Part 51

||Ra*so"res (r*z"rz), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. radere, rasum, to scratch. ||See Rase, v. t.] (Zoöl.) An order of birds; the Gallinæ.

Formerly, the word Rasores was used in a wider sense, so as to include other birds now widely separated in classification.

Ra*so"ri*al (-r*al; 277), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Rasores, or gallinaceous birds, as the peacock, domestic fowl, partridge, quail, and the like.

Ra"sour (rä"sr), n. Razor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Rasp (rsp), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rasped (rspt); p. pr. & vb. n. Rasping.] [OF. rasper, F. râper, to scrape, grate, rasp, fr. OHG. raspn to scrape together, to collect, probably akin to E. rap. Cf. Rap to snatch.]

1. To rub or file with a rasp; to rub or grate with a rough file; as, to rasp wood to make it smooth; to rasp bones to powder.

2. Hence, figuratively: To grate harshly upon; to offend by coarse or rough treatment or language; as, some sounds rasp the ear; his insults rasped my temper.

Rasp, n. [OE. raspe, OF. raspe, F. râpe. See Rasp, v.]

1. A coarse file, on which the cutting prominences are distinct points raised by the oblique stroke of a sharp punch, instead of lines raised by a chisel, as on the true file.

2. The raspberry. [Obs.] "Set sorrel amongst rasps, and the rasps will be the smaller." Bacon.

Rasp palm (Bot.), a Brazilian palm tree (Iriartea exorhiza) which has strong aërial roots like a screw pine. The roots have a hard, rough surface, and are used by the natives for graters and rasps, whence the common name.

||Ras`pa*to"ri*um (rs`p*t"r*m), n. [LL.] See Raspatory.

Rasp"a*to*ry (rsp"*t*r), n. [LL. raspatorium: cf. F. raspatoir. See Rasp, v.] A surgeon's rasp. Wiseman.

Rasp"ber*ry (rz"br*r; 277), n. [From E. rasp, in allusion to the apparent roughness of the fruit.] (Bot.) (a) The thimble-shaped fruit of the Rubus Idæus and other similar brambles; as, the black, the red, and the white raspberry. (b) The shrub bearing this fruit.

Technically, raspberries are those brambles in which the fruit separates readily from the core or receptacle, in this differing from the blackberries, in which the fruit is firmly attached to the receptacle.

Rasp"er (rsp"r), n. One who, or that which, rasps; a scraper.

Ras"pis (rs"ps), n. The raspberry. [Obs.] Langham.

Rasp"y (rsp"), a. Like a rasp, or the sound made by a rasp; grating. R. D. Blackmore.

Rasse (rs), n. [Cf. Malay rsa taste, sensation.] (Zoöl.) A carnivore (Viverricula Mallaccensis) allied to the civet but smaller, native of China and the East Indies. It furnishes a perfume resembling that of the civet, which is highly prized by the Javanese. Called also Malacca weasel, and lesser civet.

Ra"sure (r"zhr; 135), n. [L. rasura, fr. radere, rasum, to scrape, to shave. See Rase, v.] 1. The act of rasing, scraping, or erasing; erasure; obliteration.

2. A mark by which a letter, word, or any part of a writing or print, is erased, effaced, or obliterated; an erasure. Ayliffe.

Rat (rt), n. [AS. ræt; akin to D. rat, OHG. rato, ratta, G. ratte, ratze, OLG. ratta, LG. & Dan. rotte, Sw. råtta, F. rat, Ir. & Gael. radan, Armor. raz, of unknown origin. Cf. Raccoon.] 1. (Zoöl.) One of several species of small rodents of the genus Mus and allied genera, larger than mice, that infest houses, stores, and ships, especially the Norway, or brown, rat (M. decumanus), the black rat (M. rattus), and the roof rat (M. Alexandrinus). These were introduced into America from the Old World.

2. A round and tapering mass of hair, or similar material, used by women to support the puffs and rolls of their natural hair. [Local, U.S.]

3. One who deserts his party or associates; hence, in the trades, one who works for lower wages than those prescribed by a trades union.

"It so chanced that, not long after the accession of the house of Hanover, some of the brown, that is, the German or Norway, rats, were first brought over to this country (in some timber as is said); and being much stronger than the black, or, till then, the common, rats, they in many places quite extirpated the latter. The word (both the noun and the verb to rat) was first, as we have seen, leveled at the converts to the government of George the First, but has by degrees obtained a wider meaning, and come to be applied to any sudden and mercenary change in politics." Lord Mahon.

Bamboo rat (Zoöl.), any Indian rodent of the genus Rhizomys. -- Beaver rat, Coast rat. (Zoöl.) See under Beaver, and Coast. -- Blind rat (Zoöl.), the mole rat. -- Cotton rat (Zoöl.), a long-haired rat (Sigmodon hispidus), native of the Southern United States and Mexico. It makes its nest of cotton and is often injurious to the crop. -- Ground rat. See Ground Pig, under Ground. -- Hedgehog rat. See under Hedgehog. -- Kangaroo rat (Zoöl.), the potoroo. -- Norway rat (Zoöl.), the common brown rat. See Rat. -- Pouched rat. (Zoöl.) (a) See Pocket Gopher, under Pocket. (b) Any African rodent of the genus Cricetomys. -- Rat Indians (Ethnol.), a tribe of Indians dwelling near Fort Ukon, Alaska. They belong to the Athabascan stock. -- Rat mole. (Zoöl.) See Mole rat, under Mole. -- Rat pit, an inclosed space into which rats are put to be killed by a dog for sport. -- Rat snake (Zoöl.), a large colubrine snake (Ptyas mucosus) very common in India and Ceylon. It enters dwellings, and destroys rats, chickens, etc. -- Spiny rat (Zoöl.), any South American rodent of the genus Echinomys. -- To smell a rat. See under Smell. -- Wood rat (Zoöl.), any American rat of the genus Neotoma, especially N. Floridana, common in the Southern United States. Its feet and belly are white.

Rat, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ratted; p. pr. & vb. n. Ratting.] 1. In English politics, to desert one's party from interested motives; to forsake one's associates for one's own advantage; in the trades, to work for less wages, or on other conditions, than those established by a trades union.

Coleridge . . . incurred the reproach of having ratted, solely by his inability to follow the friends of his early days.