R
rabate, rabbate, to rebate, remit, take away; ‘I rabate a porcyon’, Palsgrave, Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, bk. iii, ch. 25 (ed. Arber, p. 310); rabbate, diminution, Puttenham, iii. ch. 11; p. 173. F. ‘rabatre, to abate, remit, give back’ (Cotgr.). See [rebate] (2).
rabbit-sucker, a very young rabbit; one that still sucks. 1 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 480; Lyly, Endimion, v. 2 (Sir Tophas).
rabbling, disorderly; ‘Rabbling wretch!’, Appius and Virginia, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, iv. 143. See NED.
rablement, a rabble, noisy crowd. Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 8.
race, to rase, scrape. Ascham, Toxophilus, pp. 108, 118; Chapman, tr. of Iliad, iv. 158; to tear, to tear away, Morte Arthur, leaf 36, back, 1; bk. i, c. 23; to slash, tear violently, id., leaf 119, back, 22; bk. vii, c. 17; to erase, to alter a writing by erasure, ‘This indenture is raced’, Palsgrave. See NED. (s.v. Race, vb.3).
rache; see [ratch].
rack, a neck of mutton. B. Jonson, New Inn, i. 1 (Host); Lyly, Mother Bombie, iii. 4 (Dromio); How a Man may choose, iii. 3 (Aminadab). In prov. use in various parts of the British Isles (EDD.).
rack, a mass of driving clouds. Hamlet, ii. 3. 506. Also, as vb., to drift, to move as a driving cloud; 3 Hen. VI, ii. 1. 27; Edw. III, ii. 1. 4; Dryden, Three Political Prologues, ii. 33.
rack, to move quickly; said of deer and horses; ‘His rain-deer, racking with proud and stately pace’, Peele, An Eclogue Gratulatory (ed. Dyce, p. 562). Cp. Swed. dial. rakka, to go quickly, to run hither and thither (Rietz).
rack and manger, at, with plenty of food, in the midst of abundance, in luxury; ‘Kept at rack and manger’, Warner, Alb. England, bk. viii, ch. 41, st. 46. The phrase, ‘To live at rack and manger’ (i.e. to live with heedless extravagance), is in common prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Rack, sb.5 16 (2)).
rad, agreed upon after consultation; ‘Which judgement strayt was rad’, Mirror for Mag., Northfolke, st. 21. Pp. of rede, to take counsel together. See NED. (s.v. Rede, vb.1 5). See [rede].
raft, reft, bereft. Spenser, Shep. Kal., Aug., 14. See NED. (s.v. Reave, vb.1).
ragman-roll, a list, catalogue; ‘I did what I cowde Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis’, Skelton, Garl. Laurell, 1490. ME. rolle of ragman, a catalogue, Towneley Myst. xxx. 224; rageman, the name of a game of chance played with a written roll having strings attached to the various items contained in it, one of which the player selected or ‘drew’ at random; see Gower, C. A. viii. 2379, and the interesting note by G. C. Macaulay; rageman, the name given to a statute (4 Edward I), appointing justices to hear and determine complaints of injuries done within 25 years previous; see NED. (s.v. Ragman, 2).
ragmans rew, a rhapsody, rigmarole; ‘A ragmans rewe . . . So do we call a long jeste that railleth on any persone by name’, Udall, tr. of Apoph., 245; a list, ‘Ragmanrew, series’, Levins, Manip.
rahate, ‘to rate’, scold. Udall, tr. of Apoph., Diogenes, §§ 22, 34.
raile, rayle, to roll, flow, trickle. Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 43; ii. 8. 37; Visions of Bellay, 155; Fairfax, tr. of Tasso, iv. 74.
railed, fastened in a row; ‘Railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart’, Bacon, Henry VII (ed. Lumby, p. 130); Ford, Perkin Warbeck, iii. 1 (Oxford). OF. reiller; L. regulare, to put in order.
rain, rean, a furrow between the ridges in a field. Spelt raine, Fitzherbert, Husbandry, § 13. 7; rayne, id., 7. 20; reane, id., 21. 15. In general prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Rean). Icel. rein, a narrow strip of land, esp. one left unploughed between fields.
raine, rayne, realm, dominion; also region. Spenser, F. Q. v. 5. 28; id., iii. 4. 49; vi. 2. 9. See Dict. (s.v. Reign).
rakehell, a thorough scoundrel; a debauchee or rake; ‘The King of rake-hells’, Bacon, Hen. VII (ed. Lumby, p. 165); ‘Vaultneant, pendart, pendereau, a rakehel, a rascal that wil be hangd’, Nomenclator, 1585 (Nares); ‘Pendard, a rake-hell, crack-rope, gallow-clapper’, Cotgrave.
rakel, impetuous, headstrong; ‘Rakyl, insolens’, Levins, Manip.; ‘Rackle’ (or ‘Rakel’) is in common prov. use in the north country in the sense of rash, violent, headstrong (EDD.). ME. rakel, rash, hasty (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. i. 1067; iii. 1437).
ramage, said of hawks: having left the nest and begun to fly from branch to branch; hence, wild, untamed, shy; said also of animals and persons; ‘Take a sperhauke ramage’, Caxton, G. de la Tour, A viii (NED.); Turbervile, The Lover to a Gentlewoman, st. 10. Norm. F. ramage, ‘sauvage, farouche’ (Moisy); Rom. type, ramaticum, deriv. of L. ramus, a branch.
ramp, a bold vulgar girl. Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, iii. 3 (Trapdoor); Cymbeline, i. 6. 134; Lyly, Sapho, iii. 2 (Song).
ramp, to creep or crawl on the ground; see NED. ME. rampe: ‘A litel Serpent . . . Which rampeth’ (Gower, C. A. vi. 2230). F. ramper, ‘to creep, crawl’ (Cotgr.).
ramp, to raise the forepaws in the air (usually said of lions); ‘A rampynge and roarynge lyon’, Great Bible, 1539, Ps. xxii. 13 (so in Prayer Book); ‘The ramping lion’, 3 Hen. VI, v. 2. 13. ME. rampe; ‘He goth rampende as a leoun’ (Gower, C. A. vii. 2573). Anglo-F. ramper; ‘lioun rampant’ (Gower, Mirour, 2267). See [raump].
rampallian, a ruffian, scoundrel; a term of abuse. Beaumont and Fl., Honest Man’s Fortune, ii. 2 (Orleans); City Gallant, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, xi. 197; applied to a woman, 2 Hen. IV, ii. 1. 65; S. Rowlands, Greenes Ghost (NED.).
rampier, a ‘rampart’, protecting bank of earth. Bacon, Henry VII (ed. Lumby, p. 165). Hence, rampired, fortified, Timon, v. 4. 47. See Dict.
rampion, a species of bell-flower, Campanula Rapunculus. Tusser, Husbandry, § 40. 12; Drayton, Pol. xx. 60. F. raiponce, ‘rampions’ (Cotgr.). The s of rampions has been taken for the plural s, and accordingly dropped.
ranch, to tear, to cut. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, v. 856; Drayton, tr. of Aeneid, xi. 1184. ‘Ranch’ in E. Anglia means to scratch deeply and severely (EDD.).
rand, a strip or slice of meat; ‘Rands and sirloins’, Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, v. 2 (Belleur); ‘Giste de bœuf, a rand of beef, a longe and fleeshy peece, cut out from between the flanke and buttock’ (Cotgrave). Still in use in E. Anglia, see EDD. (s.v. Rand, sb.1 6).
randon: in phr. at randon, with rushing force. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 4. 7; Shep. Kal., May, 46. OF. randon, force, impetuosity, the swiftness of a violent stream; hence F. aller à grand randon, ‘to go very fast’ (Cotgr.). See [raundon].
randon, to go about at will. Ferrex and Porrex, i. 2 (Arostus); ii. chorus, 2. F. ‘randonner, to run swiftly, violently’ (Cotgr.); see H. Estienne, Précellence, 187.
rangle, to rove, to wander. Mirror for Mag., Burdet, st. 36; Turbervile, The Lover to a Gentlewoman, st. 2. Cp. the Somerset phrase ‘a rangle common’, see EDD. (s.v. Rangle, vb.2 2).
rank, strongly, furiously. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 3. 6; iv. 5. 33. In Cheshire a wasp’s nest is said to be ‘rank’, where the wasps are numerous and angry (EDD.). ME. rank, froward (Havelok, 2561). OE. ranc, renders the Vulgate ‘protervum’ (Ælfric, Deut. xxi. 18).
ranpick, partially decayed, bare of leaves. Drayton, Pol. ii. 205; Barnfield, Affect. Sheph. 27 (NED.). In Cheshire ‘rampick’ (in Warw. ‘ranpike’) means a tree beginning to decay at the top; a young tree stripped of boughs and bark (EDD.).
rap, to affect with rapture, to transport, ravish with joy. Cymbeline, i. 6. 51; B. Jonson, Every Man out of Humour, i. 1. A back-formation from [rapt] (1).
rap and rend, to snatch up and seize, to take by force, acquire. Dryden, Prol. to Disappointment, 54; Butler, Hud. ii. 2. 789; rappe and rende, Roy, Rede Me (ed. Arber, 74). ME. rape and renne (Chaucer, C. T. G. 1422). See EDD. (s.v. Rap, vb.3 (1) and (5)), and Dict. (s.v. Rap, 2).
rapt, caught up (like Elijah). Milton, P. L. iii. 522; vii. 23; affected with ecstasy, Macbeth, i. 3. 57 (and 142); Spenser, F. Q. iv. 9. 6. L. raptus, seized, snatched.
