revenge 
1. trans. 1. To take vengeance on account of; 
inflict punishment because of ; exact retribu- 
tion for ; obtain or seek to obtain satisfaction 
for, especially with the idea of gratifying a 
sense of injury or vindictiveness : as, to revenge 
an insult. 
These injuries the king now bears will be revenged home. 
Shale., Lear, iii. 3. 13. 
I hope you are bred to more humanity 
Than to revenge my father's wrong on me. 
Fletcher (and another), Love's Cure, it 2. 
2. Tosatisfybytakingvengeance; secureatone- 
ment or expiation to, as for an injury; avenge 
the real or fancied wrongs of; especially, to 
gratify the vindictive spirit of: as, to revenge 
one's self for rude treatment. 
You do more for the obedience of your Lord the Em* 
perour, then to be reuenged of the French Kinge. 
Buecara, Letters (tr. by Heliowes, 1577), p. 70. 
Lord, . . . visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors. 
Jer. iv. 15. 
Come Antony, and young Octavius, come, 
Revenge yourselves alone on Caasius. 
Shak., 3. C., iv. 3. 94. 
= Svn. A venge, Revenge. See avenge. 
ft. intrans. To take vengeance. 
I wil revenge (quoth she), 
For here I shake off shame. 
Oascoigne, Philomene (Steele Glas, etc., ed. Arber, p. 100). 
The Lord revengelh, and is furious. Vihnm i. 2. 
revenge (re-venj'), n. [Early mod. E. revenge, 
< OF. rei-e'iiche, revanche, F. revanche, revenge, 
F. dial, revainche, revenche ; from the verb.] 1. 
The act of revenging; the execution of ven- 
geance; retaliation for wrongs real or fan- 
cied; hence, the gratification of vindictive feel- 
ing. 
Revenge is a kind of wild justice. Bacon, Revenge. 
Though now his mighty soul its grief contains ; 
He meditates revenge who least complains. 
Dryden, Abs. and Achit., i. 446. 
Sweet is revenge especially to women. 
Byron, Don Juan, i. 24. 
2. That which is done by way of vengeance ; 
a revengeful or vindictive act; a retaliatory 
measure ; a means of revenging one's self. 
1 will make mine arrows drunk with blood . . . from 
the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. 
Deut xxxii. 42. 
And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges. 
Shak., T. N., v. 1. 385. 
3. The desire to be revenged; the emotion 
which is aroused by an injury or affront, and 
which leads to retaliation; vindictiveness of 
mind. 
Not tied to rules of policy, you find 
Revenge less sweet than a forgiving mind. 
Dryden, Astrea Redux, 1. 261. 
The term Revenge expresses the angry passion carried 
to the full length of retaliation. 
A. Bain, Emotions and Will, p. 136. 
To give one nis revenge, to play a return-match in any 
game with a defeated opponent ; give a defeated opponent 
a chance to gain an equal seore or standing. 
Lad y Smart. Well, miss, you'll have a sad husband, you 
have such good luck at cards. . . . 
Miss. Well, my lady Smart, I'll give you revenge when- 
ever you please. Swift, Polite Conversation, iii. 
=Syn. 1. Revenge, Vengeance, Retribution, Retaliation, 
and Reprisal agree in expressing the visiting of evil up- 
on others in return for their misdeeds. Revenge is the 
carrying out of a bitter desire to injure an enemy for a 
wrong done to one's self or to those who seem a part of 
one's self, and is a purely personal feeling. It generally 
has reference to one's equals or superiors, and the malig- 
nant feel ing is all the more bitter when it cannot be grati- 
fied. Vengeance has an earlier and a later use. In its earlier 
use it may arise from no personal feeling, but may be vis- 
ited upon a person for another's wrong as well as for his 
own. In the Scripture it means retribution with indig- 
nation, as in Rom. xii. 19: "Vengeance is mine; I will 
repay, saith the Lord," where it is a reservation for Jeho- 
vah of the offices of distributive and retributive justice. 
