rail

1. 1. A bar extending horizontally between supports, as in a fence.
   2. A structure made of such bars and supports and forming a barrier or guard; a railing.
2. A steel bar used, usually in pairs, as a track for railroad cars or other wheeled vehicles.
3. The railroad as a means of transportation: goods transported by rail.
4. A horizontal framing member in a door or in paneling.

[Middle English raile, from Old French reille, from Latin rēgula, straight piece of wood, ruler.]

[Middle English raile, from Old French raale, perhaps from Old French raler, racler, to scrape, from Old Provençal rasclar. See raclette.]

[Middle English railen, from Old French railler, to tease, joke, from Old Provençal ralhar, to chat, joke, from Vulgar Latin *ragulāre, to bray, from Late Latin ragere.]

(click to enlarge)
Virginia rail (Rallus limicola) (credit: John H. Gerard — The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)

Any of 127 species (family Rallidae) of slender marsh birds found almost worldwide. Rails have short rounded wings, a short tail, large feet, and long toes. Their loud call, especially at night, reveals their presence in dense vegetation. They are mostly dull grays and browns, often with barred patterns. Species vary from 4 to 18 in. (11 to 45 cm) long. Short-billed species are often called crakes. The king (Rallus elegans), clapper (R. longirostris), and Virginia (R. limicola) rails and the sora, or Carolina rail (Porzana carolina), have been hunted in the U.S.; several of the rails are now endangered, and some species have been exterminated.

For more information on rail, visit Britannica.com.

Definition: criticize harshly
Antonyms: compliment, praise

n. a steel bar or continuous line of bars laid on the ground as one of a pair forming a railway track.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

1. A bar of wood or other material passing from one post or other support to another; a hand support along a stairway.
2. A structure consisting of rails and their sustaining posts, balusters, or pillars, and constituting an enclosure or a line of division, as a balcony rail.
3. A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling as a door rail, or in the framework of a window sash.

ragwork, 1

rail, 3

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Look up rail in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Rail or rails may refer to:

Transport:

• As a generic term for railways, rail transport and related matters.
• Specifically rail tracks (or "railway lines") - the hot rolled steel running surface used in railways or tramways (or their predecessors made of other materials such as wood, cast iron or stone), of various profiles.
• Conductor rail, a structural steel surface fitted alonside a rail track to provide electrical power to the train via a contact shoe.
• "Rail", a magazine on the subject of current rail transport in the United Kingdom.
• Crayon Rails, the generic term for a board game which recreates the building of railroads via the use of crayons.

Biological classification:

• Rails or Rallidae, a genus of birds which includes crakes, coots, and gallinules.

Structural use:

• Guard rail, for protective separation of persons (including those in vehicles) from dangerous places or situations.
• Hand rail, for physical support, such as on stairways and steps.
• A structural item from which items may be hung, for instance:
  • Theatre Rail, from which lighting fixtures, theatrical scenery, tabs or curtains may be hung.
  • Curtain rail, from which curtains are hung.
• Door rails, a horizontal outside member on a door or in a frame and panel construction.

Electrical engineering:

• • Power supply rail, a voltage rail. A single voltage provided by a power supply unit.

Motor engineering

• Common rail, a fuel injection supply system

Acronyms:

• RAIL or the Rural Appalachian Improvement League is a non-profit corporation based in Mullens, West Virginia, USA.

Miscellaneous uses

• Picatinny rail, a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform for telescopic sights and other accessories
• "Railing", may be encountered as a slang term for Insufflation (medicine), whereby a substance, such as cocaine, is inhaled for recreational effects; or as an archaic term for sexual intercourse.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - skinne (jernbane), gelænder, stakit, håndklædestang, rækværk, tremmer
v. tr. - forsyne med rækværk, indhegne

idioms:

• back on the rails    i gang igen
• off the rails    løbe af sporet, blive afsporet, gå helt over gevind
• over the rails    overbord, ud over rælingen
• rail in    indhegne
• rail link    lufthavnsbus
• rail off    indhegne, skille fra

2.
n. - [zool.] vandrikse

3.
v. intr. - skælde ud (over), rase (imod)

Nederlands (Dutch)
rail, reling, spoorrail, spoorwegen, steun(balk), dwarshout, ral(vogels), waterral, van reling/rails voorzien, uitvaren

Français (French)
1.
n. - balustrade, parapet, garde-fou, rampe, bastingage, présentoir, tringle, (Transp) rail, corde (aux courses) (npl)
v. tr. - mettre/entourer d'un grillage

idioms:

• back on the rails    de nouveau sur les rails
• off the rails    dérailler (fam)
• on the rails    (tenir) la corde (aux courses), sur les rails
• over the rails    par dessus bord
• rail in    clôturer
• rail link    liaison ferroviaire
• rail off    séparer (qch) par un grillage, entourer d'un grillage

2.
n. - (Zool) rallidés

3.
v. intr. - s'insurger contre

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Schiene, Gleis, Eisenbahn, Reling, Latte, (Ornith.) Ralle
v. - einzäunen, mit der Bahn senden, schimpfen

idioms:

