or billets.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, v. i. [F. railler; cf. Sp. rallar to grate, scrape,
molest; perhaps fr. (assumed) LL. radiculare, fr. L. radere
to scrape, grate. Cf. {Rally} to banter, {Rase}.]
To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter
reproaches; to scoff; followed by at or against, formerly by
on. --Shak.
And rail at arts he did not understand. --Dryden.
Lesbia forever on me rails. --Swift.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Railed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Railing}.]
1. To inclose with rails or a railing.
It ought to be fenced in and railed. --Ayliffe.
2. To range in a line. [Obs.]
They were brought to London all railed in ropes,
like a team of horses in a cart. --Bacon.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, v. t.
1. To rail at. [Obs.] --Feltham.
2. To move or influence by railing. [R.]
Rail the seal from off my bond. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rail \Rail\, n. [F. r[^a]le, fr. r[^a]ler to have a rattling in
the throat; of German origin, and akin to E. rattle. See
{Rattle}, v.] (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family
{Rallid[ae]}, especially those of the genus {Rallus}, and of
closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds.
Note: The common European water rail ({Rallus aquaticus}) is
called also {bilcock}, {skitty coot}, and {brook
runner}. The best known American species are the
clapper rail, or salt-marsh hen ({Rallus lonqirostris},
var. {crepitans}); the king, or red-breasted, rail ({R.
elegans}) (called also {fresh-water marshhen}); the
lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail ({R. Virginianus});
and the Carolina, or sora, rail ({Porzana Carolina}).
See {Sora}.
{Land rail} (Zo["o]l.), the corncrake.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
rail
n 1: a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports [syn:
{railing}]
2: short for railway; "he traveled by rail";1 "he was concerned
with rail safety"
3: a bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which
vehicles can roll [syn: {track}, {rails}]
4: a horizontal bar (usually of wood)
5: any of numerous widely distributed small wading birds of the
family Rallidae having short wings and very long toes for
running on soft mud
v 1: complain bitterly [syn: {inveigh}]
2: enclose with rails; "rail in the old graves" [syn: {rail in}]
3: provide or enclose with rails; "The yard was railed"
4: separate with a railing; "rail off the crowds from the
Presidential palace" [syn: {rail off}]
5: convey (goods etc.) by rails; "fresh fruit are railed from
Italy to Belgium"
6: travel by rail or train; "They railed from Rome to Venice";
"She trained to Hamburg" [syn: {train}]
7: lay with rails; "hundreds of miles were railed out here"
8: fish with a hand-line aver the rails of a boat; "They are
railing for fresh fish"
9: spread negative information about; "The Nazi propaganda
vilified the Jews" [syn: {vilify}, {revile}, {vituperate}]
10: criticize severely; "He fulminated against the Republicans'
plan to cut Medicare"; "She railed against the bad social
policies" [syn: {fulminate}]
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