Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Rāf'ty, a. p. 1081Damp; musty. [Prov. Eng.]Rāg, n. p. 1081A piece of cloth torn off; a tattered fragment; a shred; a tatter; hence, a fragment; a bit; a patch. “Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty.” Fuller. Cowls…Rāg, v. t. p. 1082To scold or rail at; to rate. [Prov. Eng.] Pegge.Rāg'a-bāsh' or Rāg'a-brāsh', n. p. 1082An idle, ragged person. Nares. Grose.Rāg'a-mūf'fin, n. p. 1082A paltry fellow; a mean wretch.Rāg'-bōlt, n. p. 1082An iron pin with barbs on its shank to retain it in its place.Rāg'-dāst, n. p. 1082Fine particles of rags when torn thoroughly to pieces, used in making papier-maché.Rāge, n. p. 1082Violent excitement; eager passion; absorbing vehemence of desire or emotion. He appeased the rage of hunger with some scraps of broken meat. Macaulay. 2. Especially, violent anger accompanied with…Rāge, v. i. p. 1082To be furious with anger; to be exasperated to fury; to be violently agitated with passion. At this he inly raged. Milton. 2. To be violent and tumultuous; to be violently driven or agitated; to act…Rāge'ful, a. p. 1082Full of rage; violent; furious. [Obs.]Rāge'oŭs, a. p. 1082Outrageous. [Obs.] “Rageous talk.” Mountagu.Rā'ger-y, n. p. 1082Wantonness. [Obs.] Chaucer.Răg'-fâir, n. p. 1082A market for old clothes, rags, and the like. Thackeray.Rāgg, n. p. 1082(Geol.) A kind of silicious sandstone. See RAGSTONE, and RAG, n., No. 4.Răg'ged, a. p. 1082Rent or worn into tatters, or till its texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail. 2. Broken with rough edges; uneven; rough. The rolling billows beat the ragged rocks. Spenser. 3. Rough…Răg'ged-ly, adv. p. 1082In a ragged state.Rāg'ged-ness, n. p. 1082The state of being ragged, or dressed in tattered clothes. 2. The state of being rough, or broken irregularly; as, the raggedness of a cliff.Răg'ged-rŏb'in, n. p. 1082(Bot.) A plant of the genus Lychnis (L. flos-cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers.Rāg'gy, a. p. 1082Rough; craggy. [Obs.] “A stony and raggy hill.” Holland.Rā'ging-ly, adv. p. 1082With fury; with violent impetuosity. Bp. Hall.Rā'giōŭs, a. p. 1082Full of rage; raging; furious. [Obs.]Rā'gious-ness, n. p. 1082The quality of being ragious; fury; rage. [Obs.]Răg'lan, n. p. 1082A loose overcoat with large sleeves; — so called from Lord Raglan, an English general in the Crimean war.Răg'man, n. p. 1082A man who collects or deals in rags, the materials of paper.Răg'man's-rōll, n. p. 1082The record, contained on rolls of parchment, of those instruments by which the Scottish nobility and gentry subscribed allegiance to Edward I. of England, A. D. 1296. See RIGMAROLE. P. Cyc.Ra-gout', n. p. 1082A dish made of fragments of meat, sometimes of more than one kind, mixed, stewed, and highly seasoned; a stew; a hash.Răg'stōne, n. p. 1082A dark-gray silicious sandstone; — called also Rowley ragg. Brande.Ra-gūled' or Rag-gūled', a. p. 1082(Her.) Jagged or notched in an irregular manner. Cross raguled, one made of two trunks of trees without their branches, of which only the stumps appear.Răg'-weed, n. p. 1082(Bot.) A plant of the genus Ambrosia (A. artemisiæfolia); hog-weed. Gray.Răg'-wheel, n. p. 1082(Mech.) A wheel furnished with projecting pins or cogs on the rim, which fit into the links of a chain to prevent its slipping in receiving motion from, or communicating motion to, the wheel; —…Răg'-work, n. p. 1082A kind of rubble-work formed of ragstones about the thickness of a brick.Răg'wort, n. p. 1082(Bot.) A plant of the genus Senecio.Rāid, n. p. 1082A hostile or predatory incursion; especially, an inroad or incursion of mounted men; a sudden and rapid invasion by a cavalry force. Marauding chief! his sole delight The moonlight raid, the morning…Rāil, n. p. 1082A piece of timber, or of iron, or other metal, extending from one post or support to another, as in fences, balustrades, staircases, &c. 2. The horizontal part in any piece of framing or paneling. 3.…Rāil, n. p. 1082(Ornith.) A bird of the genus Rallus (R. [or Porzana] Carolinus), of a greenish-brown color above, and ashy blue with white markings below, found in the United States. The European water-rail is R.…Rāil, n. p. 1082A garment like a vail or cloak, made of fine linen, formerly worn by women about the neck. [Obs.]Rāil, v. t. p. 1082To inclose with rails. 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.Rāil, v. i. p. 1082To use insolent and reproachful language; to reproach or censure in opprobrious terms; to utter reproaches; to scoff; — followed by at or against, formerly by on. And rail at arts he did not…Rāil, v. i. p. 1082To flow forth; to roll out; to course. [Obs.] “Streams of tears from her fair eyes forth railing.” Spenser.Rāil'-eār, n. p. 1082A car used on railways.Rāil'er, n. p. 1082One who rails; one who scoffs, insults, censures, or reproaches with opprobrious language.Rāil'-fēnce, n. p. 1082A fence made of wooden rails.Rāil'ing, a. p. 1082Expressing reproach; insulting. Angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them. 2 Pet. ii. 11.Rāil'ing, n. p. 1082A series of rails; a fence. 2. Rails in general; or the materials for rails.Rāil'ing-ly, adv. p. 1082With scoffing or insulting language.Rāil'-joint, n. p. 1082A 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…Rāil'ler-y, n. p. 1082Good-humored 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…Railleur, n. p. 1082A banterer; a jester; a mocker. [Rare.]Rāil'road or Rāil'wāy, n. p. 1082A road or way on which iron rails are laid for wheels to run on, for the conveyance of heavy loads in vehicles. Build pyramids, gauge railroads, reign, reap, dine. E. B. Browning. Railway-plant, the…Rāi'ment, n. p. 1082Clothing in general; vestments; vesture; garments. Living, both food and raiment she supplies. Dryden. 2. An article of dress; a piece of clothing; a garment. [Obs.] Sidney.Rāin, v. i. p. 1082To fall in drops from the clouds, as water; — used mostly with it for a nominative; as, it rains; it will rain; it rained; or it has rained. The rain it raineth every day. Shak. 2. To fall or drop…Rāin, v. t. p. 1082To pour or shower down from above like rain from the clouds. Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. Ex. xvi. 4.Rāin, n. p. 1082Water falling in drops from the atmosphere; the descent of water in drops from the atmosphere. Fair days have oft contracted wind and rain. Milton. Rain is distinguished from mist by the size of the…Rāin, n. p. 1082A ridge; — a bound or limit. [Prov. Eng.]Rāin'-bēat, a. p. 1082Beaten or injured by the rain. [Obs.]Rāin'bōw, n. p. 1082A 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 his rays in drops…Rāin'bōwed, a. p. 1083Formed with or like a rainbow.Rāin'bōw-tint'ed, a. p. 1083Having tints like those of a rainbow.Rāin'deer, n. p. 1083See REINDEER.Rāin'-fall, n. p. 1083A fall or descent of rain; the water that falls in rain. “Supplied by the rain-fall of the outer ranges of Sinchul and Singaleleh.” Hooker.