rail 
straightening machine, a portable screw-press for 
straightening bent or crooked rails or iron bars. Kail 
under (iuiut.), with the lee rail submerged : as. the vessel 
sailed mil muter. -Rolled rail, a rail made of wrought- 
iron or steel by rolling. Steel-headed rail, a railway- 
rail having a wrought-iron base and web anil a steel 
head. Such rails were too expensive for general use, 
and have given place to the Bessemer-steel rails. Also 
called steel-tapped rail. Steel rail, a rolled-steel railway, 
rail. The first steel rails were manufactured in England 
by Mushet In 18S7. The development of the use of steel 
rails, stimulated by the invention of the celebrated Besse- 
mer process for making cheap mild steel from which rails 
of far greater durability than those of wrought-iron can 
be manufactured, has been rapid, and has resulted in the 
substitution of steel rails for wrought-iron rails on near- 
ly all important railways in the world. To ride on a 
rail. See ride. Virginia rail fence. Same as make 
fence (which see, under fence), 
rail 1 (ral), v. [< ME. railen, rayleii (= OHG. 
riiiildii, MHU. rigelen, G. riegeln), rail: cf. OF. 
reillier, roillier, raillier, inclose with rails, bar; 
from the noun. Cf. raiP, ;.] I. trans. 1. To 
inclose with rails: often with in or off. 
The sayd herse must bee raylyd about, and hangyd with 
Make Cloth. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.X i. 83. 
It is a spot railed in, and a piece of ground is laid out like 
a garden bed. Pococtce, Description of the East. II. ii. 101. 
Mr. Langdon . . . has now reached the railed space. 
IT. X. Bolter, New Timothy, p. 150. 
2. To furnish with rails ; lay the rails of, as a 
railway ; construct a railway upon or along, as 
a street. [Recent.] 
Fifty miles of new road graded last year, which was to 
receive its rails this spring, will not be railed, because it 
is not safe for the company to make further investments 
in that State. Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 126. 
II. intrans. To fish with a hand-line over the 
rail of a ship or boat. [Colloq.] 
In England, the summer fishing for mackerel is carried 
on by means of hand lines, and small boats may be seen 
railing or " whiffing" amongst the schools of mackerel. 
Nature, XLI. 180. 
rai! 2 t (ral), v. t. [< ME. ratten, raylen, < AS. as 
if "regolian (= D. regelen = G. regeln), set in 
order, rule, < regol = D. G. Sw. Dan. regel, < L. 
regula, a rule: see rail 1 , and cf. rule 1 . Cf. OF. 
reillier, roillier, rail, bar, also stripe, from the 
noun.] To range in a line ; set in order. 
Al watz rayled on red ryche golde naylez, 
That al glytered & glent as glem of the sunne. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 603. 
They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a 
team of horses in a cart, and were executed, some at Lon- 
don, and the rest at divers places. Bacon, Hist Hen. VII. 
Audley, Flammock, Joseph, 
The ringleaders of this commotion, 
Hailed in ropes, fit ornaments for traitors, 
Wait your determinations. 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, ill. 1. 
rail 3 ! (ral), n. [Early mod. E., also rayle ; < 
ME. rail, reil, regel, < AS. hreegel, hrsegl, a gar- 
ment, dress, robe, pi. clothes, = OS. hregil = 
OFries. hreil, reyl, reil = OHG. Jiregil, clothing, 
garment, dress; root unknown.] 1. A gar- 
ment ; dress ; robe : now only in the compound 
night-rail. 2. A kerchief. 
Rayle for a womans neck, crevechief, en qnarttre dou- 
bles. Palsgrave. 
And then a good grey frocke, 
A kercheffe, and a raUe. 
Friar Bacon's Prophesie (1604). (HaUiweU.) 
railt (ral), . *. [ME. railen; < raift, i'.] To 
dress; clothe. 
Real! raffled with wel riche clothes. 
