taffrail
Americannoun
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the upper part of the stern of a ship.
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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
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
Mr. Black was drowned in 1930, slipping from the taffrail of his yacht Sabalo off the Jersey coast.
From Time Magazine Archive
I staggered to the side on watery legs, straddled the taffrail, and looked down.
From Time Magazine Archive
Colored battle lanterns were fixed above the taffrail; watches and broadsides were regulated by the hour-glass.
From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams
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.
