1. The eighteenth letter and 
fourteenth consonant in the 
English alphabet, repre- 
senting a character having 
a like position and value in 
the alphabets from which 
the English is derived the 
Latin, Greek, and Pheni- 
cian. Specimens of its early 
forms (as in the case ol the other letters : see especially A) 
are given below : 
Hieroglyi 
SEP"" 1 !. 
Pheni- 
cian. 
Early 
Greek and Latin. 
The tag below the curve by which the English (and the 
Latin) R differs from the later Greek form P was added to 
the latter in order to distinguish it from the p-sign after 
this had assumed its present form ; the addition was first 
made on Greek ground, but was abandoned there when 
the distinction of the p- and r-signs had become estab- 
lished in another way. The value of the character hag 
always been essentially the same ; it represents a contin- 
uous sonant utterance made between the tip of the tongue 
and the roof of the mouth, at a point more or less removed 
backward from the upper front teeth. The sound is so reso- 
nant and continuable as to be nearly akin with the vowels ; 
and it is, in fact, used as a vowel in certain languages, as 
Sanskrit and some of the Slavic dialects : in normal Eng- 
lish pronunciation, however, it never has that value. By 
its mode of production it is nearly akin with /, and r and 
I are to a large extent interchangeable with one another 
in linguistic history. It is often classed as a "liquid," 
along with I, in, n; less often, but more accurately, as a 
semivowel, with I, y, w. It also, on no small scale, an- 
swers as corresponding sonant (in languages that have no 
z) to as surd, and comes from s under sonantizing influ- 
ences : so in Sanskrit, in Latin (as ara from ma), and in 
Germanic (as in our were, plural of tens). In Anglo-Saxon 
the initial r of many words was aspirated (that is, pro- 
nounced with an h before it), as hring (our rinal; but the 
aspiration was long ago abandoned, both in pronuncia- 
tion and in spelling. In Greek initial r was always thus 
aspirated, and the combination was transliterated in Latin 
by rh instead of hr: hence the frequency of rh in our 
words of Greek derivation. Moreover, such an r, when 
by inflection or composition made medial, became rrh, 
and double r was in general viewed as rrh: whence 
that spelling in many of our words (for example, diar- 
rhea, hemorrhage, catarrh, etc.): in recent scientific words 
and names taken from Greek, the Greek rule and Latin 
practice as regards the doubling and aspiration of the 
r are often neglected. The mode of production of the 
r-sound itself varies greatly in different languages and 
dialects. Normally its utterance is combined with a dis- 
tinct trilling or vibration of the tip of the tongue, in vari- 
ous degrees (the sound is thence often called the "dog's 
letter,' littera canina). But in ordinary English pronun- 
ciation this vibration is either extremely slight, or, more 
commonly, altogether wanting ; in fact, the tip of the 
tongue is drawn too far back into the dome of the palate 
to admit of vibration ; the English r is a smooth r. But 
further, iu many localities, even among the most culti- 
vated speakers, no r is ever really pronounced at all un- 
less followed (in the same word^ or, if final, in the word 
following) by a vowel (for example, in are, farther, pro- 
nounced ah, father) ; it either simply disappears, or, 
as after most long vowels, is replaced by a bit of neu- 
tral-vowel sound, of ft or e ; and after such a long vowel, 
if it comes to be pronounced by the addition of a 
vowel, it retains the same neutral-vowel sound as 
transition-sound (for example, in faring, fearing, pour- 
ing, during, firing, souring: the pronunciation is indi- 
cated in this work by retaining the r in the same syl- 
lable with the long vowel : thus, far'ing, fer'ing, etc.). An 
r has a stronger and more frequent influence upon the 
character of the preceding vowel than any other conso- 
nant ; hence the reduction to similarity of the vowel- 
sounds in such words as pert, dirt, curt, earn, myrrh. If 
all our r's that are written are pronounced, the sound is 
more common than any other in English utterance (over 
seven per cent.); the instances of occurrence before a 
vowel, and so of universal pronunciation, are only half 
as frequent. There are localities where the normal vibra- 
tion of the tip of the tongue is replaced by one of the 
uvula, making a guttural trill, which is still more en- 
titled to the name of "dog's letter" than is the ordinary 
r: such are considerable parts of France and Germany ; 
the sound appears to occur only sporadically in English 
pronunciation. 