rapt, to carry away, to transport, enrapture. Daniel, Civil War, vii. 96; Drayton, Pol. xiii. 411; Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, xii. 84; Sylvester, Du Bartas, ii. 4. 1. The verb is formed from the pp., see above.
rapture, the act of carrying off as prey or plunder; ‘Spite of all the rapture of the sea’, Pericles, ii. 1. 161; the condition of being carried onward, ‘Our Ship . . . ’gainst a Rocke . . . her keele did dash With headlong rapture’, Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, xiv. 428; the act of carrying off a woman, Dekker, Fortunatus (Wks., ed. 1873, i. 151).
rare, early. ‘Rare and late’, Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, vi. 422. Still in prov. use in the south and south-west counties, see EDD. adj.2. See [rear].
rascal, a lean deer not fit to hunt. As You like It, iii. 3. 58; Beaumont and Fl., Knt. of the B. Pestle, iv. 5 (Ralph); Turbervile, Hunting, c. 28; p. 73. See Nares.
rash, to strike like a boar, with a glancing stroke, to tear with violence. B. Jonson, Ev. Man out of Humour, iv. 4 (Fastidious Brisk); Spenser, F. Q. iv. 2. 17. See NED. (s.v. Rash, vb.2 1).
rash, to tear, pull, drag. Surrey, tr. of Aeneid, iv, l. 826; Dryden, tr. of Aeneid, ix. 1094. See NED. (s.v. Rash, vb.3).
ratch, a dog that hunts by scent. Skelton, Magnyfycence, 592. Still in use in the north country, see EDD. sb.4. ME. ratche, hownde, odorinsecus’ (Prompt.). OE. ræce (B. T.); related to Icel. rakki, a dog.
ratches, a mass of scudding clouds; ‘From all the heauen the ratches flies’, Phaer, Aeneid v, 821 (L. nimbi).
rathe, early; ‘The rathe morning’, Drayton, Robert, Duke of Normandy, 8; Milton, Lycidas, 142; ‘The rather lambs’ (i.e. the lambs born in the earlier part of the year), Spenser, Shep. Kal., Feb., 83; rathe, soon, id., Dec, 98; ‘All to rathe’ (all too soon). Sir T. Wyatt, The Lover waileth (Wks., ed. Bell, 98). Still in use in various parts of the British Isles (EDD.). ME. rathe, early, soon; rather, sooner, more willingly (Chaucer). OE. hræð, quick, hraðe, quickly.
raught, reached; pt. t. and pp. of to reach. L. L. L. iv. 2. 41; Hen. V, iv. 6. 21; 2 Hen. VI, ii. 3. 43. Still in prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Reach, vb.1 3).
raump, to ramp, rear up; said of a lion. Morte Arthur, leaf 170. 30; bk. ix, c. 1. See [ramp] (3).
raundon, force, violence, impetuosity, great haste. Morte Arthur, leaf 55. 37; bk. iii, c. 9; id., leaf 338. 15; bk. xvi, c. 8. See [randon].
raven: in phr. raven’s bone, the gristle on the ‘spoon’ of the brisket of a deer; given to the crows. B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2 (Robin). Also called raven’s morsel, Turbervile, Hunting, 42. 129.
ravin, to snatch with violence, to devour greedily; Meas. for M. i. 2. 133; Cymbeline, i. 6. 49; Bible, Gen. xlix. 27; Ps. xvii. 12, margin; ‘Rapinare, to ravin, to rob, to snatch’ (Florio); raven, to have a ravenous appetite for, Dryden, Hind and P., iii. 964; id., Wild Gallant, iv. 2; ravine, prey, booty, ‘The Lion . . . filled his holes with pray, and his dens with ravine’, Nahum ii. 12 (Vulgate, rapina); ravenous, ‘I met the ravin lion’, All’s Well, iii. 2. 120. See Dict. (s.v. Raven, 2).
ray, ‘array’, due order. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 50; v. 11, 34; an array, line, rank, ‘Thirteen rayes of horsemen’, Udall, tr. of Apoph., Alexander, § 5. See Dict. (s.v. Array).
ray, to defile. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 40; vi. 4. 23; Tam. Shrew, iii. 2. 54. For araye; ‘I araye or fyle with myer, j’emboue’, Palsgrave. ‘Ray’ is still in use in Lanc. and Yorks. in this sense, cp. the proverb, ‘It’s an ill bird that rays its own nest.’
ray, cloth of, a kind of striped cloth. Peele, Edw. I. (ed. Dyce, p. 390, col. 2). Cp. F. raie, a streak, stripe; O. Prov. rega, ‘sillon’ (Levy); Med. L. riga, a stripe, rigatus, striped (Ducange). See [rockray].
rayon, a ray, beam. Spenser, Visions of Bellay, Pt. II, st. 2, 1. 7. F. rayon, a ray.
raze, to slash, slit. Hamlet, iii. 2. 288; Turbervile, Trag. T., 279 (NED.).
read; see [rede].
reading, advice. Field, Woman a Weathercock, i. 1 (Nevill). See [rede].
ready: in phr. to make ready, to dress oneself; ‘You made yourself half ready in a dream’, Webster, Devil’s Law-case, ii. 1 (Sanitonella); ‘She must do nothing of herself, not eat . . . make her ready, unready, Unless he bid her’, Beaumont and Fl., Woman’s Prize, i. 1 (Tranio). See [unready].
reaks, reeks, pranks, riotous practices. Gascoigne, Looks of a Lover forsaken, 13 (Works, i. 49); Heywood, Eng. Traveller, ii. 1 (Clown); Urquhart’s Rabelais, iii. 2; ‘Faire le Diable de Vauvert, to play monstrous reaks’, Cotgrave (s.v. Diable); ‘The heart of man in prayer is most bent to play reakes in wandering from God’, Boyd, Last Battel, 731 (Jamieson). ‘Reak’ (or ‘reik’) is an old Scottish word for a trick or prank. See [rex].
re-allie, to form (plans) again. Spenser, F. Q. vii. 6. 23.
realm, region; pron. like ream (of paper), and quibbled upon. B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. v (Clement); Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv. 4 (Ithamore).
reame, a kingdom, realm. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 5. 53; iv. 8. 45; Daniel, Civil Wars, i. 82; reme, Skelton, Against the Scottes, 156. ME. reame (P. Plowman, A. v. 146); reme (Chaucer), Anglo-F. realme (Rough List); see Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Rewme).
reaming, stretching out in threads; ‘Reaming wooll’, Herrick, Widdowes Teares, st. 5. Cp. ‘reamy’, stringy, used of bread, in the west country, see EDD. (s.v. Ream, vb.2 6 (2)).
rear, early. Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, i. 1 (Lolpoop). A Kentish pronunciation of rare. See EDD. (s.v. Rare, adj. 2). See [rare].
rear, insufficiently cooked. Middleton, Game at Chess, iv. 2. 21. In gen. prov. use in England and America (EDD.). OE. hrēr, half-cooked, underdone (Sweet).
reare, to lift; hence, to carry off, take away. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 6. 6. Also, to direct upwards, Milton, P. R. ii. 285.
reasty, rancid, esp. used of bacon which has become yellow and strong-tasting through bad curing. Reastie, Tusser, Husbandry, § 20. 2. OF. resté, that which is left over, hence, stale, cp. Bibbesworth, in T. Wright’s Vocab., 155: chars restez = E. resty flees (i.e. reasty flesh). Reasty is still in general prov. use in England (EDD.).
rebate, to beat back. Greene, Orl. Fur. i. 1. 87; iii. 2 (884); p. 90, col. 2; p. 101, col. 1. F. rabatre (Cotgr.).
rebate, to blunt. Meas. for M. i. 4. 60; Otway, Don Carlos, iii. 1 (King); Chapman, tr. Iliad, xxiv. 585; Dryden, Pal. and Arc. iii. 502. See [rabate].
rebato, rabato, a collar-band, or ruff, which turned back upon the shoulders. Much Ado, iii. 4. 6; Dekker, Satiromastix (Works, 1873, i. 186); B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, iv. 1 (Phantaste); ‘Porte-fraise, a Rebato or supporter for a Ruffe’, Cotgrave (ed. 1611). Rebato-wire, a wire for stiffening a ‘rebato’, Yorkshire Tragedy, i. 32; Heywood, A Woman killed, v. 2. 8. F. rabat, ‘a Rabatoe for a woman’s ruff, also, a falling band’ (Cotgr.).
rebeck, an early form of the fiddle. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 20, § 11; Milton, L’Allegro, 94. O. Prov. rebec, also rebeb (Levy). See Dict.
rebeck, to beckon back, recall, reclaim; said of a hawk. Heywood, A Woman killed, i. 3 (Sir Charles).
rebelling, a ‘ravelin’ (in a quibble). Heywood, Eng. Traveller, ii. 1 (Clown). Span. rebellin, a ‘ravelin’ in fortification (Stevens). See Dict.
reboil, to bubble up again. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. ii, c. 7, § 10; reboyled, made to boil again; Skelton (ed. Dyce, vol. i, p. 209). F. ‘rebouiller, to boil once more; rebouillonner, to bubble’ (Cotgr.). Cp. Med. L. rebullire, ‘recandescere’ (Ducange).
receit, a place of refuge, alcove. Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, iv. 413; recess, haven, id., x. 122; a recess, place of ambush; Bacon, Hen. VII (ed. Lumby, p. 154). Anglo-F. recet, place of resort (Rough List); O. Prov. recet, ‘lieu où l’on se retire, retraite’ (Levy); Med. L. receptum (Ducange). See [recheat].
rechate, the calling together of the hounds in hunting. Malory, Arthur, x. 52. As vb., to blow a ‘rechate’, to call together the hounds. Drayton, Pol. xiii. 122; Turbervile, Hunting, xl. 114 (NED.). OF. rachater (racheter); L. re + Med. L. accaptare (Ducange); see NED. (s.v. Achate, vb.).
