different between trail vs sail

English

Etymology

From Middle English trailen, from Old French trailler (“to tow; pick up the scent of a quarry”), from Vulgar Latin *tragul?re (“to drag”), from Latin tragula (“dragnet, javelin thrown by a strap”), probably related to Latin trahere (“to pull, drag along”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: tr?l, IPA^(key): /t?e?l/
• Rhymes: -e?l

Verb

trail (third-person singular simple present trails, present participle trailing, simple past and past participle trailed)

1. (transitive) To follow behind (someone or something); to tail (someone or something).

2. (transitive) To drag (something) behind on the ground.
   • 1922, Virginia Woolf, Jacob's Room Chapter 1

     "I saw your brother—I saw your brother," he said, nodding his head, as Archer lagged past him, trailing his spade, and scowling at the old gentleman in spectacles.

3. (transitive) To leave (a trail of).

4. (transitive) To show a trailer of (a film, TV show etc.); to release or publish a preview of (a report etc.) in advance of the full publication.

5. (intransitive) To hang or drag loosely behind; to move with a slow sweeping motion.

   The bride's long dress trailed behind her as she walked down the aisle.
6. (intransitive) To run or climb like certain plants.
7. (intransitive) To drag oneself lazily or reluctantly along.

   Our parents marched to church and we trailed behind.

8. To be losing, to be behind in a competition.
9. (military) To carry (a firearm) with the breech near the ground and the upper part inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.
10. To create a trail in.
11. To travel by following or creating trails.
12. To transport (livestock) by herding it along a trail.
13. (dated) To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon.
    • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

      I presently perceived she was (what is vernacularly termed) trailing Mrs. Dent; that is, playing on her ignorance.

Derived terms

• trailer
• trail off

Translations

Noun

trail (plural trails)

1. The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the sky.
2. A route for travel over land, especially a narrow, unpaved pathway for use by hikers, horseback riders, etc.
3. A trailer broadcast on television for a forthcoming film or programme.
4. (graph theory) A walk in which all the edges are distinct.

Synonyms

• (track of an animal): spoor, sign
• (route for travel over land): dirt track, footpath, path, track

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• path
• track

Anagrams

• TRALI, irtal, litra, trial

French

Noun

trail f (plural trails)

1. Dual-sport motorcycle
2. Trail running

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /se?l/, [se???]
• Rhymes: -e?l
• Homophone: sale

Etymology 1

From Middle English saile, sayle, seil, seyl, from Old English se?l, from Proto-West Germanic *segl, from Proto-Germanic *segl?. Cognate with West Frisian seil, Low German Segel, Dutch zeil, German Segel, Swedish segel.

Noun

sail (countable and uncountable, plural sails)

1. (nautical) A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
2. (nautical, uncountable) The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.

3. (uncountable) The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport.
4. A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat.

5. (dated, plural "sail") A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.

6. (nautical) The conning tower of a submarine.
7. The blade of a windmill.
8. A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines.
9. The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war.
10. (fishing) A sailfish.

11. (paleontology) an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids
12. Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing.

Hyponyms

• See also Thesaurus:sail

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English sailen, saylen, seilen, seilien, from Old English si?lan (“to sail”), from Proto-West Germanic *siglijan, from *siglijan?. Cognate with West Frisian sile, Low German seilen, Dutch zeilen, German segeln, Swedish segla, Icelandic sigla.

Verb

sail (third-person singular simple present sails, present participle sailing, simple past and past participle sailed)

2. To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by steam or other power.
3. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
4. To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
5. (intransitive) To set sail; to begin a voyage.

6. To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
   • [flavor text of the card "Spirit of the Winds"] A spirit of the wind that freely sails the skies.
7. (intransitive) To move briskly.

Derived terms

• sail close to the wind

Translations

External links

• Sail on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Sail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Alis, Isla, LIAs, LISA, Lias, Lisa, SiAl, ails, lais, lias, sial

Basque

Noun

sail

1. area

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sail. Doublet of zeil

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /se?l/
• Hyphenation: sail
• Rhymes: -e?l

Noun

sail n (plural sails)

1. (nautical) The fin or sail of a submarine.

   Synonym: toren

Irish

Alternative forms

• sal

Etymology

From Old Irish sal, from Proto-Celtic *sal?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sal?/

Noun

sail f (genitive singular saile)

1. dirt, dross, impurity

2. stain, defilement

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Mutation

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “sal”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• “sal” in Foclóir Gae?ilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 1st ed., 1904, by Patrick S. Dinneen, page 589.
• "sail" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Entries containing “sail” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Volapük

Noun

sail (nominative plural sails)

1. (nautical) sail

Declension

Derived terms

• sailan
• sailön

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin solea (“sole”).

Noun

sail f (plural seiliau, not mutable)

1. base, basis, foundation

   Synonym: sylfaen

Derived terms

• seiliedig (“established; fundamental”)

References

R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “sail”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies