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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.

  1. Rō'ti-fer, n.p. 1150(Zoöl.) One of a group of microscopic crustaceans, having no limbs, and moving by means of rows of cilia about the head or the anterior extremity.
  2. Rō'ti-fōrm, a.p. 1150Wheel-shaped; as, rotiform appendages. 2. (Zoöl.) Having a very short tube, and spreading limb;—said of a monopetalous corolla. Henslow.
  3. Rŏt'ten, a.p. 1150Having rotted; putrid; decayed; as, a rotten apple; hence, (a.) Offensive to the smell; fetid; disgusting. You common cry of curs, whose breath I hate As reek of the rotten fen. Shak. (b.) Not firm…
  4. Rōt'ten-ly, adv.p. 1150In a rotten manner, or as if rotten; putridly; defectively; fetidly.
  5. Rōt'ten-ness, n.p. 1150The state of being rotten; cariousness; putrefaction; unsoundness.
  6. Rŏt'ten-stōne, n.p. 1150(Min.) A soft stone, called also Tripoli, from the country from which it was formerly brought, used in all sorts of finer grinding and polishing in the arts, and for cleaning metallic substances.
  7. Rōt'ū-lar, a.p. 1150(Anat.) Relating or appertaining to the patella or knee-cap. Dunglison.
  8. Ro-tūnd', a.p. 1150Round; circular; spherical. Addison. 2. Hence, complete; entire. 3. (Bot.) Orbicular, a little inclining to be oblong.
  9. Ro-tūnd', n.p. 1150A rotunda. [Rare.] “The cause why a rotund has such a noble effect.” Burke.
  10. Ro-tūn'dā, n.p. 1150A round building; any erection that is round both on the outside and inside, like the Pantheon at Rome. [Written also rotundo.]
  11. Ro-tūnd'i-fō'li-ōūs, a.p. 1150(Bot.) Having round leaves.
  12. Ro-tŭnd'i-ty, n.p. 1150[Lat. rotunditas, Fr. rotondité,
  13. Ro-tūnd'nessp. 1150Pr. rotonditat, Sp. rotundidad, It. rotondità, ritondità. 1. The state of being rotund; roundness; sphericity; circularity. Strike flat the thick rotundity of the world. Shak. 2. Hence, completeness…
  14. Ro-tŭn'do, n.p. 1150See ROTUNDA.
  15. Rou-ănne', n.p. 1150A marking or branding iron.
  16. Rou'ble, n.p. 1150See RUBLE.
  17. Rouche, n.p. 1150A goffered quilling for ladies’ bonnets, &c., of lace, ribbon, and the like. [Written also ruche.] Simmonds.
  18. Roué, n.p. 1150One devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; a debauchee; a rake.
  19. Rouet, n.p. 1150A small, solid wheel formerly fixed to the pan of firelocks for discharging them. Crobb.
  20. Rouge, a.p. 1150Red. [Rare.] Davies.
  21. Rouge, n.p. 1150( Chem.) An anhydrous sesquioxide of iron, of a bright red color, used for giving a fine luster to articles of metal or glass. Ure. 2. A cosmetic used for giving a red color to the cheeks or lips…
  22. Rouge, v. i.p. 1151To paint the face or cheeks with rouge.
  23. Rouge, v. t.p. 1151To paint or tinge with rouge.
  24. Rouge'-drāg'on, n.p. 1151An officer of the college of heralds. [Eng.]
  25. Rouge'-et-noir', n.p. 1151A game at cards in which persons play against the owner of the table or bank;—so called because the table is divided into small compartments, colored red and black. Hoyle.
  26. Rough, a.p. 1151Having inequalities, small ridges, or points on the surface; not smooth or plain; as, a rough board; a rough stone; rough cloth; hence, (a.) Not level; uneven;—said of a piece of land, or of a road.…
  27. Rough, n.p. 1151Boisterous or stormy weather. [Obs.] 2. A rude, coarse fellow; a swaggerer; a coarse bully.
  28. Rŏugh, adv.p. 1151In a rough manner; rudely. “Sleeping rough in the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats.” W. Scott.
