rabbet-plane 
aeross the sole ; in a sitte-rabbt't plane the cutter is on the 
side, not on the sole. 
rabbet-Saw (rabYt-wa). //. A saw used for inak- 
iug rabbets. Such saws commonly have ,-m 
adjustable fence or gage to insure the proper 
placing of the groove. 
rabbi (rab'i or rab'i), .; pi. rubbix (rab'iz or 
rab'Iz). [Early mod. E. also rabbie, rabby ; < 
ME. rabi, ruby = OF. rabbi, rabi, raby, < LL. 
rabM, < Gr. pa/?/?/, < Heb. (Aramaic) rabbi, mas- 
ter, lord (much used in the Targums for all de- 
grees of authority, from king and high priest 
down to chief shepherd), lit. 'my master' or 
'my lord' (= Ar. rabbi, 'my master' or 'my 
lord') ; with pronominal suffix -i, < nib, master, 
lord (= Ar. rabb, master, lord, the Lord, God, 
cf . rabba, mistress), < rdbab, be great. Cf . rub", 
rabbin, rabban, rabboni.'] Literally, 'my mas- 
ter': a title of respect or of office (of higher 
dignity than rab) given to Jewish doctors or ex- 
pounders of the law. In modem Jewish usage the 
term is strictly applied only to those who are authorized 
by ordination to decide legal and ritualistic questions, 
and to perform certain designated functions, as to receive 
proselytes, etc. ; but it is given by courtesy to other dis- 
tinguished Jewish scholars. By persons not Hebrews it is 
often applied to any one ministering to a Jewish congre- 
gation, to distinguish him from a Christian clergyman. 
Qod liketh uat that /.''/// men us calle. 
Chaucer, Summoner's Tale, 1. 479. 
They said unto him, Jtabbi (which is to say, being inter- 
preted, Master [i. e., Teacher]). John L 88. 
Those whose heads with age are hoary growen, 
And those great Kabbiet that do grauely sit, 
Revolving volumes of the highest Writ 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Captaines. 
rabbin (rab'in), . [< F. rabbin, < LL. rabbi, 
<Gr. paftfli, rabbi: see rabbi.~\ Same as rW>. 
It is expressly against the laws of our own government 
when a minister doth serve as a stipendiary curate, which 
kind of service nevertheless the greatest rabbins of that 
part do altogether follow. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 80. 
Now he [Salmasius] betakes himself to the fabulous rab- 
bins again. Milton, Ans. to Salmasius, ill. 85. 
rabbinate (rab'in-at), H. [< rabbin + -ate 3 .'] 
The dignity or office of a rabbi. 
Gradually the Talmud, which had been once the common 
pabulum of all education, passed out of the knowledge of 
the laity, and was abandoned almost entirely to candidates 
for the rabbinate. Encyc. Brit., XIII. 681. 
rabbinic (ra-bin'ik), a. and n. [= F. rabbi- 
nique; as rabbin 4- -ic.] I. a. Same as rab- 
binical. 
II. n. [cop.] The language or dialect of the 
rabbis; the later Hebrew. 
rabbinical (ra-bin'i-kal), a. [< rabbinic + -al.] 
Pertaining to the rab"bis, or to their opinions, 
learning, and language. The term rabbinical 
has been applied to all the Jewish exegetical 
writings composed after the Christian era. 
We will not buy your rabbinical fumes ; we have One 
that calls us to buy of him pure gold tried in the fire. 
V ill nil. On Def. of Humb. Remonst. 
It is but a legend, I know, 
A fable, a phantom, a show, 
Of the ancient rabbinical lore. 
Langfettmo, Sandalphon. 
Rabbinical Hebrew. See Hebrew. 
rabbinically (ra-bin'i-kal-i), adv. In a rab- 
binical manner; like a rabbi. 
rabbinism (rab'in-izm), n. [< F. rabbinisme = 
Sp. rabinismo; as rabbin + -ism.'] 1. A rab- 
binic expression or phrase ; a peculiarity of the 
language of the rabbis. 2. A system of reli- 
gious belief prevailing among the Jews from 
the return from the Jewish captivity to the lat- 
ter part of the eighteenth century, the distin- 
guishing feature of which was that it declared 
the oral law to be of equal authority with the 
written law of God. 
rabbinist (rab'in-ist), . [Also rabbanist; < F. 
rabbintsle = Sp. rabinista ; as rabbin + -ist.] 
Among the Jews, one who adhered to the Tal- 
mud and the traditions of the rabbins, in oppo- 
sition to the Karaites, who rejected the tradi- 
tions. See rabbinism. 
Those who stood up for the Talmud and its traditions 
were chiefly the rabbins and their followers; from whence 
the party had the name of rabbinists. 
Stackhouse, Hist. Bible, II. vii. 4. 
rabbinite (rab'in -it), n. [< rabbin + -ite?.] 
Same as rabbinist. 
rabbit 1 (rab'it), n. [Early mod. E. also rab- 
bate, rabet; < ME. rabet, rabbit, appar. < OF. 
