brail

1 of 2

noun

1
: a rope fastened to the leech of a sail and used for hauling the sail up or in
2
: a dip net with which fish are hauled aboard a boat from a purse seine or trap

brail

2 of 2

verb

brailed; brailing; brails

transitive verb

1
: to take in (a sail) by the brails
2
: to hoist (fish) by means of a brail

Examples of brail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
My first guess—brail—did very little for me other than to get me an ‘A’ in yellow. Erik Kain, Forbes, 29 June 2022
Verb
Some of the traps had watchmen, and the fishermen would cover the front of their boats with black tarps and sneak up to the watchmen’s sheds and hammer the doors shut and then brail the fish out of the nets and sell the fish back to the canneries. Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English brayle, from Anglo-French braiel belt, strap, brail, alteration of Old French braiuel belt, probably ultimately from Latin braca pants — more at breech

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brail was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near brail

Cite this Entry

“Brail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brail. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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