▪ I. † rail, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 hræᵹ(e)l, hreᵹl, etc., 2 ræᵹ(e)l, reil, 3 reȝel, 5 reile, 6 raill, rayll, rale, 6–7 raile, rayl(e, 7–8 (9 Sc.) rail.
[OE. hræᵹl, hræᵹel = OFris. (h)reil, OHG. (h)regil, hrecil, of obscure etym.]
1. A garment, dress, mantle, cloak.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 84 Amiculo, hraecli [Erf. hræᵹl, Corpus hręᵹli]. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xiv. 82 Ðæt hræᵹl..sceolde bion ᵹeworht of purpuran. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xiii. 4 He..lede his reaf & nam linen hræᵹel [Hatton MS. rail]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Þa oðre men þe reil nefden. a 1250 Owl & Night. 562 Þu art lutel and unstrong And nis þi reȝel nowiht long. |
b. A woman's gown (? misuse of sense 2).
| c 1817 Hogg Tales & Sk. (1837) II. 15 She was dressed in a plain white rail. |
2. A piece of linen or other cloth formerly worn about the neck by women; a neckerchief. See also
night-rail.
| 1482 Act 22 Edw. IV, c. 1 They shall not suffer their wives to weare any reile called a kercheffe, whose price exceedeth twentie pence. 1530 Palsgr. 260/2 Rayle for a woman's neck, crevechief en quattre doubles. 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse (ed. 2) 8 A course hempen raile about her shoulders. a 1635 Corbet Poems (1807) 232 Ladyes, that weare black cipress-vailes Turn'd lately to white linnen-rayles. 1678 Phillips (ed. 4) s.v., The..gathered piece of Cloth which Women throw about their necks, when they dress them..is also called a Rail. 1710 Ruddiman Gloss. Douglas' æneis s.v. Ralis, A womans rail or collar-body, as Scot. Bor. call it. |
| Comb. 1558 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 126 Fower crepings..iiij railbandes. |
▪ II. rail, n.2 (
reɪl)
Forms: 4–6
raylle, 4–7
raile, 5
reyle, 5–7
rayl(e, 6–7
rale, 4, 7–
rail.
[a. OF. reille (1334):—pop. L. *regla, L. rēgula straight stick, bar, rod, etc. (see rule): the mod. Norm. form is raîle (Moisy). (M)Du., (M)LG., and Sw. regel, OHG. rigil (G. riegel) bar, bolt, etc., are prob. also of Latin origin.] 1. a. A bar of wood, fixed in a horizontal position for hanging things on, or for other purposes. Now chiefly in combs., as
copping-rail,
hat-rail,
towel-rail.
| c 1320 [see rail-tree in 6 a]. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 75 Into an Egle he gan transforme, And flyh and sette him on a raile. 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 313 Cloffeborde & Raylles for the seyd ship. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. 222 The master of the Engine..setteth open the rayles that contain the binding of the whole worke. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xi. ¶22 These Racks..are hung a-thwart two Rails an Inch thick..which Rails are fastned..by Stiles perpendicular to the Ceiling. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 174 ¶3 All the Volumes..shall be from Time to Time placed in proper Order upon the Rails of the unhoused Booksellers. 1793 [see copping-rail]. 1883 [see hat-rail s.v. hat n. 8]. |
b. Used to support vines or other plants.
| 1389 Helmingham MS. 21, lf. 17 b, Forkis & railis to bere up þe vyne. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 287 Helpe hem [gourds] vp with rayles, as they growe. 1548 Elyot Dict., Cantherius, the raile of a vine borne vp with forkes & postes. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme i. ii. 2 A frame of railes in forme of an Arbor for vines to runne vpon. 1777 Mason Eng. Garden ii. 290 To defend Their infant shoots, beneath, on oaken stakes, Extend a rail of elm. |
c. Forming part of the sides of a cart.
| 1530 Palsgr. 260/2 Rayle for a carte, coste. 1611 Cotgr., Ridelle, the rayle of a Cart or waine; and more particularly, the vppermost of the three. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 697/2 The chest or body of the waggon, having the staves or rails fixed thereon. 1851 Stephens Bk. Farm. (ed. 2) II. 357/1 The outer rails support the sheaves of corn over the wheels. |
d. Naut. rails of the head: (see
quot. 1769).
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1776), Rails of the head, certain curved pieces of timber extending from the bows on each side to the continuation of the ship's stem. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 375 The short rails of the head, extending from the back of the figure to the cat-head. |
e. In various (mainly
U.S.) phrases:
to split a rail, to split timber for rails;
to ride a rail (see
quot. 1836);
to ride (someone) on a rail, to punish someone by carrying him about astride a rail to be mocked;
as thin (or lean) as a rail.
| 1714 J. Hempstead Diary in Coll. New London Hist. Soc. (1901) I. 38, I was at home al day spliting Railes & holing Posts. 1820 Niles' Reg. XVIII. 256/1 At 97 he went into the woods and split 100 chesnut rails in less than a day. 1907 St. Nicholas Oct. 1078/1 You never split a rail in your life. |
| 1834 New England Mag. VII. 455 The mill-men resolved to bestow public honors on Dominicus Pike, only hesitating whether to tar and feather him, ride him on a rail, or refresh him with an ablution at the town-pump. 1836 T. Power Impressions of Amer. I. 180 Here I enjoyed my first lesson in..riding a rail;..The term is derived from a fence-rail being occasionally used to supply the place of a broken thoroughbrace, by which all these stages are hung. 1853 ‘Mark Twain’ in Hannibal (Missouri) Jrnl. 23 May 3/1 The gentleman ought to be ducked, ridden on a rail, tarred and feathered. 1900 Congress. Rec. 5 Feb. 1521/2 Up in Maine..they mobbed two preachers, tarred and feathered them, and rode them on a rail because they preached the doctrine of Jesus Christ. |
| 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It xv. 125 You'll marry a combination of calico and consumption that's as thin as a rail. 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 117 Here I will insert a few current comparisons which are in frequent colloquial use:..as thin as a lath or rake or rail. 1934 ‘J. S. Strange’ For Hangman xvi. 183 He was a bright looking boy of about sixteen..and thin as a rail. 1939 Amer. Speech XIV. 261 A skinny person [in Indiana] is ‘thin as a rail’. 1946 W. S. Maugham Then & Now viii. 39 Machiavelli, himself as lean as a rail, did not like fat men. 1967 G. Jackson Let. 30 Sept. in Soledad Brother (1971) 131, I am getting thin as a rail, feel all right, however. |
2. a. A horizontal bar of wood or metal, fixed upon upright supports (posts) as part of a fence. (In
pl. freq. = b.)
