Chapter 6

Rant (rnt), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ranted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ranting.] [OD. ranten, randen, to dote, to be enraged.] To rave in violent, high-sounding, or extravagant language, without dignity of thought; to be noisy, boisterous, and bombastic in talk or declamation; as, a ranting preacher.

Look where my ranting host of the Garter comes!

Shak.

Rant, n. High-sounding language, without importance or dignity of thought; boisterous, empty declamation; bombast; as, the rant of fanatics.

This is a stoical rant, without any foundation in the nature of man or reason of things.

Atterbury.

Rant"er (-r), n. 1. A noisy talker; a raving declaimer.

2. (Eccl. Hist.) (a) One of a religious sect which sprung up in 1645; -- called also Seekers. See Seeker. (b) One of the Primitive Methodists, who seceded from the Wesleyan Methodists on the ground of their deficiency in fervor and zeal; -- so called in contempt.

Rant"er*ism (-z'm), n. (Eccl. Hist.) The practice or tenets of the Ranters.

Rant"ing*ly, adv. In a ranting manner.

Rant"i*pole (-*pl), n. [Ranty + pole, poll, head.] A wild, romping young person. [Low] Marryat.

Rant"i*pole, a. Wild; roving; rakish. [Low]

Rant"i*pole, v. i. To act like a rantipole. [Low]

She used to rantipole about the house.

Arbuthnot.

Rant"ism (-z'm), n. (Eccl. Hist.) Ranterism.

Rant"y (-), a. Wild; noisy; boisterous.

||Ran"u*la (rn"*l), n. [L., a little frog, a little swelling on the ||tongue of cattle, dim. of rana a frog.] (Med.) A cyst formed under ||the tongue by obstruction of the duct of the submaxillary gland.

Ra*nun`cu*la"ceous (r*n`k*l"shs), a. [See Ranunculus.] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants (Ranunculaceæ), of which the buttercup is the type, and which includes also the virgin's bower, the monkshood, larkspur, anemone, meadow rue, and peony.

Ra*nun"cu*lus (r*n"k*ls), n.; pl. E. Ranunculuses (- z), L. Ranunculi (-l). [L., a little frog, a medicinal plant, perhaps crowfoot, dim. of rana a frog; cf. raccare to roar.] (Bot.) A genus of herbs, mostly with yellow flowers, including crowfoot, buttercups, and the cultivated ranunculi (R. Asiaticus, R. aconitifolius, etc.) in which the flowers are double and of various colors.

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||Ranz" des` vaches" (räNs" d` vsh"). [F., the ranks or rows of cows, ||the name being given from the fact that the cattle, when answering ||the musical call of their keeper, move towards him in a row, preceded ||by those wearing bells.] The name for numerous simple, but very ||irregular, melodies of the Swiss mountaineers, blown on a long tube ||called the Alpine horn, and sometimes sung.

Rap (rp), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A lay or skein containing 120 yards of yarn. Knight.

Rap, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rapped (rpt); p. pr. & vb. n. Rapping.] [Akin to Sw. rappa to strike, rapp stroke, Dan. rap, perhaps of imitative origin.] To strike with a quick, sharp blow; to knock; as, to rap on the door.

Rap, v. t. 1. To strike with a quick blow; to knock on.

With one great peal they rap the door.

Prior.

2. (Founding) To free (a pattern) in a mold by light blows on the pattern, so as to facilitate its removal.

Rap, n. A quick, smart blow; a knock.

Rap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rapped (rpt), usually written Rapt; p. pr. & vb. n. Rapping.] [OE. rapen; akin to LG. & D. rapen to snatch, G. raffen, Sw. rappa; cf. Dan. rappe sig to make haste, and Icel. hrapa to fall, to rush, hurry. The word has been confused with L. rapere to seize. Cf. Rape robbery, Rapture, Raff, v., Ramp, v.] 1. To snatch away; to seize and hurry off.

And through the Greeks and Ilians they rapt The whirring chariot.

Chapman.

From Oxford I was rapt by my nephew, Sir Edmund Bacon, to Redgrove.

Sir H. Wotton.

