taffrail Naut.
(ˈtæfreɪl)
Also tafrail.
[A 19th c. alteration of tafferel, due to false etymology, the termination -rel being taken as rail.]
The aftermost portion of the poop-rail of a ship.
| 1814 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 176/2 We crossed his stern, our jib-boom passing over his tafrail. 1823 Scoresby Jrnl. Whale Fish. 39, I stood on the taffrail as the ship was turned before the wind. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxiii. 126 With her head for the equator, and Cape Horn over her taffrail, she went gloriously on. 1899 Bullen Log Sea-waif 187 She dipped her stern right under, taking a sea in over the taffrail that filled the decks fore and aft. |