resurrectionize 
2. To steal from the grave; dig up from the 
grave. [Colloq.] 
The famous marble coffer in the king's chamber, which 
was doubtless also Cheops's coffin until his body was res- 
urrectionized by the thieves who first broke into the pyra- 
mid. Library Mag/., III. 485. 
Also spelled resurrectionise. 
resurrection-man (rez-u-rek'shqn-man), n. 
Same as resurrectionist. Dickens, tale of Two 
Cities, ii. 14. 
resurrection-plant (rez-u-rek'shon-plant), re. 
A name for several plants which, when dried, 
reexpand if wetted, (a) The rose of Jericho.. See 
Anastatiea. (&) Selaginella lepidoptttilla, found from Texas 
and Mexico to Peru. It forms a nest-like ball when dry 
(whence called bird's-nest moss), but when moistened un- 
folds and displays its elegant, iinely cut, fern-like branches 
radiating from a coiled central stem, (c) One of the fig- 
marigolds, Mesembruanthemum Tripolimn. [The name 
has doubtless been applied to other hygrometric plants.] 
resurvey (re-ser-va'), v. t. [< re- + survey.'] 
1. To survey again or anew; review. 2. To 
read and examine again. 
Once more re-survey 
These poor rude lines of thy deceased lover. 
Shak., Sonnets, xxxii. 
resurvey (re-ser-va'), n. [< resurvey, .] A 
new survey. 
resuscitable (re-sus'i-ta-bl), a. [< OF. ressus- 
citablc; as restiscit(ate) + -able.'] Capable of 
being resuscitated or restored to life, 
resuscitant (re-sus'i-tant), a. and re. [= F. res- 
suscitant, < L. resuscitan(t-)s, ppr. of resuscitare, 
revive : see resuscitate."] I. a. Resuscitating. 
II. n. One who or that which resuscitates, 
resuscitate (re-sus'i-tat), v, ; pret. and pp. re- 
suscitated, ppr. resuscitating. [< L. restiscitatus, 
pp. of resuscitare (> It. resuscitare, risuscitare = 
Sp. resucitar = Pg. resnscitar = OF. resusciter, 
ressuseiter, F. ressusciter), raise up again, re- 
vive, < re-, again, + suscitare, raise up, < sus-, 
sub-, up, under, + citare, summon, rouse: see 
cite 1 .] I. trans. To stir up anew; revivify; 
revive ; particularly, to recover from apparent 
death: as, to resuscitate a drowned person; to 
resuscitate withered plants. 
After death we should be resuscitated. 
Glannlle, Pre-existence of Souls, xiv. 
To wonder at a thousand insect forms, 
These hatch'd, and those resuscitated worms, . . . 
Once prone on earth, now buoyant upon air. 
Camper, Retirement, L 64. 
It is difficult to resuscitate surprise when familiarity has 
once laid the sentiment asleep. Paley, Nat. Theol., xviii. 
II. intrans. To revive ; come to life again. 
Our griefs, our pleasures, our youth, our sorrows, our 
dear, dear friends, resuscitate. Thackeray, Philip, xxviii. 
As these projects, however often slain, always resuscitate, 
it is not superfluous to examine one or two of the fallacies 
by which the schemers impose on themselves. J. S. Mill. 
resuscitate! (re-sus'i-tat), a. [< L. resuscita- 
tus, pp. : see the verb.] Restored to life ; re- 
vived. 
Our mortal! bodyes shal be resuscitate. 
Bp. Gardiner, Exposition, The Presence, p. 65. 
There is a grudge newly now resuscitate and revived in 
the minds of the people. 
Abp. Washam, in Hallam's Const. Hist, I. 34, note 2. 
resuscitation (re-sus-i-ta'shon), n. [= OF. (and 
F.) ressuscitation = Pg. resuscitagclo = It. risus- 
citazione, < LL. resuscitatio(n-), a resuscitation, 
< L. resuscitare, resuscitate : see resuscitate.'] 1 . 
The act of resuscitating, or the state of being 
resuscitated; revival; revivification; restora- 
tion to life ; the restoring to animation of per- 
sons apparently dead, as in cases of drowning, 
or of suspended animation from exposure to 
cold or from disease. 
The resuscitation of the body from its dust is a super- 
natural work. Bp. Hall, Temptations Repelled, i. 5. 
The extinction and resuscitation of arts. 
Johnson, Rasselas, xxx. 
2. Mental reproduction, or suggestion, in a 
sense which does not include the process of 
representation. Sir W. Hamilton. 
resuscitative (re-sus'i-ta-tiv), a. [< OF. resus- 
citalif, ressuscitatif, F. ressuscitatif; as resusci- 
tate + -iue.~\ Tending to resuscitate ; reviving; 
revivifying; raising from apparent death; re- 
producing. Resuscitative faculty, a name given by 
Sir William Hamilton to the reproductive faculty of the 
mind. 
resuscitator (re-sus'i-ta-tpr), re. [= F. ressusci- 
teur = Sp. resucitador = Pg. resuscitador = It. 
risuscitatore, < LL. resuscitator, one who raises 
again from the dead, < L. resuscitare, raise up : 
see resuscitate.'] One who resuscitates. 
resveriet, . See reci-rif. 
ret 1 (ret), v. t. ; pret. and pp. retted, ppr. rcttiiti/. 
