Roin Roin noun [ French rogne . See Roynish .] A scab; a scurf, or scurfy spot. [ Obsolete]

Roinish Roin"ish adjective See Roynish . [ Obsolete]

Roint Roint interj. See Aroint .

Roist Roist intransitive verb See Roister .

Roister Roist"er intransitive verb [ Probably from French rustre boor, a clown, clownish, from Latin rustucus rustic. See Rustic .] To bluster; to swagger; to bully; to be bold, noisy, vaunting, or turbulent.

I have a roisting challenge sent amongst
The dull and factious nobles of the Greeks.

Shak.

Roister Roist"er noun See Roisterer .

Roisterer Roist"er·er noun A blustering, turbulent fellow.

If two roisterers met, they cocked their hats in each other faces.

Macaulay.

Roisterly Roist"er·ly adjective Blustering; violent. [ R.]

Roisterly Roist"er·ly adverb In a roistering manner. [ R.]

Rokambole Rok"am·bole noun See Rocambole .

Roke Roke noun [ See Reek .] 1. Mist; smoke; damp [ Prov. Eng.] [ Written also roak , rook , and rouk .]

2. A vein of ore. [ Pov.Eng.] Halliwell.

Rokeage, Rokee Roke"age, Rok"ee noun [ Confer Nocake .] Parched Indian corn, pounded up and mixed with sugar; -- called also yokeage . [ Local, U.S.]

Rokelay Rok"e·lay noun [ Confer Roquelaure .] A short cloak. [ Written also rockelay , rocklay , etc.] [ Scot.]

Roky Rok"y adjective [ See Roke .] Misty; foggy; cloudy. [ Prov. Eng.] Ray.

Rôle Rôle noun [ French See Roll .] A part, or character, performed by an actor in a drama; hence, a part of function taken or assumed by any one; as, he has now taken the rôle of philanthropist.

Title rôle , the part, or character, which gives the title to a play, as the part of Hamlet in the play of that name.

Roll Roll transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Rolled ; present participle & verbal noun Rolling .] [ Old French roeler , roler , French rouler , Late Latin rotulare , from Latin royulus , rotula , a little wheel, dim. of rota wheel; akin to German rad , and to Sanskrit ratha car, chariot. Confer Control , Roll , noun , Rotary .] 1. To cause to revolve by turning over and over; to move by turning on an axis; to impel forward by causing to turn over and over on a supporting surface; as, to roll a wheel, a ball, or a barrel.

2. To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over; as, to roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment; to roll clay or putty into a ball.

3. To bind or involve by winding, as in a bandage; to inwrap; -- often with up ; as, to roll up a parcel.

4. To drive or impel forward with an easy motion, as of rolling; as, a river rolls its waters to the ocean.

The flood of Catholic reaction was rolled over Europe.

J. A. Symonds.

5. To utter copiously, esp. with sounding words; to utter with a deep sound; -- often with forth , or out ; as, to roll forth some one's praises; to roll out sentences.

Who roll'd the psalm to wintry skies.

Tennyson.

6. To press or level with a roller; to spread or form with a roll, roller, or rollers; as, to roll a field; to roll paste; to roll steel rails, etc.

7. To move, or cause to be moved, upon, or by means of, rollers or small wheels.

8. To beat with rapid, continuous strokes, as a drum; to sound a roll upon.

9. (Geom.) To apply (one line or surface) to another without slipping; to bring all the parts of (one line or surface) into successive contact with another, in suck manner that at every instant the parts that have been in contact are equal.

10. To turn over in one's mind; to revolve.

Full oft in heart he rolleth up and down
The beauty of these florins new and bright.

Chaucer.

To roll one's self , to wallow. -- To roll the eye , to direct its axis hither and thither in quick succession. -- To roll one's r's , to utter the letter r with a trill. [ Colloq.]

Roll Roll intransitive verb 1. To move, as a curved object may, along a surface by rotation without sliding; to revolve upon an axis; to turn over and over; as, a ball or wheel rolls on the earth; a body rolls on an inclined plane.

