Ra-. A prefix, from the Latin re and a. combined, coming to us through the French and Italian. See Re-, and Ad-.
Rab (rab), n. A rod or stick used by masons in mixing hair with mortar.
Rabat
Rab´at (rab"at), n. [See Rabot.] A polishing material made of potter’s clay that has failed in baking.
Rabat
Ra•bat´, n. [F. Cf. Rabato.] (Eccl.) (a) A clerical linen collar. (b) A kind of clerical scarf fitted to a collar; as a black silk rabat.
Rabate
Ra•bate´ (ra•bat"), v. t. [F. rabattre to beat down; pref. re- + abattre. See Abate, and cf. Rebate, v. ] (Falconry) To recover to the fist, as a hawk. [Obs.]
Rabatine
Rab´a•tine (rab"a•tin), n. [See Rabato.] A collar or cape. [Obs.] Sir W. Scott.
Rabato
Ra•ba´to (ra•ba"to), n. [F. rabat, fr. rabattre. See Rabate.] A kind of ruff for the neck; a turned-down collar; a rebato. [Obs.] Shak.
Rabbate
Rab•bate´ (rab•bat"), v. t. [See Rabate.] To abate or diminish. [Obs.] — n. Abatement. [Obs.]
Rabbet
Rab´bet (rab"bet), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rabbeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Rabbeting.] [F. raboter to plane, plane down, rabot a plane; pref. re- re- + OF. abouter, aboter. See Abut, and cf. Rebut.]
1. To cut a rabbet in; to furnish with a rabbet.
2. To unite the edges of, as boards, etc., in a rabbet joint.
Rabbet
Rab´bet, n. [See Rabbet, v. , and cf. Rebate, n. ]
1. (Carp.) A longitudinal channel, groove, or recess cut out of the edge or face of any body; especially, one intended to receive another member, so as to break or cover the joint, or more easily to hold the members in place; thus, the groove cut for a panel, for a pane of glass, or for a door, is a rabbet, or rebate.
2. Same as Rabbet joint, below. Rabbet joint (Carp.), a joint formed by fitting together rabbeted boards or timbers; — called also rabbet. — Rabbet plane, a joiner’s plane for cutting a rabbet. Moxon.
Rabbin
Rab´bin (rab"bin), n. [F.] Same as Rabbi. { Rab•bin´ic (rab•bin"ik), Rab•bin´ic•al (-i•k al), } a. [Cf. F. rabbinique.] Of or pertaining to the rabbins or rabbis, or pertaining to the opinions, learning, or language of the rabbins. "Comments staler than rabbinic." Lowell.
"We will not buy your rabbinical fumes." Milton.
Rabbinic
Rab•bin´ic (rab•bin"ik), n. The language or dialect of the rabbins; the later Hebrew.
Rabbinically
Rab•bin´ic•al•ly, adv. In a rabbinical manner; after the manner of the rabbins.
Rabbit
Rab´bit (rab"bit), n. [OE. rabet, akin to OD. robbe, robbeken.] (Zoöl.) Any of the smaller species of the genus Lepus, especially the common European species ( Lepus cuniculus), which is often kept as a pet, and has been introduced into many countries. It is remarkably prolific, and has become a pest in some parts of Australia and New Zealand. The common American rabbit ( L. sylvatica) is similar but smaller. See Cottontail, and Jack rabbit, under 2d Jack. The larger species of Lepus are commonly called hares. See Hare. Angora rabbit (Zoöl.), a variety of the domestic rabbit having long, soft fur. — Rabbit burrow, a hole in the earth made by rabbits for shelter and habitation. — Rabbit fish. (Zoöl.) (a) The northern chimaera ( Chimaera monstrosa). (b) Any one of several species of plectognath fishes, as the bur fish, and puffer. The term is also locally applied to other fishes. — Rabbits’ ears. (Bot.) See Cyclamen. — Rabbit warren, a piece of ground appropriated to the breeding and preservation of rabbits. Wright. — Rock rabbit. (Zoöl.) See Daman, and Klipdas. — Welsh rabbit, a dish of which the chief constituents are toasted bread and toasted cheese, prepared in various ways. The name is said to be a corruption of Welsh rare bit, but perhaps it is merely a humorous designation.
Rabble
Rab´ble, v. t. To stir or skim with a rabble, as molten iron.
Rabble
Rab´ble, v. i. [Akin to D. rabbelen, Prov. G. rabbeln, to prattle, to chatter: cf. L. rabula a brawling advocate, a pettifogger, fr. rabere to rave. Cf. Rage.] To speak in a confused manner. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Rabble
Rab´ble, n. [Probably named from the noise made by it (see Rabble, v. i.); cf. D. rapalje rabble, OF. & Prov. F. rapaille.]
1. A tumultuous crowd of vulgar, noisy people; a mob; a confused, disorderly throng.
"I saw, I say, come out of London, even unto the presence of the prince, a great rabble of mean and light persons." Ascham.
"Jupiter, Mercury, Bacchus, Venus, Mars, and the whole rabble of licentious deities." Bp. Warburton.
2. A confused, incoherent discourse; a medley of voices; a chatter. The rabble, the lowest class of people, without reference to an assembly; the dregs of the people. "The rabble call him •lord.’" Shak.
Rabble
Rab´ble, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rabbled (-b’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Rabbling (-bling).]
1. To insult, or assault, by a mob; to mob; as to rabble a curate. Macaulay.
"The bishops’ carriages were stopped and the prelates themselves rabbled on their way to the house." J. R. Green.
2. To utter glibly and incoherently; to mouth without intelligence. [Obs. or Scot.] Foxe.
3. To rumple; to crumple. [Scot.]
Rabbler
Rab´bler (-bler), n. [See 2d Rabble.] (Mech.) A scraping tool for smoothing metal.
Rabble-rout
Rab´ble-rout (-b’l-rout•), n. A tumultuous crowd; a rabble; a noisy throng.
Rabdoidal
Rab•doid´al (rab•doid"al), a. [Gr. "ra•bdos a rod + -oid + - al.] (Anat.) See Sagittal. [Written also rhabdoidal.]
Rabdology
Rab•dol´o•gy (-dol"o•jy), n. [Gr. "ra•bdos rod, stick + - logy: cf. F. rabdologie.] The method or art of performing arithmetical operations by means of Napier’s bones. See Napier’s bones. [Written also rhabdology.]
Rabid
Rab´id (rab"id), a. [L. rabidus, from rabere to rave. See Rage, n. ]
1. Furious; raging; extremely violent.
"The rabid flight
Of winds that ruin ships." Chapman.
2. Extreme, unreasonable, or fanatical in opinion; excessively zealous; as a rabid socialist.
3. Affected with the distemper called rabies; mad; as a rabid dog or fox.
4. (Med.) Of or pertaining to rabies, or hydrophobia; as rabid virus.
Rabidity
Ra•bid´i•ty (ra•bid"i•ty), n. Rabidness; furiousness.
Rabidly
Rab´id•ly (rab"id•ly), adv. In a rabid manner; with extreme violence.
Rabidness
Rab´id•ness, n. The quality or state of being rabid.
Rabies
Ra´bi•es (ra"bi•ez), n. [L. See Rage, n. ] Same as Hydrophobia (b); canine madness.
Rabot
Ra´bot (ra"bot), n. [F.] A rubber of hard wood used in smoothing marble to be polished. Knight.
Raccoon
Rac•coon´ (rak•koon"), n. [F. raton, prop., a little rat, fr. rat rat, perhaps of German origin. See Rat.] (Zoöl.) A North American nocturnal carnivore ( Procyon lotor) allied to the bears, but much smaller, and having a long, full tail, banded with black and gray. Its body is gray, varied with black and white. Called also coon, and mapach. Raccoon dog (Zoöl.), the tanate. — Raccoon fox (Zoöl.), the cacomixle.
Race (ras), v. t. To raze. [Obs.] Spenser.
Race (ras), n. [OF. raïz, L. radix, -icis. See Radix.] A root. "A race or two of ginger." Shak. Race ginger, ginger in the root, or not pulverized.
Race, n. [F. race; cf. Pr. & Sp. raza, It. razza; all from OHG. reiza line, akin to E. write. See Write.]
1. The descendants of a common ancestor; a family, tribe, people, or nation, believed or presumed to belong to the same stock; a lineage; a breed.
"The whole race of mankind." Shak.
"Whence the long race of Alban fathers come." Dryden. Naturalists and ethnographers divide mankind into several distinct varieties, or races. Cuvier refers them all to three, Pritchard enumerates seven, Agassiz eight, Pickering describes eleven. One of the common classifications is that of Blumenbach, who makes five races: the Caucasian, or white race, to which belong the greater part of the European nations and those of Western Asia; the Mongolian, or yellow race, occupying Tartary, China, Japan, etc.; the Ethiopian, or negro race, occupying most of Africa (except the north), Australia, Papua, and other Pacific Islands; the American, or red race, comprising the Indians of North and South America; and the Malayan, or brown race, which occupies the islands of the Indian Archipelago, etc. Many recent writers classify the Malay and American races as branches of the Mongolian. See Illustration in Appendix.
2. Company; herd; breed.
"For do but note a wild and wanton herd,
Or race of youthful and unhandled colts,
Fetching mad bounds." Shak.
3. (Bot.) A variety of such fixed character that it may be propagated by seed.
4. Peculiar flavor, taste, or strength, as of wine; that quality, or assemblage of qualities, which indicates origin or kind, as in wine; hence, characteristic flavor; smack. "A race of heaven." Shak.
"Is it [the wine] of the right race ?" Massinger.
5. Hence, characteristic quality or disposition. [Obs.]
"And now I give my sensual race the rein." Shak.
"Some … great race of fancy or judgment." Sir W. Temple.
Syn. — Lineage; line; family; house; breed; offspring; progeny; issue.
Race, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Raced (rast); p. pr. & vb. n. Racing (ra"sing).]
1. To run swiftly; to contend in a race; as the animals raced over the ground; the ships raced from port to port.
2. (Steam Mach.) To run too fast at times, as a marine engine or screw, when the screw is lifted out of water by the action of a heavy sea.
Racemate
Ra•ce´mate (ra•se"mat), n. (Chem.) A salt of racemic acid.
Racemation
Rac•e•ma´tion (ras•e•ma"shun), n. [L. racematio a gleaning, fr. racemari to glean, racemus a cluster of grapes. See Raceme.]
1. A cluster or bunch, as of grapes. Sir T. Browne.
2. Cultivation or gathering of clusters of grapes. [R.] Bp. Burnet.
Raceme
Ra•ceme´ (ra•sem"; 277), n. [L. racemus a bunch of berries, a cluster of grapes. See Raisin.] (Bot.) A flower cluster with an elongated axis and many one-flowered lateral pedicels, as in the currant and chokecherry. Compound raceme, one having the lower pedicels developed into secondary racemes.
Racemed
Ra•cemed´ (ra•semd"), a. (Bot.) Arranged in a raceme, or in racemes.
Racemic
Ra•ce´mic (ra•se"mik), a. [Cf. F. racemique. See Raceme.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid found in many kinds of grapes. It is also obtained from tartaric acid, with which it is isomeric, and from sugar, gum, etc., by oxidation. It is a sour white crystalline substance, consisting of a combination of dextrorotatory and levorotatory tartaric acids. Gregory.
Racemiform
Ra•cem´i•form (ra•sem"i•fôrm), a. Having the form of a raceme. Gray.
Racemous
Rac´e•mous (ras"e•mus or ra•se"-; 277), a. [Cf. F. racemeux.] See Racemose.
Racemulose
Ra•cem´u•lose (ra•sem"u•los•), a. (Bot.) Growing in very small racemes.
Rachidian
Ra•chid´i•an (ra•kid"i• an), a. [See Rachis.] (Anat. & Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the rachis; spinal; vertebral. Same as Rhachidian.
Rachilla
Ra•chil´la (ra•kil"la), n. [NL.] (Bot.) Same as Rhachilla.
Rachiodont
Ra´chi•o•dont (ra"ki•o•dont), a. (Zoöl.) Same as Rhachiodont.
Rachis
Ra´chis (ra"kis), n. ; pl. E. Rachises (-ez), L. Rachides (rak"i•dez). [NL., fr. Gr. "ra•chis, -ios.] [Written also rhachis.]
1. (Anat.) The spine; the vertebral column.
2. (Bot. & Zoöl.) Same as Rhachis.
Rachitic
Ra•chit´ic (ra•kit"ik), a. [Cf. F. rachitique. See Rachitis.] (Med.) Of or pertaining to rachitis; affected by rachitis; rickety.
Rachitis
Ra•chi´tis (ra•ki"tis), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "rachi^tis (sc. nosos), fr. "ra•chis, -ios, the spine.] [Written also rhachitis.]
1. (Med.) Literally, inflammation of the spine, but commonly applied to the rickets. See Rickets.
2. (Bot.) A disease which produces abortion in the fruit or seeds. Henslow.
Racial
Ra´cial (ra"sh al), a. Of or pertaining to a race or family of men; as the racial complexion.
Racing
Ra´cing (ra"sing), a. & n. from Race, v. t. & i.Racing crab (Zoöl.), an ocypodian.
Rack (rak), n. Same as Arrack.
Rack, n. [See Wreck.] A wreck; destruction. [Obs., except in a few phrases.] Rack and ruin, destruction; utter ruin. [Colloq.] — To go to rack, to perish; to be destroyed. [Colloq.] "All goes to rack." Pepys.
Rack, v. i. To fly, as vapor or broken clouds.
Rack, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Racked (rakt); p. pr. & vb. n. Racking.] [See Rack that which stretches, or Rock, v. ] To amble fast, causing a rocking or swaying motion of the body; to pace; — said of a horse. Fuller.
Rack, n. [Probably fr. D. rek, rekbank, a rack, rekken to stretch; akin to G. reck, reckbank, a rack, recken to stretch, Dan. raekke, Sw. räcka, Icel. rekja to spread out, Goth. refrakjan to stretch out; cf. L. porrigere, Gr. ’ore•gein. rad.115. Cf. Right, a. , Ratch.]
1. An instrument or frame used for stretching, extending, retaining, or displaying, something. Specifically: (a) An engine of torture, consisting of a large frame, upon which the body was gradually stretched until, sometimes, the joints were dislocated; — formerly used judicially for extorting confessions from criminals or suspected persons.
"During the troubles of the fifteenth century, a rack was introduced into the Tower, and was occasionally used under the plea of political necessity." Macaulay. (b) An instrument for bending a bow. (c) A grate on which bacon is laid. (d) A frame or device of various construction for holding, and preventing the waste of, hay, grain, etc., supplied to beasts. (e) A frame on which articles are deposited for keeping or arranged for display; as a clothes rack; a bottle rack, etc. (f) (Naut.) A piece or frame of wood, having several sheaves, through which the running rigging passes; — called also rack block. also a frame to hold shot. (g) (Mining) A frame or table on which ores are separated or washed. (h) A frame fitted to a wagon for carrying hay, straw, or grain on the stalk, or other bulky loads. (i) A distaff.
2. (Mech.) A bar with teeth on its face, or edge, to work with those of a wheel, pinion, or worm, which is to drive it or be driven by it.
3. That which is extorted; exaction. [Obs.] Sir E. Sandys.Mangle rack. (Mach.) See under Mangle, n. — Rack block. (Naut.) See def. 1 (f), above. — Rack lashing, a lashing or binding where the rope is tightened, and held tight by the use of a small stick of wood twisted around. — Rack rail (Railroads), a toothed rack, laid as a rail, to afford a hold for teeth on the driving wheel of a locomotive for climbing steep gradients, as in ascending a mountain. — Rack saw, a saw having wide teeth. — Rack stick, the stick used in a rack lashing. — To be on the rack, to suffer torture, physical or mental. — To live at rack and manger, to live on the best at another’s expense. [Colloq.] — To put to the rack, to subject to torture; to torment.
"A fit of the stone puts a king to the rack, and makes him as miserable as it does the meanest subject." Sir W. Temple.
Rackabones
Rack´a•bones (rak"a•bonz•), n. A very lean animal, esp. a horse. [Colloq. U. S.]
Racker
Rack´er (rak"er), n.
1. One who racks.
2. A horse that has a racking gait.
Racket
Rack´et (rak"et), n. [F. raquette; cf. Sp. raqueta, It. racchetta, which is perhaps for retichetta, and fr. L. rete a net (cf. Reticule); or perh. from the Arabic; cf. Ar. raha the palm of the hand (used at first to strike the ball), and OF. rachette, rasquette, carpus, tarsus.] [Written also racquet.]
1. A thin strip of wood, having the ends brought together, forming a somewhat elliptical hoop, across which a network of catgut or cord is stretched. It is furnished with a handle, and is used for catching or striking a ball in tennis and similar games.
"Each one [of the Indians] has a bat curved like a crosier, and ending in a racket." Bancroft.
2. A variety of the game of tennis played with peculiar long-handled rackets; — chiefly in the plural. Chaucer.
3. A snowshoe formed of cords stretched across a long and narrow frame of light wood. [Canada]
4. A broad wooden shoe or patten for a man or horse, to enable him to step on marshy or soft ground. Racket court, a court for playing the game of rackets.
Racket
Rack´et, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Racketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Racketing.]
1. To make a confused noise or racket.
2. To engage in noisy sport; to frolic. Sterne.
3. To carouse or engage in dissipation. [Slang]
Racketer
Rack´et•er (-er), n. One who makes, or engages in, a racket.
Racking
Rack´ing, n. (Naut.) Spun yarn used in racking ropes.
Rack-rent
Rack´-rent, v. t. To subject to rack-rent, as a farm or tenant.