[< ME. retten, reten, < OD. OFlem. retcn, reeten, 
5119 
ret (flax or hemp), break or heckle (flax), steep, 
soak, D. Flem. reten, ret (flax or hemp), = Sw. 
rota, putrefy, rot (flax or hemp), steep, soak; 
cf. rot.~] To expose, as the gathered stems of 
fibrous plants, to moisture, in order, by partial 
fermentation or rotting, to facilitate the ab- 
straction of the fiber. Retting is practised upon 
flax, hemp, jute, and other exogenous fiber-plants. Dew- 
retting, effected simply by exposing the material to the 
weather for a limited time, is largely applied to flax in 
Russia, Water-retting, the ordinary process, consists sim- 
ply in steeping or macerating the stems in water, common- 
ly in open ponds, sometimes in vats of warm water, the re- 
sult being more speedily attained by the latter treatment. 
A dam of 50 feet long, 9 feet broad, and 4 feet deep is 
sufficient to ret the produce of an acre of flax. 
Encyc. Brit., IX. 294. 
ret' 2 t, v. t. [ME. retten, reeten, < OF. retter, reter 
(ML. reflex rectare, simulating L. rectus, right), 
repute, impute, charge, < L. reputare, repute, 
impute, ascribe: see repute, .] To impute; 
ascribe. 
I pray you of your curteisie, 
That ye ne rette it nat my vileinye, 
Though that I pleynly speke in this matere. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T. (ed. Morris), 1. 726. 
ret 3 t. A Middle English contraction of redeth 
(modern readeth). 
retable (re-ta'bl), n. [< F. retable, OF. retaule, 
restaule (ML. reflex retaule), an altarpiece, rere- 
dos, retable, = Sp. retablo = Pg. retabolo, re- 
tabulo, a picture ; of doubtful origin : (a) ac- 
cording to Scheler, < L. as if "restabilis, fixed 
opposite (or in some other particular sense), 
< restore, rest, stay (see rest 2 ) ; (6) according 
to Brachet, a contraction of OF. "riere-table, 
"arriere-table, a reredos, < arriere, rear, behind, 
+ table, table: see rear& and table. In either 
view the Sp. and Pg. are prob. from the F.] A 
structure raised above an altar at the back, 
either independent in itself, or forming a deco- 
rative frame to a picture, a bas-relief, or the 
like, in which case the word includes the work 
of art itself. Usually that face only which looks to- 
ward the choir and nave of the church is called the retable, 
and the reverse is called the counter-retable. Sometimes 
the retable is a movable structure of hammered silver or 
other precious work, supported on the altar itself. This 
decorative feature is not found in the earliest ages of 
the Christian church. Many retables in Italy are made of 
Delia Robbia ware, with figures in high relief, and richly 
colored in ceramic enamels. One of the most magnificent 
examples is the Pala d'Oro of the Basilica of St. Mark, in 
Venice. See altar-ledge and reredos. 
retail 1 (re'tal), n. and a. [Early mod. E. re- 
tails; < ME. retaille, < OF. retail, retaille, F. 
retaille, a piece cut off, a shred, paring (= Sp. 
retal = Pg. retalho, a shred, remnant, = It. ri- 
taglio, a shred, piece, a selling by the piece, 
retail (a ritaglio, by retail)), < retailler, cut, 
shred, pare, clip, F. retailler, cut, recut, trim 
(a pen), prune (a tree) (=r Pr. retalhar, recut, 
= Cat. retailor = Sp. retajar, cut around, recut, 
trim, = Pg. retalhar = It. ritagliare, slice, shred, 
pare, cut), < re-, again, + tattler, cut: see tail 2 , 
tally, and cf. detail. The sense 'retail,' which 
does not appear in F., may have been derived 
from It.] I. n. The sale of commodities in 
small quantities or parcels, or at second hand ; 
a dealing out in small portions: opposed to 
wholesale. 
The vintner's retail supports the merchant's trade. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1836), I. 861. 
The duties on the retail of drinks made from tea, coffee, 
and chocolate. S. Dowell, Taxes In England, II. 44. 
At (by, or formerly to) retail, In small quantities : a little 
at a time, as in the sale of merchandise. 
And marchauutes y be not in yt fraunshes of the for 
sayd cite y l they selle noo wyne ne ne noon oder mar- 
chaundisis to retaille w* in y e cite ne in y e subarbis of y e 
same. Charter of London, in Arnold's Chron., p. 25. 
Now, all that Ood doth by retail bestow r 
On perfect'st men to thee in grosse he giues. 
Syhester, tr. of Du Bartas's Triumph of Faith, Ded. 
These, and most other things which are sold by retail, 
. . . aregenerallyfuUyascheap,orcheaper,ingreattowns 
than in the remoter parts of the country. 
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, i. 8. 
II. a. Of or pertaining to sale at retail ; con- 
cerned with safe at retail : as, retail trade ; a re- 
tail dealer. 