recheat, the series of notes sounded on the horn for calling the hounds together, Much Ado, i. 1. 251; Davenant, Gondibert, ii. 37. Anglo-F. and OF. (Picard), rechet, a retreat, hence, a note of retreat; O. Prov. recet, ‘retraite’ (Levy). See [receit].
recheles, reckless, Fitzherbert, Husbandry, 7. 8. OE. reccelēas. See [retchless].
rechlessness, carelessness, recklessness, B. Jonson, Magn. Lady, iv. 1; Article of Religion, 17 (in modern Prayer Books misspelt wretchlessness). ME. recchelesnesse (Chaucer, C. T. I. 611).
reclaim, to call back; reclayme, Spenser, F. Q. v. 12. 9; a term in falconry, ‘I reclayme a hauke of her wyldnesse’, Palsgrave; to tame, Romeo, iv. 2. 47. Cp. F. ‘reclame, a Sohoe or Heylaw; a loud calling, whooting or whooping, to make a Hawk stoop unto the Lure’ (Cotgr.).
record, to sing, to warble; applied esp. to the singing of birds. Two Gent. v. 4. 6; Pericles, iv, Gower; Beaumont and Fl., Valentinian, ii. 1; Browne, Brit. Past. ii. 4. As sb. = [recorder] (see below), Puttenham, Eng. Poesie (ed. Arber, p. 79); Two Noble Kinsmen, v. 1. 142.
recorder, a kind of flageolet or small flute, so named because birds were taught to ‘record’ by it. Hamlet, iii. 2. 303. See Nares.
recoure, to regain, win again. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 9. 25; ‘I recure, I get agayne’, Palsgrave.
recoyle; see [recule].
recrayed, recreant; ‘He was a recrayd knyght’, Skelton, Against the Scottes, Epilogue, 26; A Replicacion, 45. Norm. F. recreire, ‘se dédire’ (Moisy); O. Prov. se recreire, ‘s’avouer vaincu’ (Levy); Med. L. recredere, to surrender oneself, as being defeated (Ducange).
recreance, Letters of Recreance, Letter from the Earl of Sunderland to Robert Harley, Dec. 31, 1705, see N. and Q. 11 S. vii. 505. F. ‘Lettres de récréance, qui se dit, soit des lettres qu’un Prince envoie à son Ambassadeur, pour les présenter au Prince d’auprès duquel il le rappelle; soit des lettres que ce Prince donne à un Ambassadeur, afin qu’il les rende à son retour au Prince qui le rappelle’, Dict. de l’Acad., 1762; ‘Recreance, a restoral, restitution; also, a delivery of possession’ (Cotgr.). Cp. O. Prov. recrezensa, ‘désistement’ (Levy).
recule, to retire, go back. Ascham, Toxophilus, p. 68; ‘I recule, I go back, je recule’, Palsgrave; Spenser, F. Q. v. 11. 47; Gascoigne, Fruites of Warre, st. 108; recoyle, to retreat. Spenser, F. Q. i. 10. 17; recuile, id., vi. 1. 20. See Dict. (s.v. Recoil).
†recullisance, a corrupt form of recognisance. Middleton, Mich. Term, iii. 4 (Shortyard). See [cullisen].
recure, to restore to health and vigour. Spenser, F. Q. i. 5. 44; 9. 2; 10. 24; as sb., recovery, Chapman, tr. of Iliad, i. 436; xviii. 60; Sackville, Induction, st. 49. Hence, recureless, without recovery, not to be recovered from, Chapman, tr. of Iliad, xvi. 446; irrecoverable; Greene, James IV, ii. 2 (987; Nano).
recuyell, a collection; ‘The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye’ (the title of Caxton’s book); spelt recule, Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 1187. Also, a reception, welcome, ‘The grete recuel that I have doon’, Caxton, Eneydos, xviii. 66. F. ‘recueil, a collection, also, a reception, welcome’ (Cotgr.); ‘recueil, accueil’ (Estienne).
red. Red lattice, a lattice-window painted red, to distinguish an ale-house. 2 Hen. IV, ii. 2. 86; cp. Merry Wives, ii. 2. 28.
rede, read, to advise. Spenser, F. Q. i. 10. 17; id., Mother Hub. 114; to discern, estimate, to take for something, Spenser, Ruins of Time, 633; id., F. Q. ii. 12. 70; vi. 2. 30. As sb. rede, counsel, advice. Hamlet, i. 3. 51. ME. rede, to advise; reed, rede, advice (Chaucer); OE. rǣdan; rǣd (Sweet). See [rad].
redintegrate, restored to a perfect state. Bacon, Henry VII (ed. Lumby, p. 42). L. redintegratus.
Red-shanks, a name applied to the Gaelic inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands and of Ireland, in allusion to the colour of the bare legs reddened by exposure; ‘Scottes and Reddshankes’, Spenser, State Ireland (Globe ed., 658, col. 2). [‘The red-shanks of Ireland’, Smollett, Humph. Clinker (Davies).]
redub, redoub, to repair, amend, requite. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 7, § 2; ‘O gods, redub them vengeaunce just’, Phaer, tr. of Virgil, bk. vi; Udall, tr. of Apoph., p. xvi, line 27; Socrates, § 47. Anglo-F. redubber, F. ‘radouber, to peece, mend’ (Cotgr.).
reduce, to bring back, recover. Shirley, Hyde Park, v. 1 (Mis. Carol); Court Secret, i. 1 (Manuel); Sackville, Induction, st. 9; Hen. V, v. 2. 63; Rich. III, v. 3. 36. L. reducere.
reek, a rick, stack. Middleton, The Witch, i. 2 (Hecate); Dryden, Meleager (from Ovid), l. 35. ‘Reek’ is the prov. pronunc. of rick in many parts of England, as well as in Ireland (EDD.). OE. hrēac, a hayrick.
reeke, seaweed. Golding, Metam. xiv. 38 (L. algae). ME. wreke, of the sea, ‘alga’ (Prompt.). Icel. reki (vreki), seaweed drifted ashore.
reere, a loud noise, a shout. Golding, Metam. xiii. 876; fol. 165, l. 1 (1603); ‘Such a reare of thunder fell’, Hudson, Du Bartas, Judith, ii (NED. s.v. Rear). ME. rere, noise (R. Brunne, Chron. Wace, 10207). See NED. (s.v. Reere).
reez’d, rancid, as bacon. Marston, Scourge of Villainy, Sat. iii. 112. ME. reest, as flesche, ‘rancidus’ (Prompt.). See NED. (s.v. Reesed).
refel, refell, to refute. Meas. for M. v. 1. 94; Lyly, Alexander, ii. 2 (Alex.). L. refellere.
reflect, to turn back. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, ix. 190. L. reflectere (Cicero).
refocillation, a restorative. Middleton, A Mad World, iii. 2 (Pen. B.). L. refocillare, to warm into life again; often used in the Vulgate for the reviving of the spirit: ‘Reversus est spiritus ejus, et refocillatus est’, 1 Reg. xxx. 12 (1 Sam. xxx. 12).
reformado, a disbanded soldier; an officer left without a command (owing to the ‘reforming’ or disbanding of his company), but retaining his rank and receiving full or half pay; ‘A reformado saint’, Butler, Hud. ii. 2. 116; ‘The reformado soldier’, id., ii. 2. 648; B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 5. Span. reformado, an officer on half-pay; from reformar, to reduce in number; hence of troops, to discharge, disband (cp. Calderon, El Alcalde de Zalamea, ii. 33). See Stanford.
refuse me, may God reject me; once a very fashionable oath; ‘These wicked elder brothers, that swear refuse them’, Rowley, a Match at Midnight, i. 1 (Tim); ‘God refuse me’, Webster, White Devil, ed. Dyce, p. 7, col. 2 (Flamineo).
regals, pl., a small portable organ with one or two sets of reed-pipes played with one hand, while the other worked a small bellows. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie (ed. Arber, p. 79); Bacon, Sylva, § 172. Norm. F. regales, ‘espèce de petit orgue portatif’ (Moisy).
regalo, a dainty, a choice bit; ‘Servants laden with regalos and delicate choice Dainties’, Mabbe, tr. Life of Guzman, i. 1. 2; ‘Their markets are well furnish’d with all Provisions; witness their Salsicce only, which are a Regalo for a Prince’, R. Lassels, Voy. Italy (ed. 1698, p. 101); spelt (wrongly) regalio, Dryden, Wild Gallant, Epil., 12. Span. ‘regálo, a dainty; also, loving and kind entertainment; regalar, to make much of, to treat daintily’ (Stevens). See Stanford.
regiment, rule, sway, dominion. Ant. and Cl. iii. 6. 95; Marlowe, 1 Tamburlaine, ii. 7. 19. ME. regiment (Gower, C. A. vii. 915, 1245, 1702). Anglo-F. regiment (Gower, Mirour, 2615).
regorge, to swallow back again. Dryden, Sigismonda, 186.
regrater, regrator, a retailer, retail dealer. Regrators, pl., North, tr. of Plutarch, Octavius, § 15 (in Shak. Plut., p. 261); regrators of bread-corn, Tatler, no. 118, § 10 (1709-10). ME. regratere (P. Plowman, C. iv. 82; see Notes, p. 61); Anglo-F. regratier and regratour (Rough List). Med. L. regratarius and regratator (Ducange).
reguerdon, requital, reward. 1 Hen. VI, iii. 1. 170; to reward, 1 Hen. VI, iii. 4. 23. ME. reguerdoun (Gower, C. A. v. 2368, as vb., iii. 2716). Anglo-F. reguerdon, reward, reguerdoner, to reward (Gower, Balades, xii. 2; xxiii. 3).
