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The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section R · Project Gutenberg — chapter 10 of 470 · ~482 words · public domain

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Burns's English, though not so racy as his Scotch, is generally correct.

H. Coleridge.

The rich and racy humor of a natural converser fresh from the plow.

Prof. Wilson.

Syn. -- Spicy; spirited; lively; smart; piquant. -- Racy, Spicy. Racy refers primarily to that peculiar flavor which certain wines are supposed to derive from the soil in which the grapes were grown; and hence we call a style or production racy when it "smacks of the soil," or has an uncommon degree of natural freshness and distinctiveness of thought and language. Spicy, when applied to style, has reference to a spirit and pungency added by art, seasoning the matter like a condiment. It does not, like racy, suggest native peculiarity. A spicy article in a magazine; a spicy retort. Racy in conversation; a racy remark.

Rich, racy verses, in which we The soil from which they come, taste, smell, and see.

Cowley.

Rad (rd), obs. imp. & p. p. of Read, Rede. Spenser.

Rad"de (rd"de), obs. imp. of Read, Rede. Chaucer.

Rad"dle (rd"d'l), n. [Cf. G. räder, rädel, sieve, or perhaps E. reed.] 1. A long, flexible stick, rod, or branch, which is interwoven with others, between upright posts or stakes, in making a kind of hedge or fence.

2. A hedge or fence made with raddles; -- called also raddle hedge. Todd.

3. An instrument consisting of a wooden bar, with a row of upright pegs set in it, used by domestic weavers to keep the warp of a proper width, and prevent tangling when it is wound upon the beam of the loom.

Rad"dle, v. t. To interweave or twist together.

Raddling or working it up like basket work.

De Foe.

Rad"dle, n. [Cf. Ruddle.] A red pigment used in marking sheep, and in some mechanical processes; ruddle. "A raddle of rouge." Thackeray.

Rad"dle, v. t. To mark or paint with, or as with, raddle. "Whitened and raddled old women." Thackeray.

Rad"dock (-dk), n. (Zoöl.) The ruddock. [Prov. Eng.]

Rade (rd), n. A raid. [Scot.]

||Ra`deau" (r`d"), n. [F.] A float; a raft.

Three vessels under sail, and one at anchor, above Split Rock, and behind it the radeau Thunderer.

W. Irving.

Ra"di*al (r"d*al), a. [Cf. F. radial. See Radius.] Of or pertaining to a radius or ray; consisting of, or like, radii or rays; radiated; as, (Bot.) radial projections; (Zoöl.) radial vessels or canals; (Anat.) the radial artery.

Radial symmetry. (Biol.) See under Symmetry.

||Ra`di*a"le (r`d*"l), n.; pl. Radialia (- l*) [NL. See Radial.] 1. ||(Anat.) The bone or cartilage of the carpus which articulates with ||the radius and corresponds to the scaphoid bone in man.

2. pl. (Zoöl.) Radial plates in the calyx of a crinoid.

Ra"di*al*ly (r"d*al*l), adv. In a radial manner.

Ra"di*an (-an), n. [From Radius.] (Math.) An arc of a circle which is equal to the radius, or the angle measured by such an arc.

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