Rackwork
Rack´work (-wûrk•), n. Any mechanism having a rack, as a rack and pinion.
Racle
Ra´cle (rä"k’l), a. See Rakel. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Racleness
Ra´cle•ness, n. See Rakelness. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Raconteur
Ra•con•teur´ (ra•kôN•ter"), n. [F.] A relater; a storyteller.
Racoonda
Ra•coon´da (ra•koon"da), n. [From a native name.] (Zoöl.) The coypu.
Racy
Ra´cy (ra"sy), a. [ Compar. Racier (-si•er); superl. Raciest.] [From Race a tribe, family.]
1. Having a strong flavor indicating origin; of distinct characteristic taste; tasting of the soil; hence, fresh; rich.
"The racy wine,
Late from the mellowing cask restored to light." Pope.
2. Hence: Exciting to the mental taste by a strong or distinctive character of thought or language; peculiar and piquant; fresh and lively.
"Our raciest, most idiomatic popular words." M. Arnold.
"Burns’s English, though not so racy as his Scotch, is generally correct." H. Coleridge.
"The rich and racy humor of a natural converser fresh from the plow." Prof. Wilson.
Syn. — Spicy; spirited; lively; smart; piquant. — Racy, Spicy. Racy refers primarily to that peculiar flavor which certain wines are supposed to derive from the soil in which the grapes were grown; and hence we call a style or production racy when it "smacks of the soil," or has an uncommon degree of natural freshness and distinctiveness of thought and language. Spicy, when applied to style, has reference to a spirit and pungency added by art, seasoning the matter like a condiment. It does not, like racy, suggest native peculiarity. A spicy article in a magazine; a spicy retort. Racy in conversation; a racy remark.
"Rich, racy verses, in which we
The soil from which they come, taste, smell, and see." Cowley.
Rad (rad), obs. imp. & p. p. of Read, Rede. Spenser.
Radde
Rad´de (rad"d e), obs. imp. of Read, Rede. Chaucer.
Raddle
Rad´dle, n. [Cf. Ruddle.] A red pigment used in marking sheep, and in some mechanical processes; ruddle. "A raddle of rouge." Thackeray.
Raddock
Rad´dock (-duk), n. (Zoöl.) The ruddock. [Prov. Eng.]
Radial
Ra´di•al (ra"di• al), a. [Cf. F. radial. See Radius.] Of or pertaining to a radius or ray; consisting of, or like, radii or rays; radiated; as (Bot.) radial projections; (Zoöl.) radial vessels or canals; (Anat.) the radial artery. Radial symmetry. (Biol.) See under Symmetry.
Radiale
Ra•di•a´le (ra•di•a"le), n. ; pl. Radialia (- li•a) [NL. See Radial.]
1. (Anat.) The bone or cartilage of the carpus which articulates with the radius and corresponds to the scaphoid bone in man.
2. pl. (Zoöl.) Radial plates in the calyx of a crinoid.
Radially
Ra´di•al•ly (ra"di• al•ly), adv. In a radial manner.
Radian
Ra´di•an (- an), n. [From Radius.] (Math.) An arc of a circle which is equal to the radius, or the angle measured by such an arc. { Ra´di•ance (- ans), Ra´di•an•cy (- an•sy), } n. The quality of being radiant; brilliancy; effulgence; vivid brightness; as the radiance of the sun.
"Girt with omnipotence, with radiance crowned." Milton.
"What radiancy of glory,
What light beyond compare !" Neale.
Syn. — Luster; brilliancy; splendor; glare; glitter.
Radiant
Ra´di•ant (- ant), a. [L. radians, -antis, p. pr. of radiare to emit rays or beams, fr. radius ray: cf. F. radiant. See Radius, Ray a divergent line.]
1. Emitting or proceeding as from a center; resembling rays; radiating; radiate.
2. Especially, emitting or darting rays of light or heat; issuing in beams or rays; beaming with brightness; emitting a vivid light or splendor; as the radiant sun.
"Mark what radiant state she spreads." Milton.
3. Beaming with vivacity and happiness; as a radiant face.
4. (Her.) Giving off rays; — said of a bearing; as the sun radiant; a crown radiant.
5. (Bot.) Having a raylike appearance, as the large marginal flowers of certain umbelliferous plants; — said also of the cluster which has such marginal flowers. Radiant energy (Physics), energy given out or transmitted by radiation, as in the case of light and radiant heat. — Radiant heat, heat proceeding in right lines, or directly from the heated body, after the manner of light, in distinction from heat conducted or carried by intervening media. — Radiant point. (Astron.) See Radiant, n. , 3.
Radiant engine. (Mach.) A semiradial engine. See Radial engine, above.
Radiantly
Ra´di•ant•ly (ra"di• ant•ly), adv. In a radiant manner; with glittering splendor.
Radiary
Ra´di•a•ry (-a•ry), n. [Cf. F. radiaire.] (Zoöl.) A radiate. [Obs.]
Radiata
Ra•di•a´ta (-a"ta), n. pl. [NL., fr. radiatus, p. p. See Radiate.] (Zoöl.) An extensive artificial group of invertebrates, having all the parts arranged radially around the vertical axis of the body, and the various organs repeated symmetrically in each ray or spheromere. It includes the cœlenterates and the echinoderms. Formerly, the group was supposed to be a natural one, and was considered one of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom.
Radiate
Ra´di•ate (ra"di•at), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Radiated (- a•ted); p. pr. & vb. n. Radiating.] [L. radiatus, p. p. of radiare to furnish with spokes or rays, to radiate, fr. radius ray. See Radius, Ray a divergent line.]
1. To emit rays; to be radiant; to shine.
"Virtues shine more clear
In them [kings], and radiate like the sun at noon." Howell.
2. To proceed in direct lines from a point or surface; to issue in rays, as light or heat.
"Light radiates from luminous bodies directly to our eyes." Locke.
Radiative
Ra´di•a•tive (ra"di•a•tiv), a. Capable of radiating; acting by radiation. Tyndall.
Radical
Rad´i•cal (rad"i•k al), a. [F., fr. L. radicalis having roots, fr. radix, -icis, a root. See Radix.]
1. Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the root.
2. Hence: Of or pertaining to the root or origin; reaching to the center, to the foundation, to the ultimate sources, to the principles, or the like; original; fundamental; thorough-going; unsparing; extreme; as radical evils; radical reform; a radical party.
"The most determined exertions of that authority, against them, only showed their radical independence." Burke.
3. (Bot.) (a) Belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant; as radical tubers or hairs. (b) Proceeding from a rootlike stem, or one which does not rise above the ground; as the radical leaves of the dandelion and the sidesaddle flower.
4. (Philol.) Relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate source of derivation; as a radical verbal form.
5. (Math.) Of or pertaining to a radix or root; as a radical quantity; a radical sign. See below. Radical axis of two circles. (Geom.) See under Axis. — Radical pitch, the pitch or tone with which the utterance of a syllable begins. Rush. — Radical quantity (Alg.), a quantity to which the radical sign is prefixed; specifically, a quantity which is not a perfect power of the degree indicated by the radical sign; a surd. — Radical sign (Math.), the sign rad. (originally the letter r, the initial of radix, root), placed before any quantity, denoting that its root is to be extracted; thus, rad. a, or rad.( a + b). To indicate any other than the square root, a corresponding figure is placed over the sign; thus, &cuberoot; a, indicates the third or cube root of a. — Radical stress (Elocution), force of utterance falling on the initial part of a syllable or sound. — Radical vessels (Anat.), minute vessels which originate in the substance of the tissues.
Syn. — Primitive; original; natural; underived; fundamental; entire. — Radical, Entire. These words are frequently employed as interchangeable in describing some marked alteration in the condition of things. There is, however, an obvious difference between them. A radical cure, reform, etc., is one which goes to the root of the thing in question; and it is entire, in the sense that, by affecting the root, it affects in an appropriate degree the entire body nourished by the root; but it may not be entire in the sense of making a change complete in its nature, as well as in its extent. Hence, we speak of a radical change; a radical improvement; radical differences of opinion; while an entire change, an entire improvement, an entire difference of opinion, might indicate more than was actually intended. A certain change may be both radical and entire, in every sense.
Radical
Rad´i•cal (rad"i•k al), n.
1. (Philol.) (a) A primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived, uncompounded word; an etymon. (b) A primitive letter; a letter that belongs to the radix.
"The words we at present make use of, and understand only by common agreement, assume a new air and life in the understanding, when you trace them to their radicals, where you find every word strongly stamped with nature; full of energy, meaning, character, painting, and poetry." Cleland.
2. (Politics) One who advocates radical changes in government or social institutions, especially such changes as are intended to level class inequalities; — opposed to conservative.
"In politics they [the Independents] were, to use the phrase of their own time, "Root-and-Branch men," or, to use the kindred phrase of our own, Radicals." Macaulay.
3. (Chem.) (a) A characteristic, essential, and fundamental constituent of any compound; hence, sometimes, an atom.
"As a general rule, the metallic atoms are basic radicals, while the nonmetallic atoms are acid radicals." J. P. Cooke. (b) Specifically, a group of two or more atoms, not completely saturated, which are so linked that their union implies certain properties, and are conveniently regarded as playing the part of a single atom; a residue; — called also a compound radical. Cf. Residue.
4. (Alg.) A radical quantity. See under Radical, a.
"An indicated root of a perfect power of the degree indicated is not a radical but a rational quantity under a radical form." Davies & Peck (Math. Dict.)
5. (Anat.) A radical vessel. See under Radical, a.
Radicalness
Rad´i•cal•ness, n. Quality or state of being radical.
Radicant
Rad´i•cant (-k ant), a. [L. radicans, p. pr.: cf. F. radicant. See Radicate, a. ] (Bot.) Taking root on, or above, the ground; rooting from the stem, as the trumpet creeper and the ivy.
Radicate
Rad´i•cate (-kat), a. [L. radicatus, p. p. of radicari to take root, fr. radix. See Radix.] Radicated.
Radicate
Rad´i•cate (-kat), v. i. To take root; to become rooted. Evelyn.
Radicate
Rad´i•cate, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Radicated (-ka•ted); p. pr. & vb. n. Radicating.] To cause to take root; to plant deeply and firmly; to root.
"Time should … rather confirm and radicate in us the remembrance of God’s goodness." Barrow.
Radicel
Rad´i•cel (rad"i•sel), n. [Dim. of radix.] (Bot.) A small branch of a root; a rootlet.
Radicle
Rad´i•cle (rad"i•k’l), n. [L. radicula, dim. of radix, -icis, root: cf. F. radicule. See Radix.] (Bot.) (a) The rudimentary stem of a plant which supports the cotyledons in the seed, and from which the root is developed downward; the stem of the embryo; the caulicle. (b) A rootlet; a radicel.
Radicular
Ra•dic´u•lar (ra•dik"u•ler), a. Of or pertaining to roots, or the root of a plant.
Radiculose
Ra•dic´u•lose (ra•dik"u•los•), a. (Bot.) Producing numerous radicles, or rootlets.
Radio-flagellata
Ra•di•o-flag•el•la´ta (- flaj•el•la"ta), n. pl. [NL. See Radiate, and Flagellata.] (Zoöl.) A group of Protozoa having both flagella and pseudopodia.
Radiograph
Ra´di•o•graph, v. t. To make a radiograph of. — Ra•di•og´ra•pher (#), n.
Radiolaria
Ra•di•o•la´ri•a (ra•di•o•la"ri•a), n. pl. [NL. See Radioli.] (Zoöl.) Order of rhizopods, usually having a siliceous skeleton, or shell, and sometimes radiating spicules. The pseudopodia project from the body like rays. It includes the polycystines. See Polycystina.
Radiophony
Ra•di•oph´o•ny (-of"o•ny), n. (Physics) The art or practice of using the radiophone.
Radiopticon
Ra•di•op´ti•con, n. [ Radio- + stere opticon.] See Projector, above.
Radiotelegram
Ra•di•o•tel´e•gram, n. A message transmitted by radiotelegraph.
Radiotelegraph
Ra•di•o•tel´e•graph, n. [ Radio- + telegraph.] A wireless telegraph.
Radiotelephone
Ra•di•o•tel´e•phone, n. A wireless telephone. — Ra•di•o•te•leph´o•ny (#), n.
Radish
Rad´ish (rad"ish), n. [F. radis; cf. It. radice, Pr. raditz; all fr. L. radix, -icis, a root, an edible root, especially a radish, akin to E. wort. See Wort, and cf. Eradicate, Race a root, Radix.] (Bot.) The pungent fleshy root of a well-known cruciferous plant ( Raphanus sativus); also the whole plant. Radish fly (Zoöl.), a small two- winged fly ( Anthomyia raphani) whose larvae burrow in radishes. It resembles the onion fly. — Rat-tailed radish (Bot.), an herb ( Raphanus caudatus) having a long, slender pod, which is sometimes eaten. — Wild radish (Bot.), the jointed charlock.
Radius
Ra´di•us (ra"di•us), n. ; pl. L. Radii (- i); E. Radiuses (-us•ez). [L., a staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, radius, ray. See Ray a divergent line.]
1. (Geom.) A right line drawn or extending from the center of a circle to the periphery; the semidiameter of a circle or sphere.
2. (Anat.) The preaxial bone of the forearm, or brachium, corresponding to the tibia of the hind limb. See Illust. of Artiodactyla. The radius is on the same side of the limb as the thumb, or pollex, and in man it is so articulated that its lower end is capable of partial rotation about the ulna.
3. (Bot.) A ray, or outer floret, of the capitulum of such plants as the sunflower and the daisy. See Ray, 2.
4. pl. (Zoöl.) (a) The barbs of a perfect feather. (b) Radiating organs, or color-markings, of the radiates.
5. The movable limb of a sextant or other angular instrument. Knight. Radius bar (Mach.), a bar pivoted at one end, about which it swings, and having its other end attached to a piece which it causes to move in a circular arc. — Radius of curvature. See under Curvature.
Radius vector
Ra"di•us vec"tor (vek"tor).
1. (Math.) A straight line (or the length of such line) connecting any point, as of a curve, with a fixed point, or pole, round which the straight line turns, and to which it serves to refer the successive points of a curve, in a system of polar coördinates. See Coördinate, n.
2. (Astron.) An ideal straight line joining the center of an attracting body with that of a body describing an orbit around it, as a line joining the sun and a planet or comet, or a planet and its satellite.
Radix
Ra´dix (ra"diks), n. ; pl. L. Radices (rad"i•sez), E. Radixes (ra"diks•ez). [L. radix, -icis, root. See Radish.]
1. (Philol.) A primitive word, from which spring other words; a radical; a root; an etymon.
2. (Math.) (a) A number or quantity which is arbitrarily made the fundamental number of any system; a base. Thus, 10 is the radix, or base, of the common system of logarithms, and also of the decimal system of numeration. (b) (Alg.) A finite expression, from which a series is derived. [R.] Hutton.
3. (Bot.) The root of a plant.
Radula
Rad´u•la (rad"u•la), n. ; pl. Radulae (- le). [L., a scraper, fr. radere to scrape.] (Zoöl.) The chitinous ribbon bearing the teeth of mollusks; — called also lingual ribbon, and tongue. See Odontophore.
Raff (raf), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raffed (raft); p. pr. & vb. n. Raffing.] [OF. raffer, of German origin; cf. G. raffen; akin to E. rap to snatch. See Rap, and cf. Riffraff, Rip to tear.] To sweep, snatch, draw, or huddle together; to take by a promiscuous sweep. [Obs.]
"Causes and effects which I thus raff up together." Carew.
Raffaelesque
Raf•fa•el•esque´ (raf•fa•el•esk"), a. Raphaelesque.
Raffle
Raf´fle (raf"f’l), n. [F. rafle; faire rafle to sweep stakes, fr. rafler to carry or sweep away, rafler tout to sweep stakes; of German origin; cf. G. raffeln to snatch up, to rake. See Raff, v. ]
1. A kind of lottery, in which several persons pay, in shares, the value of something put up as a stake, and then determine by chance (as by casting dice) which one of them shall become the sole possessor.
2. A game of dice in which he who threw three alike won all the stakes. [Obs.] Cotgrave.
Raffle
Raf´fle, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Raffled (-f’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Raffling (-fling).] To engage in a raffle; as to raffle for a watch.
Raffle
Raf´fle, n. [See Raff, n. & v. , and Raffle.] Refuse; rubbish; raff.
Raft (raft), obs. imp. & p. p. of Reave. Spenser.
Raft, n. [Originally, a rafter, spar, and fr. Icel. raptr a rafter; akin to Dan. raft, Prov. G. raff a rafter, spar; cf. OHG. rafo, ravo, a beam, rafter, Icel. raf roof. Cf. Rafter, n. ]
1. A collection of logs, boards, pieces of timber, or the like, fastened together, either for their own collective conveyance on the water, or to serve as a support in conveying other things; a float.
2. A collection of logs, fallen trees, etc. (such as is formed in some Western rivers of the United States), which obstructs navigation. [U.S.]
3. [Perhaps akin to raff a heap.] A large collection of people or things taken indiscriminately. [Slang, U. S.] "A whole raft of folks." W. D. Howells.Raft bridge. (a) A bridge whose points of support are rafts. (b) A bridge that consists of floating timbers fastened together. — Raft duck. [The name alludes to its swimming in dense flocks.] (Zoöl.) (a) The bluebill, or greater scaup duck; — called also flock duck. See Scaup. (b) The redhead. — Raft port (Naut.), a large, square port in a vessel’s side for loading or unloading timber or other bulky articles; a timber or lumber port.
Raft, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Rafting.] To transport on a raft, or in the form of a raft; to make into a raft; as to raft timber.