relate, to bring back again. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 8. 51.
relent, to slacken; ‘He would relent his pace’, Spenser, F. Q. ii. 11. 27; iii. 4. 49; iii. 7. 2; slackening, v. 7. 24; vi. 5. 20. F. ‘ralentir, to slacken’ (Cotgr.).
relent, to melt, to dissolve into water; ‘Se howe this snowe begynneth to relent agaynst the sonne’, Palsgrave; to become soft, Tusser, Husbandry, 63; to cause to melt, ‘Phebus dothe the snowe relente’, Hawes, Conv. Swearers, xl; hence, relentment, dissolution, Sir T. Browne, Urn Burial, i. § 7. Anglo-F. se relenter, to dissolve, melt (Gower, Mirour, 6603).
relide; see [rely].
relief, releef, a term in hunting, when the dogs follow a new and unknown prey; ‘You must sound the releefe . . . your reliefe is your sweetest note . . . when your hounds hunt after a game unknowne’, Return from Parnassus, ii. 5 (Amoretto). See Nares, and NED. (s.v. Relief, sb.2 7c).
reliv’d, recalled to life, reanimated. Spenser, F. Q. i. 9. 52; iii. 8. 3; relyv’d, id., iii. 4. 35.
reluce, reluse, to shine brightly. Caxton, Hist. Troye, leaf 185. 12; reluysing, brightness, id., leaf 225, back, 9. F. ‘reluire, to shine . . . reluisant, shining, radiant’ (Cotgr.).
rely, to assemble, gather (soldiers) together, to rally; ‘He gathered his troopes, . . . he relieth the rankes’, Heywood, tr. Sal. Jug. War, 50 (NED.); ‘He caused them to stay and relie themselves’, Holinshed, Scot. Chron. (NED.); to join oneself, ‘And Blandamour to Claribell relide’, Spenser, F. Q. iv. 9. 26. ME. rely, to assemble, rally soldiers (Barbour, Bruce, iii. 34). F. relier, to bind; L. religare.
reme, to tear open; ‘Which seeme (as women use) to reme my hart, Before I come to open all my smart’, Mirror for Mag., Irenglas, st. 25. ‘Ream’ is in prov. use in the west country; EDD. (s.v. Ream, vb.2 2), cites from Exmoor Scolding, 1746, ‘Chell ream my Heart to tha’ (i.e. I’ll open my heart to thee). ME. ryme, to stretch (Wars Alex. 4931); OE. rȳman, to make clear space, enlarge; rūm, space.
reme; see [reame].
remember, to remind. Temp. i. 2. 243; Richard II, i. 3. 269; reflex., to remember, ‘Now I remember me’, Twelfth Nt. v. 1. 286; Great Bible, 1539, Ps. xxii. 27.
remembrance, memento, love-token; ‘This was her first remembrance from the Moor’, Othello, iii. 3. 291; iii. 4. 186; to put in remembrance, to remind, Bible, Isaiah xliii. 26; 2 Peter i. 12.
remerce, to ransom by paying the fine; ‘From Owen’s jayle our cosin we remerst’, Mirror for Mag., Northumberland, st. 11. Cp. amerce, to fine.
remercy, to thank. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 11. 16. F. remercier, to thank.
remonstrance, a representation, resemblance; ‘A remonstrance of this battle, Where flowers shall seem to fight’, Shirley, Imposture, i. 2 (Flaviano). F. ‘remonstrer, to shew unto, or set before the eyes’, (Cotgr.); O. Prov. remostrar, ‘montrer, démontrer’ (Levy).
remora, the sucking-fish, Echeneis remora. Spenser, Vis. of World’s Vanity, ix. 10; B. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, ii. 1 (Polish). L. remora, delay; the ancients believed that this fish could stay a ship’s course by cleaving to it.
remord, to bite in return, to feel remorse; ‘His conscience remording agayne the destruction of so noble a prince’, Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. ii, c. 5, § 11; to blame, rebuke, Skelton, Colyn Cloute, 983. ME. remorde, to afflict with remorse (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. iv. 1491). Anglo-F. remordre, to bite, devour, move to repentance (Gower, Mirour, 386, 6679, 10397).
remorse, sorrow, pity, compassion. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 4. 6; Merch. Ven. iv. 1. 20; Middleton, Mayor of Queenboro’, i. 1 (Constantius); Milton, P. L. v. 566; regretful or remorseful remembrance of a thing, Skelton, Knowledge, 29; without remorse, without intermission, Spenser, Shep. Kal., Nov., 131; ‘Without any mitigation or remorse of voice’, Twelfth Nt. ii. 3. 98.
rendy, a ‘rendezvous’; a place of meeting; ‘Th’ appointed rendy’, Drayton, Pierce Gaveston. For F. rendez-vous, a subst. use of rendez-vous, the 2nd pers. plur. imperative of se rendre, to present oneself (at a certain place).
reneague, to deny, renounce. Udall, Paraph. Luke, Pref. 12; to make denial, King Lear, ii. 2. 84; to refuse, decline, Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii. 650. In common prov. use in Ireland and in England in the west country (EDD.).
renfierst, made more fierce. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 8. 45.
renforst, pt. t. reinforced himself, gathered his strength together. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 4. 14. As pp., forced again; id., ii. 10. 48.
renge, a rank. Caxton, Hist. Troye, leaf 177. 13; lf. 230, back, 29; ‘Renge, ranc’, Palsgrave.
renge, to range, arrange. Caxton, Hist. Troye, fol. 98. 26; ‘I renge, or set in array, je arrengie’, Palsgrave.
renowme, ‘renown’. Bible, Gen. vi. 4, ed. 1611; ‘A man of great renowme, Illustris vir’, Baret, Alvearie; Chapman, Iliad xxii, 186; renowmed, ‘renowned’, Bible, Isaiah, xiv. 20; Ezek. xxiii. 23; Richard III, i. 4. 49 (Qq.); ‘Renommé, renowmed, famous, of much note’, Cotgrave.
rense, to ‘rinse’. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, xvi. 224. This is the pronunc. of ‘rinse’ in many parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Rench). See Dict.
rent, to rend, tear. Mids. Night’s D. iii. 2. 215; Macb. iv. 3. 168; ‘I rent, I teare a thyng asonder’, Palsgrave.
renverst, turned upside down. Spenser, F. Q. i. 4. 41; v. 3. 37. F. renverser, to reverse.
reny, to deny, refuse. Renide (for renied), Mirror for Mag., Guidericus, st. 22. See NED. (s.v. Renay, vb. 3). F. renier, to deny.
repeat, to seek again. Dryden, Annus Mirab., st. 257; Tyrannic Love, iii (Berenice); Waller, Summer Islands, iii. 64. L. repetere, to seek again.
repent, penance. Greene, Friar Bacon, v. 1 (1867); scene 14. 15 (W.); p. 176, col. 1 (D.). Also, repentance, Greene, The Palmer’s Ode, 34 (ed. Dyce, p. 295).
reprie, reprive, to send back to prison, to remand; ‘They repryede me to prison’, Heywood, Spider and Fly, lxxviii. 158; to reprieve, to respite or rescue a person from impending punishment; esp. to delay the execution of a condemned person, ‘I humbly crave your Majestie to . . . my sonne reprive’, Spenser, F. Q. iv. 12. 31. First used in pp., repryed, cp. Anglo-F. repris, pp. of reprendre, to take back.
repriefe, reproof. Spenser, F. Q. i. 9. 29; iii. 8. 1. ME. repreve, reproof (Chaucer, C. T. B. 2413). See [priefe].
reprieve, to blame, find fault with. Spenser, F. Q. v. 6. 21; ‘I repreve one, je reprouve’, Palsgrave. ME. repreve (Chaucer, C. T. H. 70); reprevyn, ‘reprehendo’ (Prompt.).
reprise, reprize, reprisal, the act of taking something by way of retaliation, Dryden, Hind and P. iii. 862. As vb., to take again, Spenser, F. Q. ii. 11. 44. F. reprise, a getting something back again.
requile, to ‘recoil’. Twyne, tr. of Aeneid, xi. 671.
require, to seek after. Dryden, Annus Mirab., st. 236; to ask, to ask as a favour, Ant. and Cl. iii. 12. 12; Watson, Poems (ed. Arber, 159); The Great Bible, 1539, Ps. xxxviii. 16; Bible, 2 Sam. xii. 20. L. requirere. See Bible Word-Book.
rescous, rescue, assistance, aid. Hall, Chron. Hen. IV, 23 (NED.); Caxton, Hist. Troye, leaf 78. 31; Spelt rescousse, Caxton, Jason, 39 b (NED.). ME. rescous, rescue, help (Chaucer, C. T. A. 2643); OF. rescousse, ‘l’action de délivrer un prisonnier que l’ennemi emmène’) (Didot). See Dict. M. and S.
rescussing, a rescuing. Bacon, Adv. of Learning, xxiii. 32 (end).
resent, to give off a scent, exhale an odour. Drayton, Pol. xxv. 221. See NED. (s.v. Resent, vb. 10).
resiance, a residence. Bacon, Hen. VII (ed. Lumby, pp. 119, 188); Gascoigne, ed. Hazlitt, i. 455, l. 7. See below.
resiant; ‘resident’, lodged, Spenser, F. Q. iv. 11. 28; ‘Here resiant in Rome’, B. Jonson, Catiline, iv. 3 (Lentulus); resyants, pl., Oxford Records, Dec., 1534 (ed. Turner, 123). Norm. F. reseant, ‘habitant’ (Moisy), L. residentem, pres. pt. of residere, to sit down, to reside.
