railing, rail
(noun) a barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and supports
railing
(noun) material for making rails or rails collectively
Source: WordNet® 3.1
railing (plural railings)
A fence or barrier consisting of one or more horizontal rails and vertical supports.
British use is normally the plural.
railing
present participle of rail
• airling, glairin, lairing, nargili
Source: Wiktionary
Rail"ing, a.
Definition: Expressing reproach; insulting. Angels which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them. 2 Pet. ii. 11.
Rail"ing, n.
1. A barrier made of a rail or of rails.
2. Rails in general; also, material for making rails.
Rail, n. Etym: [OE. reil, reýel, AS. hrægel, hrægl a garment; akin to OHG. hregil, OFries. hreil.]
Definition: An outer cloak or covering; a neckerchief for women. Fairholt.
Rail, v. i. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]
Definition: To flow forth; to roll out; to course. [Obs.] Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing. Spenser.
Rail, n. Etym: [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.
2. (Arch.)
Definition: A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.
3. (Railroad)
Definition: 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.
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. Rail fence. See under Fence.
– Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail 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.
Rail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Railed; p. pr. & vb. n. Railing.]
1. To inclose with rails or a railing. It ought to be fenced in and railed. Ayliffe.
2. To range in a line. [Obs.] They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart. Bacon.
Rail, n. Etym: [F. râle, fr. râler to have a rattling in the throat; of German origin, and akin to E. rattle. See Rattle, v.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidæ, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds.
Note: 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 lonqirostris, var. crepitans); the king, or red-breasted, rail (R. elegans) (called also fresh-water marshhen); the lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail (R. Virginianus); and the Carolina, or sora, rail (Porzana Carolina). See Sora. Land rail (Zoöl.), the corncrake.
Rail, v. i. Etym: [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.]
Definition: To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; followed by at or against, formerly by on. Shak. And rail at arts he did not understand. Dryden. Lesbia forever on me rails. Swift.
Rail, v. t.
1. To rail at. [Obs.] Feltham.
2. To move or influence by railing. [R.] Rail the seal from off my bond. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 February 2025
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
