cail
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Unknown. Perhaps from or related to Middle English kayl (“a blow, stroke”). Compare Middle English quale (“death, destruction”), from Old English cwalu (“a quelling with weapons, torment, a violent death, slaughter, destruction”).
Verb
cail (third-person singular simple present cails, present participle cailing, simple past and past participle cailed)
- (dialectal) To throw, pelt; to throw weakly.
- (dialectal, of a cart) To tilt up or turn over in order to discharge a load.
- (dialectal) To move awkwardly or uncertainly; to gambol, kick out one's heels like a colt.
Derived terms
- cail along
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Gaulish cagiíum (“enclosure”), from Proto-Celtic *kagyom (“pen, enclosure”) (compare Welsh cae (“hedge”)).
Noun
cail oblique singular, m (oblique plural cauz or cailz, nominative singular cauz or cailz, nominative plural cail)