Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rale \R[^a]le\, n. [F. r[^a]le. Cf. {Rail} the bird.] (Med.)
   An adventitious sound, usually of morbid origin, accompanying
   the normal respiratory sounds. See {Rhonchus}.

   Note: Various kinds are distinguished by pathologists;
         differing in intensity, as loud and small; in quality,
         as moist, dry, clicking, and sonorous; and in origin,
         as tracheal, pulmonary, and pleural.

Source : WordNet®

rale
     n : a rapid series of short loud sounds (as might be heard with
         a stethoscope in some types of respiratory disorders);
         "the death rattle" [syn: {rattle}, {rattling}]