drail

American

[dreyl] / dreɪl /

noun

a hook with a lead-covered shank used in trolling.

verb (used without object)

to fish by trolling with a drail.

drail British

/ dreɪl /

noun

a weighted hook used in trolling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

(intr) to fish with a drail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of drail

1625–35; special use of obsolete English, Middle English drail to drag along, apparently alteration of trail under influence of drag, draw, etc.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023