WiUiam of Palerne (E. E. T. S.X 1. 1618. 
rail 4 (ral), ii. [Early mod. E. rai/ie; < OF. raate, 
rasle, F. rdle (> G. ralle. ML. rallus), F. dial. 
reille, a rail; so called from its cry; cf. OF. 
ra&le, F. rdle, a rattling in the throat; < OF. 
ratter, F. niler, rattle in the throat, < MD. 
ratelen, rattle, make a noise: see rattle. Cf. 
also D. railen, rellen, make a noise, Sw. ralla, 
chatter (rallfagel, a rail), Dan. ralle, rattle.] A 
bird of the subfamily Rallinee, and especially 
of the genus Ballitu ; a water-rail, land-rail, 
marsh-hen, or crake. Rails are small marsh-lov- 
ing wading birds, related to coots and gallinules. They 
abound in the marshes and swamps of most parts of the 
world, where they thread their way in the mazes of the 
reeds with great ease and celerity, the body being thin 
and compressed, and the legs stout and strong with long 
toes. They nest on the ground, and lay numerous spotted 
eggs ; the young run about as soon as hatched. The com- 
mon rail of Europe is Rallus: aquaticus; the clapper-rail 
or salt-water marsh-hen of the United States is R. crept- 
ttins; the king-mil or fresh-water marsh-hen is R. eleyans ; 
the Virginia rail is It. mr;finianus, also called red rail, 
little red-breasted rail, lesser clapper-rail, small mud-hen, 
etc. Very generally, in the I'nited States, the word rail 
used absolutely means the sora or soree, Porzana caro- 
!!n(i . more fully called rail-bird, chicken-billed rail, English 
fail. Carolina rail, American rail, common rail, sora-rail, 
ortfilan, Carolina crake, crake -yallinule, etc. See Crex, 
Porzana, and cut under Rallus. Golden rail, a snipe 
of the genus Rhynchiea; a painted-snipe or rail-snipe. 
4041 
Spotted rail, the spotted crake, Porzana maruetta, also 
called spotted OcMy and spotted water-hen. Weka rail. 
See Ocydromus. 
rail 5 (ral), *'. [Early mod. E. rayle; < OF. rail- 
Irr, F. miller, jest, deride, mock, = Sp. rrtUar, 
grate, scrape, vex, molest, = Pg. ralar, scrape, 
rub, vex, < L. as if "nidulan; dim. or freq. of 
niilere, scrape, scratch: see raw 1 , race 1 . Cf. 
L. rallitm (contr. of 'radium), a scraper, railiiln, 
a scraping-iron : see radula. Hence rally 2 , rail- 
lery.'] I. intrans. To speak bitterly, opprobri- 
railroad 
pilot serves the same purpose. 2. A guard- 
rail. 
railing (ra'ling), M. [< ME. i-iii/li/iit/i'; verbal n. 
of raw 1 , r.] 1. Rails collectively; a combina- 
tion of rails ; a construction in which rails form 
an important part. Hence 2. Any openwork 
construction used as a bamer, parapet, or the 
like, primarily of wood, but also of iron bars, 
wire, etc. post and railing. 
Seejxwti. 
railingly (ra'ling-li), adv.~ In a railing manner ; 
sSi-ssrssB.- -** - Jtesra^sriTEs. - 
Thou rajileat on, right withouten reason, 
And blamest hem much for small encheason. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., May. 
Angels . . . bring not railing accusation against them. 
2 Pet. ii. 11. 
A certain Spaniard . . . railed . . . extremely at me. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 126. 
With God and Fate to rail at suffering easily. 
M. Arnold, Empedocles on Etna. 
= Syn. of rail at. To upbraid, scold or scold at or scold 
about, inveigh against, abuse, objurgate. Railing and 
scolding are always undignified, if not improper ; literally. 
abusing is improper; all three words may by hyperbole 
be used for talk which is proper. 
Il.t trans. To scoff at ; taunt ; scold ; banter ; 
affect by railing or raillery. 
Till thou canst rail the seals from off my bond, 
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud. 
