From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Trail \Trail\ (tr[=a]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Trailed}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Trailing}.] [OE. trailen, OF. trailler to trail a
deer, or hunt him upon a cold scent, also, to hunt or pursue
him with a limehound, F. trailler to trail a fishing line;
probably from a derivative of L. trahere to draw; cf. L.
traha a drag, sledge, tragula a kind of drag net, a small
sledge, Sp. trailla a leash, an instrument for leveling the
ground, D. treilen to draw with a rope, to tow, treil a rope
for drawing a boat. See {Trace}, v. t.]
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1.
(a) To hunt by the track; to track.
(b) to follow behind.
(c) To pursue. --Halliwell.
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2. To draw or drag, as along the ground.
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And hung his head, and trailed his legs along.
--Dryden.
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They shall not trail me through their streets
Like a wild beast. --Milton.
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Long behind he trails his pompous robe. --Pope.
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3. (Mil.) To carry, as a firearm, with the breech near the
ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece
being held by the right hand near the middle.
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4. To tread down, as grass, by walking through it; to lay
flat. --Longfellow.
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5. To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.
[Prov. Eng.]
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I presently perceived she was (what is vernacularly
termed) trailing Mrs. Dent; that is, playing on her
ignorance. --C. Bronte.
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