rail: English has three words rail. The oldest, ‘rod, bar’ [13], comes via Old French reille ‘iron bar’ from Latin rēgula ‘straight stick, rod’, source of English regular and rule. The bird-name rail [15] goes back via Old Northern French raille to Vulgar Latin *rascula, which probably originated in imitation of the bird’s hoarse cry.
And rail ‘complain, be abusive’ [15] comes via Old French railler ‘mock’ and Provençal ralhar ‘scoff’ from Vulgar Latin *ragulāre ‘bray’, an alteration of ragere ‘neigh, roar’. This in turn was a blend of Latin rugīre ‘bellow’ and Vulgar Latin *bragere ‘bray’ (source of English bray [13]). Raillery [17] and rally ‘tease’ [17] come from the same source. => regular, rule; bray, rally
rail (n.1)
"horizontal bar passing from one post or support to another," c. 1300, from Old French reille "bolt, bar," from Vulgar Latin *regla, from Latin regula "straight stick," diminutive form related to regere "to straighten, guide" (see regal). Used figuratively for thinness from 1872. To be off the rails in a figurative sense is from 1848, an image from the railroads. In U.S. use, "A piece of timber, cleft, hewed, or sawed, inserted in upright posts for fencing" [Webster, 1830].
rail (n.2)
"small wading bird," mid-15c., from Old French raale (13c.), related to râler "to rattle," of unknown origin, perhaps imitative of its cry.
rail (v.1)
"complain," mid-15c., from Middle French railler "to tease or joke" (15c.), perhaps from Old Provençal ralhar "scoff, to chat, to joke," from Vulgar Latin *ragulare "to bray" (source also of Italian ragghiare "to bray"), from Late Latin ragere "to roar," probably of imitative origin. See rally (v.2). Related: Railed; railing.
rail (v.2)
"fence in with rails," late 14c., from rail (n.1). Related: Railed; railing.
双语例句
1. The government is spending billions of dollars on new urban rail projects.
政府正把数十亿元花在新城市铁路项目上。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The rail strike is causing major disruptions at the country's ports.
铁路罢工使该国港口陷入了一片混乱。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The sudden onset of winter caused havoc with rail and air transport.
冬天的突然降临让铁路和航空运输系统陷入混乱。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The president traveled by rail to his home town.
总统坐火车回到了他的家乡。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The gloom deepened after a thumping £45m loss at British Rail.