And her foot, look you, is fixed upon a spherical stone, which rolls , and rolls , and rolls .

Shak.

2. To move on wheels; as, the carriage rolls along the street. "The rolling chair." Dryden.

3. To be wound or formed into a cylinder or ball; as, the cloth rolls unevenly; the snow rolls well.

4. To fall or tumble; -- with over ; as, a stream rolls over a precipice.

5. To perform a periodical revolution; to move onward as with a revolution; as, the rolling year; ages roll away.

6. To turn; to move circularly.

And his red eyeballs roll with living fire.

Dryden.

7. To move, as waves or billows, with alternate swell and depression.

What different sorrows did within thee roll .

Prior.

8. To incline first to one side, then to the other; to rock; as, there is a great difference in ships about rolling ; in a general semse, to be tossed about.

Twice ten tempestuous nights I rolled .

Pope.

9. To turn over, or from side to side, while lying down; to wallow; as, a horse rolls .

10. To spread under a roller or rolling-pin; as, the paste rolls well.

11. To beat a drum with strokes so rapid that they can scarcely be distinguished by the ear.

12. To make a loud or heavy rumbling noise; as, the thunder rolls .

To roll about , to gad abroad. [ Obsolete]

Man shall not suffer his wife go roll about .

Chaucer.

Roll Roll noun [ French rôle a roll (in sense 3), from Latin rotulus ... little wheel, Late Latin , a roll, dim. of Latin rota a wheel. See Roll , v. , and confer Rôle , Rouleau , Roulette .] 1. The act of rolling, or state of being rolled; as, the roll of a ball; the roll of waves.

2. That which rolls; a roller. Specifically: (a) A heavy cylinder used to break clods. Mortimer. (b) One of a set of revolving cylinders, or rollers, between which metal is pressed, formed, or smoothed, as in a rolling mill; as, to pass rails through the rolls .

3. That which is rolled up; as, a roll of fat, of wool, paper, cloth, etc. Specifically: (a) A document written on a piece of parchment, paper, or other materials which may be rolled up; a scroll.

Busy angels spread
The lasting roll , recording what we say.

Prior.

(b) Hence, an official or public document; a register; a record; also, a catalogue; a list.

The rolls of Parliament, the entry of the petitions, answers, and transactions in Parliament, are extant.

Sir M. Hale.

The roll and list of that army doth remain.

Sir J. Davies.

(c) A quantity of cloth wound into a cylindrical form; as, a roll of carpeting; a roll of ribbon. (d) A cylindrical twist of tobacco.

4. A kind of shortened raised biscuit or bread, often rolled or doubled upon itself.

5. (Nautical) The oscillating movement of a vessel from side to side, in sea way, as distinguished from the alternate rise and fall of bow and stern called pitching .

6. A heavy, reverberatory sound; as, the roll of cannon, or of thunder.

7. The uniform beating of a drum with strokes so rapid as scarcely to be distinguished by the ear.

8. Part; office; duty; rôle. [ Obsolete] L'Estrange.

Long roll (Mil.) , a prolonged roll of the drums, as the signal of an attack by the enemy, and for the troops to arrange themselves in line. -- Master of the rolls . See under Master . -- Roll call , the act, or the time, of calling over a list names, as among soldiers. -- Rolls of court , of parliament (or of any public body), the parchments or rolls on which the acts and proceedings of that body are engrossed by the proper officer, and which constitute the records of such public body. -- To call the roll , to call off or recite a list or roll of names of persons belonging to an organization, in order to ascertain who are present or to obtain responses from those present.

Syn. -- List; schedule; catalogue; register; inventory. See List .

Rollable Roll"a·ble adjective Capable of being rolled.

Roller Roll"er noun 1. One who, or that which, rolls; especially, a cylinder, sometimes grooved, of wood, stone, metal, etc., used in husbandry and the arts.

2. A bandage; a fillet; properly, a long and broad bandage used in surgery.

3. (Nautical) One of series of long, heavy waves which roll in upon a coast, sometimes in calm weather.

