Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

Range (rnj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ranged (rnjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Ranging (rn"jng).] [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, v. i. 1. To rove at large; to wander without restraint or direction; to roam.

Like a ranging spaniel that barks at every bird he sees.

Burton.

2. To have range; to change or differ within limits; to be capable of projecting, or to admit of being projected, especially as to horizontal distance; as, the temperature ranged through seventy degrees Fahrenheit; the gun ranges three miles; the shot ranged four miles.

3. To be placed in order; to be ranked; to admit of arrangement or classification; to rank.

And range with humble livers in content.

Shak.

4. To have a certain direction; to correspond in direction; to be or keep in a corresponding line; to trend or run; -- often followed by with; as, the front of a house ranges with the street; to range along the coast.

Which way the forests range.

Dryden.

5. (Biol.) To be native to, or live in, a certain district or region; as, the peba ranges from Texas to Paraguay.

Syn. -- To rove; roam; ramble; wander; stroll.

Range, n. [From Range, v.: cf. F. rangée.] 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.

Range"ment (rnj"ment), n. [Cf. F. rangement.] Arrangement. [Obs.] Waterland.

Ran"ger (rn"jr), n. 1. One who ranges; a rover; sometimes, one who ranges for plunder; a roving robber.

2. That which separates or arranges; specifically, a sieve. [Obs.] "The tamis ranger." Holland.

3. A dog that beats the ground in search of game.

4. One of a body of mounted troops, formerly armed with short muskets, who range over the country, and often fight on foot.

5. The keeper of a public park or forest; formerly, a sworn officer of a forest, appointed by the king's letters patent, whose business was to walk through the forest, recover beasts that had strayed beyond its limits, watch the deer, present trespasses to the next court held for the forest, etc. [Eng.]

Ran"ger*ship, n. The office of the keeper of a forest or park. [Eng.]

Ran"gle (rn"g'l), v. i. To range about in an irregular manner. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

||Ra"ni (rä"n), n. [Hind. rn, Skr. rjn. See Rajah.] A queen or ||princess; the wife of a rajah. [Written also ranee.] [India]

Ra"nine (r"nn), a. [L. rana a frog.] 1. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the frogs and toads.

2. (Anat.) Pertaining to, or designating, a swelling under the tongue; also, pertaining to the region where the swelling occurs; -- applied especially to branches of the lingual artery and lingual vein.

Rank (rk), a. [Compar. Ranker (-r); 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, adv. Rankly; stoutly; violently. [Obs.]

That rides so rank and bends his lance so fell.

Fairfax.

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 (rkt); 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.]

Rank, v. i. 1. To be ranged; to be set or disposed, as in a particular degree, class, order, or division.

Let that one article rank with the rest.

Shak.

2. To have a certain grade or degree of elevation in the orders of civil or military life; to have a certain degree of esteem or consideration; as, he ranks with the first class of poets; he ranks high in public estimation.

Rank"er (-r), n. One who ranks, or disposes in ranks; one who arranges.

Ran"kle (r"k'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rankled (-k'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Rankling (-klng).] [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.

Ran"kle (r"k'l), v. t. To cause to fester; to make sore; to inflame. [R.] Beau. & Fl.

Rank"ly (rk"l), adv. With rank or vigorous growth; luxuriantly; hence, coarsely; grossly; as, weeds grow rankly.

Rank"ness, n. [AS. rancness pride.] The condition or quality of being rank.

Ran"nel (rn"nl), n. A prostitute. [Obs.]

Ran"ny (-n), n. [L. araneus mus, a kind of small mouse.] (Zoöl.) The erd shrew. [Scot.]

Ran"sack (-sk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ransacked (-skt); p. pr. & vb. n. Ransacking.] [OE. ransaken, Icel. rannsaka to explore, examine; rann a house (akin to Goth. razn house, AS. ræsn plank, beam) + the root of sækja 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.

Ran"sack, v. i. To make a thorough search.