Rafte
Raf´te (raf"t e), obs. imp. of Reave. Chaucer.
Rafter
Raft´er (raft"er), n. A raftsman.
Rafter
Raft´er, n. [AS. raefter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.] (Arch.) Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post.
"[Courtesy] oft is sooner found in lowly sheds,
With smoky rafters, than in tapestry halls." Milton.
Rafting
Raft´ing, n. The business of making or managing rafts.
Raftsman
Rafts´man (rafts"m an), n. ; pl. Raftsmen (-m en). A man engaged in rafting.
Rafty
Raf´ty (raf"ty), a. [Perhaps akin to G. reif hoarfrost.] Damp; musty. [Prov. Eng.]
Rag, n. [OE. ragge, probably of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. rögg a tuft, shagginess, Sw. ragg rough hair. Cf. Rug, n. ]
1. A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered piece of cloth; a shred; a tatter; a fragment.
"Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed.
And fluttered into rags." Milton.
"Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty." Fuller.
2. pl. Hence, mean or tattered attire; worn-out dress.
"And virtue, though in rags, will keep me warm." Dryden.
3. A shabby, beggarly fellow; a ragamuffin.
"The other zealous rag is the compositor." B. Jonson.
"Upon the proclamation, they all came in, both tag and rag." Spenser.
4. (Geol.) A coarse kind of rock, somewhat cellular in texture.
5. (Metal Working) A ragged edge.
6. A sail, or any piece of canvas. [Nautical Slang]
"Our ship was a clipper with every rag set." Lowell. Rag bolt, an iron pin with barbs on its shank to retain it in place. — Rag carpet, a carpet of which the weft consists of narrow strips of cloth sewed together, end to end. — Rag dust, fine particles of ground-up rags, used in making papier-mache and wall papers. — Rag wheel. (a) A chain wheel; a sprocket wheel. (b) A polishing wheel made of disks of cloth clamped together on a mandrel. — Rag wool, wool obtained by tearing woolen rags into fine bits; shoddy.
Rag (rag), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Ragged (ragd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ragging (-ging).] To become tattered. [Obs.]
Rage (raj), n. [F., fr. L. rabies, fr. rabere to rave; cf. Skr. rabh to seize, rabhas violence. Cf. Rabid, Rabies, Rave.]
1. Violent excitement; eager passion; extreme vehemence of desire, emotion, or suffering, mastering the will. "In great rage of pain." Bacon.
"He appeased the rage of hunger with some scraps of broken meat." Macaulay.
"Convulsed with a rage of grief." Hawthorne.
2. Especially, anger accompanied with raving; overmastering wrath; violent anger; fury.
"Torment, and loud lament, and furious rage." Milton.
3. A violent or raging wind. [Obs.] Chaucer.
4. The subject of eager desire; that which is sought after, or prosecuted, with unreasonable or excessive passion; as to be all the rage.
Syn. — Anger; vehemence; excitement; passion; fury. See Anger.
Rage, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Raged (rajd); p. pr. & vb. n. Raging (ra"jing).] [OF. ragier. See Rage, n. ]
1. To be furious with anger; to be exasperated to fury; to be violently agitated with passion. "Whereat he inly raged." Milton.
"When one so great begins to rage, he is hunted
Even to falling." Shak.
2. To be violent and tumultuous; to be violently driven or agitated; to act or move furiously; as the raging sea or winds.
"Why do the heathen rage?" Ps. ii. 1.
"The madding wheels
Of brazen chariots raged; dire was the noise." Milton.
3. To ravage; to prevail without restraint, or with destruction or fatal effect; as the plague raged in Cairo.
4. To toy or act wantonly; to sport. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Syn. — To storm; fret; chafe; fume.
Rageful
Rage´ful (-ful), a. Full of rage; expressing rage. [Obs.] "Rageful eyes." Sir P. Sidney.
Ragged
Rag´ged (rag"ged), a. [From Rag, n. ]
1. Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as a ragged coat; a ragged sail.
2. Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as ragged rocks.
3. Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant. [R.] "A ragged noise of mirth." Herbert.
4. Wearing tattered clothes; as a ragged fellow.
5. Rough; shaggy; rugged.
"What shepherd owns those ragged sheep?" Dryden. Ragged lady (Bot.), the fennel flower ( Nigella Damascena). — Ragged robin (Bot.), a plant of the genus Lychnis ( L. Flos- cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers, which have the petals cut into narrow lobes. — Ragged sailor (Bot.), prince’s feather ( Polygonum orientale). — Ragged school, a free school for poor children, where they are taught and in part fed; — a name given at first because they came in their common clothing. [Eng.] — Rag´ged•ly, adv. — Rag´ged•ness, n. { Rag´gie (rag"gi), or Rag´gy }, a. Ragged; rough. [Obs.] "A stony and raggie hill." Holland.
Raging
Ra´ging (ra"jing), a. & n. from Rage, v. i. — Ra´ging•ly, adv.
Ragious
Ra´gious (ra"jus), a. Raging; furious; rageful. [Obs.] — Ra´gious•ness, n. [Obs.]
Ragman
Rag´man (-m an), n. ; pl. Ragmen (-m en). A man who collects, or deals in, rags.
Ragman
Rag´man, n. [See Ragman’s roll.] A document having many names or numerous seals, as a papal bull. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
Ragman’s roll
Rag"man’s roll (-m anz rol•). [For ragman roll a long list of names, the devil’s roll or list; where ragman is of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. ragmenni a craven person, Sw. raggen the devil. Icel. ragmenni is fr. ragr cowardly (another form of argr, akin to AS. earg cowardly, vile, G. arg bad) + menni (in comp.) man, akin to E. man. See Roll, and cf. Rigmarole.] The rolls of deeds on parchment in which the Scottish nobility and gentry subscribed allegiance to Edward I. of England, A. D. 1296. [Also written ragman- roll.]
Ragout
Ra•gout´ (ra•goo"), n. [F. ragoût, fr. ragoûter to restore one’s appetite, fr. L. pref. re- re- + a. to + gustare to taste, gustus taste. See Gust relish.] A dish made of pieces of meat, stewed, and highly seasoned; as a ragout of mutton.
Ragtime
Rag´time, n. (Mus.) Time characterized by syncopation, as in many negro melodies. [Colloq.]
Raia
Ra´ia (ra"ya), n. [L., a ray. Cf. Ray the fish.] (Zoöl.) A genus of rays which includes the skates. See Skate.
Raiae
Ra´iae (ra"ye), n. pl. [NL. See Raia.] (Zoöl.) The order of elasmobranch fishes which includes the sawfishes, skates, and rays; — called also Rajae, and Rajii.
Raid (rad), n. [Icel. reið a riding, raid; akin to E. road. See Road a way.]
1. A hostile or predatory incursion; an inroad or incursion of mounted men; a sudden and rapid invasion by a cavalry force; a foray.
"Marauding chief! his sole delight
The moonlight raid, the morning fight." Sir W. Scott.
"There are permanent conquests, temporary occupations, and occasional raids." H. Spenser. A Scottish word which came into common use in the United States during the Civil War, and was soon extended in its application.
2. An attack or invasion for the purpose of making arrests, seizing property, or plundering; as a raid of the police upon a gambling house; a raid of contractors on the public treasury. [Colloq. U. S.]
Raid, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raided; p. pr. & vb. n. Raiding.] To make a raid upon or into; as two regiments raided the border counties.
Rail, n. [Akin to LG. & Sw. regel bar, bolt, G. riegel a rail, bar, or bolt, OHG. rigil, rigel, bar, bolt, and possibly to E. row a line.]
1. A bar of timber or metal, usually horizontal or nearly so, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, etc.
2. (Arch.) A horizontal piece in a frame or paneling. See Illust. of Style.
3. (Railroad) A bar of steel or iron, forming part of the track on which the wheels roll. It is usually shaped with reference to vertical strength, and is held in place by chairs, splices, etc.
4. (Naut.) (a) The stout, narrow plank that forms the top of the bulwarks. (b) The light, fencelike structures of wood or metal at the break of the deck, and elsewhere where such protection is needed. Rail fence. See under Fence. — Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail of obstructions. (b) A guard rail. See under Guard. — Rail joint (Railroad), a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, which is merely a seat. The two devices are sometimes united. Among several hundred varieties, the fish joint is standard. See Fish joint, under Fish. — Rail train (Iron & Steel Manuf.), a train of rolls in a rolling mill, for making rails for railroads from blooms or billets.
Rail, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Railed (rald); p. pr. & vb. n. Railing.]
1. To inclose with rails or a railing.
"It ought to be fenced in and railed." Ayliffe.
2. To range in a line. [Obs.]
"They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart." Bacon.
Rail, n. [F. râle, fr. râler to have a rattling in the throat; of German origin, and akin to E. rattle. See Rattle, v. ] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds of the family Rallidae, especially those of the genus Rallus, and of closely allied genera. They are prized as game birds. The common European water rail ( Rallus aquaticus) is called also bilcock, skitty coot, and brook runner. The best known American species are the clapper rail, or salt-marsh hen ( Rallus longirostris, var. crepitans); the king, or red-breasted, rail ( R. elegans) (called also fresh-water marsh-hen); the lesser clapper, or Virginia, rail ( R. Virginianus); and the Carolina, or sora, rail ( Porzana Carolina). See Sora. Land rail (Zoöl.), the corncrake.
Rail, v. i. [F. railler; cf. Sp. rallar to grate, scrape, molest; perhaps fr. (assumed) LL. radiculare, fr. L. radere to scrape, grate. Cf. Rally to banter, Rase.] To use insolent and reproachful language; to utter reproaches; to scoff; — followed by a. or against, formerly by on. Shak.
"And rail at arts he did not understand." Dryden.
"Lesbia forever on me rails." Swift.
Rail, n. A railroad as a means of transportation; as to go by rail; a place not accesible by rail.
Railingly
Rail´ing•ly, adv. With scoffing or insulting language.
Raillery
Rail´ler•y (ral"ler•y or ral"-; 277), n. [F. raillerie, fr. railler. See Rail to scoff.] Pleasantry or slight satire; banter; jesting language; satirical merriment.
"Let raillery be without malice or heat." B. Jonson.
"Studies employed on low objects; the very naming of them is sufficient to turn them into raillery." Addison.
Railleur
Rail•leur´ (ra•lyer" or ra•yer"), n. [F.] A banterer; a jester; a mocker. [R.] Wycherley. { Rail´road• (ral"rod•), Rail´way• (- wa•), } n.
1. A road or way consisting of one or more parallel series of iron or steel rails, patterned and adjusted to be tracks for the wheels of vehicles, and suitably supported on a bed or substructure. The modern railroad is a development and adaptation of the older tramway.
2. The road, track, etc., with all the lands, buildings, rolling stock, franchises, etc., pertaining to them and constituting one property; as a certain railroad has been put into the hands of a receiver. Railway is the commoner word in England; railroad the commoner word in the United States. In the following and similar phrases railroad and railway are used interchangeably: — Atmospheric railway, Elevated railway, etc. See under Atmospheric, Elevated, etc. — Cable railway. See Cable road, under Cable. — Ferry railway, a submerged track on which an elevated platform runs, for carrying a train of cars across a water course. — Gravity railway, a railway, in a hilly country, on which the cars run by gravity down gentle slopes for long distances after having been hauled up steep inclines to an elevated point by stationary engines. — Railway brake, a brake used in stopping railway cars or locomotives. — Railway car, a large, heavy vehicle with flanged wheels fitted for running on a railway. [U.S.] — Railway carriage, a railway passenger car. [Eng.] — Railway scale, a platform scale bearing a track which forms part of the line of a railway, for weighing loaded cars. — Railway slide. See Transfer table, under Transfer. — Railway spine (Med.), an abnormal condition due to severe concussion of the spinal cord, such as occurs in railroad accidents. It is characterized by ataxia and other disturbances of muscular function, sensory disorders, pain in the back, impairment of general health, and cerebral disturbance, — the symptoms often not developing till some months after the injury. — Underground railroad or railway. (a) A railroad or railway running through a tunnel, as beneath the streets of a city. (b) Formerly, a system of coöperation among certain active antislavery people in the United States, by which fugitive slaves were secretly helped to reach Canada. [In the latter sense railroad, and not railway, was used.] "Their house was a principal entrepôt of the underground railroad." W. D. Howells.
Raiment
Rai´ment (ra"m ent), n. [Abbrev. fr. arraiment. See Array.]
1. Clothing in general; vesture; garments; — usually singular in form, with a collective sense.
"Living, both food and raiment she supplies." Dryden.
2. An article of dress. [R. or Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
Rain (ran), n. & v. Reign. [Obs.] Spenser.
Rain (ran), n. [OE. rein, AS. regen; akin to OFries. rein, D. & G. regen, OS. & OHG. regan, Icel., Dan., & Sw. regn, Goth. rign, and prob. to L. rigare to water, to wet; cf. Gr. bre•chein to wet, to rain.] Water falling in drops from the clouds; the descent of water from the clouds in drops.
"Rain is water by the heat of the sun divided into very small parts ascending in the air, till, encountering the cold, it be condensed into clouds, and descends in drops." Ray.
"Fair days have oft contracted wind and rain." Milton. Rain is distinguished from mist by the size of the drops, which are distinctly visible. When water falls in very small drops or particles, it is called mist; and fog is composed of particles so fine as to be not only individually indistinguishable, but to float or be suspended in the air. See Fog, and Mist. Rain band (Meteorol.), a dark band in the yellow portion of the solar spectrum near the sodium line, caused by the presence of watery vapor in the atmosphere, and hence sometimes used in weather predictions. — Rain bird (Zoöl.), the yaffle, or green woodpecker. [Prov. Eng.] The name is also applied to various other birds, as to Saurothera vetula of the West Indies. — Rain fowl (Zoöl.), the channel-bill cuckoo ( Scythrops Novae-Hollandiae) of Australia. — Rain gauge, an instrument of various forms for measuring the quantity of rain that falls at any given place in a given time; a pluviometer; an ombrometer. — Rain goose (Zoöl.), the red-throated diver, or loon. [Prov. Eng.] — Rain prints (Geol.), markings on the surfaces of stratified rocks, presenting an appearance similar to those made by rain on mud and sand, and believed to have been so produced. — Rain quail. (Zoöl.) See Quail, n. , 1. — Rain water, water that has fallen from the clouds in rain.
Rain, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rained (rand); p. pr. & vb. n. Raining.] [AS. regnian, akin to G. regnen, Goth. rignjan. See Rain, n. ]
1. To fall in drops from the clouds, as water; — used mostly with it for a nominative; as it rains.
"The rain it raineth every day." Shak.
2. To fall or drop like water from the clouds; as tears rained from their eyes.
Rainbow
Rain´bow (-bo•), n. [AS. regenboga, akin to G. regenbogen. See Rain, and Bow anything bent.] A bow or arch exhibiting, in concentric bands, the several colors of the spectrum, and formed in the part of the hemisphere opposite to the sun by the refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays in drops of falling rain. Besides the ordinary bow, called also primary rainbow, which is formed by two refractions and one reflection, there is also another often seen exterior to it, called the secondary rainbow, concentric with the first, and separated from it by a small interval. It is formed by two refractions and two reflections, is much fainter than the primary bow, and has its colors arranged in the reverse order from those of the latter. Lunar rainbow, a fainter arch or rainbow, formed by the moon. — Marine rainbow, or Sea bow, a similar bow seen in the spray of waves at sea. — Rainbow trout (Zoöl.), a bright-colored trout ( Salmo irideus), native of the mountains of California, but now extensively introduced into the Eastern States, Japan, and other countries; — called also brook trout, mountain trout, and golden trout. — Rainbow wrasse. (Zoöl.) See under Wrasse. — Supernumerary rainbow, a smaller bow, usually of red and green colors only, sometimes seen within the primary or without the secondary rainbow, and in contact with them.
Rainbowed
Rain´bowed (-bod•), a. Formed with or like a rainbow.
Rainless
Rain´less, a. Destitute of rain; as a rainless region.
Rain-tight
Rain´-tight (-tit•), a. So tight as to exclude rain; as a rain-tight roof.
Raip (rap), n. [Cf. Icel. reip rope. Cf. Rope.] A rope; also a measure equal to a rod. [Scot.]
Raise (raz), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raised (razd); p. pr. & vb. n. Raising.] [OE. reisen, Icel. reisa, causative of risa to rise. See Rise, and cf. Rear to raise.]
1. To cause to rise; to bring from a lower to a higher place; to lift upward; to elevate; to heave; as to raise a stone or weight. Hence, figuratively: — (a) To bring to a higher condition or situation; to elevate in rank, dignity, and the like; to increase the value or estimation of; to promote; to exalt; to advance; to enhance; as to raise from a low estate; to raise to office; to raise the price, and the like.
"This gentleman came to be raised to great titles." Clarendon.
"The plate pieces of eight were raised three pence in the piece." Sir W. Temple. (b) To increase the strength, vigor, or vehemence of; to excite; to intensify; to invigorate; to heighten; as to raise the pulse; to raise the voice; to raise the spirits or the courage; to raise the heat of a furnace. (c) To elevate in degree according to some scale; as to raise the pitch of the voice; to raise the temperature of a room.
2. To cause to rise up, or assume an erect position or posture; to set up; to make upright; as to raise a mast or flagstaff. Hence: — (a) To cause to spring up from a recumbent position, from a state of quiet, or the like; to awaken; to arouse.
"They shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job xiv. 12. (b) To rouse to action; to stir up; to incite to tumult, struggle, or war; to excite.
"He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind." Ps. cvii. 25.
