▪ I. railing, vbl. n.1
(ˈreɪlɪŋ)
[f. rail v.2]
† 1. The training of vines upon rails. b. A shoot of a vine so trained; also attrib. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxxix. 12 [lxxx. 11] He straȝte out his braunchis vnto the se; and vnto the flod his railingus [L. propagines]. ― Isa. xvi. 8 His railing braunches [L. propagines] ben forsaken, thei passeden the se. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xvii. xviii. 614 Balsamum..spredyth as a vyne wythout raylyng and vndersettinge. |
2. The action of making fences, or enclosing ground with rails. Also railing-in.
| 1543 Act 35 Hen. VIII, c. 17 § 6 To..take any of the same [coppies woodes] for palyng raylyng or enclosing of parkes. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. ii. iii, The railing in of a repugnant and contradictive mount Sinai in the gospel. 1679–88 Secr. Serv. Money Chas. & Jas. (Camden) 139 Expended in..rayling and paleing in Bushy Parke. |
b. concr. (also in pl.) A fence or barrier made of rails, or in some other fashion.
| 1471–2 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 94 Pro factura lxiiij rod' del Ralyng. 1826 Scott Woodst. i, The gilded railing, which was once around it, was broken down. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xii. 105 Tom..stood listlessly gazing over the railings. |
| transf. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xviii. 125 From roof to ledge stretched a railing of cylindrical icicles. |
c. Material for railings.
| 1812 Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. 336 Railing must be nailed across the boss..but when railing is not at hand, a strong straw rope is commonly used in its stead. 1847 Smeaton Builder's Man. 147 Bars of fancy railing, and balusters of stairs consist of cast iron. |
3. The laying of rails; a set or line of rails.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 655 The railing must..be set out in levels, or in lines nearly level. |
4. Comb. railing-line, a hand-line used over the rail of a boat.
| 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 5 Rayling lines for Mackerell. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 12 Handlines and Long Lines..railing Lines for Mackerel. |
Hence ˈrailinged a., enclosed by a railing; also railinged off.
| 1862 Temple Bar Mag. V. 181 A turfed and railinged square. 1938 Archit. Rev. LXXXIV. 104 The plain railinged balcony outside the first floor windows was replaced, for obvious aesthetic as well as structural reasons, by balconettes related in style to many which adorn the Adelphi. 1974 K. Royce Trap Spider ii. 37 The houses were railinged off, with sub-basements. Ibid. vii. 120 The squares were big..with a railinged green in their middle. |
▪ II. railing, vbl. n.2
(ˈreɪlɪŋ)
[f. rail v.4 + -ing1.]
The action of the vb.; abusing, abuse.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lxxii, For this entente syr Dynadan said alle this raylynge and langage ageynst sir Tristram. 1533 Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell ii. (1572) 66/2 He recounteth it to be rayling, gesting, and scolding. c 1580 Sidney Ps. xxxi. vii, I understand what railing greate men spredd. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 555 Railing and praising were his usual Themes. 1769 Junius Lett. xviii. 77 Railing is usually a relief to the mind. 1873 Dixon Two Queens II. xi. vi. 255 He was proof against the railing of a mob. |
| pl. 1526 Tindale 1 Tim. vi. 4 Stryfe, realinges [1534 raylinges], evyll surmysinges. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus ii. 8 Hee heard raylings and reproaches of many. a 1704 T. Brown Satire Antients Wks. 1730 I. 17 The gall, the railings{ddd}which made these satires take with so much applause. 1854 Macaulay Biog. (1867) 30 It does not appear..from the railings of his enemies, that he ever was drunk in his life. |
▪ III. railing, ppl. a.1
(ˈreɪlɪŋ)
[f. as prec. + -ing2.]
That rails; characterized by railing.
| 1526 Tindale Jude 9 Michael..durst nott geve raylynge sentence. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxiv. ix, The wrong Of thy reviling railing foe. 1697 Dryden Virgil Life (1721) I. 53 The railing Eloquence of Cicero in his Philipics. 1724 Pope Lett. 10 Sept., The railing Papers about the Odyssey. 1821 Byron Sardan. i. ii, The railing drunkards! why, what would they have? |
▪ IV. † ˈrailing, ppl. a.2
[f. rail v.3]
Flowing.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. iv. 57 Instead of rest thou lendest rayling teares. |
▪ V. ˈrailing, ppl. a.3
[f. rail v.6]
Rattling.
| 1844 Lever T. Burke II. 163 The railing crash of falling branches, and the deep baying of the storm. |