To ransack in the tas [heap] of bodies dead.

Chaucer.

Ran"sack, n. The act of ransacking, or state of being ransacked; pillage. [R.]

Even your father's house Shall not be free from ransack.

J. Webster.

Ran"som (rn"sm), 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.

Ran"som, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ransomed (-smd); 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.

Ran"som*a*ble (-*b'l), a. Such as can be ransomed.

Ran"som*er (-r), n. One who ransoms or redeems.

Ran"som*less, a. Incapable of being ransomed; without ransom. Shak.

Rant (rnt), 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.

Rant, n. High-sounding language, without importance or dignity of thought; boisterous, empty declamation; bombast; as, the rant of fanatics.

This is a stoical rant, without any foundation in the nature of man
or reason of things.

Atterbury.

Rant"er (-r), 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.

Rant"er*ism (-z'm), n. (Eccl. Hist.) The practice or tenets of the Ranters.

Rant"ing*ly, adv. In a ranting manner.

Rant"i*pole (-*pl), n. [Ranty + pole, poll, head.] A wild, romping young person. [Low] Marryat.

Rant"i*pole, a. Wild; roving; rakish. [Low]

Rant"i*pole, v. i. To act like a rantipole. [Low]

She used to rantipole about the house.

Arbuthnot.

Rant"ism (-z'm), n. (Eccl. Hist.) Ranterism.

Rant"y (-), a. Wild; noisy; boisterous.

||Ran"u*la (rn"*l), n. [L., a little frog, a little swelling on the ||tongue of cattle, dim. of rana a frog.] (Med.) A cyst formed under ||the tongue by obstruction of the duct of the submaxillary gland.

Ra*nun`cu*la"ceous (r*n`k*l"shs), a. [See Ranunculus.] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants (Ranunculaceæ), of which the buttercup is the type, and which includes also the virgin's bower, the monkshood, larkspur, anemone, meadow rue, and peony.

Ra*nun"cu*lus (r*n"k*ls), n.; pl. E. Ranunculuses (- z), L. Ranunculi (-l). [L., a little frog, a medicinal plant, perhaps crowfoot, dim. of rana a frog; cf. raccare to roar.] (Bot.) A genus of herbs, mostly with yellow flowers, including crowfoot, buttercups, and the cultivated ranunculi (R. Asiaticus, R. aconitifolius, etc.) in which the flowers are double and of various colors.

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||Ranz" des` vaches" (räNs" d` vsh"). [F., the ranks or rows of cows, ||the name being given from the fact that the cattle, when answering ||the musical call of their keeper, move towards him in a row, preceded ||by those wearing bells.] The name for numerous simple, but very ||irregular, melodies of the Swiss mountaineers, blown on a long tube ||called the Alpine horn, and sometimes sung.

Rap (rp), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A lay or skein containing 120 yards of yarn. Knight.

Rap, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rapped (rpt); 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, v. t. 1. To strike with a quick blow; to knock on.

With one great peal they rap the door.

Prior.

2. (Founding) To free (a pattern) in a mold by light blows on the pattern, so as to facilitate its removal.

Rap, n. A quick, smart blow; a knock.

Rap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rapped (rpt), 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 ræna plunder, fr. rn 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.

Rap, n. [Perhaps contr. fr. raparee.] A popular name for any of the tokens that passed current for a half-penny in Ireland in the early part of the eighteenth century; any coin of trifling value.

Many counterfeits passed about under the name of raps.

Swift.

Tie it [her money] up so tight that you can't touch a rap, save
with her consent.

Mrs. Alexander.

Not to care a rap, to care nothing. -- Not worth a rap, worth nothing.

||Ra*pa"ces (r*p"sz), n. pl. [NL. See Rapacious.] (Zoöl.) Same as ||Accipitres.

Ra*pa"cious (-shs), 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.

Ra*pac"i*ty (r*ps"*t), n. [L. rapacitas: cf. F. rapacité. 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.