2. To hasten. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

3. To seize and bear away, as the mind or thoughts; to transport out of one's self; to affect with ecstasy or rapture; as, rapt into admiration.

I 'm rapt with joy to see my Marcia's tears.

Addison.

Rapt into future times, the bard begun.

Pope.

4. To exchange; to truck. [Obs. & Low]

To rap and ren, To rap and rend. [Perhaps fr. Icel. hrapa to hurry and ræna plunder, fr. rn plunder, E. ran.] To seize and plunder; to snatch by violence. Dryden. "[Ye] waste all that ye may rape and renne." Chaucer.

All they could rap and rend and pilfer.

Hudibras.

-- To rap out, to utter with sudden violence, as an oath.

A judge who rapped out a great oath.

Addison.

Rap, n. [Perhaps contr. fr. raparee.] A popular name for any of the tokens that passed current for a half-penny in Ireland in the early part of the eighteenth century; any coin of trifling value.

Many counterfeits passed about under the name of raps.

Swift.

Tie it [her money] up so tight that you can't touch a rap, save with her consent.

Mrs. Alexander.

Not to care a rap, to care nothing. -- Not worth a rap, worth nothing.

||Ra*pa"ces (r*p"sz), n. pl. [NL. See Rapacious.] (Zoöl.) Same as ||Accipitres.

Ra*pa"cious (-shs), a. [L. rapax, -acis, from rapere to seize and carry off, to snatch away. See Rapid.]

1. Given to plunder; disposed or accustomed to seize by violence; seizing by force. " The downfall of the rapacious and licentious Knights Templar." Motley.

2. Accustomed to seize food; subsisting on prey, or animals seized by violence; as, a tiger is a rapacious animal; a rapacious bird.

3. Avaricious; grasping; extortionate; also, greedy; ravenous; voracious; as, rapacious usurers; a rapacious appetite.

[Thy Lord] redeem thee quite from Death's rapacious claim

Milton.

Syn. -- Greedy; grasping; ravenous; voracious.

-- Ra*pa"cious*ly, adv. -- Ra*pa"cious*ness, n.

Ra*pac"i*ty (r*ps"*t), n. [L. rapacitas: cf. F. rapacité. See Rapacious.] 1. The quality of being rapacious; rapaciousness; ravenousness; as, the rapacity of pirates; the rapacity of wolves.

2. The act or practice of extorting or exacting by oppressive injustice; exorbitant greediness of gain. "The rapacity of some ages." Sprat.

Rap`a*ree" (rp`*r"), n. See Rapparee.

Rape (rp), n. [F. râpe a grape stalk.] 1. Fruit, as grapes, plucked from the cluster. Ray.

2. The refuse stems and skins of grapes or raisins from which the must has been expressed in wine making.

3. A filter containing the above refuse, used in clarifying and perfecting malt, vinegar, etc.

Rape wine, a poor, thin wine made from the last dregs of pressed grapes.

Rape, n. [Akin to rap to snatch, but confused with L. rapere. See Rap to snatch.] 1. The act of seizing and carrying away by force; violent seizure; robbery.

And ruined orphans of thy rapes complain.

Sandys.

2. (Law) Sexual connection with a woman without her consent. See Age of consent, under Consent, n.

3. That which is snatched away. [Obs.]

Where now are all my hopes? O, never more Shall they revive! nor death her rapes restore.

Sandys.

4. Movement, as in snatching; haste; hurry. [Obs.]

Rape, v. t. To commit rape upon; to ravish.

To rape and ren. See under Rap, v. t., to snatch.

Rape, v. i. To rob; to pillage. [Obs.] Heywood.

Rape, n. [Icel. hreppr village, district; cf. Icel. hreppa to catch, obtain, AS. hrepian, hreppan, to touch.] One of six divisions of the county of Sussex, England, intermediate between a hundred and a shire.

Rape, n. [L. rapa, rapum, akin to Gr. "ra`pys, "ra`fys, G. rübe.] (Bot.) 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.

These plants, with the edible turnip, have been variously named, but are all now believed to be derived from the Brassica campestris of Europe, which by some is not considered distinct from the wild stock (B. oleracea) of the cabbage. See Cole.

