taffrail, tafferel, tafferal

[Dut. tafereel a panel, a picture; a dim in. from tafel =a table (q. v.).] Naut.: Originally the upper flat part of a ship's stern, so called because frequently ornamented with carving or pictures; now a transverse rail which constitutes the uppermost member of a ship's stern. "It.. would doubtle have risen as high as the tafferel , had it Taffrail. not been for the A. Stern part of hull of third-rate stroke which stove the boat all to pieces." - Anson: Voyages, bk. iii., ch. ii.