rail
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: rāl
ipa: /ɹeɪl/
ipa: [ɹeɪɫ]
rhymes: -eɪl
Forms: form: rails
Etymology: From Middle English rail, rayl, *reȝel, *reȝol (found in reȝolsticke (“a ruler”)), partly from Old English regol (“a ruler, straight bar”) and partly from Old French reille; both from Latin regula (“rule, bar”), from regō (“to rule, to guide, to govern”); see regular. Doublet of regal, regula, rigol, and rule.
Senses: examples: text: Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.
examples: text: A "moving platform" scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays.
ref: 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
glosses: The metal bar forming part of the track for a railroad.
examples: text: We travelled to the seaside by rail.
text: a small Scottish village not accessible by rail
text: rail transport
glosses: A railroad; a railway, as a means of transportation.
examples: text: ISA devices draw power from the +5 V, −5 V, +12 V, and −12 V rails of the power supply unit.
text: There has been another, fairly gradual change in the ATX specification: Initially a lot of power was supplied on the 5V and 3.3V rails, but over time more and more power shifted to 12V because it's more efficient. Modern (ATX12V 2.x) PSUs supply most of their power on the 12V rail and not a lot on the 5V rail, which means a modern PSU may not be able to supply an old board, unless it's a really beefy PSU—because providing 500W on the 12V rail is of very little use to an AT or early ATX system.
ref: 2019 December 5, Michal Necasek, “Power Trouble”, in OS/2 Museum, archived from the original on 25 Sep 2022:
topics: business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
electronics
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: A conductor maintained at a fixed electrical potential relative to ground, to which other circuit components are connected.
glosses: A horizontal piece of wood that serves to separate sections of a door or window.
examples: text: Rails alone can only ever have a marginal effect on a board's general turning ability.
ref: c. 2000, Nick Carroll, surfline.com http://www.surfline.com/community/whoknows/10_21_rails.cfm
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
surfing
glosses: One of the lengthwise edges of a surfboard.
examples: text: We're experimenting with ads in the right-hand rail.
glosses: A vertical section on one side of a web page.
examples: text: Do a couple rails and chase your own tail
ref: 2013, Jason Isbell, Super 8:
topics: drugs
medicine
pharmacology
sciences
glosses: A large line (portion or serving of a powdery illegal drug).
synonyms: stile
stringer
glosses: Each of two vertical side bars supporting the rungs of a ladder.
topics: backgammon
games
glosses: The raised edge of the game board.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: anti-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: antirail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: bow rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: bullhead rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: by rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: cant rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: cantrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: chair rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: check rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: cograil
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: common rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: commuter rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: conductor rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: dado rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: edge rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: false rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: fife-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: flanged T rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: flat rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: fly rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: fourth rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: frame rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: grab rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: grabrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: ground rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: guardrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: guide rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: handrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: hanging rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: headrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: heavy rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: higher-speed rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: high-speed rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: hi-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: hitching rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: hollow rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: hot rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: K-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: light rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: live rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: loot rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: monkey rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: monorail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: Network Rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: non-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: nonrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: on rails
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: on the rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: on the rails
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: pedrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: Picatinny rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: picture rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: power rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: pro-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: put the bottom rail on top
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail anchor
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail and stile
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail-based
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railborne
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railbound
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail brake
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railbuff
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railbus
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railcar
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railcard
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail-carriage
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail drink
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railfan
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railfanning
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail fare
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railfare
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail fence cipher
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail fly
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail freight
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail gauge
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail grab
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail grinder
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railgun
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail hail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railhead
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail head
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail joint
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railjoint
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail line
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail liquor
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railmotor
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail-motor
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail motor
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail replacement service
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railroad
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail roko
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail saver
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail-served
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail shooter
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail spike
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail terminal
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railtour
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail tour
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail track
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail trail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail train
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail transport
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail turn
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail vehicle
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail wagon
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: railway
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: rail yard
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: ride on a rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: ride the rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: ride the rails
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: road-rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: road-rail vehicle
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: running rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: sand rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: seat rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: side rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: skateboard rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: skinny as a rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: split rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: split rail fence
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: strap rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: thin as a rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: third rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: tilt rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: towel rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: tramrail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: tram rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: ultra light rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: Vignoles rail
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: Virginia rail fence
sense: Terms derived from the noun rail
word: wing rail