Broom rape. (Bot.) See Broom rape, in the Vocabulary. -- Rape cake, the refuse remaining after the oil has been expressed from the rape seed. -- Rape root. Same as Rape. -- Summer rape. (Bot.) See Colza.

Rape"ful (rp"fl), a. 1. Violent. [Obs.]

2. Given to the commission of rape. Byron.

Rap"ful*ly (rp"fl*l), adv. Violently. [Obs.]

Raph`a*el*esque" (rf`*l*sk"), a. Like Raphael's works; in Raphael's manner of painting.

Raph"a*el*ism (rf"*l*z'm), n. The principles of painting introduced by Raphael, the Italian painter.

Raph"a*el*ite (-t), n. One who advocates or adopts the principles of Raphaelism.

Raph"a*ny (rf"*n), n. [Cf. F. raphanie.] (Med.) 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.

Ra"phe (r"f), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "rafh` a seam or suture, fr. "ra`ptein to sew or stitch together.] 1. (Anat.) A line, ridge, furrow, or band of fibers, especially in the median line; as, the raphe of the tongue.

2. (Bot.) Same as Rhaphe.

||Raph"i*des (rf"*dz), n. pl. [F. raphide.] (Bot.) See Rhaphides.

Rap"id (rp"d), 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.]

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

Ascend my chariot; guide the rapid wheels.

Milton.

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

3. Quick in execution; as, a rapid penman.

Rap"id, 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; -- usually in the plural; as, the Lachine rapids in the St. Lawrence.

Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast, The rapids are near, and the daylight's past.

Moore.

Ra*pid"i*ty (r*pd"*t), n. [L. rapiditas: cf. F. rapidité.] The quality or state of being rapid; swiftness; celerity; velocity; as, the rapidity of a current; rapidity of speech; rapidity of growth or improvement.

Syn. -- Rapidness; haste; speed; celerity; velocity; swiftness; fleetness; quickness; agility.

Rap"id*ly (rp"d*l), adv. In a rapid manner.

Rap"id*ness, n. Quality of being rapid; rapidity.

Ra"pi*er (r"p*r), n. [F. rapière, perhaps for raspière, and ultimately of German origin, akin to E. rasp, v.] A straight sword, with a narrow and finely pointed blade, used only for thrusting.

Rapier fish (Zoöl.), the swordfish. [Obs.] Grew.

Ra"pi*ered (-rd), a. Wearing a rapier. "Scarletcoated, rapiered figures." Lowell.

||Ra*pil"li (r*pl"l), n. pl. [It.] (Min.) Lapilli.

Rap"ine (rp"n), n. [F. rapine; cf. Pr. & It. rapina; all fr. L. rapina, fr. rapere to seize and carry off by force. See Rapid, and cf. Raven rapine.] 1. The act of plundering; the seizing and carrying away of things by force; spoliation; pillage; plunder.

Men who were impelled to war quite as much by the desire of rapine as by the desire of glory.

Macaulay.

2. Ravishment; rape. [Obs.] Shak.

Rap"ine, v. t. To plunder. Sir G. Buck.

Rap"i*nous (rp"*ns), a. Given to rapine. [Obs.]

Rap"page (-pj; 48), n. (Founding) The enlargement of a mold caused by rapping the pattern.

Rap`pa*ree" (-p*r"), n. A wild Irish plunderer, esp. one of the 17th century; -- so called from his carrying a half-pike, called a rapary. [Written also raparee.]

Rapped (rpt), imp. & p. p. of Rap, to strike.

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

Rap*pee" (rp*p"), n. [F. râpé, fr. râper to grate, to rasp. See Rasp, v.] A pungent kind of snuff made from the darker and ranker kinds of tobacco leaves.

Rap"pel (rp"pl or rp*pl"), n. [F. Cf. Repeal.] (Mil.) The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.

Rap"per (rp"pr), n. [From Rap.] 1. One who, or that which, raps or knocks; specifically, the knocker of a door. Sterne.

2. A forcible oath or lie. [Slang] Bp. Parker.

Rap*port" (rp*prt"; F. r`pôr"), n. [F., fr. rapporter to bring again or back, to refer; pref. re- re- + apporter to bring, L. apportare. Cf. Report.] Relation; proportion; conformity; correspondence; accord.

