Rid"dle, n. [For riddels, s being misunderstood as the plural ending; OE. ridels, redels. AS. r&?;dels; akin to D. raadsel, G. räthsel; fr. AS. r&?;dan to counsel or advise, also, to guess. √116. Cf. Read.] Something proposed to be solved by guessing or conjecture; a puzzling question; an ambiguous proposition; an enigma; hence, anything ambiguous or puzzling.
To wring from me, and tell to them, my secret,
That solved the riddle which I had proposed.
Milton.
'T was a strange riddle of a lady.
Hudibras.
Rid"dle, v. t. To explain; to solve; to unriddle.
Riddle me this, and guess him if you can.
Dryden.
Rid"dle, v. i. To speak ambiguously or enigmatically. "Lysander riddels very prettily." Shak.
Rid"dler (?), n. One who riddles (grain, sand, etc.).
Rid"dler, n. One who speaks in, or propounds, riddles.
Rid"dling (?), a. Speaking in a riddle or riddles; containing a riddle. "Riddling triplets." Tennyson. -- Rid"dling, adv.
Ride (rd), v. i. [imp. Rode (rd) (Rid [rd], archaic); p. p. Ridden (&?;) (Rid, archaic); p. pr. & vb. n. Riding (&?;).] [AS. rdan; akin to LG. riden, D. rijden, G. reiten, OHG. rtan, Icel. rða, Sw. rida, Dan. ride; cf. L. raeda a carriage, which is from a Celtic word. Cf. Road.] 1. To be carried on the back of an animal, as a horse.
To-morrow, when ye riden by the way.
Chaucer.
Let your master ride on before, and do you gallop after him.
Swift.
2. To be borne in a carriage; as, to ride in a coach, in a car, and the like. See Synonym, below.
The richest inhabitants exhibited their wealth, not by riding in gilden carriages, but by walking the streets with trains of servants.
Macaulay.
3. To be borne or in a fluid; to float; to lie.
Men once walked where ships at anchor ride.
Dryden.
4. To be supported in motion; to rest.
Strong as the exletree
On which heaven rides.
Shak.
On whose foolish honesty
My practices ride easy!
Shak.
5. To manage a horse, as an equestrian.
He rode, he fenced, he moved with graceful ease.
Dryden.
6. To support a rider, as a horse; to move under the saddle; as, a horse rides easy or hard, slow or fast.
To ride easy (Naut.), to lie at anchor without violent pitching or straining at the cables. -- To ride hard (Naut.), to pitch violently. -- To ride out. (a) To go upon a military expedition. [Obs.] Chaucer. (b) To ride in the open air. [Colloq.] -- To ride to hounds, to ride behind, and near to, the hounds in hunting.
Syn. -- Drive. -- Ride, Drive. Ride originally meant (and is so used throughout the English Bible) to be carried on horseback or in a vehicle of any kind. At present in England, drive is the word applied in most cases to progress in a carriage; as, a drive around the park, etc.; while ride is appropriated to progress on a horse. Johnson seems to sanction this distinction by giving "to travel on horseback" as the leading sense of ride; though he adds "to travel in a vehicle" as a secondary sense. This latter use of the word still occurs to some extent; as, the queen rides to Parliament in her coach of state; to ride in an omnibus.
"Will you ride over or drive?" said Lord Willowby to his quest, after breakfast that morning.
W. Black.
Ride, v. t. 1. To sit on, so as to be carried; as, to ride a horse; to ride a bicycle.
[They] rend up both rocks and hills, and ride the air
In whirlwind.
Milton.
2. To manage insolently at will; to domineer over.
The nobility could no longer endure to be ridden by bakers, cobblers, and brewers.
Swift.
3. To convey, as by riding; to make or do by riding.
Tue only men that safe can ride
Mine errands on the Scottish side.
Sir W. Scott.
4. (Surg.) To overlap (each other); -- said of bones or fractured fragments.
To ride a hobby, to have some favorite occupation or subject of talk. -- To ride and tie, to take turn with another in labor and rest; -- from the expedient adopted by two persons with one horse, one of whom rides the animal a certain distance, and then ties him for the use of the other, who is coming up on foot. Fielding. -- To ride down. (a) To ride over; to trample down in riding; to overthrow by riding against; as, to ride down an enemy. (b) (Naut.) To bear down, as on a halyard when hoisting a sail. -- To ride out (Naut.), to keep safe afloat during (a storm) while riding at anchor or when hove to on the open sea; as, to ride out the gale.
Ride, n. 1. The act of riding; an excursion on horseback or in a vehicle.
2. A saddle horse. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
3. A road or avenue cut in a wood, or through grounds, to be used as a place for riding; a riding.
Ri*deau" (r*d"), n. [F.] A small mound of earth; ground slightly elevated; a small ridge.
Rid"en (rd"'n), obs. imp. pl. & p. p. of Ride. Chaucer.
Ri"dent (r"dent), a. [L. ridens, p. pr. of ridere to laugh.] Laughing. [R.] Thackeray.
Rid"er (rd"r), n. 1. One who, or that which, rides.
2. Formerly, an agent who went out with samples of goods to obtain orders; a commercial traveler. [Eng.]
3. One who breaks or manages a horse. Shak.
4. An addition or amendment to a manuscript or other document, which is attached on a separate piece of paper; in legislative practice, an additional clause annexed to a bill while in course of passage; something extra or burdensome that is imposed.
