Rails

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ɹeɪlz/

Definitions

1. A pair of parallel bars used to guide or support something moving along a specific path
2. the system of tracks for trains to travel on, providing stability and direction
3. a framework that forms a part of a fence or barrier, helping to delineate and protect areas

Etymology: The plural "rails" is simply the form of "rail," and the interesting story lies in the singular's ancestry. Its deepest root is Latin "regula," meaning "rule" or "straight bar," which came from "regere," "to rule, guide, or govern." That same Latin word is the source of "rule," "regal," and "regular," so a rail is, in a sense, a relative of the straightedge a ruler uses to keep lines true. The word arrived in English along two routes that converged. Old English already had "regol," meaning a ruler or straight bar, descended from Latin directly. Old French "reille" carried the same Latin word into Middle English as "rail," so the English term absorbed both the older native form and the later French one. The meaning stayed close to its origin: a straight bar stretched across posts, the thing that keeps people or animals in or out.

Synonyms: tracks, bars, fences, guards, supports