Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Riët'boe, n. p. 1139(Zoöl.) An African species of antelope; Antilope eleotragus or Eleotragus arundinaceus:—so called from its frequenting reedy places and dry watercourses. Eng. Cyc.Riëv'er, n. p. 1139A robber. See REAVE.Rife, a. p. 1139Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. The tumult of loud mirth Was rife. Milton. 2. Having power; active; nimble. [Obs.] I'll dance myself rather than thus put down. What! I am rife a little yet. J.…Rife'ly, adv. p. 1139In a rife manner; prevalently; frequently. It was rife'ly reported that the Turks were coming in a great fleet. Knolles.Rife'ness, n. p. 1139The quality of being rife; frequency; prevalence. Arbuthnot.Riff-raff, n. p. 1139Sweepings; refuse; the lowest order of society.Rī'fle, v. t. p. 1139To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off. Till time shall rifle every youthful grace. Pope. 2. To strip; to rob; to pillage; to plunder. You have rifled my master. L'Estrange. 3.…Rĭffle, v. i. p. 1139To raffle. [Obs.] Chapman. 2. To commit robbery. [Rare.] Bp. Hall.Rī′fle, n. p. 1139A gun usually somewhat shorter than a musket, the inside of whose barrel is grooved, or formed with spiral channels, thus securing for the ball a rotary motion, and great precision in the direction…Rĭ'fle, v. t. p. 1139To groove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun-barrel. 2. To sharpen, as a scythe, with a rifle; to whet with a rifle. See RIFLE, n., 2.Rī'fle-man, n. p. 1139A man armed with a rifle.Rĭ'fle-pĭt, n. p. 1139(Mil.) A pit dug for the shelter of sharpshooters.Rĭf'ler, n. p. 1139One who rifles; a robber.Rĭft, n. p. 1139An opening made by riving or splitting; a cleft; a fissure. 2. A shallow place in a stream; a fording-place.Rĭft, v. t. p. 1139To cleave; to rive; to split; as, to rift an oak or a rock. “To dwell these rifted rocks between.” Wordsworth.Rĭft, v. i. p. 1139To burst open; to split. “Timber . . . not apt to rift with ordnance.” Bacon. 2. To belch; to break wind. [Prov. Eng.]Rĭft'er, n. p. 1139A rafter. [Obs.] Holland.Rig, n. p. 1139A ridge. [Obs.]Rig, v. t. p. 1139To dress; to put on; to clothe, especially in an odd or fanciful manner. Jack was rigged out in his gold and silver lace, with a feather in his cap. L’Estrange. 2. To furnish with apparatus or gear…Rig, n. p. 1139Dress; especially, odd or fanciful clothing. 2. The peculiar manner of fitting the masts and rigging to the hull of a vessel; as, schooner rig, ship rig, &c. Brande. 3. Bluster. [Obs.] Burke. 4. A…Rig, v. i. p. 1140To play the wanton; to trick. “Rigging and rifling all ways.” Chapman.Rig'a-doon', n. p. 1140A gay, brisk dance, performed by one couple, and said to have been borrowed from Provence, in France. “Whose dancing dogs in riga-doons excel.” Walcott.Rī'gā Fīr. p. 1140A species of pine (Pinus sylvestris), and its wood, which affords a valuable timber;—called also Scotch pine, and red or yellow deal. It grows in all parts of Europe, in the Caucasus, and in Siberia.Rī-gā'tion, n. p. 1140The same as IRRIGATION.Rī'gēl, n. p. 1140(Astron.) A fixed star of the first magnitude in the left foot of the constellation Orion.Rīg'gĕr, n. p. 1140One who rigs or dresses; one whose occupation is to fit the rigging of a ship. 2. A cylindrical pulley or drum in machinery.Rīg'ging, n. p. 1140Dress; tackle; especially, the ropes which support the masts, extend and contract the sails, &c., of a ship. Running rigging (Naut.), all those ropes used in bracing the yards, making and shortening…Rīg'gish, a. p. 1140Like a rig or wanton; wanton; lewd. [Obs.] Shak.Rīg'gle, v. i. p. 1140To move one way and the other. See WRIGGLE.Right, a. p. 1140Straight; not crooked; as, a right line; hence, most direct; as, the right way from London to Oxford. 2. Upright; erect; not oblique; as, right ascension; a right sphere. 