revel 
revel 1 (rev'el), n. [< ME. rerel, rerrrl, rt-rrll. 
< OF. rerel (= Pr. revel), pride, rebellion, sport, 
jest, disturbance, disorder, delay, < reveler, rc- 
'beller, F. reseller, rebel, revolt, = Sp. rebclar = 
Pg. rebellar = It. i-ibi-llnre. rcbellare, < L. rebel- 
larc, rebel : see rebel, v. Honce, by contraction, 
rule'*.] 1. A merrymaking; a feast or festivity 
characterized by boisterous jollity; a carouse ; 
hence, mirth-making in general; revelry. 
Whan thei com in to the town thei fonde . . . ladyes 
and maydenes carolinge and daunsinge, and the most reu- 
ell and disport that myght be made. 
Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), iii. 448. 
Iteuelle amanges tliame was full ryfe. 
Thomas of Enseldoune (Child's Ballads, I. 106). 
The brief night goes 
In babble and revel and wine. 
Tennyson, Maud, xxii. 5. 
2. Specifically () A kind of dance or choric 
performance often given in connection with 
masques or pageants ; a dancing procession or 
entertainment: generally used in the plural. 
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, 
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and 
Are melted into air, into thin air. 
Shale.. Tempest, iv. 1. 148. 
We use always to have revels; which is indeed dan- 
cing, and makes an excellent shew in truth. 
B. Jonson, Every Man out of hia Humour, iii. 2. 
The Repels were dances of a more free and general na- 
ture that is, not Immediately connected with the story 
of the piece under representation. In these many of the 
nobility of both sexes took part, who had previously been 
spectators. The Revels, it appears from other passages, 
were usually composed of galliards and corantos. 
Gi/ord, Note on B. Jonson's Masque of Lethe. 
(ft) An anniversary festival to commemorate 
the dedication of a church ; a wake. Balliwell. 
Master Of tile revels. Same as lord of misrule (which 
see, under lord). =Syn. 1. Debauch, Spree, etc. See ca- 
rousali. 
revel 1 (rev'el), v. ; pret. and pp. reveled or re- 
relled, ppr. reveling or revelling. [< ME. revelen, 
reevelen, < OF. reveler, also rebetler, rebel, be 
riotous: see revel 1 , n. The E. verb follows the 
noun.] I. intrans. 1. To hold or take part in 
revels; join in merrymaking; indulge in bois- 
terous festivities; carouse. 
See ! Antony, that revels long o' nights, 
Is notwithstanding up. Shak., 3. C., ii. 2. 116. 
3. To dance; move with a light and dancing 
step; frolic. 
Along the crisped shades and bowers 
Revels the spruce and jocund Spring. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 985. 
3. To act lawlessly ; wanton ; indulge one's 
inclination or caprice. 
His father revell'd in the heart of France, 
And tamed the king, and made the dauphin stoop. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 2. 150. 
The Nabob was revelling in fancied security: ... it 
had never occurred to him . . . that the English would 
dare to invade his dominions. Macaulay, Lord Clive. 
4. To take great pleasure ; feel an ardent and 
keen enjoyment ; delight. 
Our kind host so revelled in my father's humour that he 
was incessantly stimulating him to attack him. 
Lady Holland, Sydney Smith, vii. 
Il.t trans. To spend in revelry. 
An age of pleasures revell'd out comes home 
At last, and ends in sorrow. 
Ford, Lover's Melancholy, iv. 3. 
reve! 2 t, v. t. [= It. revellere, draw away, < L. 
rerellere, pp. revulsus, pluck or pull back, tear 
out, off, or away, < re-, back, + vellere, pluck. 
Of. avel, convulse, revulsion.'} To draw back or 
away; remove. 
Those who miscarry escape by their flood revelling the 
humours from their lungs. Harvey. 
reve-landt (rev'land), i. [ME., repr. AS. ge- 
ref-land, tributary land (sundor-geref-land, pe- 
culiar tributary land), < gerefa, reeve, + land, 
land: see reeve 1 and land.'] In Anglo-Saxon 
law, such land as, haying reverted to the king 
after the death of his thane, who had it for 
life, was not afterward granted out to any by 
the king, but remained in charge upon the ac- 
count of the reeve or bailiff of the manor. 
revelatet (rev'e-lat), r. t. [< L. rerclntus, pp. 
of revclare, reveal, disclose: see reveal.] To 
reveal. Imp. Diet. 
revelation (rev-e-la'shon), n. [< ME. reveht- 
cioun, < OF. revelation, revelation, F. revelation 
= Pr. revelatio = Sp. revelation = Pg. revelagtto 
= It. rirela:ionc, revelation, < LL. revelatio(n-), 
an uncovering, a revealing, < L. rerelare, pp. 
rrri'lntitx, reveal: see reveal.] 1. The actof re- 
vealing, (a) The disclosing, discovering, or making 
known to others what was before unknown to them. 