residence, that which settles as a deposit, a residuum. B. Jonson, Magnetic Lady, iii. 4 (Rut).
resipiscency, a return to a better mind, repentance. Sir T. Browne, Letter to a Friend, § 41. L. resipiscentia.
resolute, decided, positive, final; ‘I expect now your resolute answer’, Massinger, Picture, iv. 1.
resolution, certainty, positive knowledge. King Lear, i. 2. 108; a fixed determination, Ford, Broken Heart, i. 1.
resolve, to dissolve, melt; ‘O! that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew’, Hamlet, i. 2. 130; to free from uncertainty, Meas. for M. iii. 1. 193; iv. 2. 226; to satisfy, Beaumont and Fl., Laws of Candy, iv. 1 (Antinous).
respasses, raspberries. Herrick, To the most fair Mistris A. Soame, 20. For resp-es-es, rasp-es-es, a double plural. ‘Rasp’ is in prov. use in various parts of the British Isles (EDD.). See Nares.
respective, careful; ‘You should have been respective’, Merch. Ven. v. 1. 156; worthy of respect, Two Gent. iv. 4. 200; respectively, respectfully, with due respect, Timon, iii. 1. 8; Middleton, Five Gallants, ii. 1.
resplendish, to shine. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. iii, c. 2, § 3. OF. resplendir. See Croft’s note.
rest, a musket-rest; ‘His rest? why, has he a forked head?’, B. Jonson, Ev. Man out of Humour, iv. 4 (Puntarvolo); because the musket-rest was semicircular; ‘Like a musket on a rest’, Middleton, Roaring Girl, iv. 2 (Mis. O.).
rest, ‘in primero, the stakes kept in reserve, which were agreed upon at the beginning of the game, and upon the loss of which the game terminated; the venture of such stakes’ (NED.); ‘The money he had duly won upon a rest’, Cotton, Espernon, i. 4. 156; fig., ‘When I cannot live any longer, I will do as I may: That is my rest’, Hen. V, ii. 1. 17 (Corporal Nym means, this is what I stand to win or lose). Phr. to set up one’s rest, ‘to venture one’s final stake or reserve’ (NED.); hence, fig., to take a decisive resolution, to be determined, ‘I have set up my rest to run away’, Merch. Ven. ii. 2. 110; ‘He that sets up his rest to do more exploits’, Com. Errors, iv. 3. 27; Middleton, Span. Gipsy, iv. 3 (Alvarez); to place one’s fixed aim in something, ‘He seems to set up his rest in this plenty, and the neatness of his house’, Pepys, Diary, Jan. 19, 1663. See Nares.
rest, to ‘arrest’. B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iv. 11. 4 (Brainworm); ‘I reste as a sergente dothe a prisoner or his goodes, je arreste’, Palsgrave. In common Scottish use, see EDD. (s.v. Rest, vb.2 3).
rest, a ‘wrest’, a pin for winding up the strings of a harp, &c. Skelton, Magnyfycence, 137; wrest, to wind up, id., Colyn Cloute, 492.
rest-balk, a ridge of land left unploughed between two furrows. Fitzherbert, Husbandry, § 4. 4.
resty, inert, loath to move, sluggish, Tr. and Cr. i. 3. 263; Cymbeline, iii. 6. 34; resty stiff, Edward III, iii. 3. 161. The same word as ‘restive’ (‘restiff’). Anglo-F. restif (Ch. Rol., 1256). See Trench, Select Glossary; and Dict. (s.v. Restive).
retchless, reckless, careless. Drayton, Pol. vi. 270; Sackville, Induction, st. 46. See [recheles].
retire, a retreat in war. 1 Hen. IV, ii. 3. 54; Tr. and Cr. v. 4. 21; withdrawal from the world, Spenser, F. Q. vi. 9. 27.
retrait, retrate, picture, portrait; look, expression. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 9. 4; ii. 3. 25. Cp. Span. and Port. retrato, a portrait, Ital. ritratto.
retray, reflex, to draw back; ‘He retrayed him’, Morte Arthur, leaf 115, back, 29; bk. vii, c. 12. F. retraire, ‘to withdraw, draw back’ (Cotgr.); L. retrahere.
retrieve: phr. to bring to the retrieve, to make the hawk return to the lure. B. Jonson, Staple of News, iii. 1 (Picklock).
revault; see [revolt].
reverb, to resound, re-echo. King Lear, i. 1. 156. Cp. L. reverberare, to reverberate.
reverberate, to burn in a furnace in which the heat was continually driven back upon the substance operated upon. B. Jonson, Alchem. ii. 1 (Subtle).
reverence: in phr. save reverence, used apologetically in introducing some remark that might offend the hearer. Romeo, i. 4. 42; ‘Be it spoken with save the reverence of all women’, Harington, Metam. Ajax (NED.). Also, saving reverence, ‘Who, saving your reverence, is the divell himselfe’, Merch. Ven. ii. 2. 27. See Nares (s.v. Save-reverence).
revoke, to recall, give up. Peele, Sir Clyomon (ed. Dyce, p. 517).
revolt, to turn back. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 11. 25; spelt revault, to withdraw (words), Heywood, Fortune by Land and Sea, iii. 4 (Philip); revolt, pp. withdrawn, Greene, Friar Bacon, iii. 1; as sb. a rebel, deserter, King John, v. 2. 151. See NED.
rew, a row. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 6. 17, 35; Fairfax, Tasso, xvii. 75. The pronunc. of ‘row’ in the south and south-west of England (EDD.). ME. rewe (Chaucer), OE. rǣw (Sweet).
rex: phr. to play rex, to play pranks; understood in the sense of, to play the lord, to domineer (as if from L. rex, king; due to a popular etymology); ‘To play such Rex’, (i.e. such pranks); Spenser, State of Ireland (Globe ed., p. 659, col. 2); ‘With those did Hercules play rex’ (i.e. played the master), Warner, Alb. England, bk. i, ch. 6, st. 47. See [reaks].
rheumatic, suffering from catarrh or rheum, characterized by rheum. Venus and Adonis, 135; Mids. Night’s D. ii. 1. 105; also, Fletcher, Nice Valour, ii. 1 (Lady).
rhino, money (Cant). Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, i. 1 (Shamwell).
rhinocerical, resembling a rhinoceros; huge, large; as a slang term, of large means, wealthy, rich, Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, i. 1 (Shamwell). See NED.
riband. A riband was sometimes worn in the ear, as a favour; ‘He that bought the halfpenny riband, wearing it in his ear, swearing it was the Duchess of Milan’s favour’, Marston, What you Will, iv. 1 (Meletza). Ribanded ears, id., Scourge of Villainy, 167.
ribaudrie, ribaldry. Spenser, Shep. Kal., Oct., 76; hence, ribaudred, profligate, Ant. and Cl. iii. 10. 10. ME. ribaudrie (P. Plowman, C. i. 45). Anglo-F. ribaudrie (Rough List).
ribibe, an opprobrious term for an old woman, ‘vetula’, prop. a kind of fiddle, ‘vitula’. B. Jonson, Devil an Ass, i. 1 (Pug); rybybe, Skelton, El. Rummyng, 492. It is probable that both Skelton and Jonson took this use of the word from Chaucer (C. T. D. 1377).
ribskin, a leathern apron worn during the process of ribbing or scraping flax. Spelt rybskyn, Skelton, El. Rummyng, 299.
rid, to remove with violence, ‘I shall sone ryd his soule out of his body’, Ld. Berners, Huen, xlix. 165; to destroy, Tempest, i. 2. 365; to clear off work, dispatch, ‘Slaves did rid those Manufactures’, Bacon, Essay 29 (ed. Arber, 483); to rid way, to get over the ground, move ahead, ‘Willingness rids way’, 3 Hen. VI, v. 3. 21. ‘Rid’ is in prov. use in various parts of England for clearing land, grubbing up underwood, &c., see EDD. (s.v. Rid, vb.2 1). Of Scand. origin, cp. Icel. ryðja, to clear land, Dan. rydde. See Dict. (s.v. Rid, 2).
rid, to set free, deliver, save. Bible, Gen. xxxvii. 22; Ex. vi. 6; Ps. lxxi (Pr. Bk.); 2 Hen. VI, iii. 1. 234; to acquit, ‘A judge riddeth a persone’, Udall, Apoph., 236. OE. hreddan, to deliver, cp. Dan. redde, G. retten. See Dict. (s.v. Rid, 1).
rid, to advise; ‘I rid thee, away’ (i.e. I advise thee to depart), Greene, James IV, Induction (Bohan). A Scottish form, see NED. (s.v. Rede, vb.1). See [rede].
ridduck, a gold coin; ‘Run for a ridduck’ (i.e. to gain a reward), Appius and Virginia, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, iv. 134. See [ruddock] (2).
ride, to be drawn through the streets in a cart, subject to popular derision; a form of punishment. B. Jonson, Alchem. i. 1 (Dol).
rider, a gold coin, orig. Dutch, having a horseman on the obverse, worth about 27s. Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, i. 2 (Livia). Du. een goude ryder, ‘a golden coin having on one side the stamp of a man on horseback’ (Sewel).
ridgel, a half-castrated animal, a male animal with imperfectly developed organs. In common prov. use. Only found as a literary word in Fletcher, Women Pleased, ii. 6 (Penurio), where it appears as a term of abuse, ‘Yonder old Rigell, the Captaine’.
ridstall-man, a man whose business is to clear out or clean cattle-stalls. Greene, James IV, first stage-direction.
rifely, abundantly. Hall, Sat. iv. 3. 74; frequently, Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, i. 101. ‘Rife’ in the sense of ‘abundant’, also of ‘frequent’ is still in use in Scotland, and in many parts of England. Cp. Du. ‘rijf, rife, or abundant; rijfelick, rifely, or abundantly’ (Hexham).