After the third reading, a foolish man stood up to propose a rider.
Macaulay.
This [question] was a rider which Mab found difficult to answer.
A. S. Hardy.
5. (Math.) A problem of more than usual difficulty added to another on an examination paper.
6. [D. rijder.] A Dutch gold coin having the figure of a man on horseback stamped upon it.
His moldy money ! half a dozen riders.
J. Fletcher.
7. (Mining) Rock material in a vein of ore, dividing it.
8. (Shipbuilding) An interior rib occasionally fixed in a ship's hold, reaching from the keelson to the beams of the lower deck, to strengthen her frame. Totten.
9. (Naut.) The second tier of casks in a vessel's hold.
10. A small forked weight which straddles the beam of a balance, along which it can be moved in the manner of the weight on a steelyard.
11. A robber. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Drummond.
Rider's bone (Med.), a bony deposit in the muscles of the upper and inner part of the thigh, due to the pressure and irritation caused by the saddle in riding.
Rid"er*less, a. Having no rider; as, a riderless horse. H. Kingsley.
Ridge (?), n. [OE. rigge the back, AS. hrycg; akin to D. rug, G. rücken, OHG. rucki, hrukki, Icel. hryggr, Sw. rugg, Dan. ryg. √16.] 1. The back, or top of the back; a crest. Hudibras.
2. A range of hills or mountains, or the upper part of such a range; any extended elevation between valleys. "The frozen ridges of the Alps." Shak.
Part rise crystal wall, or ridge direct.
Milton.
3. A raised line or strip, as of ground thrown up by a plow or left between furrows or ditches, or as on the surface of metal, cloth, or bone, etc.
4. (Arch.) The intersection of two surface forming a salient angle, especially the angle at the top between the opposite slopes or sides of a roof or a vault.
5. (Fort.) The highest portion of the glacis proceeding from the salient angle of the covered way. Stocqueler.
Ridge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ridged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Ridging.] 1. To form a ridge of; to furnish with a ridge or ridges; to make into a ridge or ridges.
Bristles ranged like those that ridge the back
Of chafed wild boars.
Milton.
2. To form into ridges with the plow, as land.
3. To wrinkle. "With a forehead ridged." Cowper.
Ridge"band` (?), n. The part of a harness which passes over the saddle, and supports the shafts of a cart; -- called also ridgerope, and ridger. Halliwell.
Ridge"bone` (?), n. The backbone. [Obs.]
Blood . . . lying cluttered about the ridgebone.
Holland.
Ridg"el (?), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Ridgelling.
Ridge"let (?), n. A little ridge.
Ridge"ling (?), n. [Prov. E. riggilt, riggot, ananimal half castrated, a sheep having only one testicle; cf. Prov. G. rigel, rig, a barrow hog, rigler a cock half castrated.] (Zoöl.) A half-castrated male animal.
{ Ridge"piece` (?), Ridge"plate` (?), } n. See Ridgepole.
Ridge"pole` (?), n. (Arch.) The timber forming the ridge of a roof, into which the rafters are secured.
Ridge"rope` (?), n. (Naut.) See Life line (a), under Life.
Ridg"ing*ly (?), adv. So as to form ridges.
Ridg"y (?), a. Having a ridge or ridges; rising in a ridge. "Lifted on a ridgy wave." Pope.
Rid"i*cle (?), n. Ridicule. [Obs.] Foxe.
Rid"i*cule (?), n. [F. ridicule, L. ridiculum a jest, fr. ridiculus. See Ridiculous.] 1. An object of sport or laughter; a laughingstock; a laughing matter.
[Marlborough] was so miserably ignorant, that his deficiencies made him the ridicule of his contemporaries.
Buckle.
To the people . . . but a trifle, to the king but a ridicule.
Foxe.
2. Remarks concerning a subject or a person designed to excite laughter with a degree of contempt; wit of that species which provokes contemptuous laughter; disparagement by making a person an object of laughter; banter; -- a term lighter than derision.
We have in great measure restricted the meaning of ridicule, which would properly extend over whole region of the ridiculous, -- the laughable, -- and we have narrowed it so that in common usage it mostly corresponds to "derision", which does indeed involve personal and offensive feelings.
Hare.
Safe from the bar, the pulpit, and the throne,
Yet touched and shamed by ridicule alone.
Pope.
3. Quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness. [Obs.]
To see the ridicule of this practice.
Addison.
Syn. -- Derision; banter; raillery; burlesque; mockery; irony; satire; sarcasm; gibe; jeer; sneer. -- Ridicule, Derision, Both words imply disapprobation; but ridicule usually signifies good-natured, fun-loving opposition without manifest malice, while derision is commonly bitter and scornful, and sometimes malignant.
Rid"i*cule, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ridiculed (?);p. pr. & vb. n. Ridiculing.] To laugh at mockingly or disparagingly; to awaken ridicule toward or respecting.
I 've known the young, who ridiculed his rage.
Goldsmith.
Syn. -- To deride; banter; rally; burlesque; mock; satirize; lampoon. See Deride.
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Rid"i*cule (?), a. [F.] Ridiculous. [Obs.]
This action . . . became so ridicule.
Aubrey.
Rid"i*cu`ler (?), n. One who ridicules.
