Train

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /tɹeɪn/

Definitions

1. A connected series of railroad cars pulled by a locomotive, or to teach someone a specific skill through practice and instruction
2. A mode of transportation consisting of multiple connected vehicles that run on tracks, or the process of instructing someone to develop specific abilities through practice and education
3. A line of cars linked together traveling on rails, or the act of preparing and developing someone's skills by systematic teaching

Etymology: The verb "train" to teach skills is the younger sense, and it grew out of a noun that once meant pulling. The source word came from Latin "trahere," "to pull, to draw," which reached English through Old French "traïner." In Middle English the noun "trayne" meant a delay or a drawing out, and the word's core idea of drawing something along in a line carried into everything that followed. The skills sense works by analogy with drawing a person along step by step, guiding them toward a goal. Other European languages show a similar pattern: Russian "натаскивать" (natáskivat'), meaning to coach or drill someone, comes from a verb meaning "to drag" or "to haul." Other senses of the same noun were less flattering. In Middle English "trayne" could also mean treachery, from Anglo-Norman "traine" and the verb "traïr," "to betray." That meaning has since disappeared, so the modern word has no trace of it.

Synonyms: educate, instruct, teach, discipline, coach

Antonyms: neglect, ignore, mislead, abandon, distract