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rail²

(rāl)

Any of various marsh birds of the family Rallidae, found worldwide and characteristically having brownish plumage and short wings.

[Middle English rale, from Old French rasle, probably named for their harsh cries and from Old French *rasler, to make a harsh noise (attested in Middle French rasler, to haggle, bellow like a stag), akin to Old French rasclar, to harrow, rake, from Old Provençal rasclar; see RACLETTE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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