Ri*dic"u*lize (?), v. t. To make ridiculous; to ridicule. [Obs.] Chapman.
Ri*dic`u*los"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being ridiculous; ridiculousness; also, something ridiculous. [Archaic] Bailey.
Ri*dic"u*lous (?), a. [L. ridiculosus, ridiculus, fr. ridere to laigh. Cf. Risible.] 1. Fitted to excite ridicule; absurd and laughable; unworthy of serious consideration; as, a ridiculous dress or behavior.
Agricola, discerning that those little targets and unwieldy glaives ill pointed would soon become ridiculous against the thrust and close, commanded three Batavian cohorts . . . to draw up and come to handy strokes.
Milton.
2. Involving or expressing ridicule. [r.]
[It] provokes me to ridiculous smiling.
Shak.
Syn. -- Ludicrous; laughable; risible; droll; comical; absurd; preposterous. See Ludicrous.
--- Ri*dic"u*lous*ly, adv. -- Ri*dic"u*lous*ness, n.
Rid"ing (rd"ng), n. [For thriding, Icel. þriðjungr the third part, fr. þriði third, akin to E. third. See Third.] One of the three jurisdictions into which the county of York, in England, is divided; -- formerly under the government of a reeve. They are called the North, the East, and the West, Riding. Blackstone.
Rid"ing, a. 1. Employed to travel; traveling; as, a riding clerk. "One riding apparitor." Ayliffe.
2. Used for riding on; as, a riding horse.
3. Used for riding, or when riding; devoted to riding; as, a riding whip; a riding habit; a riding day.
Riding clerk. (a) A clerk who traveled for a commercial house. [Obs. Eng.] (b) One of the "six clerks" formerly attached to the English Court of Chancery. -- Riding hood. (a) A hood formerly worn by women when riding. (b) A kind of cloak with a hood. -- Riding master, an instructor in horsemanship. -- Riding rhyme (Pros.), the meter of five accents, with couplet rhyme; -- probably so called from the mounted pilgrims described in the Canterbury Tales. Dr. Guest. -- Riding school, a school or place where the art of riding is taught.
Rid"ing, n. 1. The act or state of one who rides.
2. A festival procession. [Obs.]
When there any riding was in Cheap.
Chaucer.
3. Same as Ride, n., 3. Sir P. Sidney.
4. A district in charge of an excise officer. [Eng.]
||Ri*dot"to (?), n. [It., fr. LL. reductus a retreat. See Redoubt.] A favorite Italian public entertainment, consisting of music and dancing, -- held generally on fast eves. Brande & C.
There are to be ridottos at guinea tickets.
Walpole.
Ri*dot"to, v. i. To hold ridottos. [R.] J. G. Cooper.
Rie (?), n. See Rye. [Obs.] Holland.
Rie grass. (Bot.) (a) A kind of wild barley (Hordeum pratense). Dr. Prior. (b) Ray grass. Dr. Prior.
Rief (?), n. [See Reave.] Robbery. [Obs. or Scot.]
Riet"boc (?), n. [D. riet reed + bok buck.] (Zoöl.) The reedbuck, a South African antelope (Cervicapra arundinacea); -- so called from its frequenting dry places covered with high grass or reeds. Its color is yellowish brown. Called also inghalla, and rietbok.
Rife (?), a. [AS. rf abundant, or Icel. rfr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.] 1. Prevailing; prevalent; abounding.
Before the plague of London, inflammations of the lungs were rife and mortal.
Arbuthnot.
Even now the tumult of loud mirth
Was rife, and perfect in may listening ear.
Milton.
2. Having power; active; nimble. [Obs.]
What! I am rife a little yet.
J. Webster.
-- Rife"ly, adv. -- Rife"ness, n.
Rif"fle (?), n. [CF. G. riffeln, riefeln, to groove. Cf. Rifle a gun.] (Mining) A trough or sluice having cleats, grooves, or steps across the bottom for holding quicksilver and catching particles of gold when auriferous earth is washed; also, one of the cleats, grooves, or steps in such a trough. Also called ripple.
Rif"fler (?), n. [See Riffle.] A curved file used in carving wool and marble.
Riff"raff` (?), n. [OE. rif and raf every particle, OF. rif et raf. CF. Raff, and 1st Rifle.] Sweepings; refuse; the lowest order of society. Beau. & Fl.
Ri"fle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rifled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Rifling (?).] [F. rifler to rifle, sweep away; of uncertain origin. CF. Raff.] 1. To 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. Piers Plowman.
Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye:
If not, we'll make you sit and rifle you.
Shak.
3. To raffle. [Obs.] J. Webster.
Ri"fle, v. i. 1. To raffle. [Obs.] Chapman.
2. To commit robbery. [R.] Bp. Hall.
Ri"fle, n. [Akin to Dan. rifle, or riffel, the rifle of a gun, a chamfer (cf. riffel, riffelbösse, a rifle gun, rifle to rifle a gun, G. riefeln, riefen, to chamfer, groove), and E. rive. See Rive, and cf. Riffle, Rivel.] 1. A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.
2. pl. (Mil.) A body of soldiers armed with rifles.
3. A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.
Rifle pit (Mil.), a trench for sheltering sharpshooters.
Ri"fle (?), v. t. 1. To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.