4. A long, belt-formed towel, to be suspended on a rolling cylinder; -- called also roller towel .

5. (Print.) A cylinder coated with a composition made principally of glue and molassess, with which forms of type are inked previously to taking an impression from them. W. Savage.

6. A long cylinder on which something is rolled up; as, the roller of a man.

7. A small wheel, as of a caster, a roller skate, etc.

8. (Zoology) ANy insect whose larva rolls up leaves; a leaf roller. see Tortrix .

9. [ CF. French rollier .] (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of Old World picarian birds of the family Coraciadæ . The name alludes to their habit of suddenly turning over or "tumbling" in flight.

» Many of the species are brilliantly colored. The common European species ( Coracias garrula ) has the head, neck, and under parts light blue varied with green, the scapulars chestnut brown, and the tail blue, green, and black. The broad-billed rollers of India and Africa belong to the genus Eurystomus , as the oriental roller ( E. orientalis ), and the Australian roller, or dollar bird ( E. Pacificus ). The latter is dark brown on the head and neck, sea green on the back, and bright blue on the throat, base of the tail, and parts of the wings. It has a silvery-white spot on the middle of each wing.

10. (Zoology) Any species of small ground snakes of the family Tortricidæ .

Ground roller (Zoology) , any one of several species of Madagascar rollers belonging to Atelornis and allied genera. They are nocturnal birds, and feed on the ground. -- Roller bolt , the bar in a carriage to which the traces are attached; a whiffletree. [ Eng.] -- Roller gin , a cotton gin inn which rolls are used for separating the seeds from the fiber. -- Roller mill . See under Mill . -- Roller skate , a skate which has small wheels in the place of the metallic runner; -- designed for use in skating upon a smooth, hard surface, other than ice.

Roller bearing Roll"er bear"ing (Machinery) A bearing containing friction rollers.

Roller coaster Roller coaster An amusement railroad in which cars coast by gravity over a long winding track, with steep pitches and ascents.

Rolley Roll"ey (-ȳ) noun [ Probably from roll .] A small wagon used for the underground work of a mine. Tomlison.

Rollic Rol"lic (rŏl"lĭk) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Rollicked (-lĭkt); present participle & verbal noun Rollicking .] [ Corrupt. from frolic , under the influence of roll .] To move or play in a careless, swaggering manner, with a frolicsome air; to frolic; to sport; commonly in the form rollicking . [ Colloq.]

He described his friends as rollicking blades.

T. Hook.

Rolliche Rol"li·che noun [ Also Rol"le*jee Rol"li*chie ] [ Dutch rolletje a little roll.] A kind of sausage, made in a bag of tripe, sliced and fried, famous among the Dutch of New Amsterdam and still known, esp. in New Jersey.

Rolling Roll"ing adjective 1. Rotating on an axis, or moving along a surface by rotation; turning over and over as if on an axis or a pivot; as, a rolling wheel or ball.

2. Moving on wheels or rollers, or as if on wheels or rollers; as, a rolling chair.

3. Having gradual, rounded undulations of surface; as, a rolling country; rolling land. [ U.S.]

Rolling bridge . See the Note under Drawbridge . -- Rolling circle of a paddle wheel , the circle described by the point whose velocity equals the velocity of the ship. J. Bourne. -- Rolling fire (Mil.) , a discharge of firearms by soldiers in line, in quick succession, and in the order in which they stand. -- Rolling friction , that resistance to motion experienced by one body rolling upon another which arises from the roughness or other quality of the surfaces in contact. -- Rolling mill , a mill furnished with heavy rolls, between which heated metal is passed, to form it into sheets, rails, etc. -- Rolling press . (a) A machine for calendering cloth by pressure between revolving rollers . (b) A printing press with a roller, used in copperplate printing. -- Rolling stock , or Rolling plant , the locomotives and vehicles of a railway. -- Rolling tackle (Nautical) , tackle used to steady the yards when the ship rolls heavily. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Rolling-pin Roll"ing-pin` noun A cylindrical piece of wood or other material, with which paste or dough may be rolled out and reduced to a proper thickness.

