Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Ro-çhĕlle' Salt p. 1145(Chem.) Tartrate of potassa and soda.Rŏch'et, n. p. 1145A linen garment resembling the surplice, but with narrower sleeves, worn under the chimere by bishops during the middle ages. Hook. They see no difference between an idler with a hat and national…Rŏch'et, n. p. 1145(Ichth.) A fish; the red gurnard or gurnet.Rŏck, n. p. 1145A large mass of stony material; the solid material of the earth's crust. Come one, come all; this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I. W. Scott. 2. (Geol.) Any natural deposit of stony…Rŏck, n. p. 1145See ROC.Rŏck, n. p. 1145A distaff used in spinning; the staff or frame about which flax is arranged, from which the thread is drawn in spinning. The mother sat at fire, who had to spin A rock, whose tincture with sea-purple…Rŏck, v. t. p. 1145To move backward and forward as a body resting on a support beneath; as, to rock a cradle; to cause to vibrate; to cause to reel or totter. A rising earthquake rocked the ground. Dryden. 2. To put to…Rŏck, v. i. p. 1145To be moved backward and forward; to reel; to totter. The rocking town Supplants their footsteps. Philips.Rŏck'-ăl'um, n. p. 1145The purest kind of alum. See ROCHE-ALUM.Rŏck'-a-wāy, n. p. 1145A low, four-wheeled, two-seated pleasure-carriage, with full standing top.Rŏck'-bā'sin, n. p. 1145A cavity or artificial basin cut in a rock, for the purpose, as is supposed, of collecting the dew or rain for ablutions and purifications prescribed by the Druidical religion. Grosier.Röck'-būt/ter, n. p. 1145(Min.) Native alum mixed with clay and oxide of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish-white color, occurring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous slate. Buchanan.Rŏck'-cŏd, n. p. 1145A cod that is taken on rocky sea-bottoms.Röck'-côrk, n. p. 1145(Min.) A variety of asbestos, the fibers of which are loosely interlaced. It resembles cork in its texture. Dunn.Rŏck'-crĕss, n. p. 1145(Bot.) A plant of the genus Arabis;—called also wall-cress.Rŏck'-crys'tal, n. p. 1145(Min.) Limpid quartz. ☞ When purest it is colorless, but it occurs of various colors, as white, red, smoke-brown, black, &c. The clear yellow is sometimes called false topaz or citrine. Its most…Röck'-dōe, n. p. 1145(Zoöl.) A species of deer. Grew.Rŏck'-e-lāy, n. p. 1145A short cloak; roquelaure. W. Scott.Rŏck'er, n. p. 1145One who rocks the cradle. It was I, sir, said the rocker, who had the honor, some thirty years since, to attend on your highness in your infancy. Fuller. 2. The curving piece of wood on which a…Rŏck'er-y, n. p. 1145(Gardening.) An elevation formed of earth, stones, &c., for plants; rock-work. See ROCK-WORK, 2.Rŏck'et, n. p. 1145An artificial firework, consisting of a cylindrical case of paper filled with a composition of combustible ingredients, as niter, charcoal, and sulphur. This being tied to a stick and fired, the case…Rŏck'et, n. p. 1145(Bot.) A plant of the genus Eruca. E. sativum, or garden rocket, is sometimes eaten on the continent of Europe as a salad, when young and tender. Baird. ☞ The name is also applied to plants of the…Rŏck'-fĭsh, n. p. 1145(Ichth.) A salt-water fish; a species of goby; Gobius niger.Rŏck'-gōat, n. p. 1145A goat which makes its home among the rocks. Holland.Rŏck'-i-ness, n. p. 1145The state of being rocky.Röck'ing-châir, n. p. 1145A chair mounted on rockers.Rŏck'ing-hôrse, n. p. 1145The figure of a horse, made of wood or other material, and mounted upon rockers, for children.Rŏck'ing-stōne, n. p. 1145A stone, often of great size and weight, resting upon another stone, and so exactly poised on some edge or corner, that it can be rocked, or slightly moved, with but little force.Rŏck'-less, a. p. 1145Being without rocks. Dryden.Röck'ling, n. p. 