TAFFRAIL

taffrail

(noun) the railing around the stern of a ship

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

taffrail (plural taffrails)

(nautical) The curved wooden top of the stern of a sailing man-of-war or East Indiaman, usually carved or decorated.

(nautical) The rail around the stern of a ship.

(nautical) The deck area at the stern of a vessel.

Source: Wiktionary


Taff"rail, n. Etym: [D. tafereel a panel, picture, fr. tafel table, fr. L. tabula. See Table.] (Naut.)

Definition: The upper part of a ship's stern, which is flat like a table on the top, and sometimes ornamented with carved work; the rail around a ship's stern. [Written also tafferel.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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