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Train

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train¹

  • /ˈtɹeɪn/ Canadian, US, UK, Standard
  • [ˈtɹ̝̊ʷeɪ̯n] Canadian, US, UK, Standard
  • [ˈt̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷeɪ̯n] Canadian, US, UK, Standard
  • [ˈt̠͡ʃɹ̠̊˔ʷeɪ̯n] Canadian, US, UK, Standard
  • /ˈtɹæɪ̯n/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈtɹ̝̊ʷæ̝ɪ̯n] Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈt̠ɹ̠̊˔ʷæ̝ɪ̯n] Australia, New Zealand
  • /ˈtɹɛjn/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈtɾen/ Scotland
  • /ˈtɾein/ Wales

Rhymes with -eɪn

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ-der.?

Latin trahere

Vulgar Latin *tragīnāre

Old French traïnerder.

Old French trainder.

Middle English trayne

English train

From Middle English trayne (“train”), from Old French train (“a delay, a drawing out”), from traïner (“to pull out, to draw”), from Vulgar Latin *traginō, from *tragō, from Latin trahō (“to pull, to draw”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tregʰ- (“to pull, draw, drag”). The verb was derived from the noun in Middle English.

For the meaning to teach compare typologically Russian ната́скивать (natáskivatʹ) (akin to тащи́ть (taščítʹ)).

noun trains

  1. The elongated back portion of a dress or skirt (or an ornamental piece of material added to similar effect), which drags along the ground. Unfortunately, the leading bridesmaid stepped on the bride's train as they were walking down the aisle.
  2. A trail or line of something, especially gunpowder. [E]mancipation is put into such a train that in a few years there will be no slaves Northward of Maryland.
  3. The tail of a bird. Let frantike Talbot triumph for a while, And like a Peacock ſweepe along his tayle, Wee’le pull his Plumes, and take away his Trayne, If Dolphin and the reſt will be but rul’d.
  4. obsolete The tail of an animal in general.
  5. poetic The elongated body or form of something narrow and winding, such as the course of a river or the body of a snake.
  6. A transient trail of glowing ions behind a large meteor as it falls through the atmosphere or accompanying a comet as it nears the sun; tail. Finally, all men saw that astronomical knowledge lied not, and they awaited the comet. Its approach was not, at first, seemingly rapid; nor was its appearance of very unusual character. It was of a dull red, and had little perceptible train.
  7. archaic An animal's trail or track.
  8. obsolete Something dragged or laid along the ground to form a trail of scent or food along which to lure an animal.
  9. obsolete Gait or manner of running of a horse.
  10. A group of people following an important figure such as a king or noble; a retinue, a group of retainers. Sir, I invite your Highness and your train / To my poor cell, where you shall take your rest /For this one night
  11. A group of animals, vehicles, or people that follow one another in a line, such as a wagon train; a caravan or procession. Our party formed a train at the funeral parlor before departing for the burial.
  12. figuratively, poetic A group or class of people. Theſe are the cruel pirates of Argier, That damned train, the ſcum of Affrica, […]
  13. The men and vehicles following an army, which carry artillery and other equipment for battle or siege.
  14. A sequence of events or ideas which are interconnected; a course or procedure of something. A man may be absorbed in the deepest thought, and his brow will remain smooth until he encounters some obstacle in his train of reasoning, or is interrupted by some disturbance, and then a frown passes like a shadow over his brow.
  15. A set of things, events, or circumstances that follow after or as a consequence; aftermath, wake. Thus the development of reason is accompanied by no inner blight or withering. It does not bring in its train loss of faith or weakening of sympathies.
  16. obsolete State of progress, status, situation (in phrases introduced by in a + adjective); also proper order or situation (introduced by in or in a alone). in a fair / better / worse train
  17. A set of interconnected mechanical parts which operate each other in sequence.
  18. A series of electrical pulses.
  19. A series of specified vehicles (originally tramcars in a mine as usual, later especially railway carriages) coupled together.
  20. A mechanical (originally steam-powered, now typically diesel or electrical) vehicle carrying a large number of passengers and freight along a designated track or path; a line of connected wagons considered overall as a mode of transport; (as uncountable noun) rail or road travel. on a train
  21. informal A service on a railway line.
  22. A long, heavy sleigh used in Canada for the transportation of merchandise, wood, etc.
  23. A software release schedule. What steps do development engineers follow when adding new feature code? How do they support different software versions or release trains?
  24. slang An act wherein series of men line up and then penetrate a person, especially as a form of gang rape. “You want us to run a train on you?”
  25. colloquial A specified topic, behavior, interest or inclination. She doesn't come around any more, cuz she had a kid. She's on the family train now.