2. As a medieval Roman numeral, 80, and with 
a line over it (R), 80,000. 3. As an abbrevi- 
ation: (a) Of Rex or Kct/iim. as in George R., 
Victoria R. (I,) Of Roi/al, as in A'. A', for Roi/al 
-V(//-i/, A. A. for lloijnl Academy or .l/'iniciniciiiii, 
or for Royal Arch (in freemasonry), (c) Pre- 
fixed to a medical prescription ([^), of recipe, 
take, (d) [I. c.] Naut. : (1) In a snip's log-book, 
of rain, ('2) When placed against a man's name 
in the paymaster's book, of run away, (e) Of 
right (right-hand), as in H. A. for rigti t ascension, 
R. II. E. for righ t second entrance (on the stage of 
a theater). (/) In math., r is generally a radius 
vector of coordinates, R the radius of a circle, 
p a radius of curvature. The three R'B, reading, 
writing, and arithmetic : a humorous term. It originated 
with Sir William Curtis (1762-1829), an eminent but illit- 
erate alderman and lord mayor of London, who, on being 
asked to give a toast, said, "I will give you the three E's, 
Kiting, Reading, and Eithmetic." 
Parochial education in Scotland had never been confined 
to the three It's. Times (London). 
rati " An obsolete form of roe 1 . Chaucer. 
Ra (ra), n. [Egypt.] In Egypt, mythol, the 
sovereign sun-god of the Memphite system, the 
chief Egyptian personification of the Supreme 
Being. He was often confounded to some extent with 
the Theban Amen. In art he was typically represented 
as a hawk-headed man bearing on his head the solar disk 
and the royal urams. 
R. A. An abbreviation of (a) Royal Academy; 
(b) Royal Academician ; (c) Royal Arch; (d) right 
ascension. 
ra-. [See -.] A prefix in some words of 
French origin, ultimately from re- and ad-. See 
rabate, rabbet, rapport, etc. 
raad, n. [< Ar. ra'd, thunder.] A uematog- 
nathous fish, Malapterurus electricus, inhabit- 
ing the Nile; the electric catfish. It reaches a 
length of 3 to 4 feet, and gives a sharp galvanic 
shock on being touched. 
rab 1 (rab), n. [Origin obscure.] A kind of 
loam; a coarse hard substance for mending 
roads. Halliwell. [Cornwall, Eng.] 
rab' 2 t (rab), . [An abbr. of rabbit*.'] Same as 
rabbit*, 1. 
rab 3 (rab), B. [Heb. : see rabbi.'] A title of 
respect given to Jewish doctors or expounders 
of the law. See rabbi. 
rabanna (ra-bau'a), n. [Native name.] Cloth 
or matting made from the raffia and perhaps 
other fibers: an article of export from Mada- 
gascar to Mauritius. See raffia. 
rabat (ra-baf; P. pron. ra-ba'), . [F., < ra- 
bat, a turned-down collar, a baud or ruff, OF. 
also a plasterers' beater, a penthouse, eaves, also 
a beating down, suppression, < rabattre, beat 
down, bring down: see rabate. Cf. rabato.~\ 
1. A kind of linen collar worn by some eccle- 
siastics, falling down upon the chest and leav- 
ing the neck exposed. 2. A polishing-material 
made from unglazed pottery which has failed 
in baking, used by marble-workers, etc. 
rabate (ra-baf), v. t.; pret. and pp. rabated, 
ppr. rabatiiig. [Early mod. E. also rabbate; < 
F. rabattre, OF. rabatre, beat down, bring down, 
< re-, back, + abattre, beat down : see abate. Cf. 
rebate."] If. To beat down; rebate. 
This alteration is sometimes by adding, sometimes by 
rabatting, of a sillable or letter to or from a worde either in 
the beginning, middle, or ending. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 134. 
2. In falconry, to bring down or recover (the 
hawk) to the fist. 
rabatet (ra-baf), . [< rabate, v.] Abatement. 
And your figures of rabbate be as many. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 135. 
rabatinet (rab'a-tin), n. [< F. *rabatine (?), dim. 
of rabat, a neck-band : see rabat, rabato.~\ Same 
as rabato. 