Rap`a*ree" (rp`*r"), n. See Rapparee.

Rape (rp), n. [F. râpe a grape stalk.] 1. Fruit, as grapes, plucked from the cluster. Ray.

2. The refuse stems and skins of grapes or raisins from which the must has been expressed in wine making.

3. A filter containing the above refuse, used in clarifying and perfecting malt, vinegar, etc.

Rape wine, a poor, thin wine made from the last dregs of pressed grapes.

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. [Icel. hreppr village, district; cf. Icel. hreppa to catch, obtain, AS. hrepian, hreppan, to touch.] One of six divisions of the county of Sussex, England, intermediate between a hundred and a shire.

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.

Rape"ful (rp"fl), a. 1. Violent. [Obs.]

2. Given to the commission of rape. Byron.

Rap"ful*ly (rp"fl*l), adv. Violently. [Obs.]

Raph`a*el*esque" (rf`*l*sk"), a. Like Raphael's works; in Raphael's manner of painting.

Raph"a*el*ism (rf"*l*z'm), n. The principles of painting introduced by Raphael, the Italian painter.

Raph"a*el*ite (-t), n. One who advocates or adopts the principles of Raphaelism.

Raph"a*ny (rf"*n), n. [Cf. F. raphanie.] (Med.) A convulsive disease, attended with ravenous hunger, not uncommon in Sweden and Germany. It was so called because supposed to be caused by eating corn with which seeds of jointed charlock (Raphanus raphanistrum) had been mixed, but the condition is now known to be a form of ergotism.

Ra"phe (r"f), 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.

||Raph"i*des (rf"*dz), n. pl. [F. raphide.] (Bot.) See Rhaphides.

Rap"id (rp"d), 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.

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.

Ra*pid"i*ty (r*pd"*t), n. [L. rapiditas: cf. F. rapidité.] The quality or state of being rapid; swiftness; celerity; velocity; as, the rapidity of a current; rapidity of speech; rapidity of growth or improvement.

Syn. -- Rapidness; haste; speed; celerity; velocity; swiftness; fleetness; quickness; agility.

Rap"id*ly (rp"d*l), adv. In a rapid manner.

Rap"id*ness, n. Quality of being rapid; rapidity.

Ra"pi*er (r"p*r), n. [F. rapière, perhaps for raspière, and ultimately of German origin, akin to E. rasp, v.] A straight sword, with a narrow and finely pointed blade, used only for thrusting.

Rapier fish (Zoöl.), the swordfish. [Obs.] Grew.

Ra"pi*ered (-rd), a. Wearing a rapier. "Scarletcoated, rapiered figures." Lowell.

||Ra*pil"li (r*pl"l), n. pl. [It.] (Min.) Lapilli.

Rap"ine (rp"n), 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.

Rap"ine, v. t. To plunder. Sir G. Buck.

Rap"i*nous (rp"*ns), a. Given to rapine. [Obs.]

Rap"page (-pj; 48), n. (Founding) The enlargement of a mold caused by rapping the pattern.

Rap`pa*ree" (-p*r"), n. A wild Irish plunderer, esp. one of the 17th century; -- so called from his carrying a half-pike, called a rapary. [Written also raparee.]

Rapped (rpt), imp. & p. p. of Rap, to strike.

Rapped, imp. & p. p. of Rap, to snatch away.

Rap*pee" (rp*p"), n. [F. râpé, fr. râper to grate, to rasp. See Rasp, v.] A pungent kind of snuff made from the darker and ranker kinds of tobacco leaves.

Rap"pel (rp"pl or rp*pl"), n. [F. Cf. Repeal.] (Mil.) The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.

Rap"per (rp"pr), 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.

Rap*port" (rp*prt"; F. r`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` r`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.

Rap*scal"lion (rp*skl"yn), n. [See Rascallion.] A rascal; a good- for-nothing fellow. [Colloq.] Howitt.

Rapt (rpt), imp. & p. p. of Rap, to snatch away.