It was nothing short of a new revelation, when Scott 
turned back men's eyes on their own past history and 
5183 
national life, and showed them there a field of human 
interest anil poetic creation which long had lain neglected. 
J, C. Shairp, Aspects of Poetry, p. 104. 
(6) The act of revealing or communicating religious truth, 
especially by divine or supernatural means. 
The book of quintis essencijs . . . Hermys . . . hadde 
by reuelacioun of an aungil of God to him senile. 
Boot of Quinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 1. 
By revelation he made known unto me the mystery. 
Eph iii. 3. 
A very faithful brother, 
A botcher, and a man by revelation, 
That hath a competent knowledge of the truth. 
B. Jonson, Alchemist, iii. 2. 
2. That which is revealed, disclosed, or made 
known ; in tlteol., that disclosure which God 
makes of himself and of his will to his crea- 
tures. 
When God declares any truth to us, this is a revelation. 
Locke, Human Understanding, IV. vii. 2. 
More specifically 3. Such disclosure, com- 
municated by supernatural means, of truths 
which could not be ascertained by natural 
means ; hence, as containing such revelation, 
the Bible. Divine revelation may be afforded by any 
one of four media (a) nature, (6) history, (c) conscious- 
ness, or (d) supernatural and direct communications. In 
theological writings the term, when properly used, sig- 
nifies exclusively the last form of revelation. Revelation 
differs from inspiration, the latter being an exaltation of 
the natural faculties, the former a communication to or 
through them of truth not otherwise ascertainable, or at 
least not otherwise known. 
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto 
him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly 
come to pass. Rev. i. 1. 
"I'is Revelation satisfies all doubts, 
Explains all mysteries except her own, 
And so illuminates the path of life. 
Cowper, Task, ii. 527. 
4. In metaph., immediate consciousness of 
something real and not phenomenal Book of 
Revelation, or The Revelation of St. John the Divine, 
the last book of the New Testament, also called the^poc- 
alypse. It is generally attributed by the church to the 
apostle John, and the date of its composition is often put 
near the end of the first century. There is a wide differ- 
ence of opinion as to the interpretation and significance 
of this book. The schools of interpretation are of three 
principal'kinds. The first school, that of the preterists, 
embraces those who hold that the whole or by far the 
greater part of the prophecy of this book has been ful- 
filled ; the second is that of the historical interpreters, 
who hold that the prophecy embraces the whole history 
of the church and its foes, from the first century to the 
end of the world ; the third view is that of the futurists, 
who maintain that the prophecy, with perhaps the excep- 
tion of the first three chapters, relates entirely to events 
which are to take place at or near to the second coming of 
the Lord. Abbreviated Rev. 
revelational (rev-e-la'shon-al), a. [< revela- 
tion + -a/.] Pertaining to or involving reve- 
lation ; admitting supernatural disclosure. 
It seems, however, unnecessary to discuss the precise 
relation of different Revelational Codes to Utilitarianism. 
a. Sidgwick, Methods of Ethics, p. 467. 
revelationist (rev-e-la'shon-ist), n. [< revela- 
tion + -ist.] One who believes in supernatu- 
ral revelation. [Bare.] 
Gruppe's great work on Greek mythology ... is likely 
in the immediate future to furnish matter for contention 
between evolutionists and revelationists. 
Athenemm, No. 3149, p. 272. 
revelator (rev'e-la-tor), n. [= F. revelateur = 
Sp. Pg. renclador = It. rivelatore, revelatore, < 
LL. revelator, < L. revclare, reveal: see reveal] 
One who makes a revelation ; a revealer. [Rare 
and objectionable.] 
The forms of civil government were only to carry out 
the will of the Church, and this soon came to mean the 
will of Brigham Young, who from year to year was re- 
elected and installed "prophet, seer, and revelator." 
New York Evening Post, March 8, 1890. 
revelatory (rev'e-la-to-ri), a. [< LL. revelato- 
rius, of or belonging to revelation, < L. revelare, 
reveal : see reveal.] Having the nature or 
character of a revelation. Imp. Diet. 
revel-coilt, [^ revel 1 + coil*, prob. originat- 
ing as a sophisticated form of level-coil.] Loud 
and boisterous revelry ; a wild revel ; a carouse 
or debauch. 
They all had leave to leave their endless toyles, 
To dance, sing, sport, and to keepe revell-myles. 
John Taylor, Works (1630). (Hares. ) 
revel-dasht, Same as rerel-coil. 
Have a flurt and a crash, 
Now play reveldanh. 
Greene, Dram. Works, I. 175. 
reveler, reveller (rev'el-er), . [< ME. rerelour, 
ri rrloicre, < OF. *reteleor, revelour, < reveler, 
revel: see revel 1 , c.] One who revels, (a) One 
who takes part in merrymakings, feasts, or carousals ; 
hence, one who leads a disorderly or licentious life. 
My fourthe housbonde was a revelour 
This is to seyn, he hadde a paramour. 
