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headrail

headrail

1 8.1
A long bar at the top of blinds or curtains that holds and moves them
  • noun
  • /ˈhɛdˌreɪl/
  • Specialized
: barra superior
  • To install the new curtains, he securely fixed the headrail to the top of the window frame.

Examples

  • She adjusted the headrail of the window blind to let in more light during the day.

  • He grabbed the iron headrail and held on for dear life as he drove for fulfillment, blind, deaf, and dumb to anything except the agony of his need.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The headrail of the curtain was made of sturdy wood and gave the room an elegant touch.

Surface Forms

headrail singular
headrails plural

Morphology

headrail = head + rail (transparent) = head + rail

The compound denotes a rail located at the 'head' (top) of a blind or curtain, a meaning readily inferable from its parts.

Etymology

Headrail comes from head meaning 'top' and rail meaning 'bar' or 'track', so it is literally the bar at the top of a window. That's why a headrail is the horizontal bar from which blinds or curtains hang and move.