Shak., M. of V., iv. 1. 130. 
Such as are capable of goodness are railed into vice, 
that might as easily be admonished into virtue. 
Sir T. Browne, Iteligio Medici, ii. 4. 
railt (ral), v. i. [Early mod. E. rayle; < ME. 
railen, reilen, roilen, flow, prob. a var. of rotten, 
roll, wander: seerort 1 .] To run; flow. 
Whan the Geaunte felt hym wounded and saugh the 
blode raile down by the lifte iye, he was nygh wode oute 
of witte. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 342. 
I saw a spring out of a rocke forth rayle, 
As clear as Christall gainst the Sunnie beanies. 
Spenser, Visions of Bellay, 1. 155. 
rail-bender (ral'ben // der), . A screw-press or 
hydraulic press for straightening rails, or for 
bending them in the construction of railway- 
curves and -switches. The rail is supported 
upon two bearers, between which the pressure 
is applied. Also called rail-bending machine. 
rail-bird (ral'berd), n. The Carolina rail or 
sora, Porsana Carolina. [U. S.] 
rail-bittern (rarbifern), n. One of the small 
bitterns of the genus Ardetta, as A. neoxena, 
which in some respects resemble rails. Cones. 
rail-board (ral'bord), . A board nailed to 
the rail of a vessel engaged in fishing for mack- 
erel with hand-lines. 
rail-borer (ral'bor'er), n. A hand-drill for 
making holes in the web of rails for the fish- 
plate bolts. 
rail-brace (ral'bras), n. A brace used to pre- 
vent the turning over of rails or the spreading 
of tracks at curves, switches, etc., on railways. 
rail-chair (ral'char), w. An iron block, used 
especially in Great 
Britain, by means of 
which railway-rails 
are secured to the 
sleepers. With the flat- 
bottomed rail common in 
the United States, chairs 
are not required, the rails 
being attached to the 
sleepers by spikes. 
rail-clamp (ral'- 
klamp), H. A wedge 
or tightening-key for up OI . , , 
Clamping a rail firmly head ?? 'ail; . chair; r, sleep 
Double-headed Rail and Rail- 
chair, as used on the London and 
North- Western Railway, England. 
:r head of rail ; a', lower 
c' , wedge of wood; d, wood-screws; 
c, spikes. 
in a rail-chair, so as to 
prevent lateral play. 
rail-coupling (ral'kup"ling), n. A bar or rod 
connecting the opposite rails of a railway to- 
gether at critical points, as curves or switches, 
where a firmer connection than is afforded by 
the sleepers is needed. 
railer 1 (rii'ler), . [< rail 1 + -er 1 .] One who 
makes or furnishes rails. 
railer 2 (ra'ler), . [Early mod. E. rai/ler, < F. 
rnilleur, railer, jester, < railler, rail, jest, mock: 
sci- rail 6 .'] One who rails, scoffs, insults, cen- 
sures, or reproaches with opprobrious language. 
I am so far off from deserving you, 
My beauty so unfit for your affection, 
That I am grown the scorn of common railtrg. 
Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, iii. 1. 
.Tunius is never more than a railer, and very often he is 
third-rate even as a railer. John Morley, Burke, p. 47. 
rail-guard (ral'giird), H. 1. In English loco- 
motives, one of two stout rods, reaching down 
to about two inches from the track, before a 
front wheel. In America the cow-catcher or 
. 
railipotent (ra-lip'o-tent), a. [Irreg. < rail* + 
potent, as in omnipotent.} Powerful in railing 
or vituperation, or as incentive to railing; ex- 
tremely abusive. [Rare.] 
The most preposterous principles have, in requital, 
shown themselves, as an old author phrases it, valiantly 
railipotent. F. Hall, Mod. Eng., Pref. 
rail-key (ral'ke), n. A wedge-piece used to 
clamp a rail to a chair by driving it in between 
the rail and the chair. Compare rail-clamp. 
raillery (ral'- or ral'er-i), . [Early mod. E. 
raillerie, raillery, rallery; < F. raillerie, jesting, 
mockery, < railler, jest : see rail 6 and rally%. ] 1 . 