Rapt, a. 1. Snatched away; hurried away or along.

Waters rapt with whirling away.

Spenser.

2. Transported with love, admiration, delight, etc.; enraptured. "The rapt musician." Longfellow.

3. Wholly absorbed or engrossed, as in work or meditation. "Rapt in secret studies." Shak.

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.

Rap"ter (rp"tr), n. A raptor. [Obs.] Drayton.

Rap"tor (rp"tr), n. [L. raptor, from rapere to ravish. See Rapid.] A ravisher; a plunderer. [Obs.]

||Rap*to"res (rp*t"rz), n. pl. [NL. See Raptor.] (Zoöl.) Same as ||Accipitres. Called also Raptatores.

Rap*to"ri*al (-r*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.

Rap*to"ri*ous (-s), a. [L. raptorius.] (Zoöl.) Raptorial.

Rap"ture (rp"tr; 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.

Rap"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Raptured (-trd; 135); p. pr. & vb. n. Rapturing.] To transport with excitement; to enrapture. [Poetic] Thomson.

Rap"tur*ist, n. An enthusiast. [Obs.] J. Spencer.

Rap"tur*ize (-z), v. t. & i. To put, or be put, in a state of rapture. [R.]

Rap"tur*ous (-s), a. Ecstatic; transporting; ravishing; feeling, expressing, or manifesting rapture; as, rapturous joy, pleasure, or delight; rapturous applause.

Rap"tur*ous*ly, adv. In a rapturous manner.

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"r); superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hrr, or E. rare early. &radic;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"r); 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.

Rare"bit (râr"bt), n. A dainty morsel; a Welsh rabbit. See Welsh rabbit, under Rabbit.

Rar"ee-show` (râr"-sh`), n. [Contr. fr. rarity-show.] A show carried about in a box; a peep show. Pope.

Rar`e*fac"tion (rr`*fk"shn), n. [Cf. F. raréfaction. See Rarefy.] The act or process of rarefying; the state of being rarefied; -- opposed to condensation; as, the rarefaction of air.

Rar"e*fi`a*ble (rr"*f`*b'l), a. [Cf. F. raréfiable.] Capable of being rarefied. Boyle.

Rar"e*fy (rr"*f; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rarefied (- fd); p. pr. & vb. n. Rarefying (- f`ng).] [F. raréfier; 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.

Rar"e*fy, v. i. To become less dense; to become thin and porous. "Earth rarefies to dew." Dryden.

Rare"ly (râr"l), 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.

Rare"ness, n. The state or quality of being rare.

And let the rareness the small gift commend.

Dryden.

Rare"ripe` (-rp`), a. [Rare early + ripe. Cf. Rathripe.] Early ripe; ripe before others, or before the usual season.

Rare"ripe`, n. An early ripening fruit, especially a kind of freestone peach.

Rar`i*fi*ca"tion (rr`*f*k"shn), n. See Rarefaction. [R.] Am. Chem. Journal.

Rar"i*ty (rr"*t; 277), n.; pl. Rarities (- tz). [L. raritas: cf. F. rareté. See Rare.] 1. The quality or state of being rare; rareness; thinness; as, the rarity (contrasted with the density) of gases.

<! p. 1190 pr=vmg !>

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.

Ras (räs), n. See 2d Reis.

||Ra`sante" (r`zäNt"), a. [F., p. pr. of raser to graze.] (Fort.) ||Sweeping; grazing; -- applied to a style of fortification in which ||the command of the works over each other, and over the country, is ||kept very low, in order that the shot may more effectually sweep or ||graze the ground before them. H. L. Scott.

Ras"cal (rs"kal), 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.

Ras"cal, a. Of or pertaining to the common herd or common people; low; mean; base. "The rascal many." Spenser. "The rascal people." Shak.

While she called me rascal fiddler.

Shak.

Ras"cal*dom (-dm), n. State of being a rascal; rascality; domain of rascals; rascals, collectively. Emerson.