riffle, to ‘rifle’, plunder. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, ii. 681. See Dict.
rifle, to play at dice, to gamble or raffle for a stake. B. Jonson, Alchem. i. 1; Dryden, Amboyna, v. 1. Hence rifling, Northward Ho, v. 1 (Bellamont); Minsheu. Still in use in west Yorkshire (Dr. Joseph Wright). Du. ‘rijffelen, to riffle, or who shall cast most upon the Dice’ (Hexham).
rig, to search into, ransack; ‘And in the bowels of the earth unsaciably to rig’, Golding, Metam. i. 138; ‘To . . . rig every corner’, Gosson, Schoole of Abuse (ed. Arber, p. 54).
rigell; see [ridgel].
rin, to run. Ascham, Scholemaster, bk. i (ed. Arber, p. 54); ‘They ryde and rinne’, Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 196. A north-country form (EDD.). ME. ryn, to run (Wars Alex. 1352); rynnand, running (Barbour’s Bruce, iii. 684).
rine, ‘rind’, the outside peel or bark; ‘Bark and rine’, Middleton, Family of Love, iii. 3. 11; Spenser, Shep. Kal., Feb., 111. So in Dorset (Barnes’ Poems), see EDD.
ring: in phr. cracked within the ring; See [crack] (3).
ring. Running at the ring, a sport in which a tilter, riding at full speed, endeavoured to thrust the point of his lance through, and to bear away, a suspended ring. Webster, Duch. of Malfi, i. 1 (Ferdinand). Also riding at the ring, Marston, Malcontent, i. 1 (Malevole).
ringled, provided with rings, ringed. Marlowe, Hero and Leander, ii. 143.
ringman, the ring finger, fourth finger. Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, p. 109). Still in use in Cumberland, see EDD. ME. ryngeman fyngur, ‘anularis’ (Cath. Angl.). In B. Jonson’s Alchemist, i. 1 (p. 243), Subtle says, ‘In chiromancy we give the fore-finger to Jove. The ring (i.e. the ring-finger) to Sol.’ See Halliwell (s.v. Ring-finger).
ringo-root, an eater of eringo-root; a term of contempt. Marston, Scourge of Villainy, Sat. vii. 112.
ringtail, the female of the hen-harrier. Used fig. Beaumont and Fl., Philaster, v. 4 (Captain). See NED.
rippier, ripper, an itinerant seller of fish; ‘Like a rippier’s legs rolled up In boots of hay-ropes’, Chapman, Bussy d’Ambois, iii (Bussy); Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, v. 1 (Higgen). Still in use in E. Anglia, Kent, and Sussex, see EDD. (s.v. Ripp). See NED.
rish, a rush. Spelt rishe, Ascham, Scholemaster, pt. i (ed. Arber, p. 54); pl. rishes, Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. xix, c. 2; vol. ii, p. 7A. ‘Rish’ is in common use in Ireland and in many parts of England—in Yorks., Cheshire, also in Kent and the south-west, see EDD. (s.v. Rush, sb.1 (10)). OE. risc (see Oldest English Texts, p. 503).
risp, a twig; esp. a limed twig for catching birds. Golding, Metam. xv. 473; fol. 185, bk. (1603); ‘Boschetto, a grove . . . a rispe, a lushe or lime-twigge to catch birds’, Florio (1598). See NED. and EDD.
risse, pt. t. and pp. of the vb. to rise. As pt. t. pl. (OE. rison), B. Jonson, Catiline, iv. 2 (Cicero). As pp. (OE. risen), id., iii. 2 (Cicero). The use of risse for the pt. s. occurs in Shirley, Duke’s Mistress, v. 4 (Horatio), and occasionally elsewhere. ‘Riss’ (‘ris’) is found as a prov. form for the pt. t. and pp. of ‘rise’ in Yorks., Linc., and Northants, see EDD.
ritter, a horse-soldier. Chapman, Byron’s Conspiracy, ii. 1 (Savoy). G. Ritter, a knight, lit. a ‘rider’.
rittlerattle, a child’s rattle. Golding, Metam. ix. 692; fol. 118 (1603); Latin text, Sistraque. See NED.
rivage, shore, bank. Hen. V, iii, chorus; Spenser, F. Q. iv. 6. 20. F. rivage.
rive, to fire a cannon, so as almost to burst it. 1 Hen. IV, iv. 2. 29; to be split, Tr. and Cr. i. 1. 35. See Dict.
rive [riv], for riven, pp. of rive, to tear. Spenser, F. Q. v. 11. 5 (riming with ‘give’). ‘Riv’, pp., is in prov. use in Linc. and E. Anglia (EDD.).
rivelled, wrinkled; spelt ryvilde, More, Chron. Richard III (ed. 1883, 54), ‘Rivelled fruits’, Dryden, All for Love, Prol. 40; pleated, gathered in small folds, ‘Capes pleated and ryveled’, Stubbes, Anat. Abuses (ed. Furnivall, 74); twisted, Marlowe and Nashe, Dido, iii. 1 (Dido). In prov. use in Shropshire, Heref., and Dorset (EDD.). ME. riveled, wrinkled (Gower, C. A. viii. 2829). OE. rifelede, ‘rugosus’ (Napier’s Glosses, 187. 78).
rivo!, an exclamation used at drinking-bouts. ‘Rivo, sayes the drunkard’, 1 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 124; Massinger. Renegado, ii. 6 (Gazet). In Portuguese ships they use the cry Arriba! Arriba!, ‘Up! Up!’, for summoning sailors to their work. See Stanford.
road, a ‘raid’, inroad, incursion. Hen. V, i. 2. 138; Beaumont and Fl., Humorous Lieutenant, i. 1 (1 Ambassador).
roarer; the same as [roaring boy], q. v. Massinger, Renegado, i. 3 (Gazet); A Woman never vext, i. 1 (Brewen); in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, xii. 102.
roaring, the language of ‘roarers’, or bullies. Ford, Lover’s Melancholy, iii. 1 (Cuculus); their behaviour, Heywood, The Fair Maid, i. 3 (Spencer).
roaring boys, a cant term for the insolent bloods and vapourers whose delight was to annoy well-behaved citizens. Webster, Duch. of Malfi, ii. 1 (Castruccio). There was but one roaring girl, viz. Mary Frith, or Moll Cutpurse, the heroine of Middleton’s play entitled The Roaring Girl.
Roaring-Meg. ‘In this (Edinburgh) Castle is one of the largest Canons in Great Britain, called Roaring-Megg’, Brome, Trav. (ed. 1707, p. 195); Churchyard, Siege of Ed. Castle (NED.). Hence, a huge cannon, Middleton, Blurt, Mr. Constable.
roat; See [rote] (2).
rochet, a fish; the red gurnard. B. Jonson, Volpone, iii. 6 (Corvino); Drayton, Pol. xxv. 104.
rochet, the blunt iron head of a tilting weapon. Caxton, Hist. Troye, lf. 124, back, 17. F. ‘rochet, the blunt iron head of a tilting-staff’ (Cotgr.). OF. rochet, ‘fer de la lance’ (Didot).
rock, a distaff. B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, ii. 1 (l. 5 from end); Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, vi. 77. Still in use in the north country, Midlands, and E. Anglia (EDD.). Icel. rokkr.
rocket, a ‘rochet’, an outer garment, a kind of cloak or mantle. Skelton, El. Rummyng, 54; a vestment of linen, usually worn by bishops and abbots, chiefly Scottish (NED). [‘With mitre sheen and rocquet white’, Sir W. Scott, Marmion, vi. 11.] O. Prov. roquet, ‘rochet, surplis’ (Levy); Norm. F. roquet, manteau court (Moisy).
rocket, a blunt-headed lance. Ld. Berners, Froissart, II. clxii. See [rochet] (2).
rockray, a line or reef of rocks. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii, l. 20 from end. Ray = F. raie, Med. L. riga (Ducange).
Roger, a goose (Cant). Harman, Caveat, p. 83; Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, v. 1 (Higgen). In both passages, Tib of the buttery is given as another cant name for the goose. See Halliwell.
roile, royle, an inferior or spiritless horse. Skelton, ed. Dyce, ii. 76; ‘That horse which tyreth like a roile’, Gascoigne, Complaint of Philomene (ed. Arber, 117); ‘A timorouse royle’, Sir T. Elyot, bk. i, ch. 17 (ed. Croft, i. 178); a draught-horse of Flemish breed, ‘The Flemish roile’, Harrison, Desc. England, iii. 1 (NED.).
roile, to wander, to roam about. Udall, Roister Doister, ii. 3 (Tibet); Golding, tr. Metam. iii. 55; ‘To royle abroad, divagari’, Levins, Manip.; Turbervile, Hunting (ed. 1575, p. 141). ME. roile, to roam about (Chaucer, C.T. D. 653, Lansd. MS.); roylyn or gone ydyl abowte, ‘vagor, discurro’ (Prompt. 436). See Notes to Piers Plowman, B. x. 297, p. 94.
roister, royster, a bully, a noisy reveller; ‘Dissolute swordmen and suburb roysters’, Milton, Eikonoklastes, iv; ‘Rustre, a royster, swaggerer’, Cotgrave. Still in use in Scotland and Yorks. (EDD.). See Dict. (s.v. Roistering).
roisting, the conduct of roisterers, blustering. Disobedient Child, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, ii. 300; boisterous, uproarious, Tr. and Cr. ii. 2. 208.
roke, to search, rummage; ‘Roking in the ashes’, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, i. 4 (Gammer). See EDD. (s.v. Rauk, 3).
rom, good, phr. rom bouse, good wine (Cant). Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song). See [Rom-vile].
romage, bustle, commotion. Hamlet, i. 1. 107. Still in use in Scotland, see EDD. (s.v. Rummage, 6).
rombelow(e, a cry used by sailors when rowing; ‘Heve and how rombelow, row the bote, Norman, rowe!’, Skelton, Bowge of Courte, 252; ‘Some songe heve and howe rombelowe’, Cocke Lorell’s Bote. ME. rumbeloo (Coer de Lion, 2522). See NED. (s.v. Rumbelow).
romekin, some kind of drinking-vessel; ‘Large Saxon Romekins’, Davenant, The Wits, iv. 1 (Thwack). Cp. Du. roemer, a wine-glass (Sewel). See NED. (s.v. Rumkin1).