Good-humored pleasantry or ridicule ; satirical 
merriment ; jesting language ; banter. 
Let raillery be without malice or heat B. Jonson. 
When you have been Abroad, Nephew, you'll understand 
Rallery better. Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 16. 
That conversation where the spirit of raillery is sup- 
pressed will ever appear tedious and Insipid. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, i. 1. 
2f. A jest. [Rare.] 
They take a pleasing raillery for a serious truth. 
Gentleman Instructed, p. 13. (Davies.) 
railleur (ra-lyer'), . [F. railleur, railer, jester, 
mocker: see railer^.] One who turns what is 
serious into ridicule; a jester; abanterer; a 
mocker. 
The family of the railleurs is derived from the same 
original with the philosophers. The founder of philoso- 
phy is confessed by all to be Socrates ; and he was also 
the famous author of all irony. 
Bp. Sprat, Hist. Koyal Soc. 
railly (ra'li), .; pi. raillies (-liz). [Dim. of 
rail"."] Same as rail 3 . [Scotch.] 
rail-post (ral'post), In carp. : (a) A balus- 
ter for a stair-rail, hand-rail, or a balustrade. 
(b) A newel. Also called railing-post. 
rail-punch (ral'punch), H. A machine for 
punching holes m the webs of rails, and for 
analogous uses. 
railroad (ral'rod), . [< rail 1 + road.] A road 
upon which are laid one or more lines of rails to 
guide and facilitate the movement of vehicles 
designed to transport passengers or freight, or 
both. [In this sense the words railroad and railway 
(which are of about equal age) are synonymous ; but the 
former is more commonly (and preferably) nsed in the 
United States, the latter now universally in England. 
In both countries steam- railroads are called roads, seldom 
ways. For convenience, the subject of railroads, and the 
various compound words, are treated in this dictionary 
under railway. ] 
The London "Courier," in detailing the advantages of 
rail-roads upon the locomotive steam engine principle, 
contains a remark relative to Mr. Rush, our present minis- 
ter in London . . . : " Whatever parliament may do, they 
cannot stop the course of knowledge and improvement ! 
The American government has possessed itself, through 
its minister, of the improved mode of constructing and 
making railroads, and there can be no doubt of their im- 
mediate adoption throughout that country." 
Nttes's Register, April 2, 1825. 
Alas ! even the giddiness attendant on a journey on this 
Manchester rail-road is not so perilous to the nerves as 
that too frequent exercise In the merry-go-round of the 
ideal world. 
Scott, Count Robert of Paris, Int., p. xi. (Oct. 15, 1831). 
On Monday I shall set off for Liverpool by the railroad, 
which will then be opened the whole way. 
Macaulay, in Trevelyan, II. 20. 
Lady Buchan of Athlone writes thus in 18S3 : "I have a 
letter from Sir John, who strongly recommends my going 
by the railroad." If. and Q., 7th ser., VIII. 379. 
Commissioner of Railroads. See commissioner. Ele- 
vated railroad. Si-rrofliroi/. Railroad euchre, see 
euchre. Underground railroad, (a) See underground 
railway, under railway, (b) In the United States before 
the abolition of slavery, a secret arrangement for enabling 
slaves to escape into free territory, by passing them along 
from one point of concealment to another till they reached 
Canada or some other place of safety. 
railroad (ral'rod), . t. [< railroad, .] To 
hasten or push forward with railroad speed; 
expedite rushingly ; rush: as, to railroad a bill 
through a legislature. [Slang, U. S.] 
A New York daily some time ago reported that a com- 
mon thief . . . was railroaded through court in a few 
days. Pop. Sci. Mo., XXXII. 758. 
The Alien act, that was railroaded through at the close 
of the last session. Sci. Amer., N. S., LVII. 37. 
