2 entries under this word

Brail

Brāil, n.

noun

n. [O. Fr. braiel, braiol, braioel, braieul, a band placed around the breeches, O. Eng. brayle, q. v., from O. Fr. braie, braye, breeches, Pr. braya, Sp. & Pg. braga, It. braca, from Lat. braca, braccæ, breeches, a Gallic word, Arm. bragez, Ir. brog, Gael. briogais. See BREECHES.]

Sense 1. (Falconry.) A piece of leather to bind up a hawk’s wing. Bailey.

Sense 2. (pl.) (Naut.) (a.) Ropes passing through pulleys, on the mizzen mast and yard, and fastened to the aftmost leech of the sail in different places, to truss it up close. (b.) All ropes employed to haul up the bottoms, lower corners, and skirts of the other great sails, for the more ready furling of them.

Brāil, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. (Naut.) To haul up into the brails, or to truss up with the brails; — used with up; as, to brail up a sail.