| 1494 Nottingham Rec. III. 272 For sawyng reyleyes [sic] to the pale. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII (1550) 59 This Gardeyn was towred at euery corner and railed with railes gilt. 1616 Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) I. 115, I agreed with my carpenter to mak my postes and Rayles of my Park. 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. vii. 91 The rails which inclos'd the sanctuary. 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New Hampsh. III. 117 The wood..makes durable rails for fences. 1861 N. A. Woods Pr. Wales Canada 315 Mr. Lincoln..began his career in life as a splitter of rails. 1891 Law Times XC. 395/1 Placing wooden rails on the side next the glebe land. |
| fig. 1614 Day Dyall ix. (1613) 246 The law hath made rayles and barres about thee. |
b. A continuous series of bars forming the horizontal part of a fence; also, by extension, a fence or railing, whether constructed of posts and rails, or of some other form.
| 1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 38 Reparacions nedefull to be done in and vpon any pale, rayle and lodge, within any of the saide parkes. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme vii. xix. 833 These seuerall grounds..must be separated one from the other by a strong rale, through which deere or sheepe (but no greater cattell) may passe. 1650 T. B[ayley] Worcester's Apoph. 31 As we were going along by the Churchyard Rayle. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 62/2 The rail or side-wall of the Bridge. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. iii. (1894) 88 The dangerous place is guarded by a wooden rail. |
c. The
hand-rail of a stair.
| 1453 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 160 Pro emendacione de le grece et le reyle infra aulam. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 15 Carpenters do frame their Railes to Ballesters to meet on the Pedestals. 1778 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) I. 618/2 The three dotted lines drawn from the rail to the pitch board represent the width of the rail. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 600 Every level straight line, directed to the axis of the well-hole, from every point of the side of the rail. 1842 Gwilt Encycl. Arch. §2182 In the upper ramp..produce the top of the rail..to P. |
d. An altar-rail (see
altar n. II).
| 1641 Milton Prel. Episc. 10 Unlesse a man be within the rayls, or enclosure of the Altar. 1711 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 231 In the Chancell just on this side the Rayle. 1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Churches 90 The rail was introduced in the seventeenth century as a fence to the altar. |
e. Naut. (See
quot. 1804.)
| 1804 A. Duncan Mariner's Chron. Pref. 19 Rails are narrow planks nailed for ornament on several parts of a ship's upper works, as drift-rails, fife-rails, sheer-rails. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxi. 112 Our ship had..high bulwarks and rail. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 264 Those parts where the sheer is raised, and the rails are cut off. |
f. The fence or railings forming the boundary of a racecourse. Hence
phr. on the rails, beside the rails, on the track nearest the rails. Also
fig.| 1928 Galsworthy Swan Song ii. iii. 122 On the rails they were almost opposite the winning post. 1930 Times 24 Mar. 4/2 Rubicon II and War Mist were running side by side with Porthaon, the last-named being on the rails. 1931 Daily Express 21 Sept. 15/4 Smirke followed the Wootton tradition and secured the rails. 1931 T. H. Dey Leaves from Bookmaker's Bk. ii. 34 He achieved a great success amongst the ‘swells’, who formed the bulk of his clientèle ‘on the rails’ at the principal race meetings. 1951 ‘J. Tey’ Daughter of Time vii. 89 It's as reliable as a bookie's tips would be. He's on the wrong side of the rails. 1962 D. Francis Dead Cert xiii. 144 The bookmakers on the rails—those..who stand along the railing between Tattersall's and the Club enclosures,..send out weekly accounts. 1975 H. Carvic Odds on Miss Seeton (1976) vii. 87 Stay here till the jockeys are up, then..get close up to the rails so you can see properly. 1977 Irish Press 29 Sept. 13/4 She is drawn on the rails, and on her immediate right is Sprightly Peg. |
g. Surfing. (See
quot. 1962.) Also
rail turn (see
quot. 1969).
| 1962 T. Masters Surfing made Easy 65 Rails, the edge of the surfboard. 1965 N.Z. Listener 17 Dec. 5/2 You crouch down, grab a rail (side of board) and get shot like a catapult. 1968 W. Warwick Surfriding in N.Z. 3/2 He also screwed beading around the outside rail to prevent him sliding off the board. 1969 Observer 3 Aug. 35/1 He may execute the spectacular ‘rail turn’, during which the whole of one edge or rail is buried in the face of the wave. |
3. Carpentry.
a. One of the horizontal pieces in a door or other framework.
| 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. I. 106 In Wainscoting of Rooms..the Upper and Lower Rails have also the same breadth with the Margent of the Stile. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 160 All the cross pieces (of a frame) are denominated rails. 1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 81 This gate..is usually composed of two upright stiles, and two horizontal rails, framed together. |
† b. A string of a stair.
Obs.| 1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. I. 154 The Rail these Steps are built upon..must..be framed into the next Post. |
† c. (See
quot.)