But I find, in the present state of trade, that when the 
retail price is printed on books, all sorts of commissions 
and abatements take place, to the discredit of the author. 
Kuskin. 
retail 1 (re-tal'), c. t. [< retail^, n., in the phrase 
"to sell by retail." Cf. It, ritagliare, retail.] 1. 
To sell in small quantities or parcels. 
He is wit's pedler, and retails his wares 
At wakes and wassails, meetings, markets, fairs. 
Shak., L. L. L., v. 2. 317. 
The keepers of ale-houses pay for a licence to retail ale 
and spirituous liquors. 
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, v. 2. 
retain 
2. To sell at second hand. 
The sage dame, experienced in her trade, 
By names of toasts retails each batter'd jade. 
Pope, Dunciad, ii. 184. 
3. To deal out in small quantities; tell in 
broken parts ; tell to many ; tell again ; hand 
down by report : as, to retail slander or idle 
reports. 
Methinks the truth should live from age to age, 
As 'twere retail'd to all posterity. 
Shak., Rich. HI., Hi. 1. 77. 
He could repeat all the observations that were retailed 
in the atmosphere of the play-houses. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xvi. 
retail 2 ! (re-tal'), n. [Irreg. (perhaps by confu- 
sion with'retot'J 1 ) < L. retaliare, retaliate: see 
retaliate.] Retaliation. 
He that doth injury may well receive it. To look for 
good and do bad is against the law of retail. 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, II. 116. 
retailer (re-ta'ler or re'ta-ler), n. [< retail^- + 
-er 1 . Cf. Pg. retalhador, one who shreds or 
clips; It. ritaglia tore, a retail seller.] 1. Are- 
tail dealer; one who sells ordeals out goods in 
small parcels or at second hand. 
I was informed of late dayes that a certaine blinde re- 
tayler, called the Diuell, vsed to lend money vpon pawnes 
or anie thing. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, p. 9. 
From the Chapman to the Retailer, many whose igno- 
rance was more audacious then the rest were admitted 
with all thir sordid Rudiments to bear no meane sway 
among them, both in Church and State. 
MUton, Hist. Eng., iii. 
2. One who tells at second hand; one who re- 
peats or reports : as, a retailer of scandal. 
retaille (re-ta-lya'), a. [< F. retaille, pp. of re- 
tailler, recut: see retail*, n.] In her., cut or 
divided twice: noting an escutcheon, especially 
when divided twice bendwise sinister. 
retailment (re-tal'ment), n. [< retail 1 , v., + 
-ment.~] The act of retailing. 
retain (re-tan'), v. [Early mod. E. retayne; 
< ME. retaynen, reteynen, < OF. F. retenir, re- 
tanir = Pr. retener, retenir = Sp. retener = Pg. 
reter = It. ritenere, < L. retinere, pp. retentus, 
hold back, < re-, back, + tenere, hold : see ten- 
ant.'] I. trans. If. To hold back; restrain; 
hinder from action, departure, or escape; keep 
back; detain. 
Ser, if it please your lordshepe for to here, 
ffor your wurchlppe yow most your self reteyne, 
And take a good avise in this mater. 
Qenerydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1643. 
For empty fystes, men vse to say, 
Cannot the Hawke retayne. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 102. 
Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead 
he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the 
gospel. Phile. 13. 
2. To hold or keep in possession ; reserve as 
one's own. 
The Kingdome he retain' A against thir utmost opposi- 
tion. Milton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
Among debts of equal degree, the executor ... is al- 
lowed to pay himself first, by retaining in his hands so 
much as his debt amounts to. Blackstone, Com., II. xxxii. 
3. To continue in the use or practice of; pre- 
serve; keep up; keep from dying out: as, to 
retain a custom; to retain an appearance of 
youth. 
Oh, you cannot be 
80 heavenly and so absolute in all things, 
And yet retain such cruel tyranny ! 
Beau, and Fl., Laws of Candy, 1L 1. 
William the Conqueror in all the time of his Sickness 
retained to the very last his Memory and Speech. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 31. 
4. To keep in mind ; preserve a knowledge or 
idea of; remember. 
They did not like to retain Ood in their knowledge. 
Rom. i. 28. 
No Learning is retained without constant exercise and 
methodical repetition. MUton, Touching Hirelings. 
5. To keep in pay; hire; take into service; 
especially, to engage by the payment of a pre- 
liminary fee : as, to retain counsel. 
Sette no man a-worke that is reteyiijnde in any man-ys 
service. English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 333. 
They say you have retained brisk Master Practice 
Here of your counsel. 
/;. .In, IXI,H. Magnetick Lady, ii. 1. 
6f. To entertain. 
Retayne a straunger after his estate and degree. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 102. 
= Syn. 2-4. Jieseree, Presence, etc. See keep. 
II. t hi trans. 1. To keep on; continue. 
No more can impure man retain and move 
In that pure region of a worthy love. 
Donne, Epistles to the Countess of Huntingdon. 
2. To pertain; belong; be a dependent or re- 
tainer. 
