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   rail

   /reɪl/

   noun

   • 1. a bar or series of bars fixed on upright supports or attached to a wall or ceiling, serving as part of a barrier or used to hang things on: "a curtain rail"
   • ▪ the inside boundary fence of a racecourse.
   • 2. a steel bar or continuous line of bars laid on the ground as one of a pair forming a railway track: "the goods train left the rails"
   • ▪ railways as a means of transport: "rail fares"
   • 3. the edge of a surfboard or sailboard.
   • 4. a horizontal piece in the frame of a panelled door or sash window.
   • 5. a conductor which is maintained at a fixed potential and to which other parts of a circuit are connected: "the anode must be connected to the positive supply rail"

   verb

   • 1. provide or enclose (a space or place) with a rail or rails: "the altar is railed off from the nave"
   • 2. convey (goods) by rail: "perishables were railed into Manhattan"
   • 3. (in windsurfing) sail the board on its edge: "the more you pull down on the boom, the more you rail"

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French reille ‘iron rod’, from Latin regula ‘straight stick, rule’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. railage noun
   • 2. railless adjective

   Scrabble Points: 4

   • R

     1

   • A

     1

   • I

     1

   • L

     1

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