Obs. rare—0.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 100/1 Raile is a piece of Timber 6..foot or more long, and carrieth four inches broad, and an inch or more thick. A Raile is an half Spare. |
4. a. A bar or continuous line of bars (now
usu. of iron or steel) laid on or near the ground (commonly in pairs) to bear and guide the wheels of a vehicle, and enable them to run more easily. Usu.
pl.| a 1734 North Life Lord Keeper North (1742) 136 Laying Rails of Timber, from the Colliery, down to the River, exactly streight and parallel; and bulky Carts are made with four Rowlets fitting these Rails. 1789 Brand Newcastle I. 687 note, Upon these sleepers, other pieces of timber called rails, of 4 or 5 in. square are laid. 1834 N. W. Cundy Inland Transit 34 These iron bars, which are called rails, are firmly connected end to end. 1866 Engineering I. 255/2 Steel rails have so much more stiffness in a vertical direction than iron. 1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train i. i. 3 A wilderness of rails and points. 1954 J. Masters Bhowani Junction i. i. 17 The coal train..ran off the rails. 1976 Illustr. London News Nov. 53/4 One gets a much greater thrill from speeding on rails at 300 kmh than from flying in Concorde. |
b. Phr.
off the rails (
freq. fig. = out of the proper or normal condition). Also
opp.,
on the rails.
| 1848 G. E. Jewsbury Let. Mar. (1892) 242, I was very worried, and I felt as if the least thing would throw me off the rails. 1859 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. II. xcv. 80 At the arrival of a general election England therefore may be considered as ‘off the rails’. 1883 E. W. Hamilton Diary 1 Aug. (1972) II. 467 ‘To be on the rails’, as Mr. G. said this morning, ‘and to be off the rails are two different things’. 1886 Gurney, etc. Phantasms of Living I. 499 A sane, healthy, waking mind can really get momentarily off the rails. 1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle i. 5 He told me just how and why and when Turkey had left the rails. 1935 B. Malinowski Coral Gardens II. vi. v. 235 Where Durkheim ‘goes off the rails’, so to speak, is in reducing his sound conception to a very narrow formula of the direct emotional experience of the crowd and of the influences of crowd phenomena on the individual. 1938 E. M. Forster in Nation 16 July 68/1 They [sc. citizens] are obliged to be born separately and to die separately and, owing to these unavoidable termini, will always be running off the totalitarian rails. 1953 K. Amis Lucky Jim xxii. 228 He resolved not to run off the rails again. He cleared his throat, found his place, and went on in a clipped tone. 1954 T. S. Eliot Confidential Clerk ii. 63, I make decisions on the spur of the moment, But you'd never take a leap in the dark; You'd keep me on the rails. 1955 G. Greene Quiet American ii. ii. 132 All my conversations with Pyle seemed to take grotesque directions. Was it because of his sincerity that they so ran off the customary rails? 1971 Daily Tel. 20 Oct. 12/7 They are proud, stubborn and steady—even if dad appears to have gone off the rails. 1975 M. Babson There must be Some Mistake xvi. 128 Would John have gone off the rails like this if she had been paying enough attention? |
c. N. Amer. A railwayman.
| 1938 L. M. Beebe High Iron 223/2 Rail, railroad man. 1960 [see biscuit-toss s.v. biscuit 3 b]. 1974 Maclean's Mag. Jan. 16/2 She spent too much time..listening to a bunch of young ‘rails’ repeat lies handed down over the years. |
d. Electronics. A conductor which is maintained at a fixed potential and to which other parts of a circuit are connected.
| 1960 in H. Carter Dict. Electronics 255. 1965 Wireless World Aug. 399 The common rail for input signals is the positive line, while the common connection to the thyristor is the negative line. 1977 Gramophone Feb. 1344/1 Gramophone inputs are to feedback pairs on a 25-volt rail giving a reasonable overload margin. 1979 Personal Computer World Nov. 3 (Advt.), 30 Amp, 8v power supply, 5 Amps on {pm} 16v rails (all rails are separately fused). |
5. a. = railway, now chiefly in
phr. by rail, and on the Stock Exchange in
pl. = railway shares;
spec. British Rail, the name of the national railway of Britain.
| 1843 Syd. Smith in Lady Holland Mem. (1855) II. 495 The rail..has brought us within fifty miles of London. 1843 Ainsworth's Mag. III. 361 My lord and lady start, per rail, To London for the Season. 1848 J. J. Ruskin Let. 17 Mar. in M. Lutyens Ruskins & Grays (1972) xi. 98 For God⁓sake be done with Rails and Shares—or you will not have a Business, for who will confide in Railway people I am not clear. 1858 Queen Victoria Let. 8 May in R. Fulford Dearest Child (1964) 103 We went by rail, nice, quick! 1867 in ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. (1869) i. 21 They can by rail go on to Florence. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xi. 149 He had come on by rail to pay us a visit. 1884 E. W. Hamilton Diary 5 Aug. (1972) II. 666 His solution of the financial difficulty is that we should guarantee ‘the Rails’, the slang phrase for the Preference Debt to which the Railroads are assigned. 1892 B. Potter Jrnl. 30 July (1966) 243 The Volunteers broke up and several companies went off by rail. 1893 Westm. Gaz. 25 Feb. 8/1 The public have lost nearly all confidence in American rails. 1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 15 July 17/1 The advance in rails has slowed up temporarily, although a strong investment demand is reported for several of the high grade issues. 1935 Economist 27 July 191/1 Rails and utilities..have hardly participated at all in this week's upward movement. 1965 Evening Standard 4 Jan. 9/3 (heading) Now it's British Rail—Beeching's last new look for trains, stations, men. Ibid., A new image for British Railways—‘British Rail’—is being launched tonight when Dr. Beeching opens an exhibition showing the new symbols, train liveries and uniforms at the Design Centre in the Haymarket. ‘There's been a lot of criticism about the new name,..’ Mr. George Williams, the railways Director of Industrial Design, said at a preview of the exhibition today. ‘Personally I think that passengers..will soon find themselves saying British Rail.’ 1965 Observer 31 Jan. 12/8 British Rail officials admit there appears to be an injustice. 1976 Illustr. London News Nov. 52/4 Fruit and vegetables now tend to go increasingly by road..where a few years ago they travelled by rail. Ibid. 53/3 The productivity a head has more than quadrupled since 1945, whereas..for British Rail [it has] only doubled. 1981 Daily Tel. 3 Mar. 18/2 Lucky evening travellers tonight..will each be presented with a miniature of British Rail sherry. |
b. Railway journey.
| 1857 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 242 So as the Atlantic should have been no greater Bar between us than the two hours rail to Oxford. |
c. Usu.