• back on the rails    wieder erfolgreich
• off the rails    entgleist, auf der schiefen Bahn
• on the rails    alles in Ordnung
• over the rails    über die Reling
• rail in    einzäunen
• rail link    Bahnstrecke
• rail off    abzäunen

2.
n. - Schiene, Gleis, Eisenbahn, Reling, Latte, (Ornith.) Ralle

3.
v. - einzäunen, mit der Bahn senden, schimpfen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σιδηροτροχιά, ράγια, σιδηρόδρομος, κάγκελο, κουπαστή πλοίου, βέργα, κρεμάστρα, κουπαστή σκάλας, κιγκλίδωμα, (πληθ.) ράγες, σιδηροτροχιές, γραμμές
v. - περιφράσσω, επιπλήττω (κν. κατσαδιάζω), καταφέρομαι (εναντίον)

idioms:

• back on the rails    σε νέα τροχιά, αναζωογονημένος
• off the rails    εκτροχιασμένος
• over the rails    (πεσμένος) στη θάλασσα (από πλοίο)
• rail in    περιφράσσω
• rail link    σιδηροδρομική σύνδεση (δύο πόλεων)
• rail off    χωρίζω

Italiano (Italian)
inveire, recriminare, lamentarsi, munire di sbarre, porre cancelli, rotaia, ferrovie, parapetto

idioms:

• back on the rails    tornato alla normalitý
• off the rails    sconvolto, frastornato
• over the rails    a mare
• rail in    cintare, chiudere con inferriate (staccionate)
• rail link    comunicazione ferroviaria
• rail off    recingere, separare con inferriate (staccionate)

Português (Portuguese)
n. - trilho (m), parapeito (m)
v. - viajar de trem, zangar-se com

idioms:

• back on the rails    andar na linha (coloq.)
• off the rails    sair dos trilhos
• over the rails    estar quebrado
• rail in    mostrar a realidade a alguém
• rail link    conexão (m)
• rail off    cercar

Русский (Russian)
прокладывать рельсы, обносить оградой, ругать, рельсы, железнодорожный путь, ограда, перила

idioms:

• back on the rails    снова в деле
• off the rails    (сойти) с катушек
• over the rails    (опираясь) о перила
• rail in    загнать, отгородить, смирить
• rail link    железнодорожная связь
• rail off    отгородить

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - carril, riel, vía, ferrocarriles, baranda, barandilla
v. tr. - cercar, vallar, mandar por ferrocarril, baranda, barandilla

idioms:

• back on the rails    volver a la normalidad
• off the rails    descarrilar, descarriarse, apartarse del buen camino, desorganizado, que no funciona bien
• on the rails    sobre carriles
• over the rails    (echar) por la borda
• rail in    cercar, rodear de una valla
• rail link    empalme ferroviario
• rail off    separar con barandilla

2.
n. - rascón, ralo acuático

3.
v. intr. - injuriar de palabra, vituperar, hablar mal de, quejarse de

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - räls, ledstång, (sl) sträng med narkotika
v. - resa med tåg, inhängna

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 栏杆, 扶手, 铁轨, 给...围栏杆, 用栏杆隔开, 用栏杆围, 给...铺设轨道

idioms:

• back on the rails    回到正轨上
• off the rails    出轨的, 混乱的
• over the rails    倚靠在栏杆上
• rail in    用栏杆围进
• rail link    栏杆
• rail off    用栅栏隔开

2. 秧鸡

3. 责骂, 抱怨

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 欄杆, 扶手, 鐵軌
v. tr. - 給...圍欄杆, 用欄杆隔開, 用欄杆圍, 給...鋪設軌道

idioms:

• back on the rails    回到正軌上
• off the rails    出軌的, 混亂的
• over the rails    倚靠在欄杆上
• rail in    用欄杆圍進
• rail link    欄杆
• rail off    用柵欄隔開

2.
n. - 秧雞

3.
v. intr. - 責罵, 抱怨

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 가로장, 레일
v. tr. - 가로장으로 둘러 막다, 레일을 깔다

idioms:

• over the rails    뱃전에 기대어, 바닷속으로
• rail in    둘러막다, 레일을 깔다
• rail off    사이를 막다

2.
n. - 흰눈썹뜸부기

3.
v. intr. - 욕하다, 꾸짖다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 手すり, 横木, 横棒, レール, 鉄道, クイナ
v. - 柵で囲む, 手すりを付ける, ののしる

idioms:

• off the rails    脱線して, 秩序を失って, 常軌を逸して
• over the rails    脱線して
• rail in    棚で囲む
• rail link    鉄道リンク
• rail off    棚で囲む

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سكه حديديه, حاجز, سياج (فعل) يسيج, يشكو مر الشكوى‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פס, גדר, מעקה, מתלה, רכבת, פס של מסילת-ברזל‬
v. tr. - ‮הקים מעקה (סביב), הלך על מעקה, העביר (סחורות) ברכבת‬
n. - ‮תרנגולת האגם (עוף ביצה)‬
v. intr. - ‮התמרמר, רגן, הטיח טענות, התלונן או מחה בחוזק ובהתמדה נגד‬

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