Reform me, Janet, that precise ruff of thine for an open 
rabatine of lace and cut work, that will let men see thon 
hast a fair neck. Scott, Kenilworth, xxiii. 
rabatpt(ra-ba'to), n. [Also rebate; with altered 
termination (as if of Sp. or It. origin), < OF. (and 
F.) rabat, a turned-down collar, a band or ruff: 
see rabat."] 1. A falling band ; a collar turned 
over upon the shoulders, or supported in a hori- 
zontal position like a ruff. 
4923 
Where is your gowne of silke, your periwigs, 
Your fine rebatoes, and your costly iewels ? 
Heywood, 2 Edw. IV. (Works, ed. Pearson, 1874, 1. 168). 
Your stiffnecked rabatos, that have more arches for pride 
to row under than can stand under five London bridges. 
Dekker, Gull's Hornbook. 
2. A wire or other stiffener used to hold this 
band in place. 
I pray you, sir, what say you to these great ruffes, which 
are borne up with supporters and rebatoes, as it were with 
posteandraile? Dent'd Pathway, p. 42. (Halliwell.) 
rabattement (ra-bat'meut), n. [< F. rabatte- 
ment, < rabattre, beat down: see rabate."] An 
operation of descriptive geometry consisting in 
representing a plane as rotated about one of its 
traces until it is brought into a plane of pro- 
jection, with a view of performing other opera- 
tions more easily performed in such a situation, 
after which the plane is to be rotated back to 
its proper position. 
rabban(rab'an),j. [Heb. rabban, lord; cf. Ar. 
rabbani (> Pers. rabbani), belonging to a lord 
or the Lord, divine; as a noun, a rabbi; rab- 
bana (Pers.), O our Lord! etc.: see rabbi, and 
cf. rabboni."] A title of honor (of greater dig- 
nity thanrafi&i) given by the Jews to the patri- 
archs or presidents of the Sanhedrim Gama- 
liel I. , who was patriarch in Palestine about A. D. 
30-50, being the first to whom it was applied. 
rabbanist (rab'an-ist), n. Same as rabbinist. 
rabbatet, v. t. An obsolete form of rabate. 
rabbet (rab'et), v. t. [Early mod. E. also rab- 
bot, robot; < ME. rabeten, rabbet, < OF. (and F.) 
raboter, plane, level, lay even; cf . F. robot, a join- 
ers' plane (also a plasterers' beater, cf. OF. ra- 
bat, a plasterers' beater: see rabat); cf. F. ra- 
boteux, rugged, knotty, rough ; < OF. rabouter, 
thrust back (= Pr. rebotar = It. ributtare, push 
back), < re-, again, + abater, abouter, thrust 
against: see re- and abut. Cf. rebut.'] To cut 
the edge of (a board) so that it will overlap that 
of the next piece, which is similarly cut out, and 
will form a close joint with this adjoining board ; 
cut or form a rabbet in (a board or piece of tim- 
ber). Seerabbet, n Rabbeted lock, a lock of which 
the face-plate is sunk in a rabbet in the edge of a door. 
E. H. Knight. 
rabbet (rab'et), n. [< ME. rabct, < OF. (and 
F.) rabot, a joiners' plane, < raboter, plane: see 
rabbet, v. ] 1 . A cut made on the edge of a board 
so that it may 
join by lapping 
with another Ij. 
board similar- J. 
ly cut; also, a I \ 
rectangular re- 
cess, channel, or 
groove cutalong r 
the edge of a VM-K 
, , " KaDDets. 
board or the like 
to receive a corresponding projection cut on 
the edge of another board, etc., required to 
fit into it. Rabbets are common in paneling. 
See also cut under match-joint. 2. Same as 
rabbet-plane. 
rabbeting-machine (rab'et-ing-ma-shen*), . 
A machine for cutting rabbets: a form of 
matching-, molding-, or planing-machiue. E. 
H. Knight. 
rabbet-joint (rab'et-joint), n. A joint formed 
by rabbeting, as the edges of two boards or 
pieces of timber. 
rabbet-plane (rab'et -plan), . A plane for 
plowing a groove along the edge of a board. 
Rabbet-planes are 
so shaped as to 
adapt them to pe- 
culiar kinds of 
work. In a square- 
rabbet plane the 
cutting edge is 
square across the 
sole; in a slreiv- 
rabbet plane the 
Square Rabbet-plane. bit is set obliquely 