2. To whet with a rifle. See Rifle, n., 3.
Ri"fle*bird` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of beautiful birds of Australia and New Guinea, of the genera Ptiloris and Craspidophora, allied to the paradise birds.
The largest and best known species is Ptiloris paradisea of Australia. Its general color is rich velvety brown, glossed with lilac; the under parts are varied with rich olive green, and the head, throat, and two middle tail feathers are brilliant metallic green.
Ri"fle*man (?), n.; pl. Rifleman (&?;). (Mil.) A soldier armed with a rifle.
Ri"fler (?), n. One who rifles; a robber.
Ri"fling (?), n. (a) The act or process of making the grooves in a rifled cannon or gun barrel. (b) The system of grooves in a rifled gun barrel or cannon.
Shunt rifling, rifling for cannon, in which one side of the groove is made deeper than the other, to facilitate loading with shot having projections which enter by the deeper part of the grooves.
Rift (?), obs. p. p. of Rive. Spenser.
Rift, n. [Written also reft.] [Dan. rift, fr. rieve to rend. See Rive.] 1. An opening made by riving or splitting; a cleft; a fissure. Spenser.
2. A shallow place in a stream; a ford.
Rift, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rifted; p. pr. & vb. n. Rifting.] To cleave; to rive; to split; as, to rift an oak or a rock; to rift the clouds. Longfellow.
To dwell these rifted rocks between.
Wordsworth.
Rift, v. i. 1. To burst open; to split. Shak.
Timber . . . not apt to rif with ordnance.
Bacon.
2. To belch. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Rift"er (?), n. A rafter. [Obs.] Holland.
Rig (?), n. [See Ridge.] A ridge. [Prov. or Scott.]
Rig, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rigged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Rigging (?).] [Norweg. rigga to bind, particularly, to wrap round, rig; cf. AS. wrhan to cover.] 1. To furnish with apparatus or gear; to fit with tackling.
2. To dress; to equip; to clothe, especially in an odd or fanciful manner; -- commonly followed by out.
Jack was rigged out in his gold and silver lace.
L'Estrange.
To rig a purchase, to adapt apparatus so as to get a purchase for moving a weight, as with a lever, tackle, capstan, etc. -- To rig a ship (Naut.), to fit the shrouds, stays, braces, etc., to their respective masts and yards.
Rig, n. 1. (Naut.) The peculiar fitting in shape, number, and arrangement of sails and masts, by which different types of vessels are distinguished; as, schooner rig, ship rig, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.
2. Dress; esp., odd or fanciful clothing. [Colloq.]
Rig, n. [Cf. Wriggle.] 1. A romp; a wanton; one given to unbecoming conduct. [Obs.] Fuller.
2. A sportive or unbecoming trick; a frolic.
3. A blast of wind. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
That uncertain season before the rigs of Michaelmas were yet well composed.
Burke.
To run a rig, to play a trick; to engage in a frolic; to do something strange and unbecoming.
He little dreamt when he set out
Of running such a rig.
Cowper.
Rig, v. i. To play the wanton; to act in an unbecoming manner; to play tricks. "Rigging and rifling all ways." Chapman.
Rig, v. t. To make free with; hence, to steal; to pilfer. [Obs. or Prov.] Tusser.
To rig the market (Stock Exchange), to raise or lower market prices, as by some fraud or trick. [Cant]
Rig`a*doon" (?), n. [F. rigadon, rigaudon.] A gay, lively dance for one couple, -- said to have been borrowed from Provence in France. W. Irving.
Whose dancing dogs in rigadoons excel.
Wolcott.
Ri"ga fir` (?), [So called from Riga, a city in Russia.] (Bot.) A 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.
Ri*ga"rion (?), n. [L. rigatio, fr. rigare to water.] See Irrigation. [Obs.]
Ri"gel (?), n. [Ar. rijl, properly, foot.] (Astron.) A fixed star of the first magnitude in the left foot of the constellation Orion. [Written also Regel.]
Ri*ges"cent (?), a. [L. rigescens, p. pr. fr. rigescere to grow stiff.] Growing stiff or numb.
Rig"ger (?), n. 1. One who rigs or dresses; one whose occupation is to fit the rigging of a ship.
2. A cylindrical pulley or drum in machinery. [R.]
Rig"ging (?), n. DRess; tackle; especially (Naut.), the ropes, chains, etc., that support the masts and spars of a vessel, and serve as purchases for adjusting the sails, etc. See Illustr. of Ship and Sails.
Running rigging (Naut.), all those ropes used in bracing the yards, making and shortening sail, etc., such as braces, sheets, halyards, clew lines, and the like. -- Standing rigging (Naut.), the shrouds and stays.
Rig"gish (?), a. Like a rig or wanton. [Obs.] "Riggish and unmaidenly." Bp. Hall.
Rig"gle (?), v. i. See Wriggle.
Rig"gle, n. The European lance fish. [Prov. Eng.]
Right (rt), a. [OE. right, riht, AS. riht; akin to D. regt, OS. & OHG. reht, G. recht, Dan. ret, Sw. rätt, Icel. rëttr, Goth. raíhts, L. rectus, p. p. of regere to guide, rule; cf. Skr. ju straight, right. √115. Cf. Adroit,Alert, Correct, Dress, Regular, Rector, Recto, Rectum, Regent, Region, Realm, Rich, Royal, Rule.] 1. Straight; direct; not crooked; as, a right line. "Right as any line." Chaucer
2. Upright; erect from a base; having an upright axis; not oblique; as, right ascension; a right pyramid or cone.
3. Conformed to the constitution of man and the will of God, or to justice and equity; not deviating from the true and just; according with truth and duty; just; true.
