Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Rāpt, imp. p. 1086of rap. See RAP.Rāpt, v. t. p. 1086To transport or ravish. [Obs.] 2. To carry away by force or violence. Chapman.Rāpt, n. p. 1086An ecstasy; a trance. Morton. 2. Rapidity. [Obs.]Rāp'ter or Rāp'tor, n. p. 1086A ravisher; a plunderer. [Obs.] Drayton.Rap-tō'ri-al, a. p. 1086Rapacious; living upon prey;— said especially of certain birds. Swainson.Rap-tōr'i-ōus, a. p. 1087Raptorial. 2. Adapted to the seizing of prey, as the legs of insects, and the like.Rāpt'ūre, n. p. 1087A seizing by violence; a hurrying along with velocity; rapidity with violence. [Obs.] Chapman. 2. The state or condition of being rapt, or carried away from one's self by agreeable excitement…Răpt'ūre, v. t. p. 1087To ravish; to transport; to enrapture. Thomson.Răpt'ūr-ĭst, n. p. 1087An enthusiast. [Obs.] Spencer.Rāp'tūr-īze, v. t. & i. p. 1087To put, or be put, in a state of rapture; to enrapture, or to become enraptured. [Rare.]Rāpt'ūr-ōŭs, a. p. 1087Ecstatic; transporting; ravishing; as, rapturous joy, pleasure, or delight.Rāp'tūr-ōus-ly, adv. p. 1087In a rapturous manner; with rapture; ecstatically.Rā'ra-ā'vis p. 1087A rare bird; hence, something seldom met with; an unusual person; a rarity.Rāre, a. p. 1087Of 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…Rāre, a. p. 1087Nearly raw; imperfectly roasted or boiled; partially cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton. New laid eggs, with Baucis’ busy care, Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare. Dryden. ☞ This word…Rār'ee-shōw, n. p. 1087A show carried about in a box by a showman. Pope.Rār'/e-făc'tion, n. p. 1087The act or process of making rare, or of expanding or distending bodies, by separating the parts; — opposed to condensation; as, the rarefaction of air.Răr'e-fī'a-ble, a. p. 1087Capable of being rarefied.Răr'e-fȳ, v. t. p. 1087To make rare, thin, porous, or less dense; to expand or enlarge without adding any new portion of matter to; — opposed to condense.Răr'e-fȳ, v. i. p. 1087To become thin and porous.Râre'ly, adv. p. 1087In a rare manner or degree; seldom; not often; as, things rarely seen. 2. Finely; nicely. “The person who played so rarely on the flageolet.” W. Scott. The rest of the apartments are rarely gilded.…Rāre'ness, n. p. 1087The state of being rare; thinness; tenuity. 2. The state of being rare or scarce; uncommonness; infrequency. And let the rareness the small gift commend. Dryden. 3. Value arising from scarcity. Bacon.Rāre'rīpe, a. p. 1087Early ripe; ripe before others, or before the usual season.Rāre'rīpe, n. p. 1087An early fruit; especially, a kind of peach which ripens early.Rār′i-ty, n. p. 1087The quality or state of being rare; rareness; thinness; tenuity; as, the rarity of air. 2. The state of being rare or scarce; uncommonness; infrequency; as, the rarity of an event, or of a plant. Far…Rasante, a. p. 1087(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…Răs'cal, n. p. 1087A lean beast; especially, a lean deer. Horns! . . . the noblest deer hath them as huge as the rascal. Shak. 2. A mean fellow; a scoundrel; a worthless fellow; a trickish, dishonest person; a…Rās'cal, a. p. 1087Lean; as, a rascal deer. 2. Mean; low. [Obs.] Spenser.Ras-căl'ion, n. p. 1087A low, mean wretch. [Written also rascalion.]Ras-căl'i-ty, n. p. 1087The quality of being rascally, or a rascal; mean trickishness or dishonesty; base fraud. 2. The low, mean part of the people. [Obs.]Răs'cal-ly, a. p. 1087Like a rascal; meanly trickish or dishonest; vile; base; worthless; as, a rascally porter.Rāze, v. t. p. 1087To rub along the surface of; to graze. [Rare.] 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…Rāse, v. i. p. 1087To become leveled with the ground; to fall; to suffer overthrow.Rāse, n. p. 1087A cancel; erasure. 