Ravenala 
MimaceiB, the banana family. It is characterized 
by a loculicidally tnree-valved anil tliree-celled capsule 
with numerous seeds in six rows, and by separate long 
and narrow sepals and petals, three of each, all similar 
and unappendaged. There are but 2 species, natives one 
of Madagascar, the other of northern Brazil and Ouiana. 
In both the stem is sometimes short, with the leaves almost 
all radical, at other times forming a tall woody trunk 
reaching 30 feet high, ringed by leaf-scars. The handsome 
oblong and two-ranked leaves resemble those of the ba- 
nana, and are of immense size, being considered the largest 
undivided leaves known, with the exception perhaps of 
the Victoria lily. The long concave leafstalks are divid- 
ed within into small cubical chambers, about a half-inch 
square, filled with a clear watery sap which forms a re- 
freshing drink, whence the name traveler' s-tree, used in 
botanic gardens for II. Madagascariensis. The leaves are 
also used as a thatch for the nat ive huts. The large flow- 
ers form a short many-flowered raceme within the spathe, 
and are followed by woody capsules and edible seeds with 
a lacerate and pulpy blue aril which yields an essential 
oil. See traveler's-tree. 
raven-cockatoo (ra'vn-kok-a-to' 1 '), . A black 
cockatoo. See cockatoo. 
ravenert (rav'n-er), re. [< ME. raviner, rav- 
inere, ravyner, ravinour, ravynour, raveynour, < 
OF. ravineor, ravinour, < L. rapinator, a plun- 
derer, robber, < "rapinare, plunder, rob: see 
raven 2 ."] 1. One who ravens or plunders; a 
greedy plunderer ; a devourer or pursuer. 
We scorne swich raviners and honters of fouleste 
thinges. Chaucer, Boethiua, i. prose S. 
And then he is such a ravener after fruit. 
B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, i. 1. 
2. A bird of prey. Holland. 
ravening (rav'n-'ing), n. [Verbal n. of raven?, 
v.~\ Eagerness for plunder ; rapacity. 
Your inward part is full of ravening [extortion, B,. V.] 
and wickedness. Luke xi. 39. 
raveningly (rav'n-ing-li), adv. In a ravening 
or ravenous manner; voraciously; greedily. 
Liguirire somtymes is auide and helluose, that is gried- 
ily and rawninglye or gluttonously to devour very much. 
Udall, Flowers, fol. 98. 
ravenous (rav'n-us), a. [< OF. ravinos, ravi- 
nous, ravineus, F. ravineux, violent, impetuous, 
= It. rapinoso, ravenous, etc., < ML. "rapino- 
sus, < L. rapina, rapine : see raven 2 . Of. rapi- 
nous.] 1. Furiously voracious ; hungry even 
to rage; devouring with rapacious eagerness: 
as, a ravenous wolf, lion, or vulture ; to be rave- 
nous with hunger. 
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, 
and to the beasts of the field, to be devoured. 
Ezek. xxxix. 4. 
I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee ! 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., v. 4. 31. 
2. Greedily eager for gratification ; tending to 
rapacity or voracity: as, ravenous appetite or 
desire. 
Thy desires 
Are wolvish, bloody, starved, and ravenous. 
Shak., M. of V., IT. 1. 138. 
=Syn. Voracious, etc. See rapacious. 
ravenously (rav'n-us-li), adv. In a ravenous 
manner ; with raging voracity. 
ravenousness (rav'n-us-nes), n. The state or 
character of being ravenous; furious avidity; 
rage for prey. 
The ravenousiiess of a lion or bear are natural to them. 
Sir M. Hale. 
ravenry (ra'vu-ri), .; pi. ravenries (-riz). [< 
raven 1 + -ry.] A place where ravens nest and 
breed or are kept. 
Nothing short of a reward given on the hatching-off of 
a ravenry . . . would insure protection. 
Nature, XXXVII. 602. 
Ravensara (rav-en-sa'ra), n. [NL. (Sonnerat, 
1782), < Malagasy ravin-dzara, said to mean 
'good leaf.'] A genus of trees of the order 
Laurinex and tribe Perseacex. It is distinguished 
by having the parts of the flower in threes, two-celled an- 
thers, an enlarged perianth-tube closed over the ovary in 
fruit, and a seed with six lobes descending into as many 
false cells of the pericarp. The 3 or 4 species are smooth 
aromatic trees of Madagascar. R. aromatica has a clove- 
like fragrance throughout, and its fruit, called clove-nut, 
meg or ravensara-nut, is used in Madagascar as a spice. 
raven's-duck (ra'vnz-duk), . A fine kind of 
hempen sail-cloth. 
ravenstone (ra'vn-ston), . [Tr. G. rabenstein, a 
gallows (also a black stone), < rabe, = E. raven, + 
stein = E. stone: so called as a place where ravens 
(birds of ill omen) and vultures congregate. 