pl. A railway station.
| 1854 Poultry Chron. I. 117/2 The middle and humble classes..are oft times virtually prohibited from attending if bad weather sets in; more especially if out of the way of rails. 1939 H. Hodge Cab, Sir? xv. 222 The ‘Rails’ are railway stations, as distinct from the Underground. |
6. attrib. and
Comb. a. In senses 1 and 2, as
rail-mould,
rail-piece,
rail-post,
rail-splitter (
U.S.),
rail-splitting (
U.S.),
rail-work;
rail-under (
poet. adv.);
rail-bird U.S., (
a) the American spotted cuckoo; (
b) one who watches from the rails or sidelines (
lit. and
fig.);
† rail-cloth, ? a cloth for the altar-rail;
rail-cut, a length of timber cut off for a rail;
rail-ridden, compelled to ‘ride’ on a rail, as a punishment;
† rail-stair, a stair with a railing;
† rail-tree, a rail. Also
rail-fence.
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) V. 596/2 The nævius, spotted cuckow, or *rail-bird, is about the size of a field-fare... It inhabits Cayenne... This..is seen often perched upon gates and rails, whence its name. 1931 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 26 Mar. 13/7 Louisville's railbirds are..watching and clocking the workouts of Derby eligibles. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 4 Nov. 16/1 With the grandstand crowded when regular railbirds pushed their way into the shelters, betting dropped away. 1957 [see cookie 4]. 1959 Washington Post 8 Oct. a21 Political rail⁓birds out here suspect that Brown is beginning to think of himself as something more than a favorite son. 1971 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 27 May 54/3 He gave them a three-week course of instruction in lacrosse fundamentals, banned railbirds who might make the boys feel self-conscious then turned them loose in lacrosse games. |
| 1531 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., Paid for a lyne to the *rale cloth. |
| 1836 D. B. Edward Hist. Texas iv. 69 The farmers often get it measuring two *rail cuts in length. 1881 Scribner's Monthly Feb. 503/2 The pole fence was laid after the same fashion of a rail fence only the poles were longer than rail-cuts. |
| 1778 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 2) I. 618/2 If the sides of the twisted part of the rail be shaped by the *rail-mould. |
| 1816 Mechanic I. 487 The under edge of the blade may coincide with the top or winding surface of the *rail-piece. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 600 A parallel piece of thin wood..bent to the side of the rail-piece. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1860/1 *Rail-post, a newel post for a staircase or balustrade. |
| 1865 Morn. Star 19 July, A Woman Tarred and *Rail-ridden. |
| 1865 Macm. Mag. Nov. 7 Earned his life as *rail-splitter, deck-hand, farm-labourer, clerk. |
| 1863 Dicey Federal St. I. 164, I am not practically acquainted with *rail-splitting. |
| 1589 in Recs. Burgh Glasgow (1876) I. 148 With ane *raill galrie stair and ane turlies upoun the northmost windo therof. |
| c 1320 Sir Beues (MS. A.) 3217 Þanne was before his bed itiȝt..A couertine on *raile tre, For noman scholde on bed ise. 1825 Jamieson Suppl., Rail-tree, a large beam, in a cow-house, fixed about two feet above the heads of the cows, into which the upper ends of the stakes are fixed. Teviotdale. |
| 1930 J. Masefield Wanderer of Liverpool 23 The ship..Beaten *rail-under by tempest and deluged by billows. |
| 1828 Lights & Shades I. 287 A little green cross-barred *railwork for mignonette. |
b. In sense 4, in a large number of compounds, mostly of recent origin, as
rail-bed,
rail-bender,
rail-borer,
rail-chair,
rail-clamp,
rail-joint,
rail-layer,
rail-laying,
rail-maker,
rail-making,
rail-mill,
rail-parallel,
rail-trade, etc.;
rail bond, an electrical connection between consecutive lengths of rail in a railway or tramway.
| 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxix. 306 There was no level ground at the Kaltbad station; the *railbed was as steep as a roof. 1969 E. W. Morse Fur Trade Canoe Routes ii. vi. 78 The portage is rough, and at its western end leads into an abandoned rail-bed once used for logging. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1859–60 *Rail-bender, etc. |
| 1893 in K. Hedges Amer. Electr. Street Railways (1894) iii. 22 Each joint of the rails is supplied with two *rail bonds of No. 0000 copper wire, each only 12 inches long. 1907 Wilson & Lydall Electr. Traction I. vi. 107 The ‘Protected’ rail bond is made by fusing terminals of solid copper upon a loop of flattened copper wire. |
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 737 *Rail-borer, etc. |
| 1864 Webster, *Rail-joint. |
| 1835 Barlow 2nd Rep. Direct. Lond. & B'ham Railw. 49 Both sides being alike, the *rail-layers may select the side that fits best. |
| 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 166/1 In all present systems of *rail-laying the supports..simply rest upon the ground. |
| 1835 Barlow 2nd Rep. Direct. Lond. & B'ham Railw. 22 The *rail parallel weighing 42 lbs. per yard. |
c. In sense 5, as
rail-bank,
rail-bridge,
rail-car,
rail-carriage,
rail charges,
rail distance,
rail-end,
rail-fare,
rail-head,
rail operations,
rail-service,
rail-side,
rail tanker,
rail-track,
rail-waggon;
rail-borne,
rail-minded,
rail-mounted adjs.;
rail-bus, (
a) a vehicle resembling a bus but running on a railway track; (
b) in Denmark, etc.: a tramcar running on tram-lines set in the road;
rail-car, (
a)
= car n. 2; (
b) (see
quot. 1949);
railcard, a pass entitling the holder to reduced fares on the railway;
rail-cutting, the destruction of railway communications;
rail-head, (
a) the furthest point reached by a railway; (
b) the point on a railway from which branch-line or road transport of supplies begins; hence
railhead facilities; also
fig.;
rail-line, a railway line;
rail link, a railway service joining two established transport systems;
rail-motor, a passenger train which consists of a single coach attached to a small locomotive or having its own engine; a rail-car; also
attrib.;
railplane (see
quots.);
railsickness, sickness caused in a passenger by the motion of a train.