'T is obvious what rapport there is between the conceptions and languages in every country.

Sir W. Temple.

||En` rap`port" (äN` r`pôr") [F.], in accord, harmony, or sympathy; ||having a mutual, especially a private, understanding; in mesmerism, ||in that relation of sympathy which permits influence or ||communication.

Rap*scal"lion (rp*skl"yn), n. [See Rascallion.] A rascal; a good- for-nothing fellow. [Colloq.] Howitt.

Rapt (rpt), imp. & p. p. of Rap, to snatch away.

Rapt, a. 1. Snatched away; hurried away or along.

Waters rapt with whirling away.

Spenser.

2. Transported with love, admiration, delight, etc.; enraptured. "The rapt musician." Longfellow.

3. Wholly absorbed or engrossed, as in work or meditation. "Rapt in secret studies." Shak.

Rapt, n. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.] 1. An ecstasy; a trance. [Obs.] Bp. Morton.

2. Rapidity. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Rapt, v. t. 1. To transport or ravish. [Obs.] Drayton.

2. To carry away by force. [Obs.] Daniel.

Rap"ter (rp"tr), n. A raptor. [Obs.] Drayton.

Rap"tor (rp"tr), n. [L. raptor, from rapere to ravish. See Rapid.] A ravisher; a plunderer. [Obs.]

||Rap*to"res (rp*t"rz), n. pl. [NL. See Raptor.] (Zoöl.) Same as ||Accipitres. Called also Raptatores.

Rap*to"ri*al (-r*al), a. (Zoöl.) (a) Rapacious; living upon prey; -- said especially of certain birds. (b) Adapted for seizing prey; -- said of the legs, claws, etc., of insects, birds, and other animals. (c) Of or pertaining to the Raptores. See Illust. (f) of Aves.

Rap*to"ri*ous (-s), a. [L. raptorius.] (Zoöl.) Raptorial.

Rap"ture (rp"tr; 135), n. [L. rapere, raptum, to carry off by force. See Rapid.] 1. A seizing by violence; a hurrying along; rapidity with violence. [Obs.]

That 'gainst a rock, or flat, her keel did dash With headlong rapture.

Chapman.

2. The state or condition of being rapt, or carried away from one's self by agreeable excitement; violence of a pleasing passion; extreme joy or pleasure; ecstasy.

Music, when thus applied, raises in the mind of the hearer great conceptions; it strengthens devotion, and advances praise into rapture.

Addison.

You grow correct that once with rapture writ.

Pope.

3. A spasm; a fit; a syncope; delirium. [Obs.] Shak.

Syn. -- Bliss; ecstasy; transport; delight; exultation.

Rap"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Raptured (-trd; 135); p. pr. & vb. n. Rapturing.] To transport with excitement; to enrapture. [Poetic] Thomson.

Rap"tur*ist, n. An enthusiast. [Obs.] J. Spencer.

Rap"tur*ize (-z), v. t. & i. To put, or be put, in a state of rapture. [R.]

Rap"tur*ous (-s), a. Ecstatic; transporting; ravishing; feeling, expressing, or manifesting rapture; as, rapturous joy, pleasure, or delight; rapturous applause.

Rap"tur*ous*ly, adv. In a rapturous manner.

Rare (râr), a. [Cf. Rather, Rath.] Early. [Obs.]

Rude mechanicals that rare and late Work in the market place.

Chapman.

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer (râr"r); superl. Rarest.] [Cf. AS. hrr, or E. rare early. &radic;18.] Nearly raw; partially cooked; not thoroughly cooked; underdone; as, rare beef or mutton.

New-laid eggs, which Baucis' busy care Turned by a gentle fire, and roasted rare.

Dryden.

This word is in common use in the United States, but in England its synonym underdone is preferred.

Rare, a. [Compar. Rarer (râr"r); superl. Rarest.] [F., fr. L. rarus thin, rare.] 1. Not frequent; seldom met with or occurring; unusual; as, a rare event.

2. Of an uncommon nature; unusually excellent; valuable to a degree seldom found.

Rare work, all filled with terror and delight.