"AEneas … employs his pains,
In parts remote, to raise the Tuscan swains." Dryden. (c) To bring up from the lower world; to call up, as a spirit from the world of spirits; to recall from death; to give life to.
"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead ?" Acts xxvi. 8.
3. To cause to arise, grow up, or come into being or to appear; to give rise to; to originate, produce, cause, effect, or the like. Hence, specifically: — (a) To form by the accumulation of materials or constituent parts; to build up; to erect; as to raise a lofty structure, a wall, a heap of stones.
"I will raise forts against thee." Isa. xxix. 3. (b) To bring together; to collect; to levy; to get together or obtain for use or service; as to raise money, troops, and the like. "To raise up a rent." Chaucer. (c) To cause to grow; to procure to be produced, bred, or propagated; to grow; as to raise corn, barley, hops, etc.; to raise cattle. "He raised sheep." "He raised wheat where none grew before." Johnson’s Dict. In some parts of the United States, notably in the Southern States, raise is also commonly applied to the rearing or bringing up of children.
"I was raised, as they say in Virginia, among the mountains of the North." Paulding. (d) To bring into being; to produce; to cause to arise, come forth, or appear; — often with up.
"I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee." Deut. xviii. 18.
"God vouchsafes to raise another world
From him [Noah], and all his anger to forget." Milton. (e) To give rise to; to set agoing; to occasion; to start; to originate; as to raise a smile or a blush.
"Thou shalt not raise a false report." Ex. xxiii. 1. (f) To give vent or utterance to; to utter; to strike up.
"Soon as the prince appears, they raise a cry." Dryden. (g) To bring to notice; to submit for consideration; as to raise a point of order; to raise an objection.
4. To cause to rise, as by the effect of leaven; to make light and spongy, as bread.
"Miss Liddy can dance a jig, and raise paste." Spectator.
5. (Naut.) (a) To cause (the land or any other object) to seem higher by drawing nearer to it; as to raise Sandy Hook light. (b) To let go; as in the command, Raise tacks and sheets, i. e., Let go tacks and sheets.
6. (Law) To create or constitute; as to raise a use, that is, to create it. Burrill. To raise a blockade (Mil.), to remove or break up a blockade, either by withdrawing the ships or forces employed in enforcing it, or by driving them away or dispersing them. — To raise a check, note, bill of exchange, etc., to increase fraudulently its nominal value by changing the writing, figures, or printing in which the sum payable is specified. — To raise a siege, to relinquish an attempt to take a place by besieging it, or to cause the attempt to be relinquished. — To raise steam, to produce steam of a required pressure. — To raise the wind, to procure ready money by some temporary expedient. [Colloq.] — To raise Cain, or To raise the devil, to cause a great disturbance; to make great trouble. [Slang]
Syn. — To lift; exalt; elevate; erect; originate; cause; produce; grow; heighten; aggravate; excite.
Raised (razd), a.
1. Lifted up; showing above the surroundings; as raised or embossed metal work.
2. Leavened; made with leaven, or yeast; — used of bread, cake, etc., as distinguished from that made with cream of tartar, soda, etc. See Raise, v. t., 4. Raised beach. See under Beach, n.
Raiser
Rais´er (raz"er), n. One who, or that which, raises (in various senses of the verb).
Raisin
Rai´sin (ra"z’n), n. [F. raisin grape, raisin, L. racemus cluster of grapes or berries; cf. Gr. "ra•x, "rago•s, berry, grape. Cf. Raceme.]
1. A grape, or a bunch of grapes. [Obs.] Cotgrave.
2. A grape dried in the sun or by artificial heat. Raisin tree (Bot.), the common red currant bush, whose fruit resembles the small raisins of Corinth called currants. [Eng.] Dr. Prior.
Raising
Rais´ing (raz"ing), n.
1. The act of lifting, setting up, elevating, exalting, producing, or restoring to life.
2. Specifically, the operation or work of setting up the frame of a building; as to help at a raising. [U.S.]
3. The operation of embossing sheet metal, or of forming it into cup-shaped or hollow articles, by hammering, stamping, or spinning. Raising bee, a bee for raising the frame of a building. See Bee, n. , 2. [U.S.] W. Irving. — Raising hammer, a hammer with a rounded face, used in raising sheet metal. — Raising plate (Carp.), the plate, or longitudinal timber, on which a roof is raised and rests.
Raisonne
Rai•son•ne´ (ra•zo•na"), a. [F. raisonne, p. p. of raisonner to reason.] Arranged systematically, or according to classes or subjects; as a catalogue raisonne. See under Catalogue.
Raj (räj), n. [See Rajah.] Reign; rule. [India]
Rajah
Ra´jah (rä"jä or ra"ja), n. [Hind. raja, Skr. rajan, akin to L. rex, regis. See Regal, a. ] A native prince or king; also a landholder or person of importance in the agricultural districts. [India]
Rake (rak), n. [AS. race; akin to OD. rake, D. reek, OHG. rehho, G. rechen, Icel. reka a shovel, and to Goth. rikan to heap up, collect, and perhaps to Gr. ’ore•gein to stretch out, and E. rack to stretch. Cf. Reckon.]
1. An implement consisting of a headpiece having teeth, and a long handle at right angles to it, — used for collecting hay, or other light things which are spread over a large surface, or for breaking and smoothing the earth.
2. A toothed machine drawn by a horse, — used for collecting hay or grain; a horserake.
3. [Perhaps a different word.] (Mining) A fissure or mineral vein traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so; — called also rake-vein. Gill rakes. (Anat.) See under 1st Gill.
Rake, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raked (rakt); p. pr. & vb. n. Raking.] [AS. racian. See 1st Rake.]
1. To collect with a rake; as to rake hay; — often with up; as he raked up the fallen leaves.
2. Hence: To collect or draw together with laborious industry; to gather from a wide space; to scrape together; as to rake together wealth; to rake together slanderous tales; to rake together the rabble of a town.
3. To pass a rake over; to scrape or scratch with a rake for the purpose of collecting and clearing off something, or for stirring up the soil; as to rake a lawn; to rake a flower bed.
4. To search through; to scour; to ransack.
"The statesman rakes the town to find a plot." Swift.
5. To scrape or scratch across; to pass over quickly and lightly, as a rake does.
"Like clouds that rake the mountain summits." Wordsworth.
6. (Mil.) To enfilade; to fire in a direction with the length of; in naval engagements, to cannonade, as a ship, on the stern or head so that the balls range the whole length of the deck. To rake up. (a) To collect together, as the fire (live coals), and cover with ashes. (b) To bring up; to search out and bring to notice again; as to rake up old scandals.
Rake, v. i.
1. [Icel. reika. Cf. Rake a debauchee.] To walk about; to gad or ramble idly. [Prov. Eng.]
2. [See Rake a debauchee.] To act the rake; to lead a dissolute, debauched life. Shenstone. To rake out (Falconry), to fly too far and wide from its master while hovering above waiting till the game is sprung; — said of the hawk. Encyc. Brit.
Rakehell
Rake´hell (rak"hel•), n. [See Rakel.] A lewd, dissolute fellow; a debauchee; a rake.
"It seldom doth happen, in any way of life, that a sluggard and a rakehell do not go together." Barrow. { Rake´hell•, Rake´hell•y (-y), } a. Dissolute; wild; lewd; rakish. [Obs.] Spenser. B. Jonson.
Rakel
Ra´kel (rä"kel), a. [OE. See Rake a debauchee.] Hasty; reckless; rash. [Obs.] Chaucer. — Ra´kel•ness, n. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Raker
Rak´er (rak"er), n. [See 1st Rake.]
1. One who, or that which, rakes; as: (a) A person who uses a rake. (b) A machine for raking grain or hay by horse or other power. (c) A gun so placed as to rake an enemy’s ship.
2. (Zoöl.) See Gill rakers, under 1st Gill.
Rakery
Rak´er•y (-y), n. Debauchery; lewdness.
"The rakery and intrigues of the lewd town." R. North.
Rakeshame
Rake´shame (rak"sham•), n. [Cf. Rakehell, Ragabash.] A vile, dissolute wretch. [Obs.] Milton.
Rake-vein
Rake´-vein (-van•), n. See Rake, a mineral vein.
Rakish
Rak´ish, a. (Naut.) Having a saucy appearance indicative of speed and dash. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
Rakishness
Rak´ish•ness, n. The quality or state of being rakish.
Ralliance
Ral´li•ance (ral"li• ans), n. [Cf. OF. raliance. See Rally to reunite.] The act of rallying.
Rallies
Ral´lies´, n. pl. [F., p. p. pl. See Rally, v. t.] A French political group, also known as the Constitutional Right from its position in the Chambers, mainly monarchists who rallied to the support of the Republic in obedience to the encyclical put forth by Pope Leo XIII. in Feb., 1892.
Rally
Ral´ly (ral"ly), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rallied (-lid); p. pr. & vb. n. Rallying.] [OF. ralier, F. rallier, fr. L. pref. re- + a. + ligare to bind. See Ra-, and 1st Ally.] To collect, and reduce to order, as troops dispersed or thrown into confusion; to gather again; to reunite.
Rally
Ral´ly, v. t. [F. railler. See Rail to scoff.] To attack with raillery, either in good humor and pleasantry, or with slight contempt or satire.
"Honeycomb … rallies me upon a country life." Addison.
"Strephon had long confessed his amorous pain,
Which gay Corinna rallied with disdain." Gay.
Syn. — To banter; ridicule; satirize; deride; mock.
Rally
Ral´ly (ral"ly), v. i. To use pleasantry, or satirical merriment.
Ram (ram), n. [AS. ramm, ram; akin to OHG. & D. ram, Prov. G. ramm, and perh. to Icel. ramr strong.]
1. The male of the sheep and allied animals. In some parts of England a ram is called a tup.
2. (Astron.) (a) Aries, the sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of March. (b) The constellation Aries, which does not now, as formerly, occupy the sign of the same name.
3. An engine of war used for butting or battering. Specifically: (a) In ancient warfare, a long beam suspended by slings in a framework, and used for battering the walls of cities; a battering-ram. (b) A heavy steel or iron beak attached to the prow of a steam war vessel for piercing or cutting down the vessel of an enemy; also a vessel carrying such a beak.
4. A hydraulic ram. See under Hydraulic.
5. The weight which strikes the blow, in a pile driver, steam hammer, stamp mill, or the like.
6. The plunger of a hydraulic press. Ram’s horn. (a) (Fort.) A low semicircular work situated in and commanding a ditch. [Written also ramshorn.] Farrow. (b) (Paleon.) An ammonite.
Ram, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rammed (ramd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ramming.]
1. To butt or strike against; to drive a ram against or through; to thrust or drive with violence; to force in; to drive together; to cram; as to ram an enemy’s vessel; to ram piles, cartridges, etc.
"[They] rammed me in with foul shirts, and smocks, socks, foul stockings, greasy napkins." Shak.
2. To fill or compact by pounding or driving.
"A ditch … was filled with some sound materials, and rammed to make the foundation solid." Arbuthnot.
Ramal
Ra´mal (ra"m al), a. [L. ramus branch.] Of or pertaining to a ramus, or branch; rameal.
Ramble
Ram´ble (ram"b’l), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rambled (-b’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Rambling (-bling).] [For rammle, fr. Prov. E. rame to roam. Cf. Roam.]
1. To walk, ride, or sail, from place to place, without any determinate object in view; to roam carelessly or irregularly; to rove; to wander; as to ramble about the city; to ramble over the world.
"He that is at liberty to ramble in perfect darkness, what is his liberty better than if driven up and down as a bubble by the wind?" Locke.
2. To talk or write in a discursive, aimless way.
3. To extend or grow at random. Thomson.
Syn. — To rove; roam; wander; range; stroll.
Ramble
Ram´ble, n.
1. A going or moving from place to place without any determinate business or object; an excursion or stroll merely for recreation.
"Coming home, after a short Christmas ramble." Swift.
2. [Cf. Rammel.] (Coal Mining) A bed of shale over the seam. Raymond.
Rambler
Ram´bler (-bler), n. One who rambles; a rover; a wanderer.
Rambooze
Ram´booze (-booz), n. A beverage made of wine, ale (or milk), sugar, etc. [Obs.] Blount.
Ramed (ramd), a. Having the frames, stem, and sternpost adjusted; — said of a ship on the stocks.
Ramentaceous
Ram•en•ta´ceous (ram•en•ta"shus), a. (Bot.) Covered with ramenta.
Rameous
Ra´me•ous (ra"me•us), a. [L. rameus, from ramus branch, bough.] (Bot.) Ramal.
Ramie
Ram´ie (ram"e), n. [From Malay.] (Bot.) The grass-cloth plant ( Bœhmeria nivea); also its fiber, which is very fine and exceedingly strong; — called also China grass, and rhea. See Grass-cloth plant, under Grass.
Ramification
Ram•i•fi•ca´tion (ram•i•fi•ka"shun), n. [Cf. F. ramification. See Ramify.]
1. The process of branching, or the development of branches or offshoots from a stem; also the mode of their arrangement.
2. A small branch or offshoot proceeding from a main stock or channel; as the ramifications of an artery, vein, or nerve.
3. A division into principal and subordinate classes, heads, or departments; also one of the subordinate parts; as the ramifications of a subject or scheme.
4. The production of branchlike figures. Crabb.
Ramiform
Ram´i•form (ram"i•fôrm), a. [L. ramus branch + -form.] (Bot.) Having the form of a branch.
Ramify
Ram´i•fy (ram"i•fi), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ramified (ram"i•fid); p. pr. & vb. n. Ramifying (ram"i•fi•ing).] [F. ramifier, LL. ramificare, fr. L. ramus a branch + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.] To divide into branches or subdivisions; as to ramify an art, subject, scheme.
Ramp (ramp), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Ramped (ramt; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Ramping.] [F. ramper to creep, OF., to climb; of German origin; cf. G. raffen to snatch, LG. & D. rapen. See Rap to snatch, and cf. Romp.]
1. To spring; to leap; to bound; to rear; to prance; to become rampant; hence, to frolic; to romp.
2. To move by leaps, or as by leaps; hence, to move swiftly or with violence.
"Their bridles they would champ,
And trampling the fine element would fiercely ramp." Spenser.
3. To climb, as a plant; to creep up.
"With claspers and tendrils, they [plants] catch hold, … and so ramping upon trees, they mount up to a great height." Ray.
Rampacious
Ram•pa´cious (ram•pa"shus), a. High-spirited; rampageous. [Slang] Dickens.
Rampage
Ramp´age (ramp"aj; 48), n. [See Ramp, v. ] Violent or riotous behavior; a state of excitement, passion, or debauchery; as to be on the rampage. [Prov. or Low] Dickens.
Rampage
Ramp´age, v. i. To leap or prance about, as an animal; to be violent; to rage. [Prov. or Low]
Rampant
Ramp´ant (ramp"ant), a. [F., p. pr. of ramper to creep. See Ramp, v. ]
1. Ramping; leaping; springing; rearing upon the hind legs; hence, raging; furious.
"The fierce lion in his kind
Which goeth rampant after his prey." Gower.
"[The] lion … rampant shakes his brinded mane." Milton.
2. Ascending; climbing; rank in growth; exuberant.
"The rampant stalk is of unusual altitude." I. Taylor.
3. (Her.) Rising with fore paws in the air as if attacking; — said of a beast of prey, especially a lion. The right fore leg and right hind leg should be raised higher than the left. Rampant arch. (a) An arch which has one abutment higher than the other. (b) Same as Rampant vault, below. — Rampant gardant (Her.), rampant, but with the face turned to the front. — Rampant regardant, rampant, but looking backward. — Rampant vault (Arch.), a continuous wagon vault, or cradle vault, whose two abutments are located on an inclined plane, such as the vault supporting a stairway, or forming the ceiling of a stairway.
Rampart
Ram´part (ram"pärt), n. [F. rempart, OF. rempar, fr. remparer to fortify, se remparer to fence or intrench one’s self; pref. re- re- + pref. en- (L. in) + parer to defend, parry, prepare, L. parare to prepare. See Pare.]
1. That which fortifies and defends from assault; that which secures safety; a defense or bulwark.
2. (Fort.) A broad embankment of earth round a place, upon which the parapet is raised. It forms the substratum of every permanent fortification. Mahan.
Syn. — Bulwark; fence; security; guard. — Rampart, Bulwark. These words were formerly interchanged; but in modern usage a distinction has sprung up between them. The rampart of a fortified place is the enceinte or entire main embankment or wall which surrounds it. The term bulwark is now applied to peculiarly strong outworks which project for the defense of the rampart, or main work. A single bastion is a bulwark. In using these words figuratively, rampart is properly applied to that which protects by walling out; bulwark to that which stands in the forefront of danger, to meet and repel it. Hence, we speak of a distinguished individual as the bulwark, not the rampart, of the state. This distinction, however, is often disregarded.
Rampart
Ram´part, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ramparted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ramparting.] To surround or protect with, or as with, a rampart or ramparts.
"Those grassy hills, those glittering dells,
Proudly ramparted with rocks." Coleridge. Rampart gun (Fort.), a cannon or large gun for use on a rampart and not as a fieldpiece.
Rampe (ramp), n. [In allusion to its supposed aphrodisiac qualities. See Ramp.] (Bot.) The cuckoopint.
Rampion
Ram´pi•on (ram"pi•un), n. [Cf. F. raiponce, Sp. ruiponce, reponche, L. raperonzo, NL. rapuntium, fr. L. rapum, rapa, a turnip, rape. Cf. Rape a plant.] (Bot.) A plant ( Campanula Rapunculus) of the Bellflower family, with a tuberous esculent root; — also called ramps. The name is sometimes given to plants of the genus Phyteuma, herbs of the Bellflower family, and to the American evening primrose ( Œnothera biennis), which has run wild in some parts of Europe.