  29. Rough, v. t.p. 1151To render rough; to give a rough appearance to; to roughen. 2. To break in, as a horse, especially for military purposes. Crabb. Roughing rollers, rollers for reducing, in a rough manner, a bloom of…
  30. Rough'-cast, v. t.p. 1151To form in its first rudiments, without revision, correction, and polish. 2. To mold without nicety or elegance, or to form with asperities. 3. To plaster with a mixture of lime and shells or…
  31. Rough'-cast, n.p. 1151A rude model; the form of a thing in its first rudiments, or while unfinished. 2. A kind of plastering made of lime, with a mixture of shells or pebbles, used for covering buildings.
  32. Rough'-cast'er, n.p. 1151One who rough-casts.
  33. Rough'-draw, v. t.p. 1151To draw or delineate coarsely.
  34. Rough'en, v. t.p. 1151To make rough.
  35. Rough'en, v. i.p. 1151To grow or become rough.
  36. Rough'-foot'ed, a.p. 1151Feather-footed; as, a rough-footed dove. [Rare.] Sherwood.
  37. Rough'-hew, v. t.p. 1151To hew coarsely, without smoothing; as, to rough-hew timber. 2. To give the first form or shape to; to form rudely; to shape approximately and rudely. There's a divinity that shapes our ends…
  38. Rough'-hew'er, n.p. 1151One who rough-hews.
  39. Rough'-hewn, p. a.p. 1151Hewn coarsely, without smoothing. 2. Of coarse manners; rude; uncultivated. “A rough-hewn seaman.” Bacon. 3. Not nicely finished; unpolished. Howell.
  40. Rough'ings, n. pl.p. 1151Grass after mowing or reaping. [Prov. Eng.]
  41. Rough'ish, a.p. 1151In some degree rough; somewhat rough.
  42. Rough'-lègged, a.p. 1151Having legs covered with feathers;—said of a bird.
  43. Rough'ly, adv.p. 1151In a rough manner; unevenly; harshly; rudely; severely; austerely.
  44. Rough'ness, n.p. 1151The quality or state of being rough; unevenness; harshness; rudeness; asperity; severity.
  45. Rough'-rid'er, n.p. 1151One who breaks horses; especially (Mil.), a non-commissioned officer in the cavalry, whose duty is to assist the riding-master. Campbell.
  46. Rough'-scuff, n.p. 1151A rough, coarse fellow;—the lowest class of the people; the rabble. [Colloq. U. S.]
  47. Rough'-shōd, a.p. 1151Shod with shoes armed with points; as, a rough-shod horse. To ride rough-shod, to pursue a course regardless of the pain or distress it may cause others.
  48. Rough'-strings, n. pl.p. 1151(Carp.) Pieces of undressed timber put under the steps of a wooden stair for their support.
  49. Roughtp. 1151for raught, imp. of reach. [Obs.]
  50. Rough'-work, v. t.p. 1151To work over coarsely, without regard to nicety, smoothness, or finish. Maxon.
  51. Rouk, n.p. 1151See ROKE.
  52. Roulade, n.p. 1151(Mus.) A passage of running tones; especially, a rapid flight of notes extemporaneously introduced as an embellishment. Moore.
  53. Rouleau, n.p. 1151A little roll; a roll of coins in paper.
  54. Roulette, n.p. 1151A game of chance, in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into red and black spaces, and as it stops on the one or the other, the player wins or loses. 2. A small…
  55. Roun, v. i.p. 1151To whisper. [Obs.] Gower.
  56. Roun, v. t.p. 1151To address in a whisper. [Obs.]
  57. Rounce, n.p. 1151(Print.) The handle of a printing-press by which the carriage on which the form to be printed is laid, is run in under the platen and out again;—sometimes applied to the whole apparatus by which the…
  58. Roun'çe-val, a.p. 1151Large; strong;—from the gigantic bones of the old heroes pretended to be shown at Roncesvalles. 2. Hence, characterized as, or pertaining to, a large size of pea, now called marrow-fat. Coles.
  59. Roun'çe-val, n.p. 1151A giant; hence, any thing very large and strong. [Obs.]
  60. Round, a.p. 1151Having every portion of the surface or of the circumference equally distant from the center; spherical; circular, or having a form approaching this; orbicular; globular; as, a round ball. The firm…