vail

noun

1. (obsolete)Profit; return; proceeds.

   “My house is as t’were the Caue, where the yong Out-lawe hoords the stolne vayles of his occupation […]”

2. (in-plural, obsolete)Money given to servants by visitors; a gratuity; also vale.

   “Do you remember, how many Rich Gowns and Petticoats, how many lac’d Pinners, Hoods, Scarfs, and Nightrails, I have given you, since the three Years you have serv’d me, together with many other Vails, Perquisites, and Profits you have enjoy’d in my Service?”

   “[…] it is a maxim among the gentlemen of our cloth, that those masters who promise the most, perform the least; and I have often heard them say, they have found the largest vails in those families where they were not promised any.”

3. (obsolete)Submission.
4. (alt-of, archaic)Archaic form of veil.

   “Ha! I see Venus’ transit now;—lo! a new planet there;—and behind all, an infinite starry nebulousness, as if thy being were backgrounded by some spangled vail of mystery.”

5. (alt-of, misspelling)Misspelling of veil.

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive)To lower, let fall; to allow or cause to sink.

   “Then let them vale a bonet of their proud ſayle,”

   “[…] when he shall know it lies in vs, To banish him, and then to call him home, Twill make him vaile the topflag of his pride, And feare to offend the meanest noble man.”

   “[…] Vail your regard Upon a wrong’d, I would fain have said, a maid!”

2. (transitive)To lower or “dip” a carried flag or banner in a salute by a forward reducing of the angle of the pike/flagstaff with respect to the ground; in extreme instances, as when saluting a monarch, both the banner and the finial of the pike are allowed to rest upon the ground.
3. (intransitive, obsolete)To lower a sail, in salute or otherwise.

   “Both we will walke vpon the loftie cliffes, And Chriſtian Merchants that with Ruſſian ſtems Plow vp huge furrowes in the Caſpian ſea, Shall vaile to vs, as Lords of al the Lake.”

4. (obsolete, transitive)To remove as a sign of deference, as a hat.

   “[…] Now the time is come That France must vail her lofty-plumed crest And let her head fall into England’s lap.”

   “[…] the Templar […], without vailing his bonnet, or testifying any reverence for the alleged sanctity of the relic, took from his neck a gold chain, which he flung on the board […]”

5. (intransitive, obsolete)To pay homage, bow, submit, defer (to someone or something); to yield, give way (to something).

   “She would with rich and constant pen Vail to her mistress Dian;”

   “[…] when a Man does not readily vail to the Opinions of approved Authors, which have been received with respect and submission by others”

   “1692, Robert South, Discourses on Various Subjects and Occasions, Boston: Bowles & Dearborn, 1827, Discourse 5, p. 370, Thy convenience must vail to thy neighbour’s necessity.”

6. (alt-of, archaic)Archaic form of veil.
7. (alt-of, misspelling)Misspelling of veil.

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A surname.
2. (countable, uncountable)A placename
3. (countable, uncountable)A placename
4. (countable, uncountable)A placename