| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| rail2 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  r l |
| NOUN: | Any of various marsh birds of the family Rallidae, characteristically having brownish plumage and short wings adapted only for short flights. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English raile, from Old French raale, perhaps from Old French raler, racler, to scrape, from Old Provençal rasclar. See raclette.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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