a. [ L. rabidus, from rabere to rave. See Rage, n. ] 1. Furious; raging; extremely violent. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rabid flight
Of winds that ruin ships. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Extreme, unreasonable, or fanatical in opinion; excessively zealous; as, a rabid socialist. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Affected with the distemper called rabies; mad; as, a rabid dog or fox. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Med.) Of or pertaining to rabies, or hydrophobia; as, rabid virus. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Arranged in a raceme, or in racemes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having long and spatulate, or racket-shaped, tail feathers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ radiation absorbed dose. ] A unit of measurement of the amount of ionizing radiation absorbed by an object, equal to an energy of 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material (equal to 0.01 gray). [ PJC ]

obs. imp. & p. p. of Read, Rede. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Emitted, or sent forth, in rays or direct lines; as, radiated heat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Formed of, or arranged like, rays or radii; having parts or markings diverging, like radii, from a common center or axis; as, a radiated structure; a radiated group of crystals. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) Belonging to the Radiata. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Having the principal veins radiating, or diverging, from the apex of the petiole; -- said of such leaves as those of the grapevine, most maples, and the castor-oil plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Rooted; specifically: (a) (Bot.) Having roots, or possessing a well-developed root. (b) (Zool.) Having rootlike organs for attachment. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Rag, n. ] 1. Rent or worn into tatters, or till the texture is broken; as, a ragged coat; a ragged sail. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Broken with rough edges; having jags; uneven; rough; jagged; as, ragged rocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, harsh and disagreeable to the ear; dissonant. [ R. ] “A ragged noise of mirth.” Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Wearing tattered clothes; as, a ragged fellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Rough; shaggy; rugged. [ 1913 Webster ]

What shepherd owns those ragged sheep? Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ragged lady (Bot.), the fennel flower (Nigella Damascena). --
Ragged robin (Bot.), a plant of the genus Lychnis (Lychnis Flos-cuculi), cultivated for its handsome flowers, which have the petals cut into narrow lobes. --
Ragged sailor (Bot.), prince's feather (Polygonum orientale). --
Ragged school, a free school for poor children, where they are taught and in part fed; -- a name given at first because they came in their common clothing. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Rag"ged*ly, adv. -- Rag"ged*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Cf. F. raguer to chafe, fret, rub, or E. rag. ] (Her.) Notched in regular diagonal breaks; -- said of a line, or a bearing having such an edge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A common American composite weed (Ambrosia artemisiaefolia) with finely divided leaves; hogweed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great ragweed, a coarse American herb (Ambrosia trifida), with rough three-lobed opposite leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Icel. reið a riding, raid; akin to E. road. See Road a way. ] 1. A hostile or predatory incursion; an inroad or incursion of mounted men; a sudden and rapid invasion by a cavalry force; a foray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Marauding chief! his sole delight
The moonlight raid, the morning fight. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

There are permanent conquests, temporary occupations, and occasional raids. H. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ A Scottish word which came into common use in the United States during the Civil War, and was soon extended in its application. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An attack or invasion for the purpose of making arrests, seizing property, or plundering; as, a raid of the police upon a gambling house; a raid of contractors on the public treasury. [ Colloq. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Raided; p. pr. & vb. n. Raiding. ] To make a raid upon or into; as, two regiments raided the border counties. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To carry or send by railroad; usually fig., to send or put through at high speed or in great haste; to hurry or rush unduly; as, to railroad a bill through Condress. [ Colloq., U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ } n. 1. A road or way consisting of one or more parallel series of iron or steel rails, patterned and adjusted to be tracks for the wheels of vehicles, and suitably supported on a bed or substructure. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The modern railroad is a development and adaptation of the older tramway. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The road, track, etc., with all the lands, buildings, rolling stock, franchises, etc., pertaining to them and constituting one property; as, a certain railroad has been put into the hands of a receiver. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Railway is the commoner word in England; railroad the commoner word in the United States. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the following and similar phrases railroad and railway are used interchangeably: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

