rail

rail · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃reǵ-
2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃réǵeti
3. Proto-Italic*regō
4. Latinregō
5. Latinrēgula
6. Proto-West Germanic*regulu
7. Old Englishregol
8. Latinrēgula
9. Old Frenchreille
10. Middle Englishrail
11. English todayrail

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.

rail · noun²

1. Old French · derived fromrasle
2. Middle French · derived fromraalle
3. French · borrowed fromrâle
4. English todayrail

From French râle, rale, from Middle French raalle, from Old French rasle. Compare Medieval Latin rallus. Named from its harsh cry, Vulgar Latin *rasculum, from Latin rādere (“to scrape”).

rail · verb³

1. Middle French · derived fromrailler
2. English todayrail

From Middle French railler.

rail · noun⁴

1. Old English · inherited fromhræġl“garment, dress, robe”
2. Middle English · inherited fromrail
3. English todayrail

From Middle English rail, reil, from Old English hræġl (“garment, dress, robe”). Cognate with Old Frisian hreil, reil, Old Saxon hregil, Old High German hregil (“clothing, garment, dress”).

rail · verb⁵

1. Middle French · derived fromraier
2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromraier
3. English todayrail

Probably from Anglo-Norman raier, Middle French raier.

Words from the same roots