reverend 
I paat beside the reverend walls 
In which of old I wore the gown. 
Tennyson, In Meinoriam, Ixxxvii. 
2. Specifically, a title of respect given to clergy- 
men or ecclesiastics: as, Reverend (or the Here- 
rend) John Smith. In the Anglican Church deans are 
styled veryreverend,bishopari/jhtreverend,!LnA archbishops 
(also the Bishop of Meath) n><>*t reverend. In the Roman 
Catholic Church the members of the religions orders are 
also styled reverend, the superiors being styled reverend 
fathers or reverend mothers, as the case may be. In Scot- 
land the principals of the universities, if clergymen, and 
the moderatorof the General Assembly for the time being, 
are styled very reverend. Abbreviated Rev. (also, the Rev.) 
when used with the name of an individual. 
The reverend gentleman was equipped in a buzzwig, 
upon the top of which was an equilateral cocked hat. 
Scott, Antiquary, xvii. 
3. Of or pertaining to ecclesiastics, or to the 
clerical office or profession. 
Carlisle, this Is your doom : 
Choose out some secret place, some reverend room, 
More than thou hast, and with it joy thy life. 
Shale., Kich. II., v. 6. 26. 
With all his humour and high spirits he (Sydney Smith) 
had always, as he said himself, fashioned his manners and 
conversation so as not to bring discredit on his reverend 
profession. Encyc. Brit., XXII. 178. 
4f. Reverent. [A misuse formerly common.] 
With a Joy 
As reverend as religion can make man's, 
I will embrace this blessing. 
Middleton, The Witch, iv. 2. 
Where-e'er you walk'd Trees were as reverend made 
As when of old Gods dwelt in ev'ry shade. 
Cmeley, The Mistress, Spring. 
There are, I find, to be in it [the drama] all the reverend 
offices of life (such as regard to parents, husbands, and 
honourable lovers), preserved with the utmost care. 
Steele, Tatler, No. 182. 
reverendlyt (rev'e-rend-li), adv. [< reverentl 
+ -Iy2.] Reverently. 
Others ther be 
Which doe indeed esteem more reverendlie 
Of the Lords Supper. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. 8.), p. 18. 
I am not the flrst ass, sir, 
Has borne good office, and perform'd it rewrendly. 
Fletcher (and another''), Prophetess, i. 3. 
reverent (rev'e-rent), a. [X ME. referent, < 
OF. rcrerent = Sp. Pg. retfrente = It. rirerente. 
reverente, < L. revere(t-)s, ppr. of revereri, re- 
vere: see revere^.] 1. Peeling or displaying 
reverence; impressed with veneration or deep 
respect; standing in awe with admiration, as 
before superior age, worth, capacity, power, or 
achievement. 
Lowly reverent 
Towards either throne they bow. 
Milton, P. L., iii. 349. 
The most awful, living, reverent frame I ever felt or be- 
held, I must say, was his [George Fox's] in prayer. 
Penn, Rise and Progress of Quakers, v. 
O sacred weapon ! left for Truth's defence, . . . 
Reverent 1 touch thee, but with honest zeal. 
Pope, Epil. to Satires, li. 216. 
I have known 
Wise and grave men, who . . . 
Were reverent learners in the solemn school 
Of Nature. Bryant, Old Man's Counsel. 
2. Proceeding from or characteristic of reve- 
rence ; expressive of veneration or profound re- 
spect and awe: as, reverent conduct ; arerereni 
attitude toward religious questions. 
The reverent care I bear unto my lord 
Made me collect these dangers in the duke. 
Shak., 2 lien. VI., iii. 1. 34. 
3f. Reverend. [A misuse formerly common: 
compare reverend, 4.] 
And I beseche your [mastership] that this sympil ski-owe 
may recomaund me to my reverant and worshipful mais- 
tres your moder. Paston Letters, I. 55. 
A very reverent body ; ay, such a one as a man may not 
speak of without he say, "sir-reverence." 
Shak., C. of E., iii. 2. 91. 
Yet, with good honest cut-throat usury, 
I fear he'll mount to reverent dignity. 
Atarston, Seourge of Villanie, v. 67. 
4. Strong; undiluted: noting liquors. Trans. 
Amer. Pliilot. Ass., XVII. 46. [Local, U. S.] 
reverential (rev-e-ren'shal), a. [< OF. reve- 
rential, F. revereuciel = Sp. Pg. reverential = 
It. reverenziale, riverenziale, < ML. reverentititi*. 
reverential, < L. reverentia, reverence: see 
reverence.] Characterized by or expressive of 
reverence; humbly respectful; reverent. 
Their reverential heads did all incline, 
And render meek obeysance unto mine. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, i. 91. 
All, all look up, with reverential awe, 
At crimes that 'scape or triumph o'er the law. 
Pope, Epil. to Satires, i. 1B7. 
Rapt in reverential awe, 
I sate obedient, in the flery prime 
Of youth, sclf-govern'd, at the feet of Law. 