Atmospheric railway,
Elevated railway, etc. See under Atmospheric, Elevated, etc. --
Cable railway. See Cable road, under Cable. --
Ferry railway, a submerged track on which an elevated platform runs, for carrying a train of cars across a water course. --
Gravity railway, a railway, in a hilly country, on which the cars run by gravity down gentle slopes for long distances after having been hauled up steep inclines to an elevated point by stationary engines. --
Railway brake, a brake used in stopping railway cars or locomotives. --
Railway car, a large, heavy vehicle with flanged wheels fitted for running on a railway. [ U.S. ] --
Railway carriage, a railway passenger car. [ Eng. ] --
Railway scale, a platform scale bearing a track which forms part of the line of a railway, for weighing loaded cars. --
Railway slide. See Transfer table, under Transfer. --
Railway spine (Med.), an abnormal condition due to severe concussion of the spinal cord, such as occurs in railroad accidents. It is characterized by ataxia and other disturbances of muscular function, sensory disorders, pain in the back, impairment of general health, and cerebral disturbance, -- the symptoms often not developing till some months after the injury. --
Underground railroad
Underground railway. (a) A railroad or railway running through a tunnel, as beneath the streets of a city. (b) Formerly, a system of cooperation among certain active antislavery people in the United States prior to 1866, by which fugitive slaves were secretly helped to reach Canada. [ In the latter sense railroad, and not railway, was usually used. ] “Their house was a principal entrepôt of the underground railroad.” W. D. Howells. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Formed with or like a rainbow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Lifted up; showing above the surroundings; as, raised or embossed metal work. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Leavened; made with leaven, or yeast; -- used of bread, cake, etc., as distinguished from that made with cream of tartar, soda, etc. See Raise, v. t., 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

Raised beach. See under Beach, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the frames, stem, and sternpost adjusted; -- said of a ship on the stocks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ research and development. ] Research and development; used mostly to refer to the division of a corporation responsible for performing research and developing new products, or the activitie performed by that division; -- a commonly used abbreviation.
Syn. -- R and D, research and development. [ PJC ]

n. The rod used in ramming home the charge in a muzzle-loading firearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A yellow-flowered weed; -- so named from a Mr. Ramsted who introduced it into Pennsylvania. See Toad flax. Called also Ramsted weed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. rancidus, fr. rancere to be rancid or rank. ] Having a rank smell or taste, from chemical change or decomposition; musty; as, rancid oil or butter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. ] def>Rim; edge; border. [ South Africa ]

2. The monetary unit of the Union of South Africa. [ PJC ]

The Rand, a rocky gold-bearing ridge in South Africa, about thirty miles long, on which Johannesburg is situated; also, the gold-mining district including this ridge. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ AS. rand, rond; akin to D., Dan., Sw., & G. rand, Icel. rönd, and probably to E. rind. ] 1. A border; edge; margin. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A long, fleshy piece, as of beef, cut from the flank or leg; a sort of steak. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A thin inner sole for a shoe; also, a leveling slip of leather applied to the sole before attaching the heel. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ See Rant. ] To rant; to storm. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I wept, . . . and raved, and randed, and railed. J. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ research and development. ] research and development; -- used mostly to refer to the division of a corporation responsible for performing research and developing new products; -- a commonly used abbreviation.
Syn. -- R&D. [ PJC ]