2. A slight wound. 3. (O. Eng. Law.) A measure in which the commodity measured was made even with the top of the measuring vessel, by scraping or striking off all that was above…Rāsh, a. p. 1087Hasty; quick; sudden; rapid; urgent; as, a rash fire. “Rash gunpowder.” Shak. I have scarce leisure to salute you, My matter is so rash. Shak. 2. Especially, hasty in counsel or action; precipitate…Rāsh, n. p. 1087(Med.) An eruption or efflorescence on the body, with little or no elevation.Rāsh, n. p. 1087An inferior kind of silk, or silk and stuff manufacture. [Obs.] Donne.Rāsh, v. t. p. 1087To strike by a glancing blow; to slash; to cut; to slice. He dreamt the boar had rashed off his helm. Shak. 2. To prepare with haste; to hurry. The former edition of his Acts and Monuments was . . .…Rāsh'er, n. p. 1087A thin slice of bacon; a thin cut.Răsh'ful, a. p. 1087Rash; hasty; precipitate. [Obs.]Rāsh'ling, n. p. 1087One who acts in a rash or hasty manner. [Obs.]Rāsh'ly, adv. p. 1087In a rash or hasty manner; with precipitation; hastily; without due deliberation. He that doth any thing rashly, must do it willingly. L'Estrange.Răsh'ness, n. p. 1087The quality of being rash; overhaste in resolving on, or in undertaking a measure; precipitation; inconsiderate promptness; unwise contempt of danger; acting without due consideration. We offend by…Ras-kōl'nik, n. p. 1087(Eccl.) One belonging to the largest and most important body of dissenters from the Greek church in Russia. [Written also rascolnik.] Brande.Ra-sō'ri-al, a. p. 1087(Ornith.) Of, or pertaining to, a certain order of birds, the gallinaceous birds, as the peacock, domestic fowl, partridge, ostrich, pigeon, and the like. Swainson.Rāsp, n. p. 1087A species of coarse file, on which the cutting prominences are distinct, being raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of a chisel, as is the case with a file.Rāsp, n. p. 1087The raspberry. [Obs.] Set sorrel among the rasps, now will the rasps be the smaller. Bacon.Rāsp, v. t. p. 1087[O. Fr. rasper, N. Fr. râper, Sp. raspar, It. raspare, to scrape, grate, rasp, from O. H. Ger. raspōn, to scrape together; D. raspen, Dan. raspe, Sw. raspa, Ger. raspeln. 1. To rub or file with a…Răsp'a-to-ry, n. p. 1087A surgeon's rasp. Wiseman.Rāsp'ber-ry, n. p. 1087(Bot.) (a.) The fruit of a bramble of the genus Rubus; a berry growing on a prickly plant; as, the black raspberry; the red and the white raspberry. (b.) The shrub itself.Rāsp'er, n. p. 1087One who, or that which, rasps; a scraper.Rās'pis, n. p. 1087The raspberry. [Obs.] Raspberry Fruit. Gerard. Langham.Rässe, n. p. 1087(Zoöl.) A carnivorous animal of the genus Viverra (V. malaccensis), and of the civet kind, found in Java. It furnishes a perfume resembling that of the civet, which is highly prized by the Javanese.…Rās'ūre, n. p. 1087The act of rasing, scraping, shaving, or erasing; erasure; obliteration. 2. The mark by which a letter, word, or any part of a writing or print, is erased, effaced, or obliterated; an erasure.…Răt, n. p. 1087(Zoöl.) One of several species of small, rodent mammals, of the genus Mus, larger than mice, that infest houses, stores, and ships. The brown rat is M. decumanus; the black rat, M. rattus. Of allied…Răt, v. i. p. 1088(Eng. Politics.) To desert one's former party from interested motives; to forsake one's associates for one's own advantage. Coleridge . . . incurred the reproach of having ratted, solely by his…Rāt'a-bil'i-ty, n. p. 1088The quality of being rated.Rāt'a-ble, a. p. 1088Capable of being rated, or set at a certain value. Twenty one were ratable to [at] two marks of silver. Camden. 2. Liable or subjected by law to taxation; as, ratable estate. Stat. of Conn.Rāt'a-ble-ness, n. p. 1088The quality of being ratable; ratability.Rāt'a-bly, adv. p. 1088By rate or proportion; proportionally. Raleigh.