That which is conformable to the Supreme Rule is absolutely right, and is called right simply without relation to a special end.
Whately.
2. Fit; suitable; proper; correct; becoming; as, the right man in the right place; the right way from London to Oxford.
5. Characterized by reality or genuineness; real; actual; not spurious. "His right wife." Chaucer.
In this battle, . . . the Britons never more plainly manifested themselves to be right barbarians.
Milton.
6. According with truth; passing a true judgment; conforming to fact or intent; not mistaken or wrong; not erroneous; correct; as, this is the right faith.
You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well.
Shak.
If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the inference is . . . right, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."
Locke.
7. Most favorable or convenient; fortunate.
The lady has been disappointed on the right side.
Spectator.
8. Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which the muscular action is usually stronger than on the other side; -- opposed to left when used in reference to a part of the body; as, the right side, hand, arm. Also applied to the corresponding side of the lower animals.
Became the sovereign's favorite, his right hand.
Longfellow.
In designating the banks of a river, right and left are used always with reference to the position of one who is facing in the direction of the current's flow.
9. Well placed, disposed, or adjusted; orderly; well regulated; correctly done.
10. Designed to be placed or worn outward; as, the right side of a piece of cloth.
At right angles, so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly. -- Right and left, in both or all directions. [Colloq.] -- Right and left coupling (Pipe fitting), a coupling the opposite ends of which are tapped for a right-handed screw and a left-handed screw, respectivelly. -- Right angle. (a) The angle formed by one line meeting another perpendicularly, as the angles ABD, DBC. (b) (Spherics) A spherical angle included between the axes of two great circles whose planes are perpendicular to each other. -- Right ascension. See under Ascension. -- Right Center (Politics), those members belonging to the Center in a legislative assembly who have sympathies with the Right on political questions. See Center, n., 5. -- Right cone, Right cylinder, Right prism, Right pyramid (Geom.), a cone, cylinder, prism, or pyramid, the axis of which is perpendicular to the base. -- Right line. See under Line. -- Right sailing (Naut.), sailing on one of the four cardinal points, so as to alter a ship's latitude or its longitude, but not both. Ham. Nav. Encyc. -- Right sphere (Astron. & Geol.), a sphere in such a position that the equator cuts the horizon at right angles; in spherical projections, that position of the sphere in which the primitive plane coincides with the plane of the equator.
Right is used elliptically for it is right, what you say is right, true.
"Right," cries his lordship.
Pope.
Syn. -- Straight; direct; perpendicular; upright; lawful; rightful; true; correct; just; equitable; proper; suitable; becoming.
Right, adv. 1. In a right manner.
2. In a right or straight line; directly; hence; straightway; immediately; next; as, he stood right before me; it went right to the mark; he came right out; he followed right after the guide.
Unto Dian's temple goeth she right.
Chaucer.
Let thine eyes look right on.
Prov. iv. 25.
Right across its track there lay,
Down in the water, a long reef of gold.
Tennyson.
3. Exactly; just. [Obs. or Colloq.]
Came he right now to sing a raven's note?
Shak.
4. According to the law or will of God; conforming to the standard of truth and justice; righteously; as, to live right; to judge right.
5. According to any rule of art; correctly.
You with strict discipline instructed right.
Roscommon.
6. According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really; correctly; exactly; as, to tell a story right. "Right at mine own cost." Chaucer.
Right as it were a steed of Lumbardye.
Chaucer.
His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught.
Fairfax.
7. In a great degree; very; wholly; unqualifiedly; extremely; highly; as, right humble; right noble; right valiant. "He was not right fat". Chaucer.
For which I should be right sorry.
Tyndale.
[I] return those duties back as are right fit.
Shak.
In this sense now chiefly prefixed to titles; as, right honorable; right reverend.
Right honorable, a title given in England to peers and peeresses, to the eldest sons and all daughters of such peers as have rank above viscounts, and to all privy councilors; also, to certain civic officers, as the lord mayor of London, of York, and of Dublin.
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Right is used in composition with other adverbs, as upright, downright, forthright, etc.
Right along, without cessation; continuously; as, to work right along for several hours. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Right away, or Right off, at once; straightway; without delay. [Colloq. U.S.] "We will . . . shut ourselves up in the office and do the work right off." D. Webster.
Right (?), n. [AS. right. See Right, a.] 1. That which is right or correct. Specifically: (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 statement; freedom from error of falsehood; adherence to truth or fact.
Seldom your opinions err;
Your eyes are always in the right.
Prior.
(c) A just judgment or action; that which is true or proper; justice; uprightness; integrity.
Long love to her has borne the faithful knight,
And well deserved, had fortune done him right.
Dryden.
2. That to which one has a just claim. Specifically: (a) That which one has a natural claim to exact.
There are no rights whatever, without corresponding duties.
Coleridge.
(b) That which one has a legal or social claim to do or to exact; legal power; authority; as, a sheriff has a right to arrest a criminal. (c) That which justly belongs to one; that which one has a claim to possess or own; the interest or share which anyone has in a piece of property; title; claim; interest; ownership.