a. [ L. rapidus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to snatch or hurry away; perhaps akin to Gr. 'arpa`zein: cf. F. rapide. Cf. Harpy, Ravish. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Very swift or quick; moving with celerity; fast; as, a rapid stream; a rapid flight; a rapid motion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Advancing with haste or speed; speedy in progression; in quick sequence; as, rapid growth; rapid improvement; rapid recurrence; rapid succession. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Quick in execution; as, a rapid penman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. rapide. See Rapid, a. ] 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. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast,
The rapids are near, and the daylight's past. Moore. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Wearing a rapier. “Scarletcoated, rapiered figures.” Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Rap, to strike. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Rap, to snatch away. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Poisoned by ratsbane. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having a long, tapering tail like that of a rat. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rat-tailed larva (Zool.), the larva of a fly of the genus Eristalis. See Eristalis. --
Rat-tailed serpent (Zool.), the fer-de-lance. --
Rat-tailed shrew (Zool.), the musk shrew. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Giddy; rattle-headed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An empty, noisy talker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Noisy; giddy; unsteady. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Rattle-headed. “A noisy, rattle-pated fellow.” W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Astragalus. See Milk vetch. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. raucus hoarse; cf. LL. raucidus. ] Hoarse; raucous. [ R. ] Lamb. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having little flesh on the bones; gaunt. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A specter mentioned to frighten children; as, rawhead and bloodybones. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Slashed or striped in patterns. [ Obs. ] “Two Provincial roses on my razed shoes.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having a sharp, lean, or thin back; as, a razor-backed hog, perch, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. having an edge as sharp as that of a razor; very sharp. [ PJC ]

n. Rennet. See 3d Reed. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Read p. pr. & vb. n. Reading. ] [ OE. reden, ræden, AS. r&aemacr_;dan to read, advise, counsel, fr. r&aemacr_;d advice, counsel, r&aemacr_;dan (imperf. reord) to advise, counsel, guess; akin to D. raden to advise, G. raten, rathen, Icel. rāða, Goth. rēdan (in comp.), and perh. also to Skr. rādh to succeed. √116. Cf. Riddle. ] 1. To advise; to counsel. [ Obs. ] See Rede. [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore, I read thee, get thee to God's word, and thereby try all doctrine. Tyndale. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To interpret; to explain; as, to read a riddle. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To tell; to declare; to recite. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

But read how art thou named, and of what kin. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To go over, as characters or words, and utter aloud, or recite to one's self inaudibly; to take in the sense of, as of language, by interpreting the characters with which it is expressed; to peruse; as, to read a discourse; to read the letters of an alphabet; to read figures; to read the notes of music, or to read music; to read a book. [ 1913 Webster ]

Redeth [ read ye ] the great poet of Itaille. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Well could he rede a lesson or a story. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Hence, to know fully; to comprehend. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who is't can read a woman? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To discover or understand by characters, marks, features, etc.; to learn by observation. [ 1913 Webster ]

An armed corse did lie,
In whose dead face he read great magnanimity. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those about her
From her shall read the perfect ways of honor. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To make a special study of, as by perusing textbooks; as, to read theology or law. [ 1913 Webster ]

To read one's self in, to read aloud the Thirty-nine Articles and the Declaration of Assent, -- required of a clergyman of the Church of England when he first officiates in a new benefice. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To give advice or counsel. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To tell; to declare. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To perform the act of reading; to peruse, or to go over and utter aloud, the words of a book or other like document. [ 1913 Webster ]

So they read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense. Neh. viii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To study by reading; as, he read for the bar. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To learn by reading. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have read of an Eastern king who put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To appear in writing or print; to be expressed by, or consist of, certain words or characters; as, the passage reads thus in the early manuscripts. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To produce a certain effect when read; as, that sentence reads queerly. [ 1913 Webster ]

To read between the lines, to infer something different from what is plainly indicated; to detect the real meaning as distinguished from the apparent meaning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. r&aemacr_;d counsel, fr. r&aemacr_;dan to counsel. See Read, v. t. ] 1. Saying; sentence; maxim; hence, word; advice; counsel. See Rede. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ Read, v. ] Reading. [ Colloq. ] Hume. [ 1913 Webster ]

One newswoman here lets magazines for a penny a read. Furnivall. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Read, v. t. & i. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Instructed or knowing by reading; versed in books; learned. [ 1913 Webster ]

A poet . . . well read in Longinus. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]