Cf. D. raven-kop, hangman, lit. 'raven-head': 
see raven 1 and stone 1 .] A gallows. [Rare.] 
To and fro, as the night-winds blow, 
The carcass of the assassin swings ; 
And then alone, on the raven-stone, 
The raven flaps his dusky wings. 
Byron, Manfred (first MS.), iii. 
raver (ra'ver), i,. [< ME. ravare; < ravel + . er l. 
Cf. F. revnir, dreamer.] One who raves or is 
furious ; a maniac. 
313 
4977 
As old decrepitc persons, yong Infantes, fooles, Madmen, 
and Ravers. Touchstone of Complexions, p. 94. (Davies.) 
raveryt (rii'vOr-i), . [< OF. resveric, raving, 
dreaming: see rave 1 , and ef. reverie.'] The act 
or practice of raving; extravagance of speech 
or expression ; a raving. 
Reject them not as the raveries of a child. 
Sir J. Sempill, Sacrilege Sacredly Handled, Int. (Davies.) 
ravint (rav'in), H. and v. See raven 2 . 
ravine 1 , . Same as raven 2 . 
ravine 2 (ra-ven'), n. [< ME. ravine, rauyne, < 
OF. ravine, rabine, a raging flood, a torrent, an 
inundation, a hollow worn by a torrent, a ra- 
vine, F. ravine, ravin, a ravine; a particular 
use of ravine, violence, impetuosity, plunder, < 
L. rapina, rapine, violence, plunder : see rapine, 
and cf. raven 2 .] If. A raging flood. 
A ravine, or inundation of waters, which overcometh all 
things that come in its way. Cotgraoe. 
2. A long deep hollow worn by a stream or tor- 
rent of water; hence, any deep narrow gorge, 
as in a mountain; a gully. =syn. 2. Glen, Gorge, 
etc. See valley. 
ravinedt (rav'ind), a. [Irreg. < ravin, raven 2 , 
+ -ed 2 .] Ravenous. 
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf 
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark. 
Shak., Macbeth, iv. 1. 24. 
ravine-deer (ra-ven'der), . The goat-antelope 
of the Deccan, which inhabits rocky places. 
Ravine-deer (Tftractros gtudricornis't. 
It has many names, vernacular and technical, as blacktail, 
chikara, chousingha, kalsiepie, Antilope chtfcara or quadri- 
cornis, Tetraceros quadricornis, and Tragops bennetti. 
raving (ra'ving), . [< ME. ravynge; verbal 
n. of rave 1 , v.] Furious exclamation; irra- 
tional incoherent talk. 
They are considered as lunatics, and therefore tolerated 
in their ravings. Steele, Tatler, No. 178. 
raving (ra'viug), p. a. 1. Furious with deliri- 
um; mad; distracted. 2. Fit to excite admi- 
ration or enthusiasm ; hence, amazing, intense, 
superlative, or the like. [Colloq. or slang.] 
A letter of raving gallantry, which Orlando Furioso 
himself might have penned, potent with the condensed 
essence of old romance. /. D' Israeli, Amen, of Lit., II. 262. 
The veterans liked to recall over the old Madeira the 
wit and charms of the raving beauties who had long gone 
the way of the famous vintages of the cellar. 
New Princeton Rev. , I. 6. 
ravingly (ra'ying-li), adv. In a raving man- 
ner; with furious wildness or frenzy; distract- 
edly. 
The swearer is ravingly mad ; his own lips so pronounce 
him. Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 283. 
ravisablet, [ME., < OF. ravissable, < ravir, 
ravish: see ravish.] Ravenous. 
And inward we, withouten fable, 
Ben gredy wolves ravisable. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 7016. 
ravisantt, a. [ME., also ravisaunt; < OF. ravi- 
sant, ravissant, ppr. of ravir, ravish : see ravish. 
Cf. ravissant.] Ravishing; ravening; preda- 
tory. 
The wolf, wilde and ravisaunt, 
With the schep jeode so milde so lomb. 
MS. Laud. 108, f. 11. (HalUweU.) 
ravish (rav'ish), v. t. [< ME. ravisshen, rav- 
ischen, ravisen, ravichen, < OF. (and F.) ravins-, 
stem of certain parts of ravir, ravish, snatch 
away hastily, = It. rapire, < L. rapere, snatch, 
seize: see rape 2 and rapid. Cf. ravage.] 1. 
To seize and carry off; transport or take away 
forcibly; snatch away. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
Thanne the! seyn that he is ravissht in to another 
world, where he is a grettre Lord than he was here. 
MandevUle, Travels, p. 254. 
raw 
And the gret fray that the [they] mad in the tyme of 
masse it ravyched my witts and mad me fnl lu-vyly dys- 
posyd. Faston Letters, II. 81. 
