See Also: brail(medicine)
brail(dictionary)

brail (iou)



brail noun & verb. LME.

A. noun.
In pl. Small ropes fastened to the leech of fore-and-aft sails to truss them up before furling. LME.
In pl. The rump of an animal; spec. the feathers about a hawk's rump. Now rare or obsolete. LME.
A girdle used to confine a hawk's wings. E19.
b. verb trans.
Haul up (sails) by means of brails. E17.
Confine (a hawk's wings) with a girdle. M17.