3. Conformed to the…Right, adv. p. 1140In a right manner; especially, in a right or straight line; directly. Let thine eyes look right on. Prov. iv. 25. 2. According to the law or will of God, or to the standard of truth and justice; as…Right, n. p. 1140That which is right or correct; as, (a.) The straight course; adherence to duty; obedience to lawful authority, divine or human; freedom from guilt; — the opposite of moral wrong. (b.) A true…Right, v. t. p. 1140To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight, as having been wrong or crooked. All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer…Right, v. i. p. 1140To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright. 2. (Naut.) Hence, to rise with the masts erect, as a ship when it has been drawn to one side.Right'-ăn' gled, a. p. 1140Containing a right angle or right angles.Right'en, v. t. p. 1140To do justice to. [Obs.]Right'eoüs, a. p. 1140According with, or performing, that which is right; yielding to all their due; just; equitable; praiseworthy; merited; especially, free from guilt or sin; holy. Fearless in his righteous cause…Right'eoüsed, a. p. 1140Made righteous. [Obs.]Right'eous-ly, adv. p. 1140In a righteous manner; in accordance with the laws of justice; equitably; justly; as, a criminal righteously condemned.Right'eous-ness, n. p. 1140[O. Eng. right-wisnesse, A-S. rihtwisness. [See supra.] 1. The quality of being righteous; exact rectitude; purity. ¶ Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it chiefly occurs, is…Right'er, n. p. 1140One who sets right; one who does justice or redresses wrong.Right’ful, a. p. 1140Consonant to justice; just; as, a rightful cause; a rightful war. 2. Having the right or just claim according to established laws; as, the rightful heir to a throne or an estate. 3. Being by right…Right'ful-ly, adv. p. 1140According to right, law, or justice; as, a title rightfully vested.Right'ful-ness, n. p. 1140The state of being rightful; accordance with the rules of right; as, the rightfulness of a claim to lands or tenements. 2. Moral rectitude. [Obs.] We fail of perfect rightfulness. Sidney.Right'-hănd, n. p. 1140The hand opposite to the left, and usually more in use, stronger, more convenient or dexterous,—whence the name.Right'-hănd'ed, a. p. 1140Using the right hand habitually, or more easily than the left. 2. (Conch.) Having the convolutions turning from right to left; — said of certain shells.Right-handed screw p. 1140a screw the threads of which wind spirally from left to right, or which advances when turned with a motion the same as that of the hands of a watch. See LEFT-HANDED.Right'-hănd'ed-ness, n. p. 1140The state or quality of being right-handed; hence, skill; dexterity.Right'-heärt'ed, a. p. 1140Having right dispositions.Right'less, a. p. 1140Destitute of right.Right'ly, adv. p. 1140Straightly; directly. [Obs.] 2. According to justice; according to the divine will or moral rectitude; honestly; uprightly; as, duty rightly performed. 3. Properly; fitly; suitably; appropriately.…Right'-mīnd'ed, a. p. 1140Having a right or honest mind. Bp. Taylor.Right'-mind'ed-ness, n. p. 1140The state of being right-minded.Right'ness, n. p. 1140Straightness; as, the rightness of a line. Bacon. 2. The state of being right; rectitude; righteousness; conformity to truth or to the divine will, which is the standard of moral rectitude. South.Right'-rŭn'ning, a. p. 1140Straight-running.Right’ward, adv. p. 1140Toward the right hand or right side; to the right. Rightward and leftward rise the rocks. Southey.Right'-whale, n. p. 1140(Zoöl.) The common whale (Balæna mysticetus), from whose mouth whalebone is obtained, as distinguished from the spermace'ti whale.Right′wise, a. p. 1140Righteous. [Obs.] Wycliffe.Right'wise, v. t. p. 1140To make righteous. [Obs.]Right'wise-ly, adv. p. 1140Righteously. [Obs.]