Rhyzeena 
Rhyzana (ri-ze'na), H. [NL. (Illiger, 1811, in 
form Rijzeena), < Or. pKen; growl, snarl.] A 
genus of vivcrrino quadrupeds; the suricates: 
synonymous with Surinttti. 
rhyzp-. For words beginning thus, see rlii-n-. 
ri (re), . [Jap., = Chinese li, mile.] A Jap- 
anese mile. It is divided into 36 cho, and is 
equal to about 2.45 English miles. See cho. 
rialif, ti. Same as raaJS. 
ria! 2 t, ". Same as real*. 
rial 3 , a. See ri/al. 
riallyt, riallicnet, "dr. Middle English obso- 
lete variants of ruijuUy. Chaucer. 
rialtet, . A Middle English form of royalty. 
Rialto (ri-al'to), n. [It., < rio, also rivo, brook, 
stream (= Sp. Pg. c<o,< L. rir, a stream, river: 
see rirulet), + alto, deep, high, < L. altus, deep, 
high : see altitude.] A bridge, noted in litera- 
ture and art, over the Grand Canal in Venice. 
Oil the ffialto ev'ry night at twelve 
I take my evening's walk of meditation. 
Otway, Venice Preserved, i. 
riancy (ri'an-si), . [< rinn(t) + -cy.~\ The 
state or character of being riant ; cheerfulness ; 
gaiety. 
The tone, in some parts, has more of riancy, even of 
levity, than we could nave expeeU-il ! 
Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, ii. 9. 
riant (ri'ant), a. [< F. riant (< L. riden(t-)s), 
laughing, ppr. of rire, laugh, = Pr. rice, rir = 
Sp. reir = Pg. rir = It. ridere, < L. ridere, laugh : 
see rident.'] Laughing; gay; smiling: as, a ri- 
ant landscape. 
Goethe's childhood is throughout of riant, joyful char- 
acter. Carlyle, Essays, Goethe's Works. 
riata, . See reata. 
rib 1 (rib), n. [< ME. rib, ribbe, < AS. rivb = 
OFries. rib, reb = UD. ribbc, D. rib = MLG. LG. 
ribbe = OHG. rippi, riltbi, ribi, MHG. rippe, ribe, 
Gr. rippe, riebe (obs.) = Icel. rif = Sw. ref (in 
ref-beii, rib-bone, rib) = Dan. rib (rib-ben, rib- 
bone, rib) = Goth. *ribi (not recorded); akin 
to OBulg. Russ. rebro, rib, and prob., as 'that 
which incloses or envelops,' to G. rebe, a tendril, 
vine (cf. OHG. hirni-reba, MHG. Mmrebe, that 
which envelops the brain, the skull).] 1. In 
anat. and zool., a costa; a pleurapophysis, with 
or without a hemapophysis ; the pleurapophysi- 
alelementof a vertebra, of whatever size, shape, 
or mode of connection with a vertebra, in ordi- 
nary language the term rib is restricted to one of the series 
of long slender bones which are movably articulated with 
or entirely disconnected from the vertebrae, occur in pairs, 
and extend to or toward the sternum or middle ventral line 
of the body. In many vertebrates such ribs are character- 
istic of or confined to the thoracic or dorsal region, and 
form, together with the corresponding vertebra) and with 
the sternum, a kind of bony cage for the thoracic viscera 
the chest or thorax. Such ribs are called thoracic or dorsal, 
and are often the only free ribs an animal may possess, as 
is usually the case in mammals. In man there are twelve 
pairs of such ribs. The first of these articulates with the 
upper part of the side of the body of the first dorsal verte- 
bra ; the second to the ninth inclusive articulate at an In- 
tervertebral space, and consequently with two vertebrte 
apiece ; the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth articulate with the 
single vertebra to which they correspond. The first to the 
tenth ribs articulate by their 
heads with bodies of vertebra) 
as above stated, and also by 
their shoulders with transverse 
processes, which latter articu- 
lations are lacking to the elev- 
enth and twelfth ribs. The first 
seven ribs reach the sternum 
by means of costal cartilages, 
and are called trueribs; thelast 
five ribs do not, and are called 
false ribs: of these last the 
first three join one another by 
means of their costal carti- 
lages, while the last two are 
entirely free or " floating " at 
their ends. Only the bony 
part of a rib is a pleurapophy- 
sis ; the gristly part, or costal 
cartilage, is a hemapophysis. 
Parts of a bony rib commonly 
distinguished are the he-ad or 
capitulum, the neck or cen-ix, 
the shoulder or tuberculum, 
andthesAo/f. Most of the ribs 
are not only curved as a whole, 
but also somewhat bent at a 
point called the angle, and, 
moreover, twisted on their own 
axis. In man there are occa- 
sionally supernumerary cervi- 
cal or lumbar ribs of ordinary 
character, that are extended 
from and freely jointed to their 
vertebrte ; and all the human 
cervical vertebra) have rudi- 
mentary ribs inkylOMd with 
their respective vertebra;, represented by that part of the 
transverse process which bounds the vertebrartei ial fora- 
men in front. Mammals have frequently more or fewer 
than twelve pairs of thoracic ribs. Ribs occurring in any 
part of the vertebral column are named from that part: 
Human Ribs, left side ( re;ir 
view), the first, second, seventh, 
ninth, and twelfth shaded inde- 
tail, the others in outline all 
without their costal cartilit^es 
r> 1 63 
as, cervical, thoracic or dorsal, durxolttntbar, lumbar, or sa- 
cral ribs. In bird* and reptiles the number of ribs is t'x 
tremely variable, and their situation may extern! fnun head 
to tail. Frequently they are jointed in the middle, or at 
the point where in a mammal the bony part joins the car- 
tilaginous. Some of them may be free or floating at the 
vertebral as well as at the sternal end. Some ribs in 
birds bear peculiar splint-bones called uncinate processes. 