Cowley.

Above the rest I judge one beauty rare.

Dryden.

3. Thinly scattered; dispersed.

Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.

Milton.

4. Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations.

Water is nineteen times lighter, and by consequence nineteen times rarer, than gold.

Sir I. Newton.

Syn. -- Scarce; infrequent; unusual; uncommon; singular; extraordinary; incomparable. -- Rare, Scarce. We call a thing rare when but few examples, specimens, or instances of it are ever to be met with; as, a rare plant. We speak of a thing as scarce, which, though usually abundant, is for the time being to be had only in diminished quantities; as, a bad harvest makes corn scarce.

A perfect union of wit and judgment is one of the rarest things in the world.

Burke.

When any particular piece of money grew very scarce, it was often recoined by a succeeding emperor.

Addison.

Rare"bit (râr"bt), n. A dainty morsel; a Welsh rabbit. See Welsh rabbit, under Rabbit.

Rar"ee-show` (râr"-sh`), n. [Contr. fr. rarity-show.] A show carried about in a box; a peep show. Pope.

Rar`e*fac"tion (rr`*fk"shn), n. [Cf. F. raréfaction. See Rarefy.] The act or process of rarefying; the state of being rarefied; -- opposed to condensation; as, the rarefaction of air.

Rar"e*fi`a*ble (rr"*f`*b'l), a. [Cf. F. raréfiable.] Capable of being rarefied. Boyle.

Rar"e*fy (rr"*f; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rarefied (- fd); p. pr. & vb. n. Rarefying (- f`ng).] [F. raréfier; L. rarus rare + -ficare (in comp.) to make; cf. L. rarefacere. See -fy.] To make rare, thin, porous, or less dense; to expand or enlarge without adding any new portion of matter to; -- opposed to condense.

Rar"e*fy, v. i. To become less dense; to become thin and porous. "Earth rarefies to dew." Dryden.

Rare"ly (râr"l), adv. 1. In a rare manner or degree; seldom; not often; as, things rarely seen.

2. Finely; excellently; with rare skill. See 3d Rare, 2.

The person who played so rarely on the flageolet.

Sir W. Scott.

The rest of the apartments are rarely gilded.

Evelyn.

Rare"ness, n. The state or quality of being rare.

And let the rareness the small gift commend.

Dryden.

Rare"ripe` (-rp`), a. [Rare early + ripe. Cf. Rathripe.] Early ripe; ripe before others, or before the usual season.

Rare"ripe`, n. An early ripening fruit, especially a kind of freestone peach.

Rar`i*fi*ca"tion (rr`*f*k"shn), n. See Rarefaction. [R.] Am. Chem. Journal.

Rar"i*ty (rr"*t; 277), n.; pl. Rarities (- tz). [L. raritas: cf. F. rareté. See Rare.] 1. The quality or state of being rare; rareness; thinness; as, the rarity (contrasted with the density) of gases.

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2. That which is rare; an uncommon thing; a thing valued for its scarcity.

I saw three rarities of different kinds, which pleased me more than any other shows in the place.

Addison.

Ras (räs), n. See 2d Reis.

||Ra`sante" (r`zäNt"), a. [F., p. pr. of raser to graze.] (Fort.) ||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. H. L. Scott.

Ras"cal (rs"kal), n. [OE. rascaille rabble, probably from an OF. racaille, F. racaille the rabble, rubbish, probably akin to F. racler to scrape, (assumed) LL. rasiculare, rasicare, fr. L. radere, rasum. See Rase, v.]

1. One of the rabble; a low, common sort of person or creature; collectively, the rabble; the common herd; also, a lean, ill-conditioned beast, esp. a deer. [Obs.]

He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand of the rascal.

Wyclif (1 Kings [1 Samuel] vi. 19).

Poor men alone? No, no; the noblest deer hath them [horns] as huge as the rascal.

Shak.

2. A mean, trickish fellow; a base, dishonest person; a rogue; a scoundrel; a trickster.

For I have sense to serve my turn in store, And he's a rascal who pretends to more.

Dryden.

Ras"cal, a. Of or pertaining to the common herd or common people; low; mean; base. "The rascal many." Spenser. "The rascal people." Shak.