Rollway Roll"way` noun A place prepared for rolling logs into a stream.

Rolly-poly Roll"y-po`ly noun A kind of pudding made of paste spread with fruit, rolled into a cylindrical form, and boiled or steamed. -- adjective Shaped like a rolly-poly; short and stout. [ Written also roly- poly .]

Rolly-pooly Roll"y-pool`y noun [ Etymol. uncertain.] A game in which a ball, rolling into a certain place, wins. [ Written also rouly-pouly .]

Roly-poly Ro"ly-po`ly noun & adjective Rolly- poly.

Romage Rom"age noun & v. See Rummage . [ Obsolete] Shak.

Romaic Ro·ma"ic adjective [ NGr. ............: confer French romaïque . See Roman .] Of or relating to modern Greece, and especially to its language. -- noun The modern Greek language, now usually called by the Greeks Hellenic or Neo-Hellenic .

» The Greeks at the time of the capture of Constantinople were proud of being "Romai^oi , or Romans . . . Hence the term Romaic was the name given to the popular language. . . . The Greek language is now spoken of as the Hellenic language. Encyc. Brit.

Romajikai Ro"ma·ji·ka`i noun [ Jap. rōmajikai .] An association, including both Japanese and Europeans, having for its object the changing of the Japanese method of writing by substituting Roman letters for Japanese characters.

Roman Ro"man adjective [ Latin Romanus , from Roma Rome: confer French romain . Confer Romaic , Romance , Romantic .] 1. Of or pertaining to Rome, or the Roman people; like or characteristic of Rome, the Roman people, or things done by Romans; as, Roman fortitude; a Roman aqueduct; Roman art.

2. Of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic religion; professing that religion.

3. (Print.) (a) Upright; erect; -- said of the letters or kind of type ordinarily used, as distinguished from Italic characters. (b) Expressed in letters, not in figures, as I., IV., i., iv., etc.; -- said of numerals, as distinguished from the Arabic numerals, 1, 4, etc.

Roman alum (Chemistry) , a cubical potassium alum formerly obtained in large quantities from Italian alunite, and highly valued by dyers on account of its freedom from iron. -- Roman balance , a form of balance nearly resembling the modern steelyard. See the Note under Balance , noun , 1. -- Roman candle , a kind of firework (generally held in the hand), characterized by the continued emission of shower of sparks, and the ejection, at intervals, of brilliant balls or stars of fire which are thrown upward as they become ignited. -- Roman Catholic , of, pertaining to, or the religion of that church of which the pope is the spiritual head; as, a Roman Catholic priest; the Roman Catholic Church. -- Roman cement , a cement having the property of hardening under water; a species of hydraulic cement. -- Roman law . See under Law . -- Roman nose , a nose somewhat aquiline. -- Roman ocher , a deep, rich orange color, transparent and durable, used by artists. Ure. -- Roman order (Architecture) , the composite order. See Composite , adjective , 2.

Roman Ro"man noun 1. A native, or permanent resident, of Rome; a citizen of Rome, or one upon whom certain rights and privileges of a Roman citizen were conferred.

2. Roman type, letters, or print, collectively; -- in distinction from Italics .

Roman calendar Roman calendar The calendar of the ancient Romans, from which our modern calendars are derived. It is said to have consisted originally of ten months, Martius , Aprilis , Maius , Junius , Quintilis , Sextilis , September, October, November, and December, having a total of 304 days. Numa added two months, Januarius at the beginning of the year, and Februarius at the end, making in all 355 days. He also ordered an intercalary month, Mercedinus , to be inserted every second year. Later the order of the months was changed so that January should come before February. Through abuse of power by the pontiffs to whose care it was committed, this calendar fell into confusion. It was replaced by the Julian calendar. In designating the days of the month, the Romans reckoned backward from three fixed points, the calends , the nones , and the ides . The calends were always the first day of the month. The ides fell on the 15th in March, May, July (Quintilis), and October, and on the 13th in other months. The nones came on the eighth day (the ninth , counting the ides) before the ides. Thus, Jan. 13 was called the ides of January, Jan. 12, the day before the ides, and Jan. 11, the third day before the ides (since the ides count as one), while Jan. 14 was the 19th day before the calends of February.

