taffrail
Americannoun
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the upper part of the stern of a ship.
-
a rail above the stern of a ship.
noun
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a rail at the stern or above the transom of a vessel
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the upper part of the transom of a vessel, esp a sailing vessel, often ornately decorated
Etymology
Origin of taffrail
1805–15; syncopated variant of taffarel; -ai- spelling Dutch -ee-
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fresh-faced, slender, ebullient, radiating confidence, she was a dazzling figure in a swirling cotillion or at the taffrail of a steamer.
From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2014
Mr. Black was drowned in 1930, slipping from the taffrail of his yacht Sabalo off the Jersey coast.
From Time Magazine Archive
At the Spithead naval review of 1897, a trim ship some 100 feet long with Turbinia on her taffrail was observed by irate officials to be cutting deliberately across the bows of the royal yacht.
From Time Magazine Archive
Enterprise had slipped away in the low breeze like a bird and, running far in the lead, hung over her taffrail in mockery her harbor sign, "Please Keep Astern."
From Time Magazine Archive
Looking about him, Veneda spied the captain leaning against the taffrail; on crossing, he found him whistling "The Old Hundredth" with exceptional fervour.
From In Strange Company A Story of Chili and the Southern Seas by Boothby, Guy Newell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