Born free, he sought his right.
Dryden.
Hast thou not right to all created things?
Milton.
Men have no right to what is not reasonable.
Burke.
(d) Privilege or immunity granted by authority.
3. The right side; the side opposite to the left.
Led her to the Souldan's right.
Spenser.
4. In some legislative bodies of Europe (as in France), those members collectively who are conservatives or monarchists. See Center, 5.
5. The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
At all right, at all points; in all respects. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- Bill of rights, a list of rights; a paper containing a declaration of rights, or the declaration itself. See under Bill. -- By right, By rights, or By good rights, rightly; properly; correctly.
He should himself use it by right.
Chaucer.
I should have been a woman by right.
Shak.
-- Divine right, or Divine right of kings, a name given to the patriarchal theory of government, especially to the doctrine that no misconduct and no dispossession can forfeit the right of a monarch or his heirs to the throne, and to the obedience of the people. -- To rights. (a) In a direct line; straight. [R.] Woodward. (b) At once; directly. [Obs. or Colloq.] Swift. -- To set to rights, To put to rights, to put in good order; to adjust; to regulate, as what is out of order. -- Writ of right (Law), a writ which lay to recover lands in fee simple, unjustly withheld from the true owner. Blackstone.
Right, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Righted; p. pr. & vb. n. Righting.] [AS. rihtan. See Right, a.] 1. To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight (that which has been wrong or crooked); to correct.
2. To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of; as, to right the oppressed; to right one's self; also, to vindicate.
So just is God, to right the innocent.
Shak.
All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Jefferson.
To right a vessel (Naut.), to restore her to an upright position after careening. -- To right the helm (Naut.), to place it in line with the keel.
Right, v. i. 1. To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright.
2. (Naut.) Hence, to regain an upright position, as a ship or boat, after careening.
Right"-a*bout` (?), n. [Right, adv. + about, adv.] A turning directly about by the right, so as to face in the opposite direction; also, the quarter directly opposite; as, to turn to the right-about.
To send to the right-about, to cause to turn toward the opposite point or quarter; -- hence, of troops, to cause to turn and retreat. [Colloq.] Sir W. Scott.
Right"-an`gled (?), a. Containing a right angle or right angles; as, a right-angled triangle.
Right"en (?), v. t. To do justice to. [Obs.]
Relieve [marginal reading, righten] the opressed.
Isa. i. 17.
Right"eous (?), a. [OE. rightways, rightwise, AS. rightws; riht right + ws wise, having wisdom, prudent. See Right, a., Wise, a.] Doing, or according with, that which is right; yielding to all their due; just; equitable; especially, free from wrong, guilt, or sin; holy; as, a righteous man or act; a righteous retribution.
Fearless in his righteous cause.
Milton.
Syn. -- Upright; just; godly; holy; uncorrupt; virtuous; honest; equitable; rightful.
Right"eoused (?), a. Made righteous. [Obs.]
Right"eous*ly (?), adv. [AS. rightwslce.] In a righteous manner; as, to judge righteously.
Right"eous*ness, n. [AS. rihtwsnes.] 1. The quality or state of being righteous; holiness; purity; uprightness; rectitude.
Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it chiefly occurs, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law.
2. A righteous act, or righteous quality.
All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
Isa. lxiv. 6.
3. The act or conduct of one who is righteous.
Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
Ps. cvi. 3.
4. (Theol.) The state of being right with God; justification; the work of Christ, which is the ground of justification.
There are two kinds of Christian righteousness: the one without us, which we have by imputation; the other in us, which consisteth of faith, hope, and charity, and other Christian virtues.
Hooker.
Only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
Westminster Catechism.
Syn. -- Uprightness; holiness; godliness; equity; justice; rightfulness; integrity; honesty; faithfulness.
Right"er (?), n. One who sets right; one who does justice or redresses wrong. Shelton.
Right"ful (?), a. 1. Righteous; upright; just; good; -- said of persons. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Consonant to justice; just; as, a rightful cause.
3. Having the right or just claim according to established laws; being or holding by right; as, the rightful heir to a throne or an estate; a rightful king.
4. Belonging, held, or possessed by right, or by just claim; as, a rightful inheritance; rightful authority.
Syn. -- Just; lawful; true; honest; equitable; proper.
Right"ful*ly, adv. According to right or justice.
Right"ful*ness, n. 1. The quality or state of being rightful; accordance with right and justice.
2. Moral rectitude; righteousness. [Obs.] Wyclif.
We fail of perfect rightfulness.
Sir P. Sidney.
Right"-hand` (?), a. 1. Situated or being on the right; nearer the right hand than the left; as, the right-hand side, room, or road.
2. Chiefly relied on; almost indispensable.
Mr. Alexander Truncheon, who is their right-hand man in the troop.
Addison.
Right-hand rope, a rope which is laid up and twisted with the sun, that is, in the same direction as plain-laid rope. See Illust. of Cordage.
Right"-hand`ed, a. 1. Using the right hand habitually, or more easily than the left.
2. Having the same direction or course as the movement of the hands of a watch seen in front; -- said of the motion of a revolving object looked at from a given direction.
3. (Zoöl.) Having the whorls rising from left to right; dextral; -- said of spiral shells. See Illust. of Scalaria.
