Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Vail?

\Vail\, n. & v. t. Same as {Veil}.
\Vail\, n. [Aphetic form of avail, n.] 1. Avails; profit; return; proceeds. [Obs.] My house is as were the cave where the young outlaw hoards the stolen vails of his occupation. --Chapman. 2. An unexpected gain or acquisition; a casual advantage or benefit; a windfall. [Obs.] 3. Money given to servants by visitors; a gratuity; -- usually in the plural. [Written also {vale}.] --Dryden.
\Vail\, v. t. [Aphetic form of avale. See {Avale}, {Vale}.] [Written also {vale}, and {veil}.] 1. To let fail; to allow or cause to sink. [Obs.] Vail your regard Upon a wronged, I would fain have said, a maid! --Shak. 2. To lower, or take off, in token of inferiority, reverence, submission, or the like. France must vail her lofty-plumed crest! --Shak. Without vailing his bonnet or testifying any reverence for the alleged sanctity of the relic. --Sir. W. Scott.
\Vail\, v. i. To yield or recede; to give place; to show respect by yielding, uncovering, or the like. [Written also {vale}, and {veil}.] [Obs.] Thy convenience must vail to thy neighbor's necessity. --South.
\Vail\, n. Submission; decline; descent. [Obs.]