Ramrod
Ram´rod (-rod•), n. The rod used in ramming home the charge in a muzzle-loading firearm.
Ramshackle
Ram´shac•kle, v. t. To search or ransack; to rummage. [Prov. Eng.]
Ramsted
Ram´sted (-sted), n. (Bot.) A yellow-flowered weed; — so named from a Mr. Ramsted who introduced it into Pennsylvania. See Toad flax. Called also Ramsted weed.
Ramuscule
Ra•mus´cule (ra•mus"kul), n. [L. ramusculus.] (Nat. Hist.) A small ramus, or branch.
Ranch (ranch), v. t. [Written also raunch.] [Cf. Wrench.] To wrench; to tear; to sprain; to injure by violent straining or contortion. [R.] Dryden. "Hasting to raunch the arrow out." Spenser.
Ranch, n. [See Rancho.] A tract of land used for grazing and the rearing of horses, cattle, or sheep. See Rancho, 2. [Western U. S.]
Rancho
Ran´cho (ran"cho), n. ; pl. Ranchos (-choz). [Sp., properly, a mess, mess room. Cf. 2d Ranch.]
1. A rude hut, as of posts, covered with branches or thatch, where herdsmen or farm laborers may live or lodge at night.
2. A large grazing farm where horses and cattle are raised; — distinguished from hacienda, a cultivated farm or plantation. [Mexico & California] Bartlett.
Rancor
Ran´cor (ran"ker), n. [Written also rancour.] [OE. rancour, OF. rancor, rancur, F. rancune, fr. L. rancor rancidity, rankness; tropically, an old grudge, rancor, fr. rancere to be rank or rancid.] The deepest malignity or spite; deep-seated enmity or malice; inveterate hatred. "To stint rancour and dissencioun." Chaucer.
"It would not be easy to conceive the passion, rancor, and malice of their tongues and hearts." Burke.
Syn. — Enmity; hatred; ill will; malice; spite; grudge; animosity; malignity. — Rancor, Enmity. Enmity and rancor both describe hostile feelings; but enmity may be generous and open, while rancor implies personal malice of the worst and most enduring nature, and is the strongest word in our language to express hostile feelings.
"Rancor will out; proud prelate, in thy face
I see thy fury." Shak.
"Rancor is that degree of malice which preys upon the possessor." Cogan.
Rand, v. i. [See Rant.] To rant; to storm. [Obs.]
"I wept, … and raved, and randed, and railed." J. Webster.
Randall grass
Ran"dall grass (ran"d al gras•). (Bot.) The meadow fescue ( Festuca elatior). See under Grass.
Randan
Ran´dan, n. A boat propelled by three rowers with four oars, the middle rower pulling two.
Random
Ran´dom (ran"dum), n. [OE. randon, OF. randon force, violence, rapidity, à randon, de randon, violently, suddenly, rapidly, prob. of German origin; cf. G. rand edge, border, OHG. rant shield, edge of a shield, akin to E. rand, n. See Rand, n. ]
1. Force; violence. [Obs.]
"For courageously the two kings newly fought with great random and force." E. Hall.
2. A roving motion; course without definite direction; want of direction, rule, or method; hazard; chance; — commonly used in the phrase at random, that is, without a settled point of direction; at hazard.
"Counsels, when they fly At random, sometimes hit most happily." Herrick.
"O, many a shaft, at random sent,
Finds mark the archer little meant!" Sir W. Scott.
3. Distance to which a missile is cast; range; reach; as the random of a rifle ball. Sir K. Digby.
4. (Mining) The direction of a rake- vein. Raymond.
Ranforce
Ran´force (ran"fors•), n. [Cf. F. renforcer.] See Reënforce. [Obs.] Bailey.
Rang (rang), imp. of Ring, v. t. & i.
Range (ranj), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ranged (ranjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ranging (ran"jing).] [OE. rengen, OF. rengier, F. ranger, OF. renc row, rank, F. rang; of German origin. See Rank, n. ]
1. To set in a row, or in rows; to place in a regular line or lines, or in ranks; to dispose in the proper order; to rank; as to range soldiers in line.
"Maccabeus ranged his army by bands." 2 Macc. xii. 20.
2. To place (as a single individual) among others in a line, row, or order, as in the ranks of an army; — usually, reflexively and figuratively, (in the sense) to espouse a cause, to join a party, etc.
"It would be absurd in me to range myself on the side of the Duke of Bedford and the corresponding society." Burke.
3. To separate into parts; to sift. [Obs.] Holland.
4. To dispose in a classified or in systematic order; to arrange regularly; as to range plants and animals in genera and species.
5. To rove over or through; as to range the fields.
"Teach him to range the ditch, and force the brake." Gay.
6. To sail or pass in a direction parallel to or near; as to range the coast. Compare the last two senses (5 and 6) with the French ranger une côte.
7. (Biol.) To be native to, or to live in; to frequent.
Range, n. [From Range, v. : cf. F. rangee.]
1. A series of things in a line; a row; a rank; as a range of buildings; a range of mountains.
2. An aggregate of individuals in one rank or degree; an order; a class.
"The next range of beings above him are the immaterial intelligences." Sir M. Hale.
3. The step of a ladder; a rung. Clarendon.
4. A kitchen grate. [Obs.]
"He was bid at his first coming to take off the range, and let down the cinders." L’Estrange.
5. An extended cooking apparatus of cast iron, set in brickwork, and affording conveniences for various ways of cooking; also a kind of cooking stove.
6. A bolting sieve to sift meal. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
7. A wandering or roving; a going to and fro; an excursion; a ramble; an expedition.
"He may take a range all the world over." South.
8. That which may be ranged over; place or room for excursion; especially, a region of country in which cattle or sheep may wander and pasture.
9. Extent or space taken in by anything excursive; compass or extent of excursion; reach; scope; discursive power; as the range of one’s voice, or authority.
"Far as creation’s ample range extends." Pope.
"The range and compass of Hammond’s knowledge filled the whole circle of the arts." Bp. Fell.
"A man has not enough range of thought." Addison.
10. (Biol.) The region within which a plant or animal naturally lives.
11. (Gun.) (a) The horizontal distance to which a shot or other projectile is carried. (b) Sometimes, less properly, the trajectory of a shot or projectile. (c) A place where shooting, as with cannons or rifles, is practiced.
12. In the public land system of the United States, a row or line of townships lying between two successive meridian lines six miles apart. The meridians included in each great survey are numbered in order east and west from the "principal meridian" of that survey, and the townships in the range are numbered north and south from the "base line," which runs east and west; as township No. 6, N., range 7, W., from the fifth principal meridian.
13. (Naut.) See Range of cable, below. Range of accommodation (Optics), the distance between the near point and the far point of distinct vision, — usually measured and designated by the strength of the lens which if added to the refracting media of the eye would cause the rays from the near point to appear as if they came from the far point. — Range finder (Gunnery), an instrument, or apparatus, variously constructed, for ascertaining the distance of an inaccessible object, — used to determine what elevation must be given to a gun in order to hit the object; a position finder. — Range of cable (Naut.), a certain length of slack cable ranged along the deck preparatory to letting go the anchor. — Range work (Masonry), masonry of squared stones laid in courses each of which is of even height throughout the length of the wall; — distinguished from broken range work, which consists of squared stones laid in courses not continuously of even height. — To get the range of (an object) (Gun.), to find the angle at which the piece must be raised to reach (the object) without carrying beyond.
Rangement
Range´ment (ranj"m ent), n. [Cf. F. rangement.] Arrangement. [Obs.] Waterland.
Rangership
Ran´ger•ship, n. The office of the keeper of a forest or park. [Eng.]
Rangy
Ran´gy, a. [From Range, v. i.] Inclined or able to range, or rove about, for considerable distances; apt or suited for much roving, — chiefly used of cattle. { Rap´id-fire•, Rap´id-fir•ing }, a. (a) (Gun.) Firing shots in rapid succession. (b) (Ordnance) Capable of being fired rapidly; — applied to single-barreled guns of greater caliber than small arms, mounted so as to be quickly trained and elevated, with a quick-acting breech mechanism operated by a single motion of a crank or lever (abbr. R. F.); specif.: (1) In the United States navy, designating such a gun using fixed ammunition or metallic cartridge cases; — distinguished from breech-loading (abbr. B. L.), applied to all guns loading with the charge in bags, and formerly from quick-fire. Rapid-fire guns in the navy also sometimes include automatic or semiautomatic rapid-fire guns; the former being automatic guns of not less than one inch caliber, firing a shell of not less than one pound weight, the explosion of each cartridge operating the mechanism for ejecting the empty shell, loading, and firing the next shot, the latter being guns that require one operation of the hand at each discharge, to load the gun. (2) In the United States army, designating such a gun, whether using fixed or separate ammunition, designed chiefly for use in coast batteries against torpedo vessels and the lightly armored batteries or other war vessels and for the protection of defensive mine fields; — not distinguished from quick-fire. (3) In Great Britain and Europe used, rarely, as synonymous with quick-fire.
Rani
Ra´ni (rä"ne), n. [Hind. rani, Skr. rajni. See Rajah.] A queen or princess; the wife of a rajah. [Written also ranee.] [India]
Rank (rank), a. [ Compar. Ranker (-er); superl. Rankest.] [AS. ranc strong, proud; cf. D. rank slender, Dan. rank upright, erect, Prov. G. rank slender, Icel. rakkr slender, bold. The meaning seems to have been influenced by L. rancidus, E. rancid.]
1. Luxuriant in growth; of vigorous growth; exuberant; grown to immoderate height; as rank grass; rank weeds.
"And, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good." Gen. xli. 5.
2. Raised to a high degree; violent; extreme; gross; utter; as rank heresy. "Rank nonsense." Hare. "I do forgive thy rankest fault." Shak.
3. Causing vigorous growth; producing luxuriantly; very rich and fertile; as rank land. Mortimer.
4. Strong-scented; rancid; musty; as oil of a rank smell; rank-smelling rue. Spenser.
5. Strong to the taste. "Divers sea fowls taste rank of the fish on which they feed." Boyle.
6. Inflamed with venereal appetite. [Obs.] Shak. Rank modus (Law), an excessive and unreasonable modus. See Modus, 3. — To set (the iron of a plane, etc.) rank, to set so as to take off a thick shaving. Moxon.
Rank, n. [OE. renk, reng, OF. renc, F. rang, fr. OHG. hring a circle, a circular row, G. ring. See Ring, and cf. Range, n. & v.]
1. A row or line; a range; an order; a tier; as a rank of osiers.
"Many a mountain nigh
Rising in lofty ranks, and loftier still." Byron.
2. (Mil.) A line of soldiers ranged side by side; — opposed to file. See 1st File, 1 (a).
"Fierce, fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war." Shak.
3. Grade of official standing, as in the army, navy, or nobility; as the rank of general; the rank of admiral.
4. An aggregate of individuals classed together; a permanent social class; an order; a division; as ranks and orders of men; the highest and the lowest ranks of men, or of other intelligent beings.
5. Degree of dignity, eminence, or excellence; position in civil or social life; station; degree; grade; as a writer of the first rank; a lawyer of high rank.
"These all are virtues of a meaner rank." Addison.
6. Elevated grade or standing; high degree; high social position; distinction; eminence; as a man of rank. Rank and file. (a) (Mil.) The whole body of common soldiers, including also corporals. In a more extended sense, it includes sergeants also excepting the noncommissioned staff. (b) See under 1st File. — The ranks, the order or grade of common soldiers; as to reduce a noncommissioned officer to the ranks. — To fill the ranks, to supply the whole number, or a competent number. — To take rank of, to have precedence over, or to have the right of taking a higher place than.
Rank, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ranked (rankt); p. pr. & vb. n. Ranking.]
1. To place abreast, or in a line.
2. To range in a particular class, order, or division; to class; also to dispose methodically; to place in suitable classes or order; to classify.
"Ranking all things under general and special heads." I. Watts.
"Poets were ranked in the class of philosophers." Broome.
"Heresy is ranked with idolatry and witchcraft." Dr. H. More.
3. To take rank of; to outrank. [U.S.]
Ranker
Rank´er (-er), n. One who ranks, or disposes in ranks; one who arranges.
Rankle
Ran´kle (ran"k’l), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rankled (-k’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Rankling (-kling).] [From Rank, a. ]
1. To become, or be, rank; to grow rank or strong; to be inflamed; to fester; — used literally and figuratively.
"A malady that burns and rankles inward." Rowe.
"This would have left a rankling wound in the hearts of the people." Burke.
2. To produce a festering or inflamed effect; to cause a sore; — used literally and figuratively; as a splinter rankles in the flesh; the words rankled in his bosom.
Rankle
Ran´kle (ran"k’l), v. t. To cause to fester; to make sore; to inflame. [R.] Beau. & Fl.
Rankness
Rank´ness, n. [AS. rancness pride.] The condition or quality of being rank.
Ranny
Ran´ny (-ny), n. [L. araneus mus, a kind of small mouse.] (Zoöl.) The erd shrew. [Scot.]
Ransack
Ran´sack (-sak), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ransacked (-sakt); p. pr. & vb. n. Ransacking.] [OE. ransaken, Icel. rannsaka to explore, examine; rann a house (akin to Goth. razn house, AS. raesn plank, beam) + the root of saekja to seek, akin to E. seek. See Seek, and cf. Rest repose.]
1. To search thoroughly; to search every place or part of; as to ransack a house.
"To ransack every corner of their … hearts." South.
2. To plunder; to pillage completely.
"Their vow is made
To ransack Troy." Shak.
3. To violate; to ravish; to defiour. [Obs.]
"Rich spoil of ransacked chastity." Spenser.
Ransom
Ran´som (ran"sum), n. [OE. raunson, raunsoun, OF. rançon, raençon, raançon, F. rançon, fr. L. redemptio, fr. redimere to redeem. See Redeem, and cf. Redemption.]
1. The release of a captive, or of captured property, by payment of a consideration; redemption; as prisoners hopeless of ransom. Dryden.
2. The money or price paid for the redemption of a prisoner, or for goods captured by an enemy; payment for freedom from restraint, penalty, or forfeit.
"Thy ransom paid, which man from death redeems." Milton.
"His captivity in Austria, and the heavy ransom he paid for his liberty." Sir J. Davies.
3. (O. Eng. Law) A sum paid for the pardon of some great offense and the discharge of the offender; also a fine paid in lieu of corporal punishment. Blackstone. Ransom bill (Law), a war contract, valid by the law of nations, for the ransom of property captured at sea and its safe conduct into port. Kent.
Ransom
Ran´som, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ransomed (-sumd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ransoming.] [Cf. F. rançonner. See Ransom, n. ]
1. To redeem from captivity, servitude, punishment, or forfeit, by paying a price; to buy out of servitude or penalty; to rescue; to deliver; as to ransom prisoners from an enemy.
2. To exact a ransom for, or a payment on. [R.]
"Such lands as he had rule of he ransomed them so grievously, and would tax the men two or three times in a year." Berners.
Ransomable
Ran´som•a•ble (-a•b’l), a. Such as can be ransomed.
Ransomless
Ran´som•less, a. Incapable of being ransomed; without ransom. Shak.
Rant (rant), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Ranted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ranting.] [OD. ranten, randen, to dote, to be enraged.] To rave in violent, high-sounding, or extravagant language, without dignity of thought; to be noisy, boisterous, and bombastic in talk or declamation; as a ranting preacher.
"Look where my ranting host of the Garter comes!" Shak.
Ranter
Rant´er (-er), n.
1. A noisy talker; a raving declaimer.
2. (Eccl. Hist.) (a) One of a religious sect which sprung up in 1645; — called also Seekers. See Seeker. (b) One of the Primitive Methodists, who seceded from the Wesleyan Methodists on the ground of their deficiency in fervor and zeal; — so called in contempt.
Ranterism
Rant´er•ism (-iz’m), n. (Eccl. Hist.) The practice or tenets of the Ranters.
Ranunculaceous
Ra•nun•cu•la´ceous (ra•nun•ku•la"shus), a. [See Ranunculus.] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants ( Ranunculaceae), of which the buttercup is the type, and which includes also the virgin’s bower, the monkshood, larkspur, anemone, meadow rue, and peony.
Rap (rap), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A lay or skein containing 120 yards of yarn. Knight.
Rap, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rapped (rapt); p. pr. & vb. n. Rapping.] [Akin to Sw. rappa to strike, rapp stroke, Dan. rap, perhaps of imitative origin.] To strike with a quick, sharp blow; to knock; as to rap on the door.
Rap, n. A quick, smart blow; a knock.
Rap, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rapped (rapt), usually written Rapt; p. pr. & vb. n. Rapping.] [OE. rapen; akin to LG. & D. rapen to snatch, G. raffen, Sw. rappa; cf. Dan. rappe sig to make haste, and Icel. hrapa to fall, to rush, hurry. The word has been confused with L. rapere to seize. Cf. Rape robbery, Rapture, Raff, v. , Ramp, v. ]
1. To snatch away; to seize and hurry off.
"And through the Greeks and Ilians they rapt
The whirring chariot." Chapman.
"From Oxford I was rapt by my nephew, Sir Edmund Bacon, to Redgrove." Sir H. Wotton.
2. To hasten. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
3. To seize and bear away, as the mind or thoughts; to transport out of one’s self; to affect with ecstasy or rapture; as rapt into admiration.
"I ’m rapt with joy to see my Marcia’s tears." Addison.
"Rapt into future times, the bard begun." Pope.