While she called me rascal fiddler.

Shak.

Ras"cal*dom (-dm), n. State of being a rascal; rascality; domain of rascals; rascals, collectively. Emerson.

Ras"cal*ess, n. A female rascal. [Humorous]

Ras*cal"i*ty (rs*kl"*t), n.; pl. Rascalities (- tz).

1. The quality or state of being rascally, or a rascal; mean trickishness or dishonesty; base fraud.

2. The poorer and lower classes of people. [Obs.]

The chief heads of their clans with their several rascalities.

T. Jackson.

Ras*cal"lion (rs*kl"yn), n. [From Rascal.] A low, mean wretch. [Written also rascalion.]

Ras"cal*ly (rs"kal*l), a. Like a rascal; trickish or dishonest; base; worthless; -- often in humorous disparagement, without implication of dishonesty.

Our rascally porter is fallen fast asleep.

Swift.

Rase (rz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rased (rzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Rasing.] [F. raser, LL. rasare to scrape often, v. freq. fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, shave; cf. Skr. rad to scratch, gnaw, L. rodere to gnaw. Cf. Raze, Razee, Razor, Rodent.] 1. To rub along the surface of; to graze. [Obsoles.]

Was he not in the . . . neighborhood to death? and might not the bullet which rased his cheek have gone into his head?

South.

Sometimes his feet rased the surface of the water, and at others the skylight almost flattened his nose.

Beckford.

2. To rub or scratch out; to erase. [Obsoles.]

Except we rase the faculty of memory, root and branch, out of our mind.

Fuller.

3. To level with the ground; to overthrow; to destroy; to raze. [In this sense raze is generally used.]

Till Troy were by their brave hands rased, They would not turn home.

Chapman.

This word, rase, may be considered as nearly obsolete; graze, erase, and raze, having superseded it.

Rasing iron, a tool for removing old oakum and pitch from the seams of a vessel.

Syn. -- To erase; efface; obliterate; expunge; cancel; level; prostrate; overthrow; subvert; destroy; demolish; ruin.

Rase, v. i. To be leveled with the ground; to fall; to suffer overthrow. [Obs.]

Rase, n. 1. A scratching out, or erasure. [Obs.]

2. A slight wound; a scratch. [Obs.] Hooker.

3. (O. Eng. Law) A way of measuring in which the commodity measured was made even with the top of the measuring vessel by rasing, or striking off, all that was above it. Burrill.

Rash (rsh), v. t. [For arace.] 1. To pull off or pluck violently. [Obs.]

2. To slash; to hack; to cut; to slice. [Obs.]

Rashing off helms and riving plates asunder.

Spenser.

Rash, n. [OF. rasche an eruption, scurf, F. rache; fr. (assumed) LL. rasicare to scratch, fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, scratch, shave. See Rase, and cf. Rascal.] (Med.) A fine eruption or efflorescence on the body, with little or no elevation.

Canker rash. See in the Vocabulary. -- Nettle rash. See Urticaria. -- Rose rash. See Roseola. -- Tooth rash. See Red-gum.

Rash, n. [Cf. F. ras short-nap cloth, It. & Sp. raso satin (cf. Rase); or cf. It. rascia serge, G. rasch, probably fr. Arras in France (cf. Arras).] An inferior kind of silk, or mixture of silk and worsted. [Obs.] Donne.

Rash, a. [Compar. Rasher (-r); superl. Rashest.] [Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. & Sw. rask quick, brisk, rash, Icel. röskr vigorous, brave, akin to D. & G. rasch quick, of uncertain origin.] 1. Sudden in action; quick; hasty. [Obs.] "Strong as aconitum or rash gunpowder." Shak.

2. Requiring sudden action; pressing; urgent. [Obs.]

I scarce have leisure to salute you, My matter is so rash.

Shak.

3. Esp., overhasty in counsel or action; precipitate; resolving or entering on a project or measure without due deliberation and caution; opposed to prudent; said of persons; as, a rash statesman or commander.

4. Uttered or undertaken with too much haste or too little reflection; as, rash words; rash measures.

5. So dry as to fall out of the ear with handling, as corn. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.