1145(Ichth.) A fish of the genus Motella (M. vulgaris), belonging to the cod family; whistle-fish.Röck'-milk, n. p. 1145(Min.) A loose, friable variety of carbonate of lime, deposited from waters containing it in solution. Dana.Rŏck'-mŏss, n. p. 1145(Bot.) A lichen of the genus Lecanora (L. tartarea), from which cudbear is obtained.Röck'-oil, n. p. 1145The same as PETROLEUM.Rŏck'-pig'eŏn, n. p. 1145A species of pigeon (Columba livia) found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It inhabits rocks and caves, and is considered to be the original of the domestic pigeons.Rŏck'-plănt, n. p. 1145A plant distinguished by growing on or among naked rocks. P. Cyc.Rŏck'-răb'bit, n. p. 1145(Zoöl.) See HYRAX.Rŏck'-rōse, n. p. 1145(Bot.) (a.) A plant of the genus Cistus, found on the coasts of the Mediterranean in both Europe and Africa. C. Cretica (the Cretan rock-rose) affords the fragrant gum known as ladanum, or labdanum.…Rŏck'-rŭ'by, n. p. 1145(Min.) A fine reddish variety of garnet. Dana.Rŏck'-salt, n. p. 1145(Min.) Chloride of sodium or common salt occurring in rock-like masses in mines; mineral salt; salt dug from the earth. ☞ In the United States, this name is sometimes given to salt in large crystals…Rŏck'-sháft, n. p. 1145(Mech.) A shaft that oscillates on its journals, instead of revolving; more strictly, a vibrating shaft for modifying motion in the valve-gear of a steam-engine;—called also rocker and rocking-shaft.Rŏck'-shĕll, n. p. 1145(Conch.) A certain univalve characterized by a long, straight canal which terminates the mouth of the shell. Brande.Rŏck'-sōap, n. p. 1145(Min.) A mineral having a smooth, greasy feel, and adhering to the tongue. It is composed chiefly of silica, alumina, and water, with sometimes a small proportion of oxide of iron. Dana.Rŏck'-tār, n. p. 1145Petroleum. See PETROLEUM.Rōck'-wōōd, n. p. 1145Ligniform asbestos.Rŏck'-work, n. p. 1145Stones fixed in mortar in imitation of natural masses of rock. 2. (Gardening.) An elevation of earth and other loose materials covered with stones, &c., among which plants adapted for such a…Rŏck'y, a. p. 1145Full of rocks; as, a rocky mountain; a rocky shore. 2. Formed of rocks. “Rocky pillars.” Milton. 3. Resembling a rock; as, the rocky orb of a shield. Milton. 4. Not easily impressed or affected…Rō'cou, n. p. 1145A colored pulpy substance within the legume, and surrounding the seeds, of the Bixa Orellana. In its purified state it is called annotto.Ro-cō'co, a. & n. p. 1145A kind of florid ornamentation, which prevailed, more especially in France, at the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. It consisted chiefly in reviving and…Rōd, n. p. 1145The shoot or long twig of any woody plant; a branch, or the stem of a shrub; as, a rod of hazel, of birch, of oak, or hickory. 2. A slender stick; a wand; as, (a.) An instrument of punishment or…Rŏd'dy, a. p. 1145Full of rods; containing many rods or twigs. [Obs.]Rōde, imp. p. 1145of ride. See RIDE.Rōde, n. p. 1145A cross. See ROOD.Rō'dent, a. p. 1145Gnawing;—a term applied to the Rodentia.Rō'dent, n. p. 1145(Zoöl.) One of the Rodentia; an animal that gnaws, as a rat.Rō-dĕn′ti-ă, n. pl. p. 1145(Zoöl.) An order of mammals having two large incisor teeth in each jaw, separated from the molar teeth by an empty space. The rat, the squirrel, the marmot, and the beaver, belong to this order.Rōdge, n. p. 1145(Ornith.) A kind of water-fowl resembling a duck, but not so large. Crabb.Rōd'o-mēl, n. p. 1145The juice of roses mixed with honey. Simmonds.Rōd'o-mont, n. p. 1145A vain boaster; a braggart. [Obs.] Herbert.Rōd'o-mont, a. p. 1145Bragging; vainly boasting.Rōd'o-mont-āde', n. p. 1145Vain boasting; empty bluster or vaunting; rant. I could show that the rodomontades of Almanzor are neither so irrational nor impossible. Dryden.