31. Arnnld, Mycerinus 
5136 
reverentially (rev-e-ren'shal-i ), titlr. In a rev- 
erential manner; with reverence, 
reverently (rev'e-ront-li), odr. [< ME. 'reve- 
rently, rcriTi'iillii'lii : < r< n ri'/it + -ly^.] In a 
reverent manner; with reverence; with awe 
and deep respect. 
Thanh he be here thyn vnderling, in heuene, paraunter, 
He worth rather receyued and reuerentloker sette. 
Piers Plowman (C), ix. 44. 
Read the same diligently and reverently with prayer. 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 1853), II. 9. 
Chide him for faults, and do it reverently. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., Iv. 4. 37. 
reverer(re-ver'er), . [< revere^ + -crl.] One 
who reveres or venerates. 
The Jews were such scrupulous reverers of them [the di- 
vine revelations] that it was the business of the Masorltes 
to number not only the sections and lines, but even the 
words and letters of the Old Testament. 
Government of the Tongue. 
revergence (re-ver'jens), . [< LL. rerer- 
gcn(t-)s, ppr. o'f revergere, incline toward, < L. 
re-, back, + vergere, bend, incline: see verge.] 
A tending toward a certain character. [Rare. J 
The evernioid revergence of this subdivision is observa- 
ble also in Parmelia perforata. 
E. Tuckerman, Genera Lichenum, p. 22. 
reverie, revery (rev'e-ri or -re), w.; pi. reri'rie.* 
(-riz). [Formerly also resvery; < OF. resrerir, 
F. reverie, delirium, raving, dream, day-dream, 
< resver, rarer, also raver, F. dial, raver, > E. 
rave: see rave 1 . Cf. rarery.] 1. A state of 
mental abstraction in which more or less aim- 
less fancy predominates over the reasoning 
faculty ; dreamy meditation ; fanciful musing. 
The mind may be occupied, according to the age, tastes, 
or pursuits of the individual, by calculations, by profound 
metaphysical speculations, by fanciful visions, or by such 
trifling and transitory objects as to make no impression on 
consciousness, so that the period of reverie is left an entire 
blank in the memory. The moat obvious external feature 
marking this state is the apparent unconsciousness or im- 
perfect perception of external objects. 
When ideas float in our mind without any reflection or 
regard of the understanding, it is that which the French 
call reverie; our language has scarce a name for it. 
Locke, Human Understanding, II. xix. 1. 
Dream-forger, I refill thy cup 
With reverie's wasteful pittance up. 
Lowell, To C. 1'. Bradford. 
In reverie, and even in understanding the communica- 
tions of others, we are comparatively passive spectators of 
ideational movements, non-voluntarily determined. 
J. Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX. 75. 
2. A waking dream ; a brown study; an imagi- 
native, fanciful, or fantastic train of thought; 
a day-dream. 
Defend me, therefore, common sense, say I, 
From reveries so airy, from the toil 
Of dropping buckets into empty wells, 
And growing old in drawing nothing up ! 
Cowper, Task, iii. 188. 
3. The object or product of reverie or idle fan- 
cy ; a visionary scheme, plan, aim, ideal, or the 
like ; a dream. 
The principle of asceticism seems originally to have been 
the reverie of certain hasty speculators, who . . . took oc- 
casion to quarrel with every thing that ottered itself under 
the name of pleasure. 
Bentham, Introd. to Morals and Legislation, ii. 9. 
4. In music, an instrumental composition of a 
vague and dreamy character. 
reverist (rev'e-rist), n. [< reverie + -int.] One 
who is sunk m a reverie; one who indulges in 
or gives way to reverie. Chambers's Encyc. 
Their religion consisted in a kind of sleepy, vaporous 
ascension of the thoughts into the ideal. They were rever- 
ists, idealists. 
f. If. Beecher, Plymouth Pulpit, March 19, 1884, p. 483. 
revers 1 t, An obsolete form of reverse. 
revers 2 (re-var'. commonly re- ver'), . [F. : see 
reverse.] In dressmaking, tailoring, etc.: (a) 
That part of a garment which is turned back so 
as to show what would otherwise be the inner 
surface, as the lapel of a waistcoat or the cuff 
of a sleeve. (6) The stuff used to cover or face 
such a turned-over surface, as a part of the lin- 
ing exposed to view. 
reversability (re-ver-sa-bil'i-ti), H. [< revevsa- 
ble + -itii (see -biliti/).]' Same as reversibility. 
reversable (re-ver'sa-bl), a. [< reverse + -able.] 
Same as reversible. 
reversal (re-ver'sal), H. and a. [< F. reversal; 
as reverse 4- -a?.]" I. n. 1. The act of revers- 
ing, or of altering a position, direction, action, 
condition, or state to its opposite or contrary ; 
also, the state of being reversed. 
Time gives his hour-glass 
Its due reversal ; 
Their hour is gone. 