Ras"cal*ess, n. A female rascal. [Humorous]

Ras*cal"i*ty (rs*kl"*t), n.; pl. Rascalities (- tz).

1. The quality or state of being rascally, or a rascal; mean trickishness or dishonesty; base fraud.

2. The poorer and lower classes of people. [Obs.]

The chief heads of their clans with their several rascalities.

T. Jackson.

Ras*cal"lion (rs*kl"yn), n. [From Rascal.] A low, mean wretch. [Written also rascalion.]

Ras"cal*ly (rs"kal*l), a. Like a rascal; trickish or dishonest; base; worthless; -- often in humorous disparagement, without implication of dishonesty.

Our rascally porter is fallen fast asleep.

Swift.

Rase (rz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rased (rzd); 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.]

Rase, n. 1. A scratching out, or erasure. [Obs.]

2. A slight wound; a scratch. [Obs.] Hooker.

3. (O. Eng. Law) A way of measuring in which the commodity measured was made even with the top of the measuring vessel by rasing, or striking off, all that was above it. Burrill.

Rash (rsh), v. t. [For arace.] 1. To pull off or pluck violently. [Obs.]

2. To slash; to hack; to cut; to slice. [Obs.]

Rashing off helms and riving plates asunder.

Spenser.

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 (-r); 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.

Rash (rsh), v. t. To prepare with haste. [Obs.] Foxe.

Rash"er (-r), n. [In sense 1, probably fr. rash, a., as being hastily cooked.] 1. A thin slice of bacon.

2. (Zoöl.) A California rockfish (Sebastichthys miniatus).

Rash"ful (-fl), a. Rash; hasty; precipitate. [Obs.]

Rash"ling (-lng), n. A rash person. [Obs.]

Rash"ly, adv. In a rash manner; with precipitation.

He that doth anything rashly, must do it willingly; for he was free
to deliberate or not.

L'Estrange.

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.

||Ras*kol"nik (rs*kl"nk), n. [Russ. raskolenik' schismatic, heretic.] ||(Eccl.) One of the separatists or dissenters from the established or ||Greek church in Russia. [Written also rascolnik.]

||Ra*so"res (r*z"rz), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. radere, rasum, to scratch. ||See Rase, v. t.] (Zoöl.) An order of birds; the Gallinæ.

Formerly, the word Rasores was used in a wider sense, so as to include other birds now widely separated in classification.

Ra*so"ri*al (-r*al; 277), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Rasores, or gallinaceous birds, as the peacock, domestic fowl, partridge, quail, and the like.

Ra"sour (rä"sr), n. Razor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Rasp (rsp), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rasped (rspt); p. pr. & vb. n. Rasping.] [OF. rasper, F. râper, to scrape, grate, rasp, fr. OHG. raspn 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.

||Ras`pa*to"ri*um (rs`p*t"r*m), n. [LL.] See Raspatory.

Rasp"a*to*ry (rsp"*t*r), n. [LL. raspatorium: cf. F. raspatoir. See Rasp, v.] A surgeon's rasp. Wiseman.

Rasp"ber*ry (rz"br*r; 277), n. [From E. rasp, in allusion to the apparent roughness of the fruit.] (Bot.) (a) The thimble-shaped fruit of the Rubus Idæus and other similar brambles; as, the black, the red, and the white raspberry. (b) The shrub bearing this fruit.

Technically, raspberries are those brambles in which the fruit separates readily from the core or receptacle, in this differing from the blackberries, in which the fruit is firmly attached to the receptacle.

Rasp"er (rsp"r), n. One who, or that which, rasps; a scraper.

Ras"pis (rs"ps), n. The raspberry. [Obs.] Langham.

Rasp"y (rsp"), a. Like a rasp, or the sound made by a rasp; grating. R. D. Blackmore.

Rasse (rs), n. [Cf. Malay rsa taste, sensation.] (Zoöl.) A carnivore (Viverricula Mallaccensis) allied to the civet but smaller, native of China and the East Indies. It furnishes a perfume resembling that of the civet, which is highly prized by the Javanese. Called also Malacca weasel, and lesser civet.

