Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Taffrail \Taff"rail\, n. [D. tafereel a panel, picture, fr.
   tafel table, fr. L. tabula. See {Table}.] (Naut.)
   The upper part of a ship's stern, which is flat like a table
   on the top, and sometimes ornamented with carved work; the
   rail around a ship's stern. [Written also {tafferel}.]

Source : WordNet®

taffrail
     n : the railing around the stern of a ship