| 1852 J. Wiggins Embanking 67 Shaping the material for the *rail-bank. |
| 1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) iv. xxiii. 313 In Germany the tonnage of canal and river traffic is equivalent to one-fifth or one-sixth of *rail-borne traffic. 1976 Illustr. London News Nov. 52/4 The trend has been for rail-borne freight to lose ground to passenger traffic and to road transport. |
| 1963 Times 8 June 14/3 Two-day talks between English and French Government officials on whether there should be a Channel *rail bridge or road rail tunnel ended in London yesterday. 1978 H. R. F. Keating Long Walk to Wimbledon iv. 59 The massive yellow-brick rail-bridge. |
| 1933 Morning Post 30 Aug. 10/4 The London and North-Eastern Railway Company will put the new..stream-lined Diesel-electric ‘*railbus’ into regular service on the suburban and outlying railway systems round Newcastle, within the next two weeks. 1956 Railway Mag. Mar. 195/1 The ‘railbus’ advocated for branch⁓line use by a correspondent in your January issue may have disadvantages. 1968 Drive Spring 37/2 British Rail could save many of their rural routes by introducing rail buses—a sort of single-decker diesel tramcar, operated by a driver⁓conductor not as a train but as if the vehicle were on the open road. 1976 J. Tate tr. Bodelsen's Operation Cobra viii. 42 The access road..is to be blocked..where the rail-bus cuts across it. Ibid. x. 54 The empty road along which the rail-bus ran. Ibid. xi. 56 Frederik cycled across the rail-bus tracks. 1977 Modern Railways Dec. 485/3 An early example was the German MAN railbus built in 1932, which remained in service for 30 years. |
| 1834 Knickerbocker III. 112 After two hours past in this fair presence on *rail-cars, I returned with my head running most uncomfortably upon this new acquaintance. 1843 Whittier Pr. Wks. (1889) I. 352 Steam⁓boats and rail-cars. 1860 J. S. C. Abbott South & North ix. 206 Thence, in rail-cars..through the heart of Alabama. 1934 Discovery Nov. 314/1 The term railcar is a convenient one to apply to the fast self-contained passenger units now running on many of the world's railways. 1949 Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch 27 Oct. 4/2 This new-fangled transport is called a ‘rail-car’.., principally for the reason that it is built compactly into a single unit... It operates much on the same principle as a streetcar, with controls at each end so that it can travel in either direction. The car, with a seating capacity of 90 persons, is especially designed for local passenger traffic. 1959 A. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. 63 New Zealand Railways: Some Facts..Wagons 18,650..Railcars 23. 1963 Times 27 Feb. 5/1 Fiat was the first to start mass production of railcars. Its products are used by the railways not only of Italy but of a number of other countries. Fiat railcars are in service in Spain, Portugal, Egypt, Greece, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, India and elsewhere. 1971 Railway World Mar. 116 There are also several diesel locomotives and a couple of railcars. 1976 Sci. Amer. Jan. 27/2 After the cooling period the fuel will in the future be shipped in specially protected trucks or railcars to a chemical-reprocessing plant. |
| 1977 Times 16 Mar. 6/4 The senior citizens' *Railcards will become available from April 1 for a full year regardless of the date of purchase. 1978 Oxford Consumer Mar. 18/1 Railcards for the 14–17 yr olds will be able to be purchased at most local stations from the above mentioned date. |
| 1867 G. M. Musgrave Nooks Old France II. 204 A hybrid combination of *rail-carriage, omnibus and diligence. |
| 1880 Q. Rev. CXLV. 319 On the question of *rail charges a good deal might be written. |
| 1899 Westm. Gaz. 9 Dec. 5/3 We shall hear a good deal more of *rail-cutting operations on the part of the enemy. 1944 Rail-cutting [see interdiction 4]. |
| 1882 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 489 An hour's *Rail distance from here. |
| 1869 W. Barnes Early England 106 When the railway was taken into the hands of more learned men, we had..the terminus instead of the *rail-end. 1955 R. W. & M. L. Settle Saddles & Spurs xii. 205 The first rail was laid in Sacramento October 26, 1863. Two years later rail-end had reached Colfax, fifty-five miles away. 1976 S. Hynes Auden Generation vii. 229 Details of landscape—the mountains, the pass, the rail-end—take on symbolic meanings. |
| 1974 Times 22 Oct. 14/4 I'll pay *rail fares, of course. Second class. 1976 B. Williams Making of Manchester Jewry vi. 157 If the synagogue was prepared to pay the rail fare of a Jewish pauper as far as Hull, the society undertook to see him across the North Sea. |
| 1896 Daily News 13 May 9/3 The advanced base camp has been transferred to the vicinity of the *rail head. 1905 Daily Chron. 14 June 4/2 The political rail-head..has not got beyond Balfour Junction, and there are no definite lines of policy laid down beyond that point. 1905 Athenæum 24 June 781/2 When Lord Kitchener, during the operations of the Soudanese war, sternly relegated the war correspondents to the railhead, he earned the hostility of those who regard the distribution of news as of more importance. 1915 A. D. Gillespie Lett. from Flanders (1916) 243 There are some hills not far away, beyond the rail-head from which I marched in February. 1941 I. L. Idriess Great Boomerang xvii. 119 Now mineral wealth comes in—copper at the Duchess, with a railhead at Dajarra. 1955 Times 22 July 9/7 The Indian Government pays for the long, expensive haul from Pathankot, the rail⁓head on the plains. 1961 Times 30 June 9/4 Railwaymen have come to talk of such goods stations as ‘railheads’. 1972 Oxford Times 5 May 4/1 Culham, Clifton Hampden, Stadhampton and Little Milton are all on the route from the Didcot railhead—and lorries are due to start rolling in three weeks' time... No-one..expected Didcot to be the railhead for the materials. 1973 Times 29 Nov. 16/7 Every factory and warehouse and all the rest—is provided with railhead facilities. 1974 Times 8 Jan. 2/5 We have said we would go ahead provided all those who wanted a railhead were prepared to make good the financial shortfall. 1979 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVII. 412/2 This was in general only temporary until the pipeline, gathering stations and railhead installations..had all been fully run in. |