Ra"sure (r"zhr; 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 (rt), n. [AS. ræt; 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.

Ra"ta (rä"t), n. [Maori.] (Bot.) A New Zealand forest tree (Metrosideros robusta), also, its hard dark red wood, used by the Maoris for paddles and war clubs.

Rat`a*bil"i*ty (rt`*bl"*t), n. The quality or state of being ratable.

Rat"a*ble (rt"*b'l), a. 1. Capable of being rated, or set at a certain value.

Twenty oræ were ratable to [at] two marks of silver.

Camden.

2. Liable to, or subjected by law to, taxation; as, ratable estate.

3. Made at a proportionate rate; as, ratable payments. -- Rat"a*ble*ness, n. -- Rat"a*bly, adv.

Rat`a*fi"a (rt`*f"), n. [F., fr. Malay arak arrack + tfa a spirit distilled from molasses.] A spirituous liquor flavored with the kernels of cherries, apricots, peaches, or other fruit, spiced, and sweetened with sugar; -- a term applied to the liqueurs called noyau, curaçao, etc. [Written also ratifia and ratafee.]

Ra*tan" (r*tn"), n. See Rattan.

Rat"a*ny (rt"*n), n. (Bot.) Same as Rhatany.

||Ra`ta`plan" (r`t`pläN"), n. [F.] The iterative sound of beating a ||drum, or of a galloping horse.

Ratch (rch), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Rotche.

Ratch (rch), n. [See Rack the instrument, Ratchet.] A ratchet wheel, or notched bar, with which a pawl or click works.

Ratch"el (-l), n. Gravelly stone. [Prov. Eng.]

Ratch"et (-t), 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.

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Rate (rt), v. t. & i. [Perh. fr. E. rate, v. t., to value at a certain rate, to estimate, but more prob. fr. Sw. rata to find fault, to blame, to despise, to hold cheap; cf. Icel. hrat refuse, hrati rubbish.] To chide with vehemence; to scold; to censure violently. Spenser.

Go, rate thy minions, proud, insulting boy!

Shak.

Conscience is a check to beginners in sin, reclaiming them from it,
and rating them for it.

Barrow.

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.

Rate, v. i. 1. To be set or considered in a class; to have rank; as, the ship rates as a ship of the line.

2. To make an estimate.

Rate"a*ble (-*b'l), a. See Ratable.

Ra"tel (r"tl), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) Any carnivore of the genus Mellivora, allied to the weasels and the skunks; -- called also honey badger.

Several species are known in Africa and India. The Cape ratel (M. Capensis) and the Indian ratel (M. Indica) are the best known. The back is gray; the lower parts, face, and tail are black. They are fond of honey, and rob the nests of wild bees.

Rate"pay`er (-p`r), n. One who pays rates or taxes.

Rat"er (rt"r), n. One who rates or estimates.

Rat"er, n. One who rates or scolds.

Rat"fish` (rt"fsh`), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Rat-tail.

Rath (rth), n. [Ir. rath.] 1. A hill or mound. [Ireland] Spenser.

2. A kind of ancient fortification found in Ireland.

{ Rath, Rathe } (rth), a. [AS. hræð, hræd, quick, akin to OHG. hrad, Icel. hraðr.] Coming before others, or before the usual time; early. [Obs. or Poetic]

Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies.

Milton.

{ Rath, Rathe, } adv. Early; soon; betimes. [Obs. or Poetic]

Why rise ye up so rathe?

Chaucer.

Too rathe cut off by practice criminal.

Spenser.

Rath"er (r"r), a. [Compar. of Rath, a.] Prior; earlier; former. [Obs.]

Now no man dwelleth at the rather town.

Sir J. Mandeville.

Rath"er (r"r; 277), adv. [AS. hraðor, compar. of hraðe, hræðe, 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.