Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “railing” come from?

Railing comes from Middle French railler (to tease), from Latin radiare (to radiate), ultimately from Latin radius (rod, beam) and the diminutive suffix -ulus.

railing (English): A fence or barrier consisting of one or more...

Definitions

  1. A fence or barrier consisting of one or more...

Ancestry of “railing”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrailA horizontal bar extending between supports and...
2Middle Englishrail—
3Old Englishregola rule; a ruler
4Latinrēgula—
5Latin-ularegō + API → rēgula; tegō + API → tēgula;...
6Proto-Indo-European-tlomAlternative form of *-trom
7Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
8Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “railing”

  • railingly
  • handrailing
  • railinged
  • railingless
  • reling
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →