- Trail
- Trail Trail (tr[=a]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Trailed}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Trailing}.] [OE. trailen, OF. trailler to trail a
deer, or hunt him upon a cold scent, also, to hunt or pursue
him with a limehound, F. trailler to trail a fishing line;
probably from a derivative of L. trahere to draw; cf. L.
traha a drag, sledge, tragula a kind of drag net, a small
sledge, Sp. trailla a leash, an instrument for leveling the
ground, D. treilen to draw with a rope, to tow, treil a rope
for drawing a boat. See {Trace}, v. t.]
[1913 Webster]
1.
(a) To hunt by the track; to track.
(b) to follow behind.
(c) To pursue. --Halliwell.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. To draw or drag, as along the ground. [1913 Webster]
And hung his head, and trailed his legs along. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
They shall not trail me through their streets Like a wild beast. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
Long behind he trails his pompous robe. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
3. (Mil.) To carry, as 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. [1913 Webster]
4. To tread down, as grass, by walking through it; to lay flat. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster]
5. To take advantage of the ignorance of; to impose upon. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]
I presently perceived she was (what is vernacularly termed) trailing Mrs. Dent; that is, playing on her ignorance. --C. Bronte. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