Right-handed screw, a screw, the threads of which, like those of a common wood screw, wind spirally in such a direction that the screw advances away from the observer when turned with a right-handed movement in a fixed nut.
Right"-hand`ed*ness, n. The state or quality of being right-handed; hence, skill; dexterity.
Right"-heart`ed (?), a. Having a right heart or disposition. -- Right"-heart`ed*ness, n.
Right"less, a. Destitute of right. Sylvester.
Right"-lined` (?), a. Formed by right lines; rectilineal; as, a right-lined angle.
Right"ly, adv. [AS. richtlice.] 1. Straightly; directly; in front. [Obs.] Shak.
2. According to justice; according to the divine will or moral rectitude; uprightly; as, duty rightly performed.
3. Properly; fitly; suitably; appropriately.
Eve rightly called, Mother of all mankind.
Milton.
4. According to truth or fact; correctly; not erroneously; exactly. "I can not rightly say." Shak.
Thou didst not rightly see.
Dryden.
Right"-mind`ed (?), a. Having a right or honest mind. -- Right"-mind`ed*ness, n.
Right"ness, n. [AS. rihtnes.] Straightness; as, the rightness of a line. Bacon.
2. The quality or state of being right; right relation.
The craving for rightness with God.
J. C. Shairp.
Right"-run`ning (?), a. Straight; direct.
Right"ward (?), adv. Toward the right.
Rightward and leftward rise the rocks.
Southey.
Right" whale` (?). (Zoöl.) (a) The bowhead, Arctic, or Greenland whale (Balæna mysticetus), from whose mouth the best whalebone is obtained. (b) Any other whale that produces valuable whalebone, as the Atlantic, or Biscay, right whale (Balæna cisarctica), and the Pacific right whale (B. Sieboldii); a bone whale.
Pygmy right whale (Zoöl.), a small New Zealand whale (Neobalæna marginata) which is only about sixteen feet long. It produces short, but very elastic and tough, whalebone.
Right"wise` (?), a. Righteous. [Obs.] Wyclif.
Right"wise`, v. t. To make righteous. [Obs.]
Right"wise`ly, adv. Righteously. [Obs.]
Right"wise`ness, n. Righteousness. [Obs.]
In doom and eke in rightwisnesse.
Chaucer.
Rig"id (?), a. [L. rigidus, fr. rigere to be stiff or numb: cf. F. rigide. Cf. Rigor. ] 1. Firm; stiff; unyielding; not pliant; not flexible.
Upright beams innumerable
Of rigid spears.
Milton.
2. Hence, not lax or indulgent; severe; inflexible; strict; as, a rigid father or master; rigid discipline; rigid criticism; a rigid sentence.
The more rigid order of principles in religion and government.
Hawthorne.
Syn. -- Stiff; unpliant; inflexible; unyielding; strict; exact; severe; austere; stern; rigorous; unmitigated.
Ri*gid"i*ty (?), n. [L. rigiditas: cf. F. rigidité. See Rigid.] 1. The quality or state of being rigid; want of pliability; the quality of resisting change of form; the amount of resistance with which a body opposes change of form; -- opposed to flexibility, ductility, malleability, and softness.
2. Stiffness of appearance or manner; want of ease or elegance. Sir H. Wotton.
3. Severity; rigor. [Obs. orR.] Bp. Burnet.
Syn. -- Stiffness; rigidness; inflexibility.
Rig"id*ly (?), v. In a rigid manner; stiffly.
Rig"id*ness, n. The quality or state of being rigid.
Ri*gid"u*lous (?), a. [Dim. from rigid.] (Bot.) Somewhat rigid or stiff; as, a rigidulous bristle.
Rig"let (?), n. (Print.) See Reglet.
Rig"ma*role (?), n. [For ragman roll. See Ragman's roll.] A succession of confused or nonsensical statements; foolish talk; nonsense. [Colloq.]
Often one's dear friend talks something which one scruples to call rigmarole.
De Quincey.
Rig"ma*role, a. Consisting of rigmarole; frovolous; nonsensical; foolish.
Rig"ol (?), n. [OE. also ringol. Cf. Ring.] A circle; hence, a diadem. [Obs.] Shak.
Rig"oll (?), n. [Corrupted fr. regal.] A musical instrument formerly in use, consisting of several sticks bound together, but separated by beads, and played with a stick with a ball at its end. Moore (Encyc. of Music.).
||Ri"gor (?), n. [L. See Rigor., below.] 1. Rigidity; stiffness.
2. (ed.) A sense of chilliness, with contraction of the skin; a convulsive shuddering or tremor, as in the chill preceding a fever.
||Rigor caloris (&?;) [L., rigor of heat] (Physiol.), a form of rigor mortis induced by heat, as when the muscle of a mammal is heated to about 50°C. -- ||Rigor mortis (&?;) [L. , rigor of death], death stiffening; the rigidity of the muscles that occurs at death and lasts till decomposition sets in. It is due to the formation of myosin by the coagulation of the contents of the individual muscle fibers.
Rig"or (?), n. [OE. rigour, OF. rigour, F. rigueur, from L. rigor, fr. rigere to be stiff. See Rigid.] [Written also rigour.] 1. The becoming stiff or rigid; the state of being rigid; rigidity; stiffness; hardness.
The rest his look
Bound with Gorgonian rigor not to move.
