| 释义 |
rail
I. \ˈrāl, esp before pause or consonant ˈrāəl\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English reil, from Old English hrægl garment, cloak; akin to Old Frisian hreil garment, Old High German hregil
1. archaic : a loose garment worn in varying style especially by women since the early medieval period
2. obsolete : a neckerchief for women
II. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English raile, from Middle French reille ruler, bar, from Latin regula straight piece of wood, ruler, from regere to keep straight, direct, rule — more at right
1.
a. : a bar usually of timber or metal extending from one post or support to another as a guard or barrier (as in a fence, balustrade, or staircase); specifically : one made by splitting a small log and used especially in making rail fences — compare rider 6a
b. : a horizontal structural member in a frame or paneling (as in furniture, woodwork, or stage flats) — compare newel, stile; see door illustration
c. : a long piece of wood or other material serving as a structural member or support (as in a paino action or an automobile frame)
< curtain rail >
< the side rails of a ladder >
< the brass rail in a saloon >
2.
a. : a construction of bars and posts : fence, railing
b.
(1) : the stout narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks of a ship
(2) : a light structure of wood or metal serving as a guard at the outer extremity of a deck — often used in combination
< poop rail >
< forecastle rail >
— see ship illustration
(3) : a section of planking with holes for belaying pins (as around a mast or across the shrouds) — see fife rail; compare pinrail a
c. : a fence bounding a racetrack
< the inner rail >
< the outer rail >
3.
a. : a bar originally of wood but now usually of rolled steel forming a track for vehicles whose wheels run in a depression in the bar (as in street railways) or on the top of the bar
< piers carry the overhead crane rails — Architectural Review >
— compare bullheaded 3b, flange rail, t rail
b.
(1) : railroad rails in bulk
< trend toward the use of heavier rail — Yrbk. of Railroad Information >
(2) : a continuous line of railroad rails
< boys walking on the rail >
< lay rail >
(3) : track
< the meanest stretch of rail ever spiked — A.E.Somerville >
— usually used in plural
< a sleek and shining streamliner hurrying along the rails — Stories Behind the Pictures >
< network of rails sharply divides the industrial section — American Guide Series: Texas >
c. : railroad
< travel or ship by rail >
< the rails want more liberal treatment as to tax write-offs for depreciation — Sat. Eve. Post >
< the terminal of the central rail — Irene S. van Dongen >
4. rails plural : stocks or bonds of railroad companies
5. slang : a railroad employee
6. carriage rail
7. : the cushioned rim around the bed of a billiard, pool, or crap table
•
- on the rails
- over the rail
III. transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English railen, from raile rail
1. : to provide with rails or a railing : fence
< being railed away solicitously from small precipices — Elizabeth Bowen >
— often used with in or off
< rail in a space >
2. chiefly Britain : to transport by railroad
< apricots and plums, railed in large containers — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa) >
IV. adjective
: or of relating to railroads
< rail connections for various points >
V. noun
(plural rail or rails)
Etymology: Middle English rale, raile, from Middle French raale
: any of numerous precocial wading birds structurally related to the cranes but of small or medium size having short rounded wings, a short tail, and usually very long toes that enable them to run on the soft mud of swamps and consituting a distinct subfamily of Rallidae; broadly : a bird of the family Rallidae — see black rail, clapper rail, corncrake, king rail, sora, water rail
VI. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English railen, from Middle French railler to ridicule, mock, from Old Provençal ralhar to babble, joke, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin ragulare to bray, from Late Latin ragere to neigh
intransitive verb
1. : to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or vituperative language : utter reproaches, abuse, or angry complaints : rant
< listened to herself rail on — Clae Waltham >
< cursed and railed, and finally declared he was going to trail the raiders — Zane Grey >
< went abroad to rail at the insecurity and poverty — Edmund Wilson >
< made their listeners aware of the very things they were railing against — J.G.Harrison >
2. obsolete : scoff, jest, banter
transitive verb
archaic : to move, effect, or influence by railing
< noble natures … are not railed into vice — Sir Thomas Browne >
Synonyms: see scold
VII. noun
(-s)
: railing, taunting, scolding
VIII. noun
: a specialized drag-racing vehicle with very large wide tires in the rear and tiny bicycle tires in the front and with a chassis that consists essentially of two long braced rails |