Romance Ro·mance" noun [ Middle English romance , romant , romaunt , Old French romanz , romans , romant , roman , French roman , romance , from Late Latin Romanice in the Roman language, in the vulgar tongue, i. e. , in the vulgar language which sprang from Latin, the language of the Romans, and hence applied to fictitious compositions written in this vulgar tongue; from Latin Romanicus Roman, from Romanus . See Roman , and confer Romanic , Romaunt , Romansch , Romanza .] 1. A species of fictitious writing, originally composed in meter in the Romance dialects, and afterward in prose, such as the tales of the court of Arthur, and of Amadis of Gaul; hence, any fictitious and wonderful tale; a sort of novel, especially one which treats of surprising adventures usually befalling a hero or a heroine; a tale of extravagant adventures, of love, and the like. " Romances that been royal." Chaucer.

Upon these three columns -- chivalry, gallantry, and religion -- repose the fictions of the Middle Ages, especially those known as romances . These, such as we now know them, and such as display the characteristics above mentioned, were originally metrical, and chiefly written by nations of the north of France.

Hallam.

2. An adventure, or series of extraordinary events, resembling those narrated in romances; as, his courtship, or his life, was a romance .

3. A dreamy, imaginative habit of mind; a disposition to ignore what is real; as, a girl full of romance .

4. The languages, or rather the several dialects, which were originally forms of popular or vulgar Latin, and have now developed into Italian. Spanish, French, etc. (called the Romanic languages ).

5. (Mus.) A short lyric tale set to music; a song or short instrumental piece in ballad style; a romanza.

Syn. -- Fable; novel; fiction; tale.

Romance Ro·mance" adjective Of or pertaining to the language or dialects known as Romance .

Romance Ro·mance" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Romanced ; present participle & verbal noun Romancing .] To write or tell romances; to indulge in extravagant stories.

A very brave officer, but apt to romance .

Walpole.

Romancer Ro·man"cer noun One who romances.

Romancist Ro·man"cist noun A romancer. [ R.]

Romancy Ro·man"cy adjective Romantic. [ R.]

Romanesque Ro`man·esque" adjective [ French romanesque ; confer Italian romanesco .] 1. (Architecture) Somewhat resembling the Roman; -- applied sometimes to the debased style of the later Roman empire, but esp. to the more developed architecture prevailing from the 8th century to the 12th.

2. Of or pertaining to romance or fable; fanciful.

Romanesque style (Architecture) , that which grew up from the attempts of barbarous people to copy Roman architecture and apply it to their own purposes. This term is loosely applied to all the styles of Western Europe, from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the appearance of Gothic architecture.

Romanesque Ro`man·esque" noun Romanesque style.

Romanic Ro·man"ic adjective [ Latin Romanicus . See Romance , noun ] 1. Of or pertaining to Rome or its people.

2. Of or pertaining to any or all of the various languages which, during the Middle Ages, sprung out of the old Roman, or popular form of Latin, as the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Provencal, etc.

3. Related to the Roman people by descent; -- said especially of races and nations speaking any of the Romanic tongues.

Romanic spelling , spelling by means of the letters of the Roman alphabet, as in English; -- contrasted with phonetic spelling .

Romanish Ro"man·ish adjective Pertaining to Romanism.

Romanism Ro"man·ism noun The tenets of the Church of Rome; the Roman Catholic religion.

Romanist Ro"man·ist noun One who adheres to Romanism.

Romanize Ro"man·ize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Romanized ; present participle & verbal noun Romanizing .] 1. To Latinize; to fill with Latin words or idioms. [ R.] Dryden.

2. To convert to the Roman Catholic religion.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter R > Page 90 of 108.
« Previous ¦82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 ¦ Next »