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Rapacity

The quality of being rapacious; rapaciousness; ravenousness; as, the rapacity of pirates; the rapacity of wolves.

Rape

A name given to a variety or to varieties of a plant of the turnip kind, grown for seeds and herbage. The seeds are used for the production of rape oil, and to a limited extent for the food of cage birds.

Raphaelesque

Like Raphael's works; in Raphael's manner of painting.

Raphaelism

The principles of painting introduced by Raphael, the Italian painter.

Raphaelite

One who advocates or adopts the principles of Raphaelism.

Raphany

A convulsive disease, attended with ravenous hunger, not uncommon in Sweden and Germany. It was so called because supposed to be caused by eating corn with which seeds of jointed charlock (Raphanus raphanistrum) had been mixed, but the condition is now known to be a form of ergotism.

Raphe

A line, ridge, furrow, or band of fibers, especially in the median line; as, the raphe of the tongue.

Rapid-fire

Occurring in rapid succession like the shots fired from a machine gun. See also machine-gun.

Rapid-firing Rapid-fire

Firing shots in rapid succession. Capable of being fired rapidly; -- applied to single-barreled guns of greater caliber than small arms, mounted so as to be quickly trained and elevated, with a quick-acting breech mechanism operated by a single motion of a crank or lever (abbr. R. F.); In the United States navy, designating such a gun using fixed ammunition or metallic cartridge cases; -- distinguished from breech-loading (abbr. B. L.), applied to all guns loading with the charge in bags, and formerly from quick-fire. Rapid-fire guns in the navy also sometimes include automatic or semiautomatic rapid-fire guns; the former being automatic guns of not less than one inch caliber, firing a shell of not less than one pound weight, the explosion of each cartridge operating the mechanism for ejecting the empty shell, loading, and firing the next shot, the latter being guns that require one operation of the hand at each discharge, to load the gun. In the United States army, designating such a gun, whether using fixed or separate ammunition, designed chiefly for use in coast batteries against torpedo vessels and the lightly armored batteries or other war vessels and for the protection of defensive mine fields; -- not distinguished from quick-fire. In Great Britain and Europe used, rarely, as synonymous with quick-fire.

Rapidity

The quality or state of being rapid; swiftness; celerity; velocity; as, the rapidity of a current; rapidity of speech; rapidity of growth or improvement.

Rapids Rapid

The part of a river where the current moves with great swiftness, but without actual waterfall or cascade; sometimes called whitewater; -- usually used in the plural; as, the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence. For boaters on the river, it is a place that can be hazardous, with danger of capsizing or crashing into large rocks.

Rapier

A straight sword, with a narrow and finely pointed blade, used only for thrusting.

Rappage

The enlargement of a mold caused by rapping the pattern.

Rapparee

A wild Irish plunderer, esp. one of the 17th century; -- so called from his carrying a half-pike, called a rapary.

Rapped

imp. p. p. of Rap, to snatch away.

Rappee

A pungent kind of snuff made from the darker and ranker kinds of tobacco leaves.

Rappel

The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.

Rapper

One who, or that which, raps or knocks; specifically, the knocker of a door.

Rapport

Relation; proportion; conformity; correspondence; accord.

Rapprochement

Act or fact of coming or being drawn near or together; establishment or state of cordial relations.

Rapt

To transport or ravish.

Raptor

A ravisher; a plunderer.

Raptores

An order of birds, same as Accipitres. Called also Raptatores.

Raptorial

Rapacious; living upon prey; -- said especially of certain birds. Adapted for seizing prey; -- said of the legs, claws, etc., of insects, birds, and other animals. Of or pertaining to the Raptores. See Illust. (f) of Aves.

Rapture

To transport with excitement; to enrapture.

Rapturize

To put, or be put, in a state of rapture.

Rapturous

Ecstatic; transporting; ravishing; feeling, expressing, or manifesting rapture; as, rapturous joy, pleasure, or delight; rapturous applause.

Rare

Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.

Rarebit

A dainty morsel; a Welsh rabbit. See Welsh rabbit, under Rabbit.

Raree-show

A show carried about in a box; a peep show.

Rarefaction

The act or process of rarefying; the state of being rarefied; -- opposed to condensation; as, the rarefaction of air.

Rarefy

To become less dense; to become thin and porous.

Rarely

In a rare manner or degree; seldom; not often; as, things rarely seen.

Rareness

The state or quality of being rare.

Rareripe

An early ripening fruit, especially a kind of freestone peach.

Rarity

The quality or state of being rare; rareness; thinness; as, the rarity (contrasted with the density) of gases.

Ras

See 2d Reis.

ras

The name and genetic symbol for a mutant gene that has been identified as one of those associated with certains types of cancer; -- it is a form of oncogene. It was first observed in rats, but analogues have been found in humans and other animals.

Rasante

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 sweep or graze the ground before them.

Rascal

Of or pertaining to the common herd or common people; low; mean; base.

Rascaldom

State of being a rascal; rascality; domain of rascals; rascals, collectively.

Rascallion

A low, mean wretch; a rogue; same as rascal, n.. 2; now disused, replaced by rapscalion.

Rascally

Like a rascal; trickish or dishonest; base; worthless; -- often in humorous disparagement, without implication of dishonesty.

Rase

A scratching out, or erasure.

Rash

To prepare with haste.

Rashly

In a rash manner; with precipitation.