In its later use it involves the idea of wrathful retribution, 
whether just, unjust, or excessive; it is often a furious 
revenge : hence there is a general tendency to turn to 
other words to express just retribution, especially as an 
act of God. Retribution bears more in mind the amount 
of the wrong done, viewing it as a sort of loan whose 
equivalent is in some way paid back. Any evil result 
befalling the perpetrator of a bad deed in consequence 
of that deed is said to be a retribution, whether occurring 
by human intention or not; personal agency is not promi- 
nent in the idea of retribution. Retaliation combines the 
notion of equivalent return, which is found in retribution, 
with a distinctly personal agency and intention ; some- 
times, unlike the preceding words, it has a light sense for 
good humored teasing or banter. Reprisal is an act of re- 
taliation in war, its essential point being the capture of 
something in return or as indemnification for pecuniary 
damage from the other side. The word has also a looser 
figurative meaning, amounting essentially to retaliation 
of any sort. See avenge, requital, and the definition of re- 
revengeable (rf-ven'ja-bl), a. 
-able.'] Capable of or suitable 
venged. [Rare.] 
[< rnenge + 
for being re- 
5134 
The buzzard, for he doted more 
And dared lease than reason, 
Through blind bace loue induring wrong 
Reuengeable in season. 
Warner, Albion's England, vii. 342. 
revengeancet (re-ven'jans), w. [Early mod. E. 
rcrenijeaunce ; < rerenge"+ -ance. Cf. vengeance.'} 
Revenge; vengeance. 
Hee woulde not neglecte to take reueitgeamux of so foule 
an act. J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, fol. 136. 
revengeful (re-venj'ful), a. [< revenge + -//.] 
1. Full of revenge or a desire to inflict injury 
or pain for wrong received; harboring feelings 
of revenge; vindictive; resentful. 
If thy revengeful heart cannot forgive, 
Lo, here I lend thee this sharp-pointed sword. 
5Ao*., Rich. III., i. 2. 174. 
2. Avenging; executing revenge; instrumental 
to revenge. 
Tis a meritorious fair design 
To chase injustice with revengeful arms. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 1693. 
= Syn. 1. Unforgiving, implacable. See revenge, n., and 
avenge. 
revengefully (re-venj'ful-i), adv. In a revenge- 
ful manner; by way of revenge; vindictively; 
with the spirit of revenge. 
He smiled revengefully, and leapt 
Upon the floor ; thence gazing at the skies, 
His eye-balls fiery red, and glowing vengeance. 
Dryden and Lee, (Edipus, v. 1. 
revengefulness (re-venj'ful-nes), n. The qual- 
ity of being revengeful; vindictiveness. Bai- 
ley, 1727. 
revengeless (re-venj 'les), a. [< rerenge + -less.'] 
Without revenge; unrevenged. [Bare.] 
We. full of heartie teares 
For our good father's losse, . . . 
Cannot so lightly over-jumpe his death 
As leave his woes retengeleae. 
Martton, Malcontent, iv. 8. 
revengement (re-venj 'ment), n. [< rcvenyc + 
-ment.] Revenge; retaliation for an injury. 
[Rare.] 
Thinges of honour are so delicate that the same day 
that any confesseth to haue receiued an iniurie, from that 
day he bindeth himselfe to take reuengement. 
Ouecara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 218. 
Mm I her . . . hath more shapes than Proteus, and will 
shift himselfe, vppon any occasion of reuengement, into a 
man's dish, his drinke, his apparel), his rings, his stir- 
hops, his nosgay. Name, Pierce Penilesse, p. 34. 
revenger (re-ven'jer), n. One who revenges; 
an avenger. 
Now, darting Parthia, art thou struck ; and now 
Pleased fortune does of Marcus Crassus' death 
Make me revenger. Shak., A. and 0., iii. 1. 3. 
revengingly(re-ven'jing-li),nd. With revenge; 
with the spirit of revenge ; vindictively. 