4. To exchange; to truck. [Obs. & Low] To rap and ren, To rap and rend. [Perhaps fr. Icel. hrapa to hurry and raena plunder, fr. ran plunder, E. ran.] To seize and plunder; to snatch by violence. Dryden. "[Ye] waste all that ye may rape and renne." Chaucer.
"All they could rap and rend and pilfer." Hudibras. — To rap out, to utter with sudden violence, as an oath.
"A judge who rapped out a great oath." Addison.
Rapaces
Ra•pa´ces (ra•pa"sez), n. pl. [NL. See Rapacious.] (Zoöl.) Same as Accipitres.
Rapacious
Ra•pa´cious (-shus), a. [L. rapax, -acis, from rapere to seize and carry off, to snatch away. See Rapid.]
1. Given to plunder; disposed or accustomed to seize by violence; seizing by force. " The downfall of the rapacious and licentious Knights Templar." Motley.
2. Accustomed to seize food; subsisting on prey, or animals seized by violence; as a tiger is a rapacious animal; a rapacious bird.
3. Avaricious; grasping; extortionate; also greedy; ravenous; voracious; as rapacious usurers; a rapacious appetite.
"[Thy Lord] redeem thee quite from Death’s rapacious claim" Milton.
Syn. — Greedy; grasping; ravenous; voracious. — Ra•pa´cious•ly, adv. — Ra•pa´cious•ness, n.
Rapacity
Ra•pac´i•ty (ra•pas"i•ty), n. [L. rapacitas: cf. F. rapacite. See Rapacious.]
1. The quality of being rapacious; rapaciousness; ravenousness; as the rapacity of pirates; the rapacity of wolves.
2. The act or practice of extorting or exacting by oppressive injustice; exorbitant greediness of gain. "The rapacity of some ages." Sprat.
Rape, n. [Akin to rap to snatch, but confused with L. rapere. See Rap to snatch.]
1. The act of seizing and carrying away by force; violent seizure; robbery.
"And ruined orphans of thy rapes complain." Sandys.
2. (Law) Sexual connection with a woman without her consent. See Age of consent, under Consent, n.
3. That which is snatched away. [Obs.]
"Where now are all my hopes? O, never more
Shall they revive! nor death her rapes restore." Sandys.
4. Movement, as in snatching; haste; hurry. [Obs.]
Rape, v. t. To commit rape upon; to ravish. To rape and ren. See under Rap, v. t., to snatch.
Rape, v. i. To rob; to pillage. [Obs.] Heywood.
Rape, n. [L. rapa, rapum, akin to Gr. "ra•pys, "ra•fys, G. rübe.] (Bot.) A name given to a variety or to varieties of a plant of the turnip kind, grown for seeds and herbage. The seeds are used for the production of rape oil, and to a limited extent for the food of cage birds. These plants, with the edible turnip, have been variously named, but are all now believed to be derived from the Brassica campestris of Europe, which by some is not considered distinct from the wild stock ( B. oleracea) of the cabbage. See Cole. Broom rape. (Bot.) See Broom rape, in the Vocabulary. — Rape cake, the refuse remaining after the oil has been expressed from the rape seed. — Rape root. Same as Rape. — Summer rape. (Bot.) See Colza.
Rapeful
Rape´ful (rap"ful), a.
1. Violent. [Obs.]
2. Given to the commission of rape. Byron.
Raphaelite
Raph´a•el•ite (-it), n. One who advocates or adopts the principles of Raphaelism.
Raphe
Ra´phe (ra"fe), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "rafh• a seam or suture, fr. "ra•ptein to sew or stitch together.]
1. (Anat.) A line, ridge, furrow, or band of fibers, especially in the median line; as the raphe of the tongue.
2. (Bot.) Same as Rhaphe.
Raphides
Raph´i•des (raf"i•dez), n. pl. [F. raphide.] (Bot.) See Rhaphides.
Rapid
Rap´id (rap"id), a. [L. rapidus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to snatch or hurry away; perhaps akin to Gr. ’arpa•zein: cf. F. rapide. Cf. Harpy, Ravish.]
1. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast; as a rapid stream; a rapid flight; a rapid motion.
"Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels." Milton.
2. Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick sequence; as rapid growth; rapid improvement; rapid recurrence; rapid succession.
3. Quick in execution; as a rapid penman.
Rapid
Rap´id, n. [Cf. F. rapide. See Rapid, a. ] The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; — usually in the plural; as the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence.
"Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast,
The rapids are near, and the daylight’s past." Moore.
Rapiered
Ra´pi•ered (-erd), a. Wearing a rapier. "Scarletcoated, rapiered figures." Lowell.
Rapine
Rap´ine (rap"in), n. [F. rapine; cf. Pr. & It. rapina; all fr. L. rapina, fr. rapere to seize and carry off by force. See Rapid, and cf. Raven rapine.]
1. The act of plundering; the seizing and carrying away of things by force; spoliation; pillage; plunder.
"Men who were impelled to war quite as much by the desire of rapine as by the desire of glory." Macaulay.
2. Ravishment; rape. [Obs.] Shak.
Rappage
Rap´page (-paj; 48), n. (Founding) The enlargement of a mold caused by rapping the pattern.
Rapped (rapt), imp. & p. p. of Rap, to strike.
Rapped, imp. & p. p. of Rap, to snatch away.
Rappee
Rap•pee´ (rap•pe"), n. [F. râpe, fr. râper to grate, to rasp. See Rasp, v. ] A pungent kind of snuff made from the darker and ranker kinds of tobacco leaves.
Rappel
Rap´pel (rap"pel or rap•pel"), n. [F. Cf. Repeal.] (Mil.) The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.
Rapper
Rap´per (rap"per), n. [From Rap.]
1. One who, or that which, raps or knocks; specifically, the knocker of a door. Sterne.
2. A forcible oath or lie. [Slang] Bp. Parker.
Rapport
Rap•port´ (rap•port"; F. ra•pôr"), n. [F., fr. rapporter to bring again or back, to refer; pref. re- re- + apporter to bring, L. apportare. Cf. Report.] Relation; proportion; conformity; correspondence; accord.
"’T is obvious what rapport there is between the conceptions and languages in every country." Sir W. Temple.En• rap•port" (äN• ra•pôr") [F.], in accord, harmony, or sympathy; having a mutual, especially a private, understanding; in mesmerism, in that relation of sympathy which permits influence or communication.
Rapprochement
Rap•proche•ment´, n. [F., fr. rapprocher to cause to approach again. See Re-; Approach.] Act or fact of coming or being drawn near or together; establishment or state of cordial relations.
"He had witnessed the gradual rapprochement between the papacy and Austria." Wilfrid Ward.
Rapscallion
Rap•scal´lion (rap•skal"yun), n. [See Rascallion.] A rascal; a good- for-nothing fellow. [Colloq.] Howitt.
Rapt (rapt), imp. & p. p. of Rap, to snatch away.
Rapt, n. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a. , and Rapid.]
1. An ecstasy; a trance. [Obs.] Bp. Morton.
2. Rapidity. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
Rapt, v. t.
1. To transport or ravish. [Obs.] Drayton.
2. To carry away by force. [Obs.] Daniel.
Raptor
Rap´tor (rap"ter), n. [L. raptor, from rapere to ravish. See Rapid.] A ravisher; a plunderer. [Obs.]
Raptores
Rap•to´res (rap•to"rez), n. pl. [NL. See Raptor.] (Zoöl.) Same as Accipitres. Called also Raptatores.
Raptorial
Rap•to´ri•al (-ri• al), a. (Zoöl.) (a) Rapacious; living upon prey; — said especially of certain birds. (b) Adapted for seizing prey; — said of the legs, claws, etc., of insects, birds, and other animals. (c) Of or pertaining to the Raptores. See Illust. (f) of Aves.
Raptorious
Rap•to´ri•ous (-us), a. [L. raptorius.] (Zoöl.) Raptorial.
Rapture
Rap´ture (rap"tur; 135), n. [L. rapere, raptum, to carry off by force. See Rapid.]
1. A seizing by violence; a hurrying along; rapidity with violence. [Obs.]
"That ’gainst a rock, or flat, her keel did dash
With headlong rapture." Chapman.
2. The state or condition of being rapt, or carried away from one’s self by agreeable excitement; violence of a pleasing passion; extreme joy or pleasure; ecstasy.
"Music, when thus applied, raises in the mind of the hearer great conceptions; it strengthens devotion, and advances praise into rapture." Addison.
"You grow correct that once with rapture writ." Pope.
3. A spasm; a fit; a syncope; delirium. [Obs.] Shak.
Syn. — Bliss; ecstasy; transport; delight; exultation.
Rapture
Rap´ture, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raptured (-turd; 135); p. pr. & vb. n. Rapturing.] To transport with excitement; to enrapture. [Poetic] Thomson.
Rapturize
Rap´tur•ize (-iz), v. t. & i. To put, or be put, in a state of rapture. [R.]
Rare (râr), a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.] Early. [Obs.]
"Rude mechanicals that rare and late
Work in the market place." Chapman.
Rare, a. [ Compar. Rarer (râr"er); superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hrer, or E. rare early. rad.18.] Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as rare beef or mutton.
"New-laid eggs, which Baucis’ busy care
Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare." Dryden. This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.
Rare, a. [ Compar. Rarer (râr"er); superl. Rarest.] [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.]
1. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as a rare event.
2. Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found.
"Rare work, all filled with terror and delight." Cowley.
"Above the rest I judge one beauty rare." Dryden.
3. Thinly scattered; dispersed.
"Those rare and solitary, these in flocks." Milton.
4. Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as a rare atmosphere at high elevations.
"Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold." Sir I. Newton.
Syn. — Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable. — Rare, Scarce. We call a thing rare when but few examples, specimens, or instances of it are ever to be met with; as a rare plant. We speak of a thing as scarce, which, though usually abundant, is for the time being to be had only in diminished quantities; as a bad harvest makes corn scarce.
"A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world." Burke.
"When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor." Addison.
Rarebit
Rare´bit (râr"bit), n. A dainty morsel; a Welsh rabbit. See Welsh rabbit, under Rabbit.
Rarefaction
Rar•e•fac´tion (rar•e•fak"shun), n. [Cf. F. rarefaction. See Rarefy.] The act or process of rarefying; the state of being rarefied; — opposed to condensation; as the rarefaction of air.
Rarefiable
Rar´e•fi•a•ble (rar"e•fi•a•b’l), a. [Cf. F. rarefiable.] Capable of being rarefied. Boyle.
Rarefy
Rar´e•fy (rar"e•fi; 277), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rarefied (- fid); p. pr. & vb. n. Rarefying (- fi•ing).] [F. rarefier; L. rarus rare + -ficare (in comp.) to make; cf. L. rarefacere. See -fy.] To make rare, thin, porous, or less dense; to expand or enlarge without adding any new portion of matter to; — opposed to condense.
Rarely
Rare´ly (râr"ly), adv.
1. In a rare manner or degree; seldom; not often; as things rarely seen.
2. Finely; excellently; with rare skill. See 3d Rare, 2.
"The person who played so rarely on the flageolet." Sir W. Scott.
"The rest of the apartments are rarely gilded." Evelyn.
Rareripe
Rare´ripe (-rip•), a. [ Rare early + ripe. Cf. Rathripe.] Early ripe; ripe before others, or before the usual season.
Rareripe
Rare´ripe, n. An early ripening fruit, especially a kind of freestone peach.
Rarification
Rar•i•fi•ca´tion (rar•i•fi•ka"shun), n. See Rarefaction. [R.] Am. Chem. Journal.
Rarity
Rar´i•ty (rar"i•ty; 277), n. ; pl. Rarities (- tiz). [L. raritas: cf. F. rarete. See Rare.]
1. The quality or state of being rare; rareness; thinness; as the rarity (contrasted with the density) of gases.
2. That which is rare; an uncommon thing; a thing valued for its scarcity.
"I saw three rarities of different kinds, which pleased me more than any other shows in the place." Addison.
Rascal
Ras´cal (ras"k al), n. [OE. rascaille rabble, probably from an OF. racaille, F. racaille the rabble, rubbish, probably akin to F. racler to scrape, (assumed) LL. rasiculare, rasicare, fr. L. radere, rasum. See Rase, v. ]
1. One of the rabble; a low, common sort of person or creature; collectively, the rabble; the common herd; also a lean, ill-conditioned beast, esp. a deer. [Obs.]
"He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the rascal." Wyclif (1 Kings [1 Samuel] vi. 19).
"Poor men alone? No, no; the noblest deer hath them [horns] as huge as the rascal." Shak.
2. A mean, trickish fellow; a base, dishonest person; a rogue; a scoundrel; a trickster.
"For I have sense to serve my turn in store,
And he’s a rascal who pretends to more." Dryden.
Rascallion
Ras•cal´lion (ras•kal"yun), n. [From Rascal.] A low, mean wretch. [Written also rascalion.]
Rase (raz), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rased (razd); p. pr. & vb. n. Rasing.] [F. raser, LL. rasare to scrape often, v. freq. fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, shave; cf. Skr. rad to scratch, gnaw, L. rodere to gnaw. Cf. Raze, Razee, Razor, Rodent.]
1. To rub along the surface of; to graze. [Obsoles.]
"Was he not in the … neighborhood to death? and might not the bullet which rased his cheek have gone into his head?" South.
"Sometimes his feet rased the surface of the water, and at others the skylight almost flattened his nose." Beckford.
2. To rub or scratch out; to erase. [Obsoles.]
"Except we rase the faculty of memory, root and branch, out of our mind." Fuller.
3. To level with the ground; to overthrow; to destroy; to raze. [In this sense raze is generally used.]
"Till Troy were by their brave hands rased,
They would not turn home." Chapman. This word, rase, may be considered as nearly obsolete; graze, erase, and raze, having superseded it. Rasing iron, a tool for removing old oakum and pitch from the seams of a vessel.
Syn. — To erase; efface; obliterate; expunge; cancel; level; prostrate; overthrow; subvert; destroy; demolish; ruin.
Rase, v. i. To be leveled with the ground; to fall; to suffer overthrow. [Obs.]
Rash, n. [OF. rasche an eruption, scurf, F. rache; fr. (assumed) LL. rasicare to scratch, fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, scratch, shave. See Rase, and cf. Rascal.] (Med.) A fine eruption or efflorescence on the body, with little or no elevation. Canker rash. See in the Vocabulary. — Nettle rash. See Urticaria. — Rose rash. See Roseola. — Tooth rash. See Red-gum.
Rash, n. [Cf. F. ras short-nap cloth, It. & Sp. raso satin (cf. Rase); or cf. It. rascia serge, G. rasch, probably fr. Arras in France (cf. Arras).] An inferior kind of silk, or mixture of silk and worsted. [Obs.] Donne.
Rash, a. [ Compar. Rasher (-er); superl. Rashest.] [Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. & Sw. rask quick, brisk, rash, Icel. röskr vigorous, brave, akin to D. & G. rasch quick, of uncertain origin.]
1. Sudden in action; quick; hasty. [Obs.] "Strong as aconitum or rash gunpowder." Shak.
2. Requiring sudden action; pressing; urgent. [Obs.]
"I scarce have leisure to salute you,
My matter is so rash." Shak.
3. Esp., overhasty in counsel or action; precipitate; resolving or entering on a project or measure without due deliberation and caution; opposed to prudent; said of persons; as a rash statesman or commander.
4. Uttered or undertaken with too much haste or too little reflection; as rash words; rash measures.
5. So dry as to fall out of the ear with handling, as corn. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
Syn. — Precipitate; headlong; headstrong; foolhardy; hasty; indiscreet; heedless; thoughtless; incautious; careless; inconsiderate; unwary. — Rash, Adventurous, Foolhardy. A man is adventurous who incurs risk or hazard from a love of the arduous and the bold. A man is rash who does it from the mere impulse of his feelings, without counting the cost. A man is foolhardy who throws himself into danger in disregard or defiance of the consequences.
"Was never known a more adventurous knight." Dryden.
"Her rash hand in evil hour
Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she eat." Milton.
"If any yet be so foolhardy
To expose themselves to vain jeopardy;
If they come wounded off, and lame,
No honor ’s got by such a maim." Hudibras.
Rashness
Rash´ness, n. The quality or state of being rash.
"We offend … by rashness, which is an affirming or denying, before we have sufficiently informed ourselves." South.
Syn. — Temerity; foolhardiness; precipitancy; precipitation; hastiness; indiscretion; heedlessness; inconsideration; carelessness. See Temerity.
Rasores
Ra•so´res (ra•zo"rez), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. radere, rasum, to scratch. See Rase, v. t.] (Zoöl.) An order of birds; the Gallinae. Formerly, the word Rasores was used in a wider sense, so as to include other birds now widely separated in classification.
Rasp (rasp), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rasped (raspt); p. pr. & vb. n. Rasping.] [OF. rasper, F. râper, to scrape, grate, rasp, fr. OHG. raspon to scrape together, to collect, probably akin to E. rap. Cf. Rap to snatch.]
1. To rub or file with a rasp; to rub or grate with a rough file; as to rasp wood to make it smooth; to rasp bones to powder.
2. Hence, figuratively: To grate harshly upon; to offend by coarse or rough treatment or language; as some sounds rasp the ear; his insults rasped my temper.
Rasp, n. [OE. raspe, OF. raspe, F. râpe. See Rasp, v. ]
1. A coarse file, on which the cutting prominences are distinct points raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of lines raised by a chisel, as on the true file.
2. The raspberry. [Obs.] "Set sorrel amongst rasps, and the rasps will be the smaller." Bacon. Rasp palm (Bot.), a Brazilian palm tree ( Iriartea exorhiza) which has strong aërial roots like a screw pine. The roots have a hard, rough surface, and are used by the natives for graters and rasps, whence the common name.
