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 withdrawn, Greene, Friar Bacon, iii. 1; as sb.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.