Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

brail

/bɹeɪl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.44 in modern English

Syllables
brail
IPA
/bɹeɪl/
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A small rope used to truss up sails.

noun

A thong of soft leather to bind up a hawk's wing.

noun

A stock at each end of a seine to keep it stretched.

noun

A rope or line used to suspend lights or scenery in a certain position.

noun

The feathers around a hawk's rump.

verb

To reef, shorten or strike sail using brails.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English brayle, from Old French braiel, from Medieval Latin bracale (“girdle”) (from bracae (“breeches”)).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: brayle, braiel, bracale

Inflected Forms

brails (plural) brails (present, singular) brailing (participle, present) brailed (participle, past) brailed (past)

Derived Forms

unbrail

Phrases

throat brail

Synonyms

brailing

Rhymes With

scale mail they'll email jail fail detail retail trail rail side rail tail

Questions

How do you pronounce brail?
The recorded pronunciation is /bɹeɪl/.
What does brail mean?
A small rope used to truss up sails.
Where does brail come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce brail

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “brail”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bɹeɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “brail”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “brail” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.