Chapter 41

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. &radic;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.