I have belied a lady, 
The princess of this country, and the air on 't 
Revengingly enfeebles me. Shak., Cymbeline, v. 2. 4. 
revenual (rev'e-nu-al), a. [< revenue + -a2.] 
Pertaining to revenue: as, revenual expendi- 
ture. [Recent and rare.] 
Admitting the restraint exercised to be due to a neces- 
sary caution in dealing with public funds, . . . the ad- 
vantages of a more rapid advance might be secured with- 
out in the least involving revenual risks. 
The Engineer, LXVI. 224. 
revenue (rev'e-nu, formerly and still occasion- 
ally re-ven'u), . [Early mod. E. also revenew ; 
< OF. ' revenu, m., also revenue, t., P. revenu, m. 
(ML. reflex rcvenuta, t., revenutum, n., also re- 
rennea, f., also in pure L. form reventus and rc- 
ventio), revenue, rent, < revenu, pp. of rerenir, 
come back, return: see revenant. Cf. avenue, 
parvenu.'] 1. The annual rents, profits, inter- 
est, or issues of any kind of property, real or 
personal; income. 
She bears a duke's revenue! on her back, 
And in her heart she scorns our poverty. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., i. 3. 83. 
One that had more skill how to quaffe a can 
Then manage his revenevtes. 
Times' Whittle (E. E. T. S.), p. 64. 
I call it [a monastery of the Benedictine monks] . . . 
rich, because their yearly revenew amounteth to one hun- 
dred thousand Crowns. Coryat, Crudities, I. 177. 
2. The annual income of a state, derived from 
the taxation, customs, excise, or other sources, 
and appropriated to the payment of the nation- 
al expenses. [This is now the common meaning of the 
word, income being applied more generally to the rents 
and profits of individuals.] 
The common charity, 
Good people's alms and prayers of the gentle, 
Is the revenue must support my state. 
Ford, Perkin Warbeck, v. 1. 
A complete power, therefore, to procure a regular and 
adequate supply of revenue, as far as the resources of the 
community will permit, may be regarded as an indispen- 
sable ingredient in every constitution. 
A. Hamilton, The Federalist, N'o. 30. 
reverberate 
3. Return; reward. 
Neither doe I know any thing wherein a man may more 
improue the reuenueg of his learning, or make greater 
shew with a little, . . . than in this matter of the Creation. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 6. 
Inland revenue, in Great Britain and Ireland, internal 
revenue, derived from excise, stamps, income-tax, and 
other taxes. The Board of Internal Revenue cousists of a 
chairman, a deputy chairman, and three commissioners. 
Internal revenue, that part of the revenue or income of 
a country which is derived from duties on articles manu- 
factured or grown at home, on licenses, stamps, incomes, 
etc. ; all the revenue of a country except that collected 
from export or import duties. In tlje United States the 
principal receipts are from spirits, tobacco, and fermented 
liquors. During the period of the civil war taxes were 
imposed on many other manufactures, but they were -re- 
moved in great part in 1868. Revenue cadet, or cadet 
of the revenue-cutter service, an officer of the junior 
grade in the United States revenue marine, undergoing 
instruction preparatory to examination for the position of 
third lieutenant. The appointment is made after a com- 
petitive examination, to which young men between the 
ages of 18 and 25 are eligible, by the Secretary of the Trea- 
sury. A term of two years' service aboard a practice-ves- 
sel is required, which is followed by the examination for 
promotion. Revenue cutter. See cutteri . Revenue- 
cutter school-ship, a vessel used for the purpose of in- 
structing cadets in the revenue-cutter service in the du- 
ties of their profession, previous to commissioning them 
as third lieutenants. Revenue-cutter service. See 
revenue marine. Revenue ensign, a distinctive flag, au- 
thorized March, 1798, for revenue cutters, to distinguish 
them from other armed vessels of the United States. Pre- 
vious to that date, the revenue cutters sailed under the 
same flag as other United States vessels. The revenue 
Hag is also used over custom-houses. It consists of six- 
teen vertical stripes of red and white alternately, with a 
white union in which is a blue eagle carrying in his 
beak the motto "E pluribus unum," a shield with red 
and white stripes on his breast, and in his talons a bundle 
of arrows and a branch of olive, the whole surrounded by 
a semicircle of thirteen blue stars. Revenue law. See 
/-i. Revenue marine, or revenue-cutter service, 
a corps organized in 1790, by Alexander Hamilton, then 
Secretary of the Treasury, for the purpose of guarding the 
coast and estuaries of the United States for the protec- 
tion of the customs revenue. During the period of its 
existence, the duties of the service have necessarily un- 
dergone many changes. The corps, combining both civil 
and military features, is employed in assisting to maintain 
law and order throughout United States territory. Reve- 
nue pennant, a pennant used on revenue vessels in com- 
mission, and in the bow of boats when carrying an officer 
on duty. It is made up of alternate vertical red and white 
stripes, and has a white field carrying thirteen blue stars. 