| 1961 E. F. McKinney Educ. in Violence 365 Garrard's Covington raid and Rousseau's Opelika raid cut two-thirds of the *rail lines he had to break. 1976 Jrnl. (Newcastle) 26 Nov., Holly Avenue, a quiet street sandwiched endways between Osborne Road and the rail-line. 1978 Amer. Poetry Rev. Nov./Dec. 6/3 The linear travel of the rail-line has become three-dimensional. |
| 1975 Guardian 21 Jan. 12/1 The *rail link from Folkestone to London. 1976 Illustr. London News Nov. 52/1 The first rail link with Britain by train and boat had been opened with the Calais Docks station in 1849. |
| 1963 Times 23 May 13/7 Switzerland is the most *rail⁓minded country in the world. |
| 1906 Westm. Gaz. 5 June 5/3 An excursion train on the Great Western line colliding..with an empty *rail-motor coach. 1927 Observer 13 Nov. 13/3 ‘Rail motors’ or ‘motor trains’, may either take the form of self-contained vehicles having a steam or petrol engine built into the coach, or of trains hauled by very small engines and arranged to be driven from either end. 1962 Coast to Coast 1961–62 202 Rattling along on a rail-motor somewhere south-west of Bundaberg, recollection nagged busily and painfully. |
| 1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run a Railway iii. 24 They allocated a *railmounted gun..to Norfolk. 1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 241/3 All these cranes are rail-mounted, pneumatic tyred cranes will not be used. |
| 1855 Carlyle in E. FitzGerald's Lett. (1889) I. 235 The end of my shrieking, mad, (and to me quite horrible) *rail operations. |
| 1933 Sun (Baltimore) 25 Sept. 6/8 A *railplane car, built along the lines of airplane architecture and designed to carry passengers over railroad tracks at ninety miles an hour, was announced today by the Pullman Car and Manufacturing Corporation. 1968 S. E. Ellacott Everyday Things in Eng. 1914–68 xii. 185 A gallant pioneer effort..to revolutionize rail travel by suspending a carriage on an overhead rail..was the invention of a Scot, George Bennie, who built his first railplane in 1929... Ironically, a monorail service was running with apparent success in Tokyo in 1957. |
| 1976 Illustr. London News Nov. 29/2 The most effective way of providing a ‘rapid transit’ is to improve the *rail service. |
| 1892 Swinburne Lett. (1962) VI. 30, I have got over the unnerving effects of *railsickness. |
| 1928 Daily Tel. 17 July 4/5 Freehold *railside factory. 1959 Listener 8 Jan. 50/1 Iron ore is brought down to rail-side by country carts from the nearby mountains. |
| 1958 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 74/1 *Railtankers standing in readiness then loaded up and took the crude oil the remaining 250 miles to the sea at Philippeville for storage. 1979 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVII. 406/1 The oil would be transmitted by pipeline to a rail terminal for transmission by rail tanker. |
| a 1824 Robertson in Trans. Highland Soc. VI. 68 The *rail-track was now made of cast-iron and concave. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. Note-bks. (1883) 42 On our left, the rail-track kept close to the hills. |
| a 1824 A. Scott in Trans. Highland Soc. VI. 30 Simple as the common *rail-waggon convoy may appear [etc.]. |
Hence
ˈrailage, conveyance by rail, or the charges for this; also
attrib.;
ˈrailery nonce-wd., travelling by rail;
ˈraily a. nonce-wd., railway-like.
| 1852 Ld. Cockburn Circuit Journ. (1883) 373 Too much railery is an unbecoming thing for an aged judge. 1859 Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 42 These vegetable Titans are of the rail, and raily. 1891 Auckland (N.Z.) Star 1 Oct. 4/2 Labour, cartage, and railage. 1903 Daily Chron. 19 June 5/2 Food and forage..are continually coming forward from the coast at high cost for railage. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 19 Jan. 7/1 Welsh smokeless coal is now 19s. per ton at the pit's mouth, and to that has to be added 8s. 4d. per ton for railage to London. 1955 Times 3 June 10/6 Further increases in the cost of commodities and stores, the latter resulting largely from the higher railage rates introduced in recent years. 1972 P. Newton Sheep Thief i. 14, I would require two horses..and I would like to take my own. This would involve the cost of railage. |
▸
rail station n. = railway station n. at
railway n. Compounds 1a.
| 1848 Times 12 Apr. 10/1 (advt.) Board and residence... Five minutes' walk of the church and *rail station. 1937 Mansfield (Ohio) News Jrnl. 26 Jan. 8/3 Railroads are deep under water. Here is a rowboat going through the waiting room of a rail station. 1996 Holiday Which? Jan. 39/1 Are..post offices, tourist information centres, and bus and rail stations shown? |
▪ III. rail, n.3 (
reɪl)
Forms: 5–7
rayle, 5, 8
rale, 6–7
raile, 7–
rail.
[a. F. râle (Picard reille), OF. raale (13–14th c.), of uncertain origin. Hence also G. ralle, med.L. rallus.] A bird of the family
Rallidæ and especially of the genus
Rallus: see
landrail,
water-rail.
| c 1450 Two Cookery-bks. 69 Votrellez, Rales, Quayles. 1483 Cath. Angl. 299/1 A Rayle, glebarius. a 1529 Skelton Col. Cloute 870 Some..by the barres of her tayle Wyll knowe a raven from a rayle. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. (1660) 76 Sauce for a Quail, Raile, or any fat big bird. 1755 Mem. Capt. P. Drake II. xviii. 273 We diverted ourselves in the Meadows, where my Lord shot some Rales. 1843 Lever J. Hinton xxxv, All was hushed and still, save the deep note of the rail. 1885 G. S. Forbes Wild Life in Canara 207 The rails tried all they knew to stop the cobra. |
| attrib. 1573 Baret Alvearie, A Raile bird, rusticula. 1808 T. Ashe Trav. II. 67 Rail-bird, Rallus Virginianus. |
▪ IV. rail, n.4 rare.