Rom-vile, a cant term for London. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song). Rom, i.e. good, refers to Rommany, gipsy; vile = F. ville, town. See [rom].
rondure, roundure, a circle, circular or rounded form. Dekker, O. Fortunatus, i. 1 (Fortune); King John, ii. 259; Shak. Sonnets, xxi. 8. F. rondeur, roundness (Cotgr.).
ront, a runt, an ox or cow of a small size. Spenser, Shep. Kal., Feb., 5. Du. rund, ‘a runt, a bullock or an oxe’ (Hexham).
ronyon; see [runnion].
roodes. In Mirror for Mag., Harold, st. 23, apparently used in the sense of ‘crosses’, vexations.
rook, reflex, to crouch, squat; ‘The raven rook’d her on the chimney’s top’, 3 Hen. VI, v. 6. 47. Still in use in various parts of England; see EDD. (s.v. Rook, vb.3). ME. rouken (Chaucer). See [rucke].
room, widely. Roomer, more widely, farther away, Sir J. Harington on Bishops (Nares). OE. rūme, widely. See NED. (s.v. Room, adv.).
roome mort, rome mort, a great lady, lady of high rank (Cant). B. Jonson, Gipsies Metamorphosed (Patrico); ‘Rome mort, the quene’, Harman, Caveat, p. 84. Rome, excellent (in Rommany); See [mort] (2).
rope: in phr. to run upon the ropes, to act the part of a rope-dancer, Puritan Widow, iv. 3. 41.
roperipe, ripe for the rope, fit for being hanged. Tusser, Husbandry, § 92. 3; Chapman, May Day, iii; Wilson, Arte of Rhetorique; Minsheu; see Nares.
ropery, knavery. Romeo, ii. 4. 154; Fletcher, The Chances, iii. 1 (Landlady); cp. roper, ‘one who deserves the rope’ (NED.); rope-tricks, knave’s tricks, Taming Shrew, i. 2. 112.
rosa solis, i.e. ‘Rose of the Sun’, an alcoholic cordial variously flavoured with spices; ‘Run for some Rosa-solis’, Beaumont and Fl., Scornful Lady, iv. 1 (Martha); T. Cogan, Haven of Health, 226; Middleton, Blurt, iii. 3; name of a herb, ‘The herb called Rosa-Solis, whereof they make Strong Waters’, Bacon, Nat. Hist., Cent. v, § 495. See Stanford.
rosaker, alteration of rosalger, realgar, disulphide of arsenic; ‘A tabacco-pipe . . . little better than ratsbane or rosaker’, B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 5 (Cob). Port. rosalgár, ‘réalgar, sulfure d’arsenic’ (Roquette); Span. rejalgar; ‘le terme signifie propremont poudre de caverne, et je suppose qu’on a donné ce nom à l’arsenic, parce qu’on le tirait des mines d’argent’, Dozy, Glossaire des Mots dérivés de l’Arabe, p. 332.
rose. The three-farthing pieces of Queen Elizabeth were very thin, and had the profile of the sovereign with a rose at the back of the head; see King John, i. 143. ‘Yes, ’tis three-pence, I smell the rose’, Dekker, Shoemakers’ Holiday, Pt. I, iii. 4 (Firk).
rose, a rosette; a knot of ribands, worn on the front of a shoe. Webster, White Devil (Brachiano), ed. Dyce, p. 41; Devil’s Law-case, ii. 1 (Ariosto); B. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, i. 2 (Pug).
rose-noble, a variety of the noble, stamped with a rose, of varying value; sometimes worth 16s. Beaumont and Fl., Philaster, v. 4 (Captain).
roset, roseate, rosy. Phaer, tr. of Aeneid, i. 591 (L. purpureum); vii. 26 (L. roseis).
rosiall, rosy. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. ii, c. 12, § 2 (first ed. 1531). [I suggest that the name ‘Rosiall’, occurring thrice in the poem called the Courte of Love, was suggested by this passage; and that the Courte of Love was later than 1581, and later than Thynne’s Chaucer, ed. 1532.]
rosiere, a rose-bush. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 9. 19. F. rosier (Cotgr.); L. rosarium; from rosa, a rose.
ros-marine, rosemary; ‘Wholesome dew, called ros-marine’, B. Jonson, Masque of Blackness (Æthiopia). L. rosmarinum, rosemary, lit. marine dew (Pliny). F. rosmarin, rosemarie (Cotgr.). See Alphita, p. 155 (s.v. Ros marinus).
rost: in phr. to rule the rost, to be absolute in authority, to domineer. Skelton, Magnyfycence, 813; Gascoigne, Steel Glas, 429. See [rule the roast].
rote, a musical instrument, a lyre. Spenser, ii. 10. 3; iv. 9. 6. ME. rote, a kind of fiddle (Chaucer), OF. rote (Didot), O. Prov. rota, ‘rote, instrument à cordes’ (Levy), also OHG. rota (Schade); probably of Celtic origin, cp. O. Irish crot, a harp, lyre; Mod. Irish cruit (Dinneen), whence ME. croude (Wyclif, Luke xv. 25). See Dict.
rote, roat, to repeat, as an echo does; to repeat a tune or song. Drayton, Muses’ Elysium, Nymph, vi (Melanthus, 8); ‘The echoes . . . each to other diligently rotes’, id., David and Goliath.
rother, a ‘rudder’; hence, controlling power. Phaer, tr. of Aeneid, vi. 859; Mirror for Mag., Clarence, st. 12. ME. rother (Gower, C. A. ii. 2494); OE. rōðer, a steering-paddle.
rouke, to squat, crouch, used fig.; ‘Bookes that happlye rouke in studentes mewes’, Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, Ded. (ed. Arber, 7). See [rucke].
rouncival, rownseval, huge, gigantic, Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii. 690 (with reference to the Cyclopean monsters); spelt rounceval, a woman of large build and boisterous manners, Heywood, Golden Age, A. ii (Jupiter); Nashe, Saffron Walden (Grosart, iii. 52). See [runcival pease].
round, to whisper. King John, ii. 1. 566. In prov. use in England and Scotland, see EDD. (s.v. Roun). ME. rownen (Chaucer, C. T. D. 241); OE. rūnian.
round, a dance in which the performers move in a ring; a song by two or more persons in turn. Macbeth, iv. 1. 130; Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. 2 (Thenot).
round: phr. gentlemen of the round, soldiers whose business it was to go round and inspect the sentinels and watches. B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 5 (E. Knowell); ‘The round? an excellent way to train up soldiers’, Middleton, The Witch, i. 1 (near the end).
round, plain-spoken, direct. Middleton, A Mad World, i. 2 (Harebrain); Twelfth Night, ii. 3. 104; Hamlet, iii. 1. 192.
roundly, readily, without hesitation or preface. Taming Shrew, iii. 2. 216; iv. 4. 108; v. 2. 21; Richard II, ii. 1. 122; ‘Will come off roundly’ (i.e. will pay handsomely), Middleton, The Widow, iv. 2 (Latrocinio); in a plain outspoken manner, Bacon, Hen. VII (ed. Lumby, 59). Still in prov. use (EDD.).
rous, with a bounce, bang! Buckingham, The Rehearsal, iii. 2 (Bayes). ‘Rouse’ (pronounced with voiceless s), meaning ‘noisily’, ‘with a crash’, is in prov. use in Devon and Somerset (EDD.).
rouse, a bumper, a full draught of liquor; ‘I have took a rouse or two too much’, Beaumont and Fl., Knight of Malta, iii. 4. 10; a drinking bout, Hamlet, i. 2. 126; Marlowe, Faustus, iii. 4. 20. Norw. dial. ruus, a headache from drinking (Aasen); Dan. rus, intoxication: sove rusen ud, to sleep out one’s drunken fit; see Larsen; cp. Du. roes: ‘eenen roes drinken, to drink till one is fuddled; hy heeft eenen roes weg, he is fuddled’ (Sewel).
rout, a number of animals going together; ‘Of fallow beasts the company is called an heard, and of blacke beasts it is called a rout, or a sounder’, Turbervile, Hunting, c. 37; p. 100. Norm. F. route, ‘troupe’ (Moisy). See Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Route).
rout, to assemble together. Roister Doister, iv. 7. 2; Bacon, Life of Henry VII (ed. Lumby, p. 66). See Dict. M. and S.
rove, to shoot with arrows at a mark selected at pleasure or at random, and not of any fixed distance. Drayton, Pol. xxvi. 122; Warner, Albion’s England, ii. 9. 39; Spenser, F. Q. v. 5. 35; ‘She rovde at me with glauncing eye’, Shep. Kal., Aug., 79; to shoot an arrow without fixed aim, ‘Manie bowlts were roved after him’, Harington in Nugae Ant. (NED.); a rovynge marke, a mark placed at an uncertain distance, Ascham, Toxophilus, 145; rovers, arrows used for this kind of shooting, B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, Masque 2 (Cupid); to shoot at rovers, to shoot at random, ‘Love’s arrows are but shot at rovers’, Butler, Hud. iii. 1. 941; ‘Cato talked at rovers’ (i.e. at random), Udall, tr. Apoph., Pompey, § 14.