M. Arnold, Consolation. 
It is assumed as possible that the astronomical condi- 
tions might be reversed without a reversal of the physical 
conditions. J. Croll. climate and Cosmology, p. 105. 
reverse 
2. In i>lii/xic.i, specifically, the changing of a 
bright line in a spectrum, produced by an in- 
candescent vapor, into a dark line (by absorp- 
tion), and the reverse. The reversal of lines in the 
solar spectrum has been observed at the time of a total 
eclipse, when certain of the dark absorption-lines have 
suddenly become bright lines as the light irom the body 
of the sun has been cut oil. See spectrum. 
3. The act of repealing, revoking, or annulling ; 
a change or overthrowing: as, the reversal of a 
judgment, which amounts to an official decla- 
ration that it is erroneous and rendered void 
or terminated ; the reversal f an attainder or 
of an outlawry. 
She [Elizabeth] began her reign, of course, by a reversal 
of her sister's legislation ; but she did not restore the Ed- 
wardian system. Stubbs, Medieval and Modern Hist., p. 323. 
4. In Wo/., reversion. Method of reversal See 
method. 
II. t a. Causing, intending, or implying re- 
verse action ; reversing. 
After his death there were reversal letters found among 
his papers. Bp. Burnet, Hist. Own Times, Charles II. 
reversatile (re-ver'sa-til), a. [< LL. reverxatux, 
pp. of rererxare, reverse, + -ile.] Reversible; 
capable of being reversed. 
reverse (re-vers' ), f. ; pret. and pp. reversed, ppr. 
reversing.' [< ME. recersen, < OF. reverser, F. 
reverser, reverse, = Pr. reversar = Sp. rcvcrxin; 
reresar, revezar, vomit, = Pg. rcvessar, alter- 
nate, = It. riversare, upset, pour out, < LL. re- 
rersare, turn about, turn back, f req. of L. reeer- 
tere, turn back, revert: see rcrert.] !._ trim*. 
1. To turn about, around, or upside down; put 
in an opposite or contrary position ; turn in an 
opposite direction, or through 180; invert. 
In her the stream of mild 
Maternal nature had revers'd Its course. 
Cowper, Task, ill. 438. 
Revers'd that spear, redoubtable in war. 
Burnt, Death of Sir J. H. Blair. 
2. In macli., to cause to revolve or act in a con- 
trary direction ; give an exactly opposite mo- 
tion or action to, as the crank of an engine, or 
that part to which the piston-rod is attached. 
3. In general, to alter to the opposite; change 
diametrically the state, relations, or bearings 
of. 
With what tyranny custom governs men ! It makes that 
reputable in one age which was a vice in another, and re- 
verses even the distinctions of good and evil. 
Dr. J. Roger*. 
He that seem'd our counterpart at flrst 
Soou shows the strong similitude revers'd. 
Cowper, Tirocinium, 1. 443. 
4. To overturn; upset; throw into confusion. 
Puzzling contraries confound the whole ; 
Or affectations quite reverse the soul. 
Pope, Moral Essays, i. 66. 
5. To overthrow ; set aside ; make void; annul ; 
repeal; revoke : as, to reverse a judgment, sen- 
tence, or decree. 
Yf the proces be erroneous, lete his concell reverse it 
Paston Letters, I. 126. 
Is Clarence dead? The order was reversed. 
Shak., Rich. III., ii. 1. 86. 
When judgment pronounced upon conviction is falsified 
or reversed, all former proceedings are absolutely set aside, 
and the party stands as if he had never been at all accused. 
Blackstone, Com., IV. xxx. 
6f. To turn back; drive away; banish. 
That old Dame said many an idle verse, 
Out of her daughters hart fond fancies to reverse. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. ii. 48. 
7t. To cause to return ; bring back; recall. 
Well knowing trew all that he did reherse, 
And to his fresh remembraunce did reverse 
The ugly vew of his deformed crimes. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. Ix. 48. 
Reversing counter-shaft. See counter-shaft. Revers- 
ing engine, an engine provided with reversing valve-gear, 
by which it may be made to turn in either direction. Such 
engines are used on railways, for marine propulsion, in 
rolling-mills, and for other purposes. Compare reversing- 
gear. Reversing key. See telegraph. To reverse a 
battery or current, to turn the current in direction, :is 
by means of a commutator or pole-changer. = Syn. 1. To 
invert. 5. To rescind, countermand. 
II. intrans. 1. To change position, direction, 
motion, or action to the opposite; specifically, 
in round dances, to turn or revolve in a direc- 
tion contrary to that previously taken : as, to re- 
verse in waltzing. 2t. To be overturned ; fall 
over. 
The kyng presid fast away certayn, 
Generides helde still the reane alway; 
And so, betwix the striving of them twayn, 
The horse reversid bak, and ther he lay. 
Generydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3470. 
And happed that Boydas and Kraundalis mette hym 
bothe attonys, and smote hym so on the shelde that he re- 
versed on his horse croupe. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 61. 
3f. To turn back; return; comeback. 