(
reɪl)
Also 6
rayle.
[f. rail v.4] An act of railing or reviling.
| a 1529 Skelton Caudatos Anglos 30 With thy versyfyeing rayles How they haue tayles. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. i. 43 All carelesse of his taunt and bitter rayle. 1869 Manning Petri Privileg. (1871) ii. 9 Some half-educated minds..who keep up the old rail against the Catholic religion. |
▪ V. rail, n.5 Sc. rare—1.
(
reɪl)
[f. rail v.1: cf. quot. 1887 in sense 2.] A row (of nails).
| 1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' v, They..set about their heels wi' rails O' clinkin tackets. |
▪ VI. rail, n.6 (
reɪl)
[Origin uncertain: cf. rail n.2] A hot-rod or dragster.
| 1962 Punch 17 Oct. 560/2 A dragster, or rail, is the most skeletal vehicle of all. 1965 Daily Mail 2 Oct. 5/5 There is no lonelier place on earth than the cockpit of a rail... A rail? That is race-jargon for a dragster. 1977 Hot Car Oct. 42/2 A reasonable crowd showed to watch rails, gassers, comp altered, and street saloons race together. |
▪ VII. rail, v.1 Obs. exc. Sc. (
reɪl)
Also 4
raill-, 4–6
rayl(e, 5
rayll(e, 6
Sc. ralye.
[a. OF. reiller:—pop. L. *reglare, L. rēgulāre, f. rēgula: see rail n.2] † 1. trans. To set in order or array; to arrange; to regulate.
Obs.| a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xiii. 43 The rose rayleth hire rode. a 1352 Minot Poems iv. 83 Both alblast and many a bow Was redy railed opon a row. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iv. 1020 Soo weel can oure mayden hir proporsyons rayll. Ibid. v. 1168 Whan that no counseill may you reden ne rayle. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 181 Than his people rayled theym togyther. |
† b. To tie or fasten in a string or row.
Obs. rare.
| 1622 Bacon Hen. VII 141 [The rebels] were brought to London, all rayl'd in Ropes, like a Teame of Horses in a Cart. 1634 Ford Perk. Warb. iii. i, The ringleaders of this commotion, Railed in ropes, fit ornaments for traitors Wait your determinations. |
2. To array, adorn, set (
with something).
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 1618 Eche a strete was..realy railled wiþ wel riche cloþes. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3264 The rowelle whas rede golde..Raylide with reched and rubyes inewe. c 1430 Lydg. Reas. & Sens. 2561 To conserve hyt, and to Raylle With fresh and lusty apparaylle. 1542 Inv. R. Wardr. (1815) 85 Ane cott of blak sating ralyeit with gold and silver. 1887 Jamieson's Scot. Dict. Suppl. 317 To rail shoon, to fill the soles with rows of iron nails. |
| fig. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iii. 1230 Wyth many ioyes I wyl ȝow newly rayle. |
▪ VIII. rail, v.2 (
reɪl)
Also 4–7
rayle,
raile, 7
Sc. raill.
[f. rail n.2] † 1. trans. To provide (vines, etc.) with rails; to train on rails.
Obs.| 1389 Helmingham MS. 21, lf. 17 b, Þe vyne..schal wax wilde but if she be railid. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 805 Now rayle hem, and of closure is no doute. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xvii. clxxvii. 717 Vynes ben perched and rayled and bounde to trees that ben nye to them. |
2. a. To furnish or enclose (a place) with rails.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 820 (771) This yerd was large, and rayled alle the aleyes. c 1400 Beryn 291 Al the Aleyis feir..I-raylid. 1587 Nottingham Rec. IV. 215 Chayney Pooll the syde towardes Est Crofte to be rayled. 1641 W. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 286 All the streets are railed for the advantage of the show. 1679–88 Secr. Serv. Money Chas. & Jas. (Camden) 125 In rayling the walke called Swinley Rayles, in the forest of Windsor. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 173 The Church-yard..ought to be fenced in and railed. a 1817 T. Dwight Trav. New Eng., etc. (1823) I. 456 The sides of the causeys are stoned, capstained, and railed. |
b. With adverbs,
esp. to rail in, to enclose (a space or thing) with rails;
to rail off, to separate by a railing.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xxxi, Ane herbere grene, with wandis long and small Railit about. 1576 Gascoigne Kenelworth A iij, A bridge, the which was rayled in on both sides. 1604 Manchester Court Leet Rec. (1885) II. 205 Raphe Hulme hath Rayled in a parcell of land. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 112 ¶2 Sir Roger has..railed in the Communion-Table. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. 221 A space was railed in for the reception of the..jurors. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. v. 451 The footpaths were railed off along the whole distance. |
† c. To confine (sheep) by rails.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 84 Yett some will perswade to rayle them a little before they goe to field. |
3. To provide (a hedge, bench, etc.) with a rail or rails. Also with
about,
in (
cf. 2 b).
rare.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresb. Husb. (1586) 50 The common hedge made of dead wood, well staked and thicke plashed or railde. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xi. ¶11 The Inck-Block..is Railed in on its farther and hinder-sides..with Wainscot Board. Ibid. xx. ¶3 The Bench hath its farther Side, and both ends, railed about with slit Deal about two Inches high. |
4. To lay with rails (in sense 4 of the
n.).
| 1888 Harper's Mag. LXXVII. 125 One hundred and fifty miles of new road graded last year, which was to receive its rails this spring, will not be railed. |
5. To convey by rail.
| 1865 Pall Mall G. 4 Sept. 10/1 Fat cattle and fat sheep..to be railed to market. 1916 E. W. Hamilton First Seven Divisions 142 Four Army Corps were railed up from the eastern frontier. 1936 R. C. K. Ensor England, 1870–1914 ix. 299 It cost as much at that time to rail coal from the Rhondda to North Dorset as to ship it 3,000 miles to Alexandria. 1973 Sunday Times 7 Oct. 46 Forty-four-thousand gallons of sterile milk are daily railed from Anand to Bombay. 1975 Times 27 Dec. 9/7 Next year's Motorail brochure has just come... For many years I railed my car to Scotland. Not again, at {pstlg}100 a time. |
6. intr. To travel by rail. Also with
it.