Raspatorium
Ras•pa•to´ri•um (ras•pa•to"ri•um), n. [LL.] See Raspatory.
Raspatory
Rasp´a•to•ry (rasp"a•to•ry), n. [LL. raspatorium: cf. F. raspatoir. See Rasp, v. ] A surgeon’s rasp. Wiseman.
Rasper
Rasp´er (rasp"er), n. One who, or that which, rasps; a scraper.
Raspy
Rasp´y (rasp"y), a. Like a rasp, or the sound made by a rasp; grating. R. D. Blackmore.
Rasure
Ra´sure (ra"zhur; 135), n. [L. rasura, fr. radere, rasum, to scrape, to shave. See Rase, v. ]
1. The act of rasing, scraping, or erasing; erasure; obliteration.
2. A mark by which a letter, word, or any part of a writing or print, is erased, effaced, or obliterated; an erasure. Ayliffe.
Rat (rat), n. [AS. raet; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato, ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw. råtta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael. radan, Armor. raz, of unknown origin. Cf. Raccoon.]
1. (Zoöl.) One of several species of small rodents of the genus Mus and allied genera, larger than mice, that infest houses, stores, and ships, especially the Norway, or brown, rat ( M. decumanus), the black rat ( M. rattus), and the roof rat ( M. Alexandrinus). These were introduced into America from the Old World.
2. A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material, used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their natural hair. [Local, U.S.]
3. One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the trades, one who works for lower wages than those prescribed by a trades union. [Cant] "It so chanced that, not long after the accession of the house of Hanover, some of the brown, that is, the German or Norway, rats, were first brought over to this country (in some timber as is said); and being much stronger than the black, or, till then, the common, rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter. The word (both the noun and the verb to rat) was first, as we have seen, leveled at the converts to the government of George the First, but has by degrees obtained a wider meaning, and come to be applied to any sudden and mercenary change in politics." Lord Mahon. Bamboo rat (Zoöl.), any Indian rodent of the genus Rhizomys. — Beaver rat, Coast rat. (Zoöl.) See under Beaver, and Coast. — Blind rat (Zoöl.), the mole rat. — Cotton rat (Zoöl.), a long-haired rat ( Sigmodon hispidus), native of the Southern United States and Mexico. It makes its nest of cotton and is often injurious to the crop. — Ground rat. See Ground Pig, under Ground. — Hedgehog rat. See under Hedgehog. — Kangaroo rat (Zoöl.), the potoroo. — Norway rat (Zoöl.), the common brown rat. See Rat. — Pouched rat. (Zoöl.) (a) See Pocket Gopher, under Pocket. (b) Any African rodent of the genus Cricetomys. — Rat Indians (Ethnol.), a tribe of Indians dwelling near Fort Ukon, Alaska. They belong to the Athabascan stock. — Rat mole. (Zoöl.) See Mole rat, under Mole. — Rat pit, an inclosed space into which rats are put to be killed by a dog for sport. — Rat snake (Zoöl.), a large colubrine snake ( Ptyas mucosus) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc. — Spiny rat (Zoöl.), any South American rodent of the genus Echinomys. — To smell a rat. See under Smell. — Wood rat (Zoöl.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma, especially N. Floridana, common in the Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.
Rat, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Ratted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ratting.]
1. In English politics, to desert one’s party from interested motives; to forsake one’s associates for one’s own advantage; in the trades, to work for less wages, or on other conditions, than those established by a trades union.
"Coleridge … incurred the reproach of having ratted, solely by his inability to follow the friends of his early days." De Quincey.
2. To catch or kill rats.
Ratability
Rat•a•bil´i•ty (rat•a•bil"i•ty), n. The quality or state of being ratable.
Ratch (rach), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Rotche.
Ratch (rach), n. [See Rack the instrument, Ratchet.] A ratchet wheel, or notched bar, with which a pawl or click works.
Ratchet
Ratch´et (-et), n. [Properly a diminutive from the same word as rack: cf. F. rochet. See 2d Ratch, Rack the instrument.]
1. A pawl, click, or detent, for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, etc.
2. A mechanism composed of a ratchet wheel, or ratch, and pawl. See Ratchet wheel, below, and 2d Ratch. Ratchet brace (Mech.), a boring brace, having a ratchet wheel and pawl for rotating the tool by back and forth movements of the brace handle. — Ratchet drill, a portable machine for working a drill by hand, consisting of a hand lever carrying at one end a drill holder which is revolved by means of a ratchet wheel and pawl, by swinging the lever back and forth. — Ratchet wheel (Mach.), a circular wheel having teeth, usually angular, with which a reciprocating pawl engages to turn the wheel forward, or a stationary pawl to hold it from turning backward. In the cut, the moving pawl c slides over the teeth in one direction, but in returning, draws the wheel with it, while the pawl d prevents it from turning in the contrary direction.
Rate, n. [OF., fr. L. rata (sc. pars), fr. ratus reckoned, fixed by calculation, p. p. of reri to reckon, to calculate. Cf. Reason.]
1. Established portion or measure; fixed allowance.
"The one right feeble through the evil rate
Of food which in her duress she had found." Spenser.
2. That which is established as a measure or criterion; degree; standard; rank; proportion; ratio; as a slow rate of movement; rate of interest is the ratio of the interest to the principal, per annum.
"Heretofore the rate and standard of wit was different from what it is nowadays." South.
"In this did his holiness and godliness appear above the rate and pitch of other men’s, in that he was so … merciful." Calamy.
"Many of the horse could not march at that rate, nor come up soon enough." Clarendon.
3. Valuation; price fixed with relation to a standard; cost; charge; as high or low rates of transportation.
"They come at dear rates from Japan." Locke.
4. A tax or sum assessed by authority on property for public use, according to its income or value; esp., in England, a local tax; as parish rates; town rates.
5. Order; arrangement. [Obs.]
"Thus sat they all around in seemly rate." Spenser.
6. Ratification; approval. [R.] Chapman.
7. (Horol.) The gain or loss of a timepiece in a unit of time; as daily rate; hourly rate; etc.
8. (Naut.) (a) The order or class to which a war vessel belongs, determined according to its size, armament, etc.; as first rate, second rate, etc. (b) The class of a merchant vessel for marine insurance, determined by its relative safety as a risk, as A1, A2, etc.
Rate, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rated; p. pr. & vb. n. Rating.]
1. To set a certain estimate on; to value at a certain price or degree.
"To rate a man by the nature of his companions is a rule frequent indeed, but not infallible." South.
"You seem not high enough your joys to rate." Dryden.
2. To assess for the payment of a rate or tax.
3. To settle the relative scale, rank, position, amount, value, or quality of; as to rate a ship; to rate a seaman; to rate a pension.
4. To ratify. [Obs.] "To rate the truce." Chapman. To rate a chronometer, to ascertain the exact rate of its gain or loss as compared with true time, so as to make an allowance or computation dependent thereon.
Syn. — To value; appraise; estimate; reckon.
Ratepayer
Rate´pay•er (-pa•er), n. One who pays rates or taxes.
Rather
Rath´er (rath"er), a. [Compar. of Rath, a. ] Prior; earlier; former. [Obs.]
"Now no man dwelleth at the rather town." Sir J. Mandeville.
Rather
Rath´er (rath"er; 277), adv. [AS. hraðor, compar. of hraðe, hraeðe, quickly, immediately. See Rath, a. ]
1. Earlier; sooner; before. [Obs.]
"Thou shalt, quod he, be rather false than I." Chaucer.
"A good mean to come the rather to grace." Foxe.
2. More readily or willingly; preferably.
"My soul chooseth … death rather than my life." Job vii. 15.
3. On the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead.
"Was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse." Mark v. 26.
4. Of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat.
"He sought throughout the world, but sought in vain,
And nowhere finding, rather feared her slain." Dryden.
5. More properly; more correctly speaking.
"This is an art
Which does mend nature, change it rather, but
The art itself is nature." Shak.
6. In some degree; somewhat; as the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp. The rather, the more so; especially; for better reason; for particular cause.
"You are come to me in happy time, The rather for I have some sport in hand." Shak. — Had rather, or Would rather, prefer to; prefers to; as he had, or would, rather go than stay. "I had rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." 1 Cor. xiv. 19. See Had rather, under Had.
Ratifier
Rat´i•fi•er (rat"i•fi•er), n. One who, or that which, ratifies; a confirmer. Shak.
Ratify
Rat´i•fy (-fi), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ratified (-fid); p. pr. & vb. n. Ratifying (- fi•ing).] [F. ratifier, fr. L. ratus fixed by calculation, firm, valid + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Rate, n. , and -fy.] To approve and sanction; to make valid; to confirm; to establish; to settle; especially, to give sanction to, as something done by an agent or servant; as to ratify an agreement, treaty, or contract; to ratify a nomination.
"It is impossible for the divine power to set a seal to a lie by ratifying an imposture with such a miracle." South.
Ratio
Ra´ti•o (ra"shi•o or ra"sho), n. [L., fr. reri, ratus, to reckon, believe, think, judge. See Reason.]
1. (Math.) The relation which one quantity or magnitude has to another of the same kind. It is expressed by the quotient of the division of the first by the second; thus, the ratio of 3 to 6 is expressed by &frac36; or ½; of a to b by a/b; or (less commonly) the second term is made the dividend; as a:b = b/a. Some writers consider ratio as the quotient itself, making ratio equivalent to a number. The term ratio is also sometimes applied to the difference of two quantities as well as to their quotient, in which case the former is called arithmetical ratio, the latter, geometrical ratio. The name ratio is sometimes given to the rule of three in arithmetic. See under Rule.
2. Hence, fixed relation of number, quantity, or degree; rate; proportion; as the ratio of representation in Congress. Compound ratio, Duplicate ratio, Inverse ratio, etc. See under Compound, Duplicate, etc. — Ratio of a geometrical progression, the constant quantity by which each term is multiplied to produce the succeeding one.
Ratiocinate
Ra•ti•oc´i•nate (rash•i•os"i•nat), v. i. [L. ratiocinatus, p. p. of ratiocinari, fr. ratio reason. See Ratio.] To reason, esp. deductively; to offer reason or argument.
Ratiocinatory
Ra•ti•oc´i•na•to•ry (-na•to•ry), a. Ratiocinative. [R.]
Ration
Ra´tion (ra"shun or rash"un), n. [F., fr. L. ratio a reckoning, calculation, relation, reference, LL. ratio ration. See Ratio.]
1. A fixed daily allowance of provisions assigned to a soldier in the army, or a sailor in the navy, for his subsistence. Officers have several rations, the number varying according to their rank or the number of their attendants.
2. Hence, a certain portion or fixed amount dealt out; an allowance; an allotment.
Rational
Ra´tion•al (rash"un• al), a. [L. rationalis: cf. F. rationnel. See Ratio, Reason, and cf. Rationale.]
1. Relating to the reason; not physical; mental.
"Moral philosophy was his chiefest end; for the rational, the natural, and mathematics … were but simple pastimes in comparison of the other." Sir T. North.
2. Having reason, or the faculty of reasoning; endowed with reason or understanding; reasoning.
"It is our glory and happiness to have a rational nature." Law.
3. Agreeable to reason; not absurd, preposterous, extravagant, foolish, fanciful, or the like; wise; judicious; as rational conduct; a rational man.
4. (Chem.) Expressing the type, structure, relations, and reactions of a compound; graphic; — said of formulae. See under Formula. Rational horizon. (Astron.) See Horizon, 2 (b). — Rational quantity (Alg.), one that can be expressed without the use of a radical sign, or in exact parts of unity; — opposed to irrational or radical quantity. — Rational symptom (Med.), one elicited by the statements of the patient himself and not as the result of a physical examination.
Syn. — Sane; sound; intelligent; reasonable; sensible; wise; discreet; judicious. — Rational, Reasonable. Rational has reference to reason as a faculty of the mind, and is opposed to irrational; as a rational being, a rational state of mind, rational views, etc. In these cases the speculative reason is more particularly referred to. Reasonable has reference to the exercise of this faculty for practical purposes, and means, governed or directed by reason; as reasonable desires or plans; a reasonable charge; a reasonable prospect of success.
"What higher in her society thou find’st
Attractive, human, rational, love still." Milton.
"A law may be reasonable in itself, although a man does not allow it, or does not know the reason of the lawgivers." Swift.
Rationale
Ra•tion•a´le (rash•un•a"le), n. [L. rationalis, neut. rationale. See Rational, a. ] An explanation or exposition of the principles of some opinion, action, hypothesis, phenomenon, or the like; also the principles themselves.
Rationalist
Ra´tion•al•ist, n. [Cf. F. rationaliste.] One who accepts rationalism as a theory or system; also disparagingly, a false reasoner. See Citation under Reasonist. { Ra•tion•al•is´tic (-is"tik), Ra•tion•al•is´tic•al (-ti•k al), } a. Belonging to, or in accordance with, the principles of rationalism. — Ra•tion•al•is´tic•al•ly, adv.
Rationalization
Ra•tion•al•i•za´tion (rash•un• al•i•za"shun), n. The act or process of rationalizing.
Rationalness
Ra´tion•al•ness, n. The quality or state of being rational; rationality.
Ratitate
Rat´i•tate (rat"i•tat), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Ratitae.
Raton
Rat´on (rat"on), n. [Cf. Raccoon.] A small rat. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
Ratoon
Ra•toon´ (ra•toon"), n.
1. Same as Rattoon, n.
2. A rattan cane. [Obs.] Pepys.
Ratsbane
Rats´bane (rats"ban•), n. [ Rat + bane.] Rat poison; white arsenic.
Rat-tail
Rat´-tail (rat"tal•), a. Like a rat’s tail in form; as a rat-tail file, which is round, slender, and tapering. See Illust. of File.
Rat-tail
Rat´-tail, n.
1. (Far.) pl. An excrescence growing from the pastern to the middle of the shank of a horse.
2. (Zoöl.) (a) The California chimaera. See Chimaera. (b) Any fish of the genus Macrurus. See Grenadier, 2.
Rat-tailed
Rat´-tailed (-tald•), a. (Zoöl.) Having a long, tapering tail like that of a rat. Rat-tailed larva (Zoöl.), the larva of a fly of the genus Eristalis. See Eristalis. — Rat-tailed serpent (Zoöl.), the fer- de-lance. — Rat-tailed shrew (Zoöl.), the musk shrew.
Ratteen
Rat•teen´ (-ten"), n. [F. ratine.] A thick woolen stuff quilled or twilled.
Ratter
Rat´ter (-ter), n.
1. One who, or that which, rats, as one who deserts his party.
2. Anything which catches rats; esp., a dog trained to catch rats; a rat terrier. See Terrier.
Rattinet
Rat•ti•net´ (-ti•net"), n. A woolen stuff thinner than ratteen.
Ratting
Rat´ting (rat"ting), n.
1. The conduct or practices of one who rats. See Rat, v. i., 1. Sydney Smith.
2. The low sport of setting a dog upon rats confined in a pit to see how many he will kill in a given time.
Rattle
Rat´tle (-t’l), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rattled (-t’ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Rattling (-tling).] [Akin to D. ratelen, G. rasseln, AS. hraetele a rattle, in hraetelwyrt rattlewort; cf. Gr. kradai•nein to swing, wave. Cf. Rail a bird.]
1. To make a quick succession of sharp, inharmonious noises, as by the collision of hard and not very sonorous bodies shaken together; to clatter.
"And the rude hail in rattling tempest forms." Addison.
"’T was but the wind,
Or the car rattling o’er the stony street." Byron.
2. To drive or ride briskly, so as to make a clattering; as we rattled along for a couple of miles. [Colloq.]
3. To make a clatter with the voice; to talk rapidly and idly; to clatter; — with on or away; as she rattled on for an hour. [Colloq.]
Rattle
Rat´tle, n.
1. A rapid succession of sharp, clattering sounds; as the rattle of a drum. Prior.
2. Noisy, rapid talk.
"All this ado about the golden age is but an empty rattle and frivolous conceit." Hakewill.
3. An instrument with which a rattling sound is made; especially, a child’s toy that rattles when shaken.
"The rattles of Isis and the cymbals of Brasilea nearly enough resemble each other." Sir W. Raleigh.
"Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw." Pope.
4. A noisy, senseless talker; a jabberer.
"It may seem strange that a man who wrote with so much perspicuity, vivacity, and grace, should have been, whenever he took a part in conversation, an empty, noisy, blundering rattle." Macaulay.
5. A scolding; a sharp rebuke. [Obs.] Heylin.
6. (Zoöl.) Any organ of an animal having a structure adapted to produce a rattling sound. The rattle of a rattlesnake is composed of the hardened terminal scales, loosened in succession, but not cast off, and so modified in form as to make a series of loose, hollow joints.
7. The noise in the throat produced by the air in passing through mucus which the lungs are unable to expel; — chiefly observable at the approach of death, when it is called the death rattle. See Râle. To spring a rattle, to cause it to sound. — Yellow rattle (Bot.), a yellow-flowered herb ( Rhinanthus Crista-galli), the ripe seeds of which rattle in the inflated calyx.
Rattle-brained
Rat´tle-brained (-brand•), a. Giddy; rattle-headed.
Rattlemouse
Rat´tle•mouse (-mous•), n. A bat. [Obs.] Puttenham.
Rattlepate
Rat´tle•pate (-pat•), n. A rattlehead. C. Kingsley.
Rattle-pated
Rat´tle-pat•ed, a. Rattle- headed. "A noisy, rattle-pated fellow." W. Irving.
Rattler
Rat´tler (-tler), n. One who, or that which, rattles.