"robot, indicated in F. dial, rabotte, a rabbit; 
cf. OD. robbe, D. rob, a rabbit; LG. G. robbe, 
a sea-dog, seal ; Gael, rabaid, rabait, a rabbit. 
Cf. F. ruble, the back of a rabbit, Sp. Pg. rabo, 
tail, hind quarters, Sp. rabel, hind quarters. 
An older E. name is cony. The native name 
for the rabbit is hare (including hares and rab- 
4924 
bits).] 1. A rodent mammal, /./<* (///>//. 
of the hare family, /.r//nr/,T , a kind of hare 
notable for burrowing in tlie ground. Tliisani- 
mal is indigenous tn Kuri>pe. lint h;is been natiirali/.ed 
in many other countries, and is (In- uri^'ina! cf all tin- 
domestic breeds. It is smaller than the common hair 
of Europe, /,. Umidwi or variftbilix, with shorter ears 
Rabbit (while lop-eared variety). 
and limbs. The natural color is brownish, but in <1 
mestication black, gray, white, and pied Individuals are 
found. The ears are naturally erect, but in some breeds 
they fall ; surh rabbits are called lopped or lop-eared, and 
degrees of lopping of the ears are named half-lops and 
full-lopi. Rabbits breed in their burrows or warrens, 
and also freely in hutches : they are very prolific, bringing 
forth several times a year, usually six or eight at a litter, 
and in some countries where they have been naturalized 
they multiply so rapidly as to become a pest, as in Austra- 
lia for example. The fur is used in the manufacture of 
hats and for other purposes, and the flesh is esteemed for 
food. 
Hence 2. Any hare; a leporid, or any member 
of the Lenoridte. The common gray rabbit or wood-rab- 
bit of the United States is L. gylvaticus, also called cotton- 
tail and molly cottontail, a variety of which (or a closely re- 
lated species) is the sage- rabbit of western North America, 
L.artemisia, Themarsh-rabbitisL. jxiZwrtro; theswamp- 
rabblt of the Southern States is L. aquaticta. Various 
large long-eared and long-limbed hares of western North 
America are called jack-rabbits or jackass-rabbit*. The 
South American rabbit or hare Is the tapeti, L. brwsilitnuis. 
See cuts under cottontail, jack-rabbit, and hare. Native 
rabbit, in Australia, a long-eared kind of bandicoot, Ma- 
crotu lagotii. Snow-shoe rabbit, that variety of the 
American varying hare which is found in the Rocky 
Mountains. It turns white in winter, and at that season 
the fur of the feet is very heavy. It has been described 
as a distinct species, Lepus bairdi, but is better treated 
as a local race of L. americanu*. Welsh, rabbit. [A 
term of jocular origin, formed after the fashion of Nor- 
folk capon, a red herring, etc. (see quotation). Owing to 
an absurd notion that rabbit in this phrase is a corruption 
of rarebit (as if 'a rare bit'X the word is often so written.) 
Cheese melted with a little ale, and poured over slices of 
hot toast. I'reara, mustard, or Worcestershire sauce are 
occasionally added and the name has been given to 
cheese toasted but not entirely melted, and laid on toast. 
Welsh rabbit is a genuine slang term, belonging to a large 
group which describe in the same humorous way the 
special dish or product or peculiarity of a particular dis- 
trict. For examples: . . . an Essex lion is a calf ; a Field- 
lane duck is a baked sheep's head ; Glasgow magistrates 
or Norfolk capons are red herrings ; Irish apricots or 
Munster plums are potatoes ; Oravesend sweetmeats are 
shrimps. MacmUlan's Mag. 
rabbit 1 (rab'it), v. i. [< rabbift, n.] To hunt 
or trap rabbits. 
She liked keeping the score at cricket, and coming to 
look at them fishing or rabbiting in her walks. 
T. Hughet, Tom Brown at Oxford, II. vii. 
"I suppose," pursued Mr. Morley presently, "that you 
have been indulging in the Englishman's usual recreation 
of slaughter." "I've been rabbiting, if that's what you 
mean," answered Sir Christopher shortly. 
W. E. Norris, Miss Shafto, xix. 
rabbit 2 t (rab'it), n. [< OF. (and F.) robot, n 
plasterers' beater: see rabbet.] 1. A wooden 
implement used in mixing mortar. Cotyrarr. 
2. A wooden can used as a drinking- vessel. 
Strong beer in rabtts and cheating penny 
cans, 
Three pipes for two-pence, and such like 
trepans. 
Praise of YarlcsMre Ale (1697X P. 1. 
KHalliwett.) 
rabbit 3 (rab'it), v. t. [Appar. a 
corruption of rabate (cf. rabbet), 
used as a vague imprecation.] 
An interjectional imperative, 
equivalent to confound. 
"Kabbit the fellow," cries he; "I 
thought, by his talking so much about 
riches, that he had a hundred pounds 
at least in his pocket." 
Fielding, Joseph Andrews. (Latham.') 
Rabbit me, I am no soldier. Scott. 
rabbit-berry (rab'it-ber'i), . 
