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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A railroad as a means of transportation; as, to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

6. a railing. [ PJC ]

Rail fence. See under Fence. --
Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail of 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

And rail at arts he did not understand. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lesbia forever on me rails. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. râle, fr. râler to have a rattling in the throat; of German origin, and akin to E. rattle. See Rattle, v. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidae, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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 longirostris, var. crepitans); the king, or red-breasted, rail (Rallus elegans) (called also fresh-water marshhen); the lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail (Rallus Virginianus); and the Carolina, or sora, rail (Porzana Carolina). See Sora. [ 1913 Webster ]

Land rail (Zool.), the corncrake. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To rail at. [ Obs. ] Feltham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To move or influence by railing. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Rail the seal from off my bond. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. reil, re&yogh_;el, AS. hrægel, hrægl, a garment; akin to OHG. hregil, OFries. hreil. ] An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women. Fairholt. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] To flow forth; to roll out; to course. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who rails; one who scoffs, insults, censures, or reproaches with opprobrious language. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A barrier made of a rail or of rails, together with vertical supports. The typical railing in the interior of structures or on porches has a horizontal rail near waist height, and multiple vertical supports. Its function is usually to provide a safety barrier at the edge of a verticle drop to prevent falls. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. Rails in general; also, material for making rails. [ 1913 Webster ]