Brail

/breɪl/ verb

Definition

In falconry, to bind or hobble a hawk's wings, or more broadly, to confine or restrain something.

Etymology

From Old French 'brailler' meaning to cry out or shake, possibly related to 'bray.' In falconry, it specifically developed to mean securing a bird's wings.

Kelly Says

Brail is a technical falconry term that barely anyone uses anymore, but it shows how specialized hobbies develop their own vocabularies—medieval falconers created an entire dictionary for controlling hawks.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.