English → Latin
“rail” in Latin
The English word rail itself goes back to Latin regō, through regula.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
rail s.
tignum transversum (nailed across between two upright posts): rails, railings, septa (plur., general term for fence; with boards, laths, etc.): cancelli (plur.; clathri, trellis-work).
rail v.
To enclose with rails, cancellos circumdare alicui rei: or sepire (general term, with or without stipitibus, etc.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for rail?
- The usual Latin words for “rail” are cancelli, clāthrī. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.