The buffalo-berry, Shepherdia ar- 
t/cntva. 
rabbit-brush (rab'it-brush), . 
A tall shrubby composite plant, 
liigclovia graveolens, growing 
abundantly in alkaline soils of 
western tforth America, often, 
like the sage-brush (but at low- 
er elevations), monopolizing the 
rabble 
ground over large tract s. n furnishes a safe retreat 
for the large jack-rabbits of the plains. It is a disagree- 
ably scented plant, with numerous bushy branches which 
are more ni less wbiteneil by a close tolncntinn, narrow 
leaves, :unl yellow (lowers. There are 4 or 5 well-marked 
varieties, differing chielly in the width of the leaves, in 
the degree of whiteness, and in size. 
rabbitear (rab'it-er), n. A long Hlemler oyster; 
a razorblade. 
rabbit-eared (rab'it-erd), a. Having long or 
large ears, like those of a rabbit ; lagotic : as, 
the rabbit-eared bandicoot or native rabbit of 
Australia, Marrotix lago/i*. 
rabbiter (rab'i-ter), n. One who hunts or traps 
I'abbils. 
The majority of the men engaged as rabbiters [in Aus- 
tralia] were making a very high rate of wages. 
Set. Alner., N. 8., LVI. 294. 
rabbit-fish (rab'it-fish), i. 1. A holocepha- 
lous fish, Chimtera m&Utrosa. Also called king 
of the herring*. [Local, British.] 2. A plec- 
tognathous fish of the family Tetrodontidse and 
genus Lagocejiliitlux. The name refers to the pecu- 
liarity of the front teeth, which resemble the incisors of a 
rabbit. The rabbit-fish of the eastern rutted States is L. 
ItevigatVA, also called smooth puffer and tambor. It is most- 
ly olive-green, but silver-white below, and attains a length 
of 2 feet or more. The name is also extended to kindred 
plectognaths. 
3. The streaked gurnard, Triyla lineata. [Lo- 
cal, Eng.] 
rabbit-IOOt clover. See clorrr, 1, and titirt>*- 
foot. I. 
rabbit-hutch (vab'it-huch), . A box or cage 
for the confinement and rearing of tame rabbits. 
rabbit-moth (rab'it-m6th), n. The bombycid 
moth Layoa opercvlaris: so called from its soft 
furry appearance and rabbit-like coloration. 
See cut under stinging-caterpillar. [U. S.] 
rabbit-mouth (rab'it-mouth), n. A mouth like 
that of a hare ; used attributively, having a 
formation of the jaws which suggests harelip: 
as, the rabbit-mouth sucker, a catostomoid fish, 
otherwise called splitmouth, harelip, harelipped 
sucker, cutlips, and Lagochila or QuaxniJabia la- 
n fa. This flsh has the form of an ordinary sucker, but 
the lower lip is split into two separate lobes, and the up- 
per lip is greatly enlarged and not protractile. It is most 
common in the streams flowing from the Ozark mountains. 
See cut under Qua&tiiabia. 
rabbit-rat (rab'it-rat), . An Australian rodent 
of the genus Hapalolis, as H. albipen. 
rabbit-root (rab'it-rot), . The wild sarsapa- 
rilla, Aralia nudicaulis. 
rabbitry (rab'it-ri), .; pi. rabbitries(-riz). [< 
r66t<i%+ -ry.~\ A collection of rabbits, or the 
place where they are kept; a rabbit-warren. 
rabbit-spout (rab'it-spout), . The burrow of 
a rabbit. [Prov. Eng.] 
Here they turn left-handed, and run him into a rabbti- 
spoul in the gorse. 
Field (London^ Feb. 27, 1886. (Encyc. Diet.) 
rabbit-squirrel (rab'it-skwur'el), n. A South 
South American Chincha or Rabbit-squine! ( Lagidiutn fuvitri). 
American rodent of the family Chinchillidse and 
genus LiKjiilinni, as L. cttvieri. Coves. 
rabbit-SUCkert (rab'it-suk"er), n. 1. A suck- 
ing rabbit ; a young rabbit. 
I preferre an olde cony before a rabbet-sucker, and an an- 
cient henue before a young chicken peeper. 
Lylij, Endymion, v. 2. 
If thou dost it half so gravely, so majestically, both in 
word and matter, hang me up by the heels for a rabbit- 
sucker. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ii 4. 480. 
2. A gull; a dupe; a cony. See cony, 7. 
rabbit-warren (raVii-wor^en), . A piece of 
ground appropriated to the perservation and 
breeding of rabbits. 
rabble 1 (rab'i), r.; pret. and pp. rabbled, ppr. 
rabbling. [Also ravel; < ME. rableii, speak con- 
fusedly; cf. OD. rabbelen, chatter, trine, toy, = 
G. dial, rabbeln, robbeln, chatter, prattle; cf. 
ML. rabalare, scold, < L. rttbula, a brawling ad- 
vocate, a pettifogger. Cf . Gr. l>a/}daaetv, make 
