taffrail

[ taf-reyl, -ruh l ]

/ ˈtæfˌreɪl, -rəl /

noun Nautical.

the upper part of the stern of a ship.

a rail above the stern of a ship.

Nearby words

tafe, tafelwein, taffarel, taffeta, taffeta weave, taffrail, taffy, taffy apple, tafia, tafilelt, taft

Origin of taffrail

1805–15; syncopated variant of taffarel; -ai- spelling Dutch -ee-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for taffrail

Observing his daughter Ada to be standing alone at the taffrail, he accosted her.
A Tale of Two Tunnels|William Clark Russell
Monsieur de Fontanges carved his way to the taffrail, and then turned round to kill again.
Newton Forster|Captain Frederick Marryat
I watched them from the taffrail, and soon ascertained that Marble was doing the same from the windows below me.
Afloat And Ashore|James Fenimore Cooper
No guns frowning through the port-holes, no pikes hung in the gangway, nothing from cut-water to taffrail to suggest atrocity.
New Tabernacle Sermons|Thomas De Witt Talmage

They are seized in strong arms; and half-dragged, half-lifted off their feet, hurried away from the taffrail.
The Flag of Distress|Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for taffrail

taffrail

/ (ˈtæfˌreɪl) /

noun nautical

a rail at the stern or above the transom of a vessel

the upper part of the transom of a vessel, esp a sailing vessel, often ornately decorated

Word Origin for taffrail

C19: changed (through influence of rail 1) from earlier tafferel, from Dutch taffereel panel (hence applied to the part of a vessel decorated with carved panels), variant of tafeleel (unattested), from tafel table

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