also: らっち
Almost always used in the negative phrase 埒が明かない (らちがあかない) meaning 'no progress is made' or 'things remain unsettled'. Rarely used outside this expression in modern Japanese.
The discussion is dragging on with no end in sight.
Original meaning: a fence or railing, especially around a horse-riding ground. Now largely historical; encountered mainly in older texts or descriptions of traditional settings.
We're not getting anywhere like this, so let's think of another way.
A fence was set up around the riding ground.
柵 is the everyday word for a fence or paling, while 埒 in this old sense referred specifically to the fence around a horse-riding ground and is now rarely used.
決着 means a definite conclusion or settlement of a matter, whereas 埒 is used almost only in 埒が明かない to say that no such settlement has been reached.
Standard kanji spelling for both senses.
Kana spelling is common in modern usage, especially in the phrase らちが明かない.
Variant kanji form; less common but still encountered.
Obsolete kana usage; not used in modern Japanese.
Originally referred to a fence or railing, especially around a horse-riding ground. The modern sense of 'bounds' or 'limits' developed from the idea of being fenced in, but the word is now almost exclusively used in the negative phrase 埒が明かない.