rowel, to insert a circular piece of leather, with a hole in the centre, into a wound, to cause a discharge of humours; to insert a kind of seton; ‘He has been ten times rowelled’, Beaumont and Fl., Scornful Lady, iii. 2 (Young Loveless).
rowen, the second growth of grass in a season, the aftermath, eddish; the second crop of hay. Tusser, Husbandry, § 57. 25; Worlidge, Syst. Agric.; Blount, Glossogr. (s.v. Edish); rowen grass, Holland, Pliny, xviii. 28; rowen hay, id., rowen partridge, a partridge frequenting a field of ‘rowen’, id., Plutarch’s Morals, 570 (NED.); also rowen, ‘As for the partridges . . . the old rowens full subtilly seeme to wait’, id., 219. The word ‘rowen’ in various forms is in prov. use from Linc. and Worc. to Kent and Hants. (EDD.). ME. raweyne hey, ‘fenum serotinum’ (Prompt.); rewayn (in Bp. Hatfield’s Survey, ann. 1382, Surtees, 170). Norm.F. *rewain (mod. Picard rouain) = F. regain; gaïn = Romanic type guadīmen, wadīmen, of Germ. origin, cp. OHG. weida, pasture (Schade). See Thomas, Essais Phil. Fr. (s.v. Regain), p. 371.
royal, a gold coin of the value of ten shillings, in Shaks., not expressly mentioned, but alluded to by way of punning, Richard II, v. 5. 67; 1 Hen. IV, i. 2. 157; 2 Hen. IV, i. 2. 28.
royne, to grumble, to murmur discontentedly; ‘Yet did he murmure with rebellious sound and softly royne’, Spenser, F. Q. v. 9. 33. A north-country word (EDD.). See NED.
royne, to pare away, curtail, alter. Phaer, Aeneid x, 35 (L. Flectere iussa). OF. roignier, to cut so as to round off. See [proine] (to prune).
roynish, scurvy, poor. As You Like It, ii. 2. 8; rough, coarse, Tusser, Husbandry, § 102. Cp. F. ‘rongneux, scurvie, mangy’; ‘rongne, the mange’ (Cotgr.); mod. F. rogne, rogneux.
rub, in a card-game, to take all the cards in a suit. Heywood, A Woman killed, iii. 2 (Wendoll); with a quibbling reference to rob; ‘Piller, to rub, or rob, at cards’, Cotgrave.
ruck, a huge fabulous bird, supposed to be bred in Madagascar. Drayton, Noah’s Flood (footnote—the mighty Indian bird); Burton, Anat. Mel. ii. 2. 2; Herrick, Misc. Poems, 7 (NED.). Arab. rukhkh. See Stanford (s.v. Roc).
ruck, to belch forth, utter. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iv. 488. L. ructare. See NED.
rucke, to couch, squat; ‘On the house did rucke A cursed owle’, Golding, Metam. xv. 400; Warner, Albion’s England, vii. 37. 121. Still in use in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Ruck, vb.5). ME. rukkyn (Prompt. EETS., see note, no. 1851). See [rook], [rouke].
ruddock, the redbreast or robin. Spenser, Epithal. 82; Cymbeline, iv. 2. 224. In common prov. use in Scotland, and in many parts of England (EDD.). ME. ruddok (Prompt), OE. rudduc.
ruddock, a gold coin. Sir John Oldcastle, i. 2. 158; London Prodigal, ii. 1. 36; Webster, Devil’s Law-case, ii. 1. See Nares.
rudesby, an unmannerly or boorish person. Golding, Metam. v. 583; fol. 64, back (1603).
ruelle, the space in a bedroom between the bed and the wall. Etherege, Man of Mode, iv. 2 (Sir Fopling); Farquhar, Constant Couple, i. 1 (Wildair). ME. ruel (P. Plowman, C. x. 79); F. ‘ruelle: la ruelle du lict, the space between the bed and the wall’ (Cotgr.).
ruffe, ‘the Card-game called Ruffe or Trump’, so Cotgrave (s.v. Triomphe); Peele, Old Wives’ Tale (Clunch); the trump card, ‘the Ruff at Cards, Charta dominatrix’, Coles, Eng.-Lat. Dict., 1699. Ital. ronfa, a card-game (Florio), perhaps a popular corruption of trionfo; F. ‘triomphe, a Trump at cards’ (Cotgr.).
ruffe, the highest pitch of some exalted or excited condition; ‘Wher is all the ruffe of thy gloriousnes become?’, Latimer, 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (ed. Arber, 49); excitement, passion, fury, Golding, Metam. xiii. 296 (NED.); Gascoigne (ed. Arber, ii. 94).
ruffin, the name of a fiend, Chester Plays, v. 166; the Devil, Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, iii. 3 (Higgen); ‘I sweare by the Ruffin’, Brome, Jovial Crew, ii (Wks., ed. 1873, iii. 389).
ruffin, a ruffian, a man of brutal character, Plot, Staffordshire. 291; as adj., appropriate to a ruffian, ‘His ruffin raiment’, Spenser, F. Q. i. 4. 34.
ruffler, one of a class of vagabonds prevalent in the 16th century. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Moll). See Nares.
ruffmans, a cant term for a hedge. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Trapdoor). See [darkmans].
ruffpeck, bacon (Cant). ‘Ruff peck, bacon’, Harman, Caveat, p. 83; ‘Here’s ruffpeck and casson’ (i.e. bacon and cheese), Brome, Jovial Crew, ii. 1 (Song).
rug-gown, a gown made of rug or coarse frieze; worn by watchmen; hence, allusively, a watchman; ‘There a whole stand of rug-gowns routed manly’, Fletcher, Mons. Thomas, iv. 2 (Launcelot); also, worn by astrologers, ‘You sky-staring coxcombs . . . you are good for nothing but to . . . make rug-gowns dear’, B. Jonson, Every Man out of Hum. iii. 2 (Sordido); Marston, What you Will, iv. 1 (Lampatho).
rule, course of proceeding, line of conduct. Twelfth Nt. ii. 3. 132. ME. rule, conduct (York Myst. xxvi. 34).
rule, disorder, stir, riot; ‘What a rule is there! Quid turbae est!’, W. Walker, Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 381; ‘Such rule and ruffle make the rowte that cum to see our geare’, Drant, Horace, Ep. ii. 1; ‘What a reul’s here. You make a nice reul’, Thorseby, Letter to Ray (EDD.). ‘Reul’ (or ‘Rule’) appears in EDD. as a north-country word, meaning to behave in a rude, disorderly manner. It is identical with the prov. word ‘roil’, to be noisy, boisterous, turbulent, see EDD. (s.v. Roil, vb.2 1).
rule the roast, to be absolute master; ‘I am my lady’s cook, and king of the kitchen; where I rule the roast, command imperiously, and am a very tyrant in my office’, Nabbes, Microcosmus, iii. 1 (Tasting). The origin of the phrase is obscure; but it may easily have arisen, as here suggested, from the sway exercised by a master-cook; the same phrase is used of a cook by Earle, Microcosmographie, § 25 (ed. Arber, p. 46).
ruless, rule-less, unruly. Spenser, Virgil’s Gnat, 431.
ruly, orderly, law-abiding, amenable to law. Warner, Alb. England, bk. ix, ch. 40, st. 20.
rumbelo, rumbling, resounding; ‘Great bouncing rumbelo thund’ring Ratleth’, Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iv. 101. See [rombelow(e].
†rumming (?); ‘Much like a rumming streame’, Twyne, Aeneid x, 603 (L. torrentis aquae).
run at the ring; See [ring] (2).
runcival pease, runcival peas, peas of a large size, Tusser, Husbandry, § 41. 9. See [rouncival].
rundle, applied to the spherical surface of the earth. Lyly, Woman in the Moon, i. 1. 11. Hence rundled, circular, Chapman, tr. of Iliad, vii. 239.
runnion (ronyon), an abusive term applied to a woman. Macbeth, i. 3. 6; Merry Wives, iv. 2. 195.
rush-buckler, a swash-buckler, noisy ruffian; ‘Stoute bragging russhe-bucklers’, More’s Utopia (ed. Lumby, 82).
rushes, with which floors were strewed, before the introduction of carpets. 2 Hen. IV, v. 5. 1.
russeting, a kind of ruddy apple. Chapman, The Ball, ii. 1 (Barker). See Dict. (s.v. Russet).
russet-pated; ‘Russet-pated choughs’, with heads of a reddish-brown colour, Mids. Night’s D. iii. 2. 21.
rutter, a cavalry soldier, esp. a German one; ‘You are a Rutter, borne in Germanie’, Kyd, Sol. and Pers. i. 3; ‘Almain rutters’, Marlowe, Faustus, i. 1 (Valdes); ‘Regiment of rutters’, Beaumont and Fl., Woman’s Prize, i. 4 (Sophocles). Du. ruiter, a trooper, horseman (Sewel); cp. O. Prov. rotier, a trooper, half soldier, half robber; rota, a band of men, a troop (Appel); Med. L. rupta ‘cohors’ (Ducange, s.v. Rumpere, p. 237, col. 3).
ruttock, a staff, stick. Only in Udall, tr. of Apoph., Antigonus, § 10; rottocke, id., Diogenes, § 116.
rutty, full of ‘roots’ of trees. Spenser, Prothalamion, 12.
rye-strew, a straw of rye; applied derisively to a heavy weapon. Heywood. Four Prentises (Eustace), vol. ii, p. 203.