Rattlesnake
Rat´tle•snake (rat"t’l•snak•), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of venomous American snakes belonging to the genera Crotalus and Caudisona, or Sistrurus. They have a series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make a sharp rattling sound when shaken. The common rattlesnake of the Northern United States ( Crotalus horridus), and the diamond rattlesnake of the South ( C. adamanteus), are the best known. See Illust. of Fang. Ground rattlesnake (Zoöl.), a small rattlesnake ( Caudisona, or Sistrurus, miliaria) of the Southern United States, having a small rattle. It has nine large scales on its head. — Rattlesnake fern (Bot.), a common American fern ( Botrychium Virginianum) having a triangular decompound frond and a long- stalked panicle of spore cases rising from the middle of the frond. — Rattlesnake grass (Bot.), a handsome American grass ( Glyceria Canadensis) with an ample panicle of rather large ovate spikelets, each one composed of imbricated parts and slightly resembling the rattle of the rattlesnake. Sometimes called quaking grass. — Rattlesnake plantain. (Bot.) See under Plantain. — Rattlesnake root (Bot.), a name given to certain American species of the composite genus Prenanthes ( P. alba and P. serpentaria), formerly asserted to cure the bite of the rattlesnake. Called also lion’s foot, gall of the earth, and white lettuce. — Rattlesnake’s master. (Bot.) (a) A species of Agave ( Agave Virginica) growing in the Southern United States. (b) An umbelliferous plant ( Eryngium yuccaefolium) with large bristly-fringed linear leaves. (c) A composite plant, the blazing star ( Liatris squarrosa). — Rattlesnake weed (Bot.), a plant of the composite genus Hieracium ( H. venosum); — probably so named from its spotted leaves. See also Snakeroot.
Rattleweed
Rat´tle•weed (-wed•), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Astragalus. See Milk vetch.
Rattlewings
Rat´tle•wings (-wingz•), n. (Zoöl.) The golden-eye.
Rattlewort
Rat´tle•wort (-wûrt•), n. [AS. hraetelwyrt.] (Bot.) Same as Rattlebox.
Rattoon
Rat•toon´ (rat•toon"), n. [Sp. retoño.] One of the stems or shoots of sugar cane of the second year’s growth from the root, or later. See Plant-cane.
Rattoon
Rat•toon´, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Rattooned (-toond"); p. pr. & vb. n. Rattooning.] [Cf. Sp. retoñar.] To sprout or spring up from the root, as sugar cane from the root of the previous year’s planting.
Raucid
Rau´cid (ra"sid), a. [L. raucus hoarse; cf. LL. raucidus.] Hoarse; raucous. [R.] Lamb.
Raught (rat), obs. imp. & p. p. of Reach. Shak.
Raught, obs. imp. & p. p. of Reck. Chaucer.
Raunch (ranch), v. t. See Ranch. Spenser.
Ravage
Rav´age (rav"aj; 48), n. [F., fr. (assumed) L. rapagium, rapaticum, fr. rapere to carry off by force, to ravish. See Rapacious, Ravish.] Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction; devastation; havoc; waste; as the ravage of a lion; the ravages of fire or tempest; the ravages of an army, or of time.
"Would one think ’t were possible for love
To make such ravage in a noble soul?" Addison.
Syn. — Despoilment; devastation; desolation; pillage; plunder; spoil; waste; ruin.
Ravage
Rav´age, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ravaged (-ajd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ravaging (-a•jing).] [F. ravager. See Ravage, n. ] To lay waste by force; to desolate by violence; to commit havoc or devastation upon; to spoil; to plunder; to consume.
"Already Caesar
Has ravaged more than half the globe." Addison.
"His lands were daily ravaged, his cattle driven away." Macaulay.
Syn. — To despoil; pillage; plunder; sack; spoil; devastate; desolate; destroy; waste; ruin.
Ravager
Rav´a•ger (-a•jer), n. One who, or that which, ravages or lays waste; spoiler.
Rave (rav), obs. imp. of Rive.
Rave (rav), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Raved (ravd); p. pr. & vb. n. Raving.] [F. rêver to rave, to be delirious, to dream; perhaps fr. L. rabere to rave, rage, be mad or furious. Cf. Rage, Reverie.]
1. To wander in mind or intellect; to be delirious; to talk or act irrationally; to be wild, furious, or raging, as a madman.
"In our madness evermore we rave." Chaucer.
"Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast?" Addison.
"The mingled torrent of redcoats and tartans went raving down the valley to the gorge of Killiecrankie." Macaulay.
2. To rush wildly or furiously. Spenser.
3. To talk with unreasonable enthusiasm or excessive passion or excitement; — followed by about, of, or on; as he raved about her beauty.
"The hallowed scene
Which others rave of, though they know it not." Byron.
Rave, v. t. To utter in madness or frenzy; to say wildly; as to rave nonsense. Young.
Ravel
Rav´el (rav"’l), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raveled (-’ld) or Ravelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Raveling or Ravelling.] [OD. ravelen, D. rafelen, akin to LG. rebeln, rebbeln, reffeln.]
1. To separate or undo the texture of; to take apart; to untwist; to unweave or unknit; — often followed by out; as to ravel a twist; to ravel out a stocking.
"Sleep, that knits up the raveled sleave of care." Shak.
2. To undo the intricacies of; to disentangle.
3. To pull apart, as the threads of a texture, and let them fall into a tangled mass; hence, to entangle; to make intricate; to involve.
"What glory ’s due to him that could divide
Such raveled interests? has the knot untied?" Waller.
"The faith of very many men seems a duty so weak and indifferent, is so often untwisted by violence, or raveled and entangled in weak discourses!" Jer. Taylor.
Raven
Ra´ven, a. Of the color of the raven; jet black; as raven curls; raven darkness.
Raven
Rav´en (rav"’n), n. [OF. ravine impetuosity, violence, F. ravine ravine. See Ravine, Rapine.] [Written also ravin, and ravine.]
1. Rapine; rapacity. Ray.
2. Prey; plunder; food obtained by violence.
Raven
Rav´en, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ravened (-’nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ravening.] [Written also ravin, and ravine.]
1. To obtain or seize by violence. Hakewill.
2. To devour with great eagerness.
"Like rats that ravin down their proper bane." Shak.
Ravening
Rav´en•ing, n. Eagerness for plunder; rapacity; extortion. Luke xi. 39.
Ravening
Rav´en•ing, a. Greedily devouring; rapacious; as ravening wolves. — Rav´en•ing•ly, adv.
Ravenous
Rav´en•ous (rav"’n•us), a. [From 2d Raven.]
1. Devouring with rapacious eagerness; furiously voracious; hungry even to rage; as a ravenous wolf or vulture.
2. Eager for prey or gratification; as a ravenous appetite or desire. — Rav´en•ous•ly, adv. — Rav´en•ous•ness, n.
Ravin
Rav´in (rav"’n), a. Ravenous. [Obs.] Shak. { Rav´in, Rav´ine } (rav"’n), n. [See 2d Raven.] Food obtained by violence; plunder; prey; raven. "Fowls of ravyne." Chaucer.
"Though Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravine, shrieked against his creed." Tennyson. { Rav´in, Rav´ine } v. t. & i. See Raven, v. t. & i.
Ravine
Ra•vine´ (ra•ven"), n. [F., a place excavated by a torrent, a ravine, fr. ravir to snatch or tear away, L. rapere; cf. L. rapina rapine. See Ravish, and cf. Rapine, Raven prey.]
1. A torrent of water. [Obs.] Cotgrave.
2. A deep and narrow hollow, usually worn by a stream or torrent of water; a gorge; a mountain cleft.
Raving
Rav´ing (rav"ing), a. Talking irrationally and wildly; as a raving lunatic. — Rav´ing•ly, adv.
Ravish
Rav´ish (rav"ish), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ravished (-isht); p. pr. & vb. n. Ravishing.] [OE. ravissen, F. ravir, fr. L. rapere to snatch or tear away, to ravish. See Rapacious, Rapid, and - ish.]
1. To seize and carry away by violence; to snatch by force.
"These hairs which thou dost ravish from my chin
Will quicken, and accuse thee." Shak.
"This hand shall ravish thy pretended right." Dryden.
2. To transport with joy or delight; to delight to ecstasy. "Ravished … for the joy." Chaucer.
"Thou hast ravished my heart." Cant. iv. 9.
3. To have carnal knowledge of (a woman) by force, and against her consent; to rape. Shak.
Syn. — To transport; entrance; enrapture; delight; violate; deflour; force.
Ravisher
Rav´ish•er (-er), n. One who ravishes (in any sense).
Ravishment
Rav´ish•ment (-m ent), n. [F. ravissement. See Ravish.]
1. The act of carrying away by force or against consent; abduction; as the ravishment of children from their parents, of a ward from his guardian, or of a wife from her husband. Blackstone.
2. The state of being ravished; rapture; transport of delight; ecstasy. Spenser.
"In whose sight all things joy, with ravishment
Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze." Milton.
3. The act of ravishing a woman; rape.
Raw (ra), a. [ Compar. Rawer (-er); superl. Rawest.] [AS. hreáw; akin to D. raauw, LG. rau, G. roh, OHG. ro, Icel. hrar, Dan. raa, Sw. rå, L. crudus, Gr. kre•as flesh, Skr. kravis raw flesh. rad.18. Cf. Crude, Cruel.]
1. Not altered from its natural state; not prepared by the action of heat; as raw sienna; specifically, not cooked; not changed by heat to a state suitable for eating; not done; as raw meat.
2. Hence: Unprepared for use or enjoyment; immature; unripe; unseasoned; inexperienced; unpracticed; untried; as raw soldiers; a raw recruit.
"Approved himself to the raw judgment of the multitude." De Quincey.
3. Not worked in due form; in the natural state; untouched by art; unwrought. Specifically: (a) Not distilled; as raw water. [Obs.] Bacon. (b) Not spun or twisted; as raw silk or cotton. (c) Not mixed or diluted; as raw spirits. (d) Not tried; not melted and strained; as raw tallow. (e) Not tanned; as raw hides. (f) Not trimmed, covered, or folded under; as the raw edge of a piece of metal or of cloth.
4. Not covered; bare. Specifically: (a) Bald. [Obs.] "With skull all raw." Spenser (b) Deprived of skin; galled; as a raw sore. (c) Sore, as if by being galled.
"And all his sinews waxen weak and raw
Through long imprisonment." Spenser.
5. Disagreeably damp or cold; chilly; bleak; as a raw wind. "A raw and gusty day." Shak. Raw material, material that has not been subjected to a (specified) process of manufacture; as ore is the raw material used in smelting; leather is the raw material of the shoe industry. — Raw pig, cast iron as it comes from the smelting furnace.
Rawboned
Raw´boned (-bond•), a. Having little flesh on the bones; gaunt. Shak.
Rawhead
Raw´head (ra"hed•), n. A specter mentioned to frighten children; as rawhead and bloodybones.
Ray (ra), v. t. [An aphetic form of array; cf. Beray.]
1. To array. [Obs.] Sir T. More.
2. To mark, stain, or soil; to streak; to defile. [Obs.] "The filth that did it ray." Spenser.
Ray, n. [OF. rai, F. rais, fr. L. radius a beam or ray, staff, rod, spoke of a wheel. Cf. Radius.]
1. One of a number of lines or parts diverging from a common point or center, like the radii of a circle; as a star of six rays.
2. (Bot.) A radiating part of a flower or plant; the marginal florets of a compound flower, as an aster or a sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other circular flower cluster; radius. See Radius.
3. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the radiating spines, or cartilages, supporting the fins of fishes. (b) One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.
4. (Physics) (a) A line of light or heat proceeding from a radiant or reflecting point; a single element of light or heat propagated continuously; as a solar ray; a polarized ray. (b) One of the component elements of the total radiation from a body; any definite or limited portion of the spectrum; as the red ray; the violet ray. See Illust. under Light.
5. Sight; perception; vision; — from an old theory of vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the eye to the object seen.
"All eyes direct their rays
On him, and crowds turn coxcombs as they gaze." Pope.
6. (Geom.) One of a system of diverging lines passing through a point, and regarded as extending indefinitely in both directions. See Half-ray. Bundle of rays. (Geom.) See Pencil of rays, below. — Extraordinary ray (Opt.), that one of two parts of a ray divided by double refraction which does not follow the ordinary law of refraction. — Ordinary ray (Opt.), that one of the two parts of a ray divided by double refraction which follows the usual or ordinary law of refraction. — Pencil of rays (Geom.), a definite system of rays. — Ray flower, or Ray floret (Bot.), one of the marginal flowers of the capitulum in such composite plants as the aster, goldenrod, daisy, and sunflower. They have an elongated, strap-shaped corolla, while the corollas of the disk flowers are tubular and five-lobed. — Ray point (Geom.), the common point of a pencil of rays. — Röntgen ray (rent"gen) (Phys.), a kind of ray generated in a very highly exhausted vacuum tube by the electrical discharge. It is capable of passing through many bodies opaque to light, and producing photographic and fluorescent effects by which means pictures showing the internal structure of opaque objects are made, called radiographs, or sciagraphs.. So called from the discoverer, W. C. Röntgen. — X ray, the Röntgen ray; — so called by its discoverer because of its enigmatical character, x being an algebraic symbol for an unknown quantity.
Ray, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rayed (rad); p. pr. & vb. n. Raying.] [Cf. OF. raier, raiier, rayer, L. radiare to irradiate. See Ray, n. , and cf. Radiate.]
1. To mark with long lines; to streak. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. [From Ray, n. ] To send forth or shoot out; to cause to shine out; as to ray smiles. [R.] Thomson.
Ray, v. i. To shine, as with rays. Mrs. Browning.
Ray, n. [F. raie, L. raia. Cf. Roach.] (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of numerous elasmobranch fishes of the order Raiae, including the skates, torpedoes, sawfishes, etc. (b) In a restricted sense, any of the broad, flat, narrow-tailed species, as the skates and sting rays. See Skate. Bishop ray, a yellow-spotted, long-tailed eagle ray ( Stoasodon nàrinari) of the Southern United States and the West Indies. — Butterfly ray, a short-tailed American sting ray ( Pteroplatea Maclura), having very broad pectoral fins. — Devil ray. See Sea devil. — Eagle ray, any large ray of the family Myliobatidae, or AEtobatidae. The common European species ( Myliobatis aquila) is called also whip ray, and miller. — Electric ray, or Cramp ray, a torpedo. — Starry ray, a common European skate ( Raia radiata). — Sting ray, any one of numerous species of rays of the family Trygonidae having one or more large, sharp, barbed dorsal spines on the whiplike tail. Called also stingaree.
Ray grass
Ray" grass (ra" gras•). [Etymol. of ray is uncertain.] (Bot.) A perennial European grass ( Lolium perenne); — called also rye grass, and red darnel. See Darnel, and Grass. Italianray, or rye, grass. See Darnel, and Grass.
Rayonnant
Ray´on•nant (ra"on•nant), a. [F.] (Her.) Darting forth rays, as the sun when it shines out.
Raze (raz), n. [See Race.] A Shakespearean word (used once) supposed to mean the same as race, a root.
Raze, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Razed (razd); p. pr. & vb. n. Razing.] [F. raser. See Rase, v. t.] [Written also rase.]
1. To erase; to efface; to obliterate.
"Razing the characters of your renown." Shak.
2. To subvert from the foundation; to lay level with the ground; to overthrow; to destroy; to demolish.
"The royal hand that razed unhappy Troy." Dryden.
Syn. — To demolish; level; prostrate; overthrow; subvert; destroy; ruin. See Demolish.
Razee
Ra•zee´ (ra•ze"), n. [F. vaisseau rase, fr. raser to raze, to cut down ships. See Raze, v. t., Rase, v. t.] (Naut.) An armed ship having her upper deck cut away, and thus reduced to the next inferior rate, as a seventy-four cut down to a frigate. Totten.
Razee
Ra•zee´, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Razeed (ra•zed"); p. pr. & vb. n. Razeeing.] To cut down to a less number of decks, and thus to an inferior rate or class, as a ship; hence, to prune or abridge by cutting off or retrenching parts; as to razee a book, or an article.
Razor
Ra´zor (ra"zer), n. [OE. rasour, OF. rasur, LL. rasor: cf. F. rasoir, LL. rasorium. See Raze, v. t., Rase, v. t.]
1. A keen-edged knife of peculiar shape, used in shaving the hair from the face or the head. "Take thee a barber’s razor." Ezek. v. 1. —>
2. (Zoöl.) A tusk of a wild boar. Razor fish. (Zoöl.) (a) A small Mediterranean fish ( Coryphaena novacula), prized for the table. (b) The razor shell. — Razor grass (Bot.), a West Indian plant ( Scleria scindens), the triangular stem and the leaves of which are edged with minute sharp teeth. — Razor grinder (Zoöl.), the European goat-sucker. — Razor shell (Zoöl.), any marine bivalve shell belonging to Solen and allied genera, especially Solen, or Ensatella, ensis, ∧ Americana, which have a long, narrow, somewhat curved shell, resembling a razor handle in shape. Called also razor clam, razor fish, knife handle. — Razor stone. Same as Novaculite. — Razor strap, or Razor strop, a strap or strop used in sharpening razors.
Razorable
Ra´zor•a•ble (-a•b’l), a. Ready for the razor; fit to be shaved. [R.] Shak.
Razorbill
Ra´zor•bill (-bil•), n. (Zoöl.) (a) A species of auk ( Alca torda) common in the Arctic seas. See Auk, and Illust. in Appendix. (b) See Cutwater, 3.
Razure
Ra´zure (ra"zhur; 135), n. [See Rasure.]
1. The act of erasing or effacing, or the state of being effaced; obliteration. See Rasure. Shak.
2. An erasure; a change made by erasing.