These hairs, which thou dost ravish from my chin, 
Will quicken, and accuse thee. Shak., Lear, iii. 7. 38. 
2. To transport mentally; enrapture; bring 
into a state of ecstasy, as of delight or fear. 
Sore were all their mindes rauished wyth feare, that in 
maner half beside themselves they said . . . 
Golding, tr. of Ceesar, fol. 173. 
Thou hast ravished my heart. Cant. iv. 9. 
The view of this most sweet Paradise [Mantua] . . . did 
even ravish my senses. Coryat, Crudities, I. 145. 
My friend was ravished with the beauty, innocence, and 
sweetness that appeared in all their faces. 
Addison, Freeholder, No. IT. 
3. To deprive by seizure ; dispossess violently : 
with of. 
They may ravish me o' my life, 
But they canna banish me fro' Heaven hie. 
Hughie the Graeme (Child's Ballads, VI. 57). 
And am I blasted in my bud with treason? 
Boldly and basely o/rny fair name ravish'd ? 
Beau, and Ft., Knight of Malta, ii. 5. 
4. Toviolatethechastityof; commit rape upon; 
deflower. 
Their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. 
Isa. xiii. 16. 
My heroes slain, my bridal bed o'erturn'd, 
My daughters ravish'd, and my city burn'd, 
My bleeding infants dash'd against the floor. 
Pope, Iliad, ndl. 89. 
ravisht (rav'ish), re. [< ravish, v.] Ravishment ; 
ecstasy ; a transport or rapture. 
Most of them . . . had builded their comfort of salva- 
tion upon unsound grounds, viz. some upon dreams and 
ravishes of spirit by fits ; others upon the reformation of 
their lives. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 219, an. 1836. 
ravisher (rav'ish -er), n. [< ME. ravischour, 
ravissour, < OF. raviseor, raviseur, F. ravisseur, 
ravisher, < ravir, ravish: see ravish.] 1. One 
who ravishes or takes by violence. 
Gods ! shall the ravisher display your hair, 
While the fops envy and the ladies stare? 
Pope, K. of the L., iv. 103. 
2. One who violates the chastity of a woman. 
Thou ravisher, thou traitor, thou false thief ! 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 888. 
3. One who or that which transports with de- 
light, 
ravishing (rav'ish-ing), n. [< ME. ravisshing, 
ravyschynge; verbal n. of ravish, v.] Ecstatic 
delight; mental transport. [Rare.] 
The ravishings that sometimes from aboue do shoot 
abroad in the inward man. Feltham, Resolves, ii. 66. 
ravishing (rav'ish-ing),^. a. 1. Snatching; 
taking by violence ; of or pertaining to ravish- 
ment. 
Tarquin's ravishing strides. Shak., Macbeth, it 1. 65. 
2. Exciting rapture or ecstasy; adapted to en- 
chant; exquisitely lovely ; enrapturing. 
Those delicious villas of St. Pietro d'Arena, which pre- 
sent another Genoa to you, the ravishing retirements of the 
Genoese nobility. 
Evelyn, Diary, Oct. 17, 1644. 
He [Emerson] . . . gave us ravishing glimpses of an ideal 
under the dry husk of our New England. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 380. 
3f. Moving furiously along; hurrying. Chau- 
cer, Boethius, i. meter 5. 
ravishingly (rav'ish-ing-li), adv. In a ravish- 
ing manner; so as to delight or enchant. 
ravishment (rav'ish-ment), n. [< OF. (and F. ) 
ravissement, a ravishing, ravishment, < ravir, 
ravish: see ravish.] 1. The act of seizing and 
carrying off, or the act or state of forcible ab- 
duction ; violent transport or removal. 2. 
Mental transport ; a carrying or being carried 
away with delight ; ecstasy; rapture. 
All things joy, with ravishment 
Attracted by thy beauty slill to gaze. 
Hilton, P. L., v. 46. 
The music and the bloom 
And all the mighty ravishment of Spring. 
Wordsworth, Sonnets, ii. 18. 
3. Violation of female chastity; rape. 
In bloody death and ravishment delighting. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 430. 
ravissant (ray'i-sant), a. [See ravisant.] In 
her., leaping in a position similar to rampant: 
usually noting the wolf. 
ravisset, " t. A Middle English form of ravish. 
Chaucer. 
raw 1 (ra),_a. and H. [< ME. raw, rau, ra, < AS. 
hredw, lirxw, raw, uncooked, unprepared, sore, 
= OS. lira = D. raauiv = MLG. rauw, ro, LG. rau 
= OHG. ran, ro, rou (raw-), MHG. ro (raw-), 
G. roll = Icel. hrdr = Sw. ra = Dan. raa, raw. 
crude ; akin to L. crudus, raw, cruentus, bloody, 
cruor, gore, blood (see crude), Gr. npiaf, flesh, 
Skt. Jcravis, raw meat, krura, cruel, hard, OSlav. 