| 1842 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 337 We rail to Munich to-morrow. 1853 Visc. Stratford de Redcliffe in Lane-Poole Life II. 243 Next day we railed it away through Gratz and Laibach. |
7. To fish with a hand-line over a boat's rail.
| 1889 Nature XLI. 180 In England, the summer fishing for mackerel is carried on by means of hand lines, and small boats may be seen ‘railing’ or ‘whiffing’ amongst the schools of mackerel. |
Add:
8. trans. and
intr. In windsurfing, to sail the board on its edge or ‘rail’ (
rail n.2 2 g), so that it is at a sharp angle to the surface of the water.
| 1986 Boards May 46/2 If you're sailing over waves you need to be constantly powering and depowering the rig so that the board is always railed at the right angle for maximum speed and lift to windward. 1987 On Board Mar. 47/2 It took the board very close to the wind and made it easy to rail. 1987 B. Oakley Windsurfing (1988) 96 (caption) The more you pull down on the boom, the more you rail. 1988 Boards June 59/4 With so little dagger to push against it is almost impossible to rail. |
▪ IX. † rail, v.3 Obs. Forms: 5
raylle,
rayl,
reyle, 5–6
rail(e,
rayle, 6
Sc. rale.
[Of obscure origin.] intr. To flow, gush (
down). Usu. said of blood.
| c 1400 Laud Troy-bk. 6842 Thei mette so well..That the blod fro hem rayled. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. v. 1720 Ffro thi eynez lete the water now be thi cheekis reyle. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xiii. 172 The blude haboundantly furth ralis. 1591 Spenser Vis. Bellay 155, I saw a spring out of a rocke forth rayle. 1600 Fairfax Tasso iv. lxxiv, A tempest railed downe her cheekes amaine. |
▪ X. rail, v.4 (
reɪl)
Forms: α. 5–7
rayl, 6
Sc. ral-,
raill, 6–7
rayle,
rayll, 6–
rail; β. 6
Sc. ralȝe,
railȝe,
relȝie.
[a. F. railler (15th c.), of uncertain origin. Cf. railly, rally.] 1. a. intr. To utter abusive language.
| 1460–70 Gregory Chron. (Camden) 229 He raylyd soore and grevysly to fortefy hys bretherynys sayyngys. a 1529 Skelton Caudatos Anglos 63 Walke, Scot, Walke, sot, Rayle not to far. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iii. 44 Be ȝe rank quhen thay begin to relȝie. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia iii. xi. 86 To force you from your Idlenesse, and punish you if you rayle. 1735 Berkeley Def. Free-think. Mathemat. §8 To see you rail and rage at the rate you do. 1781 Cowper Charity 500 Satire..Too often rails to gratify his spleen. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. xiv. 152 You rail, and it is fun to me. |
b. constr.
against,
at,
† of,
on,
upon,
† with.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lxxi, Sire Dynadan rayled with sir Tristram. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 61 He is so pacient, that he suffereth men all to rayle and rage vpon him. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 23 [He] raileth against all the discipline of the church. Ibid. 47 The Masse is railed on. 1588 Babington Prof. Exp. Lord's Pr. (1596) 267 They rayle of al compulsion to the contrarie. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. v. Wks. 1856 I. 60 Hee railes at mee beyond reason. 1611 Bible Mark xv. 29 And they that passed by, railed on him. Ibid. Luke xxiii. 39 And one of the malefactors..railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thy selfe and us. 1660 Wood Life Dec. (O.H.S.) I. 369 Who rayl'd more..than he, against both Presbyterians and Independents? 1771 Junius Lett. lv. 291 Enemies..rail at him for crimes he is not guilty of. 1819 Shelley Cyclops 98, I am the same, but do not rail upon me. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xii. 213 His very soldiers railed on him in the streets of Dublin. 1866 M. E. Braddon Lady's Mile i. 6 Don't rail against the women. 1872 Bagehot Physics & Pol. (1876) 195 We are beginning to see this, and we are railed at for so beginning. |
† 2. a. To jest, to rally. Also
const. with.
Obs.| 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 480 Sum rownis; and sum ralȝeis, and sum redis ballatis. 1530 Palsgr. 678/1, I rayle, I jeste meryly, je me gaudis. 1590 J. Burel in Watson Coll. Poems (1709) II. 12 Let no man me esteme to raill, Nor think that raschelie I report. 1685 Evelyn Mrs. Godolphin (1888) 98 Severall Ladyes..were railing with the Gallants trifleingly enough. |
† b. To brag or boast.
Obs. rare—0.
| 1530 Palsgr. 678/1, I rayle in bostyng, je me raille. He doth naught els but rayle at the ale house all daye. |
3. a. trans. To bring (a person)
into a certain condition by railing. Also rarely with a thing as
obj. in other constructions.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 139 Till thou canst raile the seale from off my bond Thou but offend'st thy Lungs to speake so loud. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. ii. i. 17, I shal sooner rayle thee into wit and holinesse. 1642 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. ii. §4 Noble natures..are not railed into vice. 1823 Lockhart Reg. Dalton i. xiii. (1842) 88 Trying..to rail his old English heart out of his bosom? |
b. With
adj. expressing the result.
rare—1.
| 1676 Otway Don Carlos v. i, You spightfully are come to rail me dead. |
▪ XI. † rail, v.5 Obs. rare.
[Of obscure etym.] intr. To go about, wander, roam.
| c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 6845 Aboute Ector euere thei rayled. Ibid. 7432 Ther come two kynges In that batayle, That saw Ector aboute rayle, As faucoun flees afftir drake. 1530 Palsgr. 678/1, I rayle, I straye abrode, je trace, je tracasse. He doth naught els but rayle here and there. |
▪ XII. rail, v.6 (
reɪl)
[Prob. echoic.] trans. and intr. To rattle.
| 1770 Armstrong Imitations 85 Every petty brook that crawled..Railing its pebbles. 1844 [see railing ppl. a.3]. |