Milton.
2. (Med.) See 1st Rigor, 2.
3. Severity of climate or season; inclemency; as, the rigor of the storm; the rigors of winter.
4. Stiffness of opinion or temper; rugged sternness; hardness; relentless severity; hard-heartedness; cruelty.
All his rigor is turned to grief and pity.
Denham.
If I shall be condemn'd
Upon surmises, . . . I tell you
'T is rigor and not law.
Shak.
5. Exactness without allowance, deviation, or indulgence; strictness; as, the rigor of criticism; to execute a law with rigor; to enforce moral duties with rigor; -- opposed to lenity.
6. Severity of life; austerity; voluntary submission to pain, abstinence, or mortification.
The prince lived in this convent with all the rigor and austerity of a capuchin.
Addison.
7. Violence; force; fury. [Obs.]
Whose raging rigor neither steel nor brass could stay.
Spenser.
Syn. -- Stiffness; rigidness; inflexibility; severity; austerity; sternness; harshness; strictness; exactness.
Rig"or*ism (?), n. 1. Rigidity in principle or practice; strictness; -- opposed to laxity.
2. Severity, as of style, or the like. Jefferson.
Rig"or*ist, n. [Cf. F. rigoriste.] One who is rigorous; -- sometimes applied to an extreme Jansenist.
Rig"or*ous (?), a. [F. rigoureux, LL. rigorosus. See Rigor.] 1. Manifesting, exercising, or favoring rigor; allowing no abatement or mitigation; scrupulously accurate; exact; strict; severe; relentless; as, a rigorous officer of justice; a rigorous execution of law; a rigorous definition or demonstration.
He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian Rock
With rigorous hands.
Shak.
We do not connect the scattered phenomena into their rigorous unity.
De Quincey.
2. Severe; intense; inclement; as, a rigorous winter.
3. Violent. [Obs.] "Rigorous uproar." Spenser.
Syn. -- Rigid; inflexible; unyielding; stiff; severe; austere; stern; harsh; strict; exact.
-- Rig"or*ous*ly, adv. -- Rig"or*ous*ness, n.
||Rigs"da`ler (?), n. [Dan. See Rix- dollar.] A Danish coin worth about fifty-four cents. It was the former unit of value in Denmark.
||Rig`-Ve"da (?). See Veda.
||Riks"da`ler (?), n. [Sw. See Rix- dollar.] A Swedish coin worth about twenty-seven cents. It was formerly the unit of value in Sweden.
Rile (rl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Riled (rld); p. pr. & vb. n. Riling.] [See Roil.] 1. To render turbid or muddy; to stir up; to roil.
2. To stir up in feelings; to make angry; to vex.
In both senses provincial in England and colloquial in the United States.
||Ri*lie"vo (?), n.[It. See Relief.] (Sculp. & Arch.) Same as Relief, n., 5.
Rill (rl), n. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little ditch. √11.] 1. A very small brook; a streamlet.
2. (Astron.) See Rille.
Rill, v. i. To run a small stream. [R.] Prior.
Rille (rl), n. [G. rille a furrow.] (Astron.) One of certain narrow, crooked valleys seen, by aid of the telescope, on the surface of the moon.
Rill"et (?), n. A little rill. Burton.
Ri"ly (?), a. Roily. [Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U.S.]
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Rim (?), n. [As. rima, reoma, edge; cf. W. rhim, rhimp, a rim, edge, boundary, termination, Armor, rim. Cf. Rind.] 1. The border, edge, or margin of a thing, usually of something circular or curving; as, the rim of a kettle or basin.
2. The lower part of the abdomen. [Obs.] Shak.
Arch rim (Phonetics), the line between the gums and the palate. -- Rim-fire cartridge. (Mil.) See under Cartridge. -- Rim lock. See under Lock.
Rim, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rimmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Rimming.] To furnish with a rim; to border.
||Ri"ma (?), n.; pl. Rimæ (#). [L.] (Anat.) A narrow and elongated aperture; a cleft; a fissure.
||Ri"mau da"han (?). [From the native Oriental name.] (Zoöl.) The clouded tiger cat (Felis marmorata) of Southern Asia and the East Indies.
Rim"base` (?), n. (Mil.) A short cylinder connecting a trunnion with the body of a cannon. See Illust. of Cannon.
Rime (?), n. [L. rima.] A rent or long aperture; a chink; a fissure; a crack. Sir T. Browne.
Rime, n. [AS. hrm; akin to D. rijm, Icel. hrm, Dan. rim, Sw. rim; cf. D. rijp, G. reif, OHG. rfo, hrfo.] White frost; hoarfrost; congealed dew or vapor.
The trees were now covered with rime.
De Quincey.
Rime, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rimed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Riming.] To freeze or congeal into hoarfrost.
Rime, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A step or round of a ladder; a rung.
Rime, n. Rhyme. See Rhyme. Coleridge. Landor.
This spelling, which is etymologically preferable, is coming into use again.
Rime, v. i. & t. To rhyme. See Rhyme.
Rim"er (?), n. A rhymer; a versifier.
Rim"er, n. A tool for shaping the rimes of a ladder.
Rim"ey (?), v. t. [Cf. OF. rimoier. See Ryime.] To compose in rhyme; to versify. [Obs.]
[Lays] rimeyed in their first Breton tongue.