Revenue tariff. See tariff. To defraud the revenue. 
See defraud. = Syn. Profit, etc. See income. 
revenued (rev'e-nud, formerly re-ven'ud), a. 
[< revenue + -effi.~] Endowed with a revenue 
or income. 
Pray resolve me 
Why, being a Gentleman of fortunes, meanes, 
And well revenude, will you adventure thus 
A doubtfull voyage. 
Ueywood, Fair Maid of the West (Works, ed. Pearson, 
[1874, II. 265). 
revenue-officer (rev'e-nu-of'i-ser), n. An offi- 
cer of the customs or excise. 
revert, An obsolete form of reaver. 
reyerable (re-ver'a-bl), a. [< revere + -able.'] 
Worthy of reverence ; capable of being revered. 
The character of a gentleman is the most referable, the 
highest of all characters. //. ISrooke, Fool of Quality, 1. 17. 
reverbt (re-verb'), v. t. [Erroneously abbr. 
from reverberate: see reverberate.'] To rever- 
berate. [Rare.] 
Nor are those empty-hearted, whose loud sound 
Jteverbn no hollowness. Shak., Lear, i. 1. 156. 
reverberant (re-ver'ber-ant), a. [< L. rever- 
beran(t-)s, ppr. of reverberare, repel: see rever- 
berate.'] Reverberating; causing reverberation; 
especially, returning sound ; resounding. 
Multitudinous echoes awoke and died in the distance. 
Over the watery floor,and beneath the reverberant branches. 
Longfellow, Evangeline, 11. 2. 
reverberate (re-ver'ber-at), v.; pret. and pp. 
reverberated, ppr. reverberating. [< L. reverbe- 
ratus, pp. of reverberare (> It. riverberare = Sp. 
Pg. reverberar = OF. reverberer, F. reverberer), 
beat back, < re-, back, + verberare, beat : see 
verberate."] I. trans. If. To beat back; repel; 
repulse. 
This banke . . . serveth in steed of a strong wall to re- 
pulse and reverberate the violence of the furious waves of 
the Sea. Coryat, Crudities, I. 199. 
2. To return, as sound; echo. 
Who, like an arch, reverberates 
The voice again. Shak., T. and C., iii. 3. 120. 
3. To turn back ; drive back; bend back; re- 
flect: as, to reverberate rays of light or heat. 
4. Specifically, to deflect (flame or heat) as in 
a reverberatory furnace. 5f. To reduce by re- 
verberated heat : fuse. 
Some of our chymicks facetiously affirm that at the last 
fire all shall be crystallized and reverberated into glass. 
Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, i. 60. 
6f. To beat upon; fall upon. 
The Sunne . . . goeth continually rounde about in cir- 
cuite : so that his beanies, reuerberatj/ng heanen, repre- 