CTmreer. Pro], to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 45a, 
revenge 
None a stranger there 
So merry and so gamesome; he is call'il 
The Briton reveller. Shak., C'ymbeline, I. 6. 61. 
In the ears of the brutalized and drunken revellers there 
arose the sound of the clanking of British cavalry. 
//. KingOeu, Stretton, liii. 
Specifically (6) One who dances in a revel; one who 
takes part in a choric entertainment. 
It is no disgrace, no more than for your adventurous 
reveller to fall by some inauspicious chance in his galliard. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, iii. 1. 
revelingt, Same as rireUtigZ. 
revellent (re-vel'ent), a. [= Pg. It. revellente, 
< L. revcllen(t-)s, ppr. of rerellere, pluck or tear 
back, off, away, or out: see revel 2 .] Causing 
revulsion. 
reveller, n. See reveler. 
revel-master (rev'el-mas"ter), n. The master 
or director of the revels at Christmas ; the lord 
of misrule. 
revelment(rev'el-ment),. [<-ere?l + -merit.] 
The act of reveling. 
revelourt, An obsolete form of reveler. 
reveloust, o. [< ME. melons, < OF. reveleux. 
full of revelry or jest, riotous, < revel, riot, revel : 
see revel 1 , n. Cf. rebellious.] Inclined to fes- 
tivity and merrymaking. 
A wyf he hadde of excellent beautee, 
And compaignable and revelous was she. 
Chaucer, Shipman's Tale, 1. 4. 
revel-rout t, 1. A troop of revelers ; hence, 
any riotous throng; a mob; a rabble. 
Ay, that we will, we'll break your spell, 
Reply'd the revel-rout; 
We'll teach yon for to fix a bell 
On any woman's snout. 
The Fryar and the Boy, ii. (Ifaret.) 
2. A lawless, uproarious revel; wild revelry; 
noisy merriment. 
Then made they recell route and goodly glee. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 568. 
The Sorcerers and Sorceresses make great lights, and 
incense all this visited house, . . . laughing, singing, 
dauncing in honour of that God. After all this reuel-rout 
they demaund againe of the Demoniake if the God be ap- 
peased. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 480. 
3. A dancing entertainment. 
Wilt thou forsake us, Jeffrey? then who shall daunce 
The hobby horse at our next Revel rout? 
Brome, Queens Exchange, ii. 2. 
To play revel-rout, to revel furiously ; carouse ; act the 
bacchanalian. 
They chose a notable swaggering rogue called Puffing 
Dicke to reuell ouerthem, whopiatd reuell-rout with them 
indeede. 
Rowlands, Hist. Rogues, quoted in Ribton-Turner's Va- 
[grants and Vagrancy, p. 682. 
revelry (rev'el-ri), n. [< ME. revelrie; as revel 1 
+ -ry.] The act of reveling; merrymaking; 
especially, boisterous festivity or jollity. 
The swetnesse of her melodye 
Made al myn herte in recelrye [var. reverye]. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 720. 
Meantime, forget this new-fall'n dignity. 
And fall into our rustic revelry. 
Play, music ! Shak., As you Like it, v. 4. 183. 
=Syn. See carousal^. 
revelst, Same as revel 1 . 
The huntress and queen of these groves, Diana, . . . 
hath . . . proclaimed a solemn revels. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, i. 1. 
revenant (rev'e-nant), . [< F. revenant, ppr. 
of revenir, come back, < re-, back, again, + ve- 
nir, < L. venire, come: see come. Cf. revenue.] 
1. One who returns; especially, one who re- 
turns after a long period of absence or after 
death; a ghost; a specter; specifically, in mod. 
spiritualism, an apparition; a materialization. 
[Rare.] 
The yellow glamour of the sunset, dazzling to Inglesant's 
eyes, fluttered upon its vestment of whitish gray, and 
clothed in transparent radiance this shadowy revenant 
from the tomb. J. H. Shorthouse, John Inglesant, xxxiii. 
2. In math., a form which continually returns 
as leading coefficient of irreducible covariants. 
revendicate (re-ven'di-kat), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
revendicated, ppr. revindicating. Same as revin- 
dicate. Imp. Diet. 
revendication (re-ven-di-ka'shon), H . Same as 
rcriiidieatfott. Imp. Viet Action of revendica- 
tion, in civil law, an action brought to assert a title to or 
some real right inherent in or directly attached to prop- 
erty. 
revenge (re-venj'), r. ; pret. and pp. revenged, 
ppr. revenging. [< OF. revenger, reveneher, F. 
iTi'inicher, F. dial, reranger, revenge, = Sp. re- 
riittticar, claim, = Pg. revindiear, claim, refl. 
be revenged, = It. riveiidicare, revenge, refl. 
be revenged, < ML. "revindieare, revenge, lit. 
vindicate again, < L. re-, again, + vindicare (> 
OF. veaffier, venger), arrogate, lay claim to: 
see vindicate, vengr, avenge. Cf. n-rindicute.] 