Rashness

The quality or state of being rash.

Raskolnik

The name applied by the Russian government to any subject of the Greek faith who dissents from the established church. The Raskolniki embrace many sects, whose common characteristic is a clinging to antique traditions, habits, and customs. The schism originated in 1667 in an ecclesiastical dispute as to the correctness of the translation of the religious books. The dissenters, who have been continually persecuted, are believed to number about 20,000,000, although the Holy Synod officially puts the number at about 2,000,000. They are officially divided into three groups according to the degree of their variance from orthodox beliefs and observances, as follows: I. /Most obnoxious./ the Judaizers; the Molokane, who refuse to recognize civil authority or to take oaths; the Dukhobortsy, or Dukhobors, who are communistic, marry without ceremony, and believe that Christ was human, but that his soul reappears at intervals in living men; the Khlysty, who countenance anthropolatory, are ascetics, practice continual self-flagellation, and reject marriage; the Skoptsy, who practice castration; and a section of the Bezpopovtsy, or priestless sect, which disbelieve in prayers for the Czar and in marriage. II. /Obnoxious:/ the Bezpopovtsy, who pray for the Czar and recognize marriage. III. /Least obnoxious:/ the Popovtsy, who dissent from the orthodox church in minor points only.

Rasores

An order of birds; the Gallinae.

Rasorial

Of or pertaining to the Rasores, or gallinaceous birds, as the peacock, domestic fowl, partridge, quail, and the like.

Raspberry

The thimble-shaped fruit of the Rubus Idaeus and other similar brambles; as, the black, the red, and the white raspberry. The shrub bearing this fruit.

Rasper

One who, or that which, rasps; a scraper.

Raspy

Like a rasp, or the sound made by a rasp; grating.

Rasse

A carnivore (Viverricula Mallaccensis) allied to the civet but smaller, native of China and the East Indies. It furnishes a perfume resembling that of the civet, which is highly prized by the Javanese. Called also Malacca weasel, and lesser civet.

Rasure

The act of rasing, scraping, or erasing; erasure; obliteration.

Rat

In English politics, to desert one's party from interested motives; to forsake one's associates for one's own advantage; in the trades, to work for less wages, or on other conditions, than those established by a trades union.

Rat-tail

An excrescence growing from the pastern to the middle of the shank of a horse.

Rat-tailed

Having a long, tapering tail like that of a rat.

Rata

A New Zealand forest tree (Metrosideros robusta), also, its hard dark red wood, used by the Maoris for paddles and war clubs.

Ratable

Capable of being rated, or set at a certain value.

ratable

a structure which may be rated, or set at a certain value, for the purpose of taxation, usually based on the value; as, with the deterioration of the center cities, the loss of ratables worsened the situation by removing valuable sources of tax revenue.

Ratafia

A spirituous liquor flavored with the kernels of cherries, apricots, peaches, or other fruit, spiced, and sweetened with sugar; -- a term applied to the liqueurs called noyau, cura/ao, etc.

Rataplan

The iterative sound of beating a drum, or of a galloping horse.

Ratch

A ratchet wheel, or notched bar, with which a pawl or click works.

Ratchet

A pawl, click, or detent, for holding or propelling a ratchet wheel, or ratch, etc.

Rate

To be set or considered in a class; to have rank; as, the ship rates as a ship of the line.

Ratel

Any carnivore of the genus Mellivora, allied to the weasels and the skunks; -- called also honey badger.

Rater

One who rates or scolds.

Rath

A hill or mound.

Rathripe

Rareripe, or early ripe. A rareripe.

Rathskeller

Orig., in Germany, the cellar or basement of the city hall, usually rented for use as a restaurant where beer is sold; hence, a beer saloon of the German type below the street level, where, usually, drinks are served only at tables and simple food may also be had; -- sometimes loosely used, in English, of what are essentially basement restaurants where liquors are served.

Ratification

The act of ratifying; the state of being ratified; confirmation; sanction; as, the ratification of a treaty.

Ratifier

One who, or that which, ratifies; a confirmer.

Ratify

To approve and sanction; to make valid; to confirm; to establish; to settle; especially, to give sanction to, as something done by an agent or servant; as, to ratify an agreement, treaty, or contract; to ratify a nomination.

Ratihabition

Confirmation or approbation, as of an act or contract.

Ratio

The relation which one quantity or magnitude has to another of the same kind. It is expressed by the quotient of the division of the first by the second; thus, the ratio of 3 to 6 is expressed by / or /; of a to b by a/b; or (less commonly) the second term is made the dividend; as, a:b = b/a.

Ratiocinate

To reason, esp. deductively; to offer reason or argument.

Ratiocination

The process of reasoning, or deducing conclusions from premises; deductive reasoning.

Ratiocinative

Characterized by, or addicted to, ratiocination; consisting in the comparison of propositions or facts, and the deduction of inferences from the comparison; argumentative; as, a ratiocinative process.

Ration

To supply with rations, as a regiment.

Rationale

An explanation or exposition of the principles of some opinion, action, hypothesis, phenomenon, or the like; also, the principles themselves.

Rationalism

The doctrine or system of those who deduce their religious opinions from reason or the understanding, as distinct from, or opposed to, revelation.

Rationalist

One who accepts rationalism as a theory or system; also, disparagingly, a false reasoner. See Citation under Reasonist.

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