verb trains · training · trained

  1. intransitive To practice an ability. She trained seven hours a day to prepare for the Olympics.
  2. transitive To teach and form (someone) by practice; to educate (someone). You can't train a pig to write poetry.
  3. transitive To feed data into an algorithm, usually based on a neural network, to create a machine learning model that can perform some task. At least 10 lawsuits have been filed this year against A.I. companies, accusing them of training their systems on artists’ creative work without consent.
  4. intransitive To improve one's fitness. I trained with weights all winter.
  5. intransitive To proceed in sequence.
  6. transitive To move (a gun) laterally so that it points in a different direction. The assassin had trained his gun on the minister.
  7. transitive To encourage (a plant or branch) to grow in a particular direction or shape, usually by pruning and bending. The vine had been trained over the pergola.
  8. transitive To transport (something) by train. Colson was to truck the 'plane to Alice Springs, where it would be trained to Adelaide for repairs.
  9. intransitive To travel by train. As I trained westward across Europe, I read newspaper articles from the Sixties describing placards on the pub’s walls that explained to patrons how to order lager, brandy, and gin in Esperanto.
  10. transitive To trace (a lode or any mineral appearance) to its head.
  11. transitive To create a trainer (cheat patch) for; to apply cheats to (a game). I got a twix on the 128 version being fixed and trained by Mad Max at M2K BBS 208-587-7636 in Mountain Home Idaho. He fixes many games and puts them on his board. One of my sources for games and utils.
  12. obsolete, transitive To draw (something) along; to trail, to drag (something). [I]t pleaſed the grekes at that tyme to ſe yͤ body of Hector ſo trayned by Achilles⸝ bycauſe he was wont to be ſo redoubtab[l]e to them⸝ […]
  13. intransitive, obsolete To trail down or along the ground.

train²

Where it comes from

From Middle English trayne (“treachery”), from Anglo-Norman traine, Middle French traïne, from traïr (“to betray”).

noun trains

  1. obsolete, uncountable Treachery; deceit. In the meane time, through that false Ladies traine / He was surprisd, and buried under beare, / Ne ever to his worke returnd againe [...].
  2. countable, obsolete A trick or stratagem.
  3. countable, obsolete A trap for animals, a snare; (figuratively) a trap in general.
  4. countable, obsolete A lure; a decoy.
  5. countable, obsolete A live bird, handicapped or disabled in some way, provided for a young hawk to kill as training or enticement.
  6. countable, obsolete A clue or trace.

verb trains · training · trained

  1. obsolete, transitive To draw by persuasion, artifice, or the like; to attract by stratagem; to entice; to allure. If but a dozen French / Were there in arms, they would be as a call / To train ten thousand English to their side.
  2. colloquial, obsolete To be on intimate terms with.

train³

Where it comes from

From Dutch traan (“tear, drop”), from Middle Dutch trâen, from Old Dutch trān, from Proto-West Germanic *trahnu (“tear”). Compare German Träne (“tear”), Tran (“train oil”).

noun

  1. obsolete, uncountable train oil, whale oil

Train⁴

Where it comes from

As an English surname, from the noun train (“hunter's trap, snare”). Also from the Middle English phrase atte trewen (“at the trees”).

proper noun Trains

  1. A surname.

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