(Sf e ent under cpipleura.) In chelonians the ribs are tixed. 
and consolidated with broad plate-like dermal bones to 
form the carapace. The greatest number of ribs is found 
in some serpents, which have more than two hundred pairs. 
In some fishes, ribs are apparently doubled in number by 
forking; this is the principal reason why the bones of a 
shad, for example, seem so numerous. See also cuts un- 
der carapace and skeleton. 
Ut of his side he toe a rib, 
And made a wimman him fnl sib, 
And heled him that side wel. 
Genesis and Exoilus (E. E. T. S.), 1. 227. 
Dainty bits 
Make rich the ribs, but bankrupt quite the wits. 
Shak., L. L. L., i. 1. 27. 
2. That which resembles a rib in use, position, 
etc. ; a strip, band, or piece of anything when 
used as a support, or as a member of a frame- 
work or skeleton. 
Thirdly, in settyng on of your fether [a question may 
be asked], whether it be pared or drawen with a thickc 
rybbe, or a thinne rybbe (the rybbe is ye hard quill whiche 
deuydeth the fether). Ascham, Toxophilus, ii. 
We should have been in love with flames, and have 
thought the gridiron fairer than the sponda;, the ribs of a 
marital bed. Jer. Taylor, Holy Dying, iii. 9. 
He consulted to remove the whole wall by binding it 
about with ribs of iron and timber, to convey it into 
France. Evelyn, Diary, March 23, 1646. 
Specifically (a) Some part or organ of an animal like or 
likened to a rib ; a costate or costiform process ; a long 
narrow thickening of a surface ; a ridge ; a strip or stripe : 
as, (1) one of the veins or nerves of an insect's wing; (2) 
one of a set or series of parallel or radiating ridges on a 
shell; (3) one of the ciliated rays or ctenophores of a 
ctenophoran. (6) In ship-building, one of the bent timber 
or metallic bars which spring from the keel, and form or 
strengthen the side of the ship. 
How like the prodigal doth she return, 
With over-weather'd ribs and rugged sails ! 
Shalt., M. of V., ii. 6. 18. 
(c) In arch. : (1) In vaulting, a plain or variously molded 
and sculptured arch, properly, supporting a vault, or, in 
combination with other ribs, the filling of a groined vault. 
In pointed vaults the groins typically rest upon or are cov- 
ered by ribs ; and secondary ribs connecting the main ribs, 
especially in late and less pure designs, are sometimes ap- 
plied, usually as a mere decoration, to the plain surfaces 
of the vaulting-cells. The three main vaulting-ribs are 
designated as (a) groin-ribs or ogives, (/3) doubleaux, and 
(v) formerets. (See plan under arcl.) Ribs upon the sur- 
faces of the cells are known as surface-ribs. The groin-rib 
or ogive is also called the diagonal rib, because it occupies 
the diagonal of the plan of a quadripartite vault. See 
orcfti and arcl. 
All these ribs [of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris] are inde- 
pendent arches, which determine the forms of, and actual- 
ly sustain, the vault shells. 
C. II. Moore, Gothic Architecture, p. 52. 
(2) A n arch-formed piece of timber for supporting the lath- 
and-plaster work of pseudo-domes, vaults, etc. (d) In coal- 
mining, a narrow strip or block of solid coal left to sup- 
port the workings, (e) One of the curved extension rods 
on which the cover of an umbrella is stretched. 
Let Persian Dames th' Umbrella's Ribs display, 
To guard their Beauties from the sunny Ray. 
Gay, Trivia, i. 
CO In bot. : (1) One of the principal vascular bundles, other- 
wise called nerves or veins, into which the primary bundle 
divides on entering the blade to form the framework of a 
leaf, commonly salient on its lower surface ; a primary 
nerve : contrasted with vein and veinlet, the branches to 
which it gives origin. See midrib and nervation. (2) A 
prominent line on the surface of some other organ, as the 
fruit, (y) In cloth or knitted work, a ridge or stripe rising 
from the groundwork of the material, as in corduroy. (A) 
In bookbinding, one of the ridges on the back of a book, 
which serve for covering the tapes and for ornament, (i) 
One of the narrow tracks or ways of iron in which the bed of a 
printing-press slides to and from impression, (j) Inmach., 
an angle-plate cast between two other plates, to brace and 
strengthen them, as between the sole and wall-plate of a 
bracket, (k) In a violin or similar instrument, one of the 
curved sides of the body, separating the belly from the 
back. (I) In gun-making, either of the longitudinally ex- 
tending upper or lower projections of the metal which 
join the barrels of a double-barreled gun, and which in 
fine guns are often ornamented or of ornamental shape. 
The upper rib is called the top rib; the lower, the bottom rib. 
3. A piece of meat containing one or more 
ribs; a rib-piece: as, a rib of beef. 4. A wife: 
in allusion to Eye, who, according to the ac- 
count in Genesis, was formed out of one of 
Adam's ribs. [Humorous.] 
Punch and his rib Joan. Scott, Pirate, xxvii. 
5. A strip; a band or ribbon; a long and narrow 
piece of anything. 
A small rib of land, that is scarce to be found without 
a guide. 
J. Echard, Contempt of the Clergy, p. 104. (Latham.) 
Abdominal ribs, in herpet. See abdominal. Back Of a 
rib, in arch., the upper surface of a vaulting rib. Built 
rib, in arch., for bridges or roofs, a rib constructed of 
scvi ral layers of planks set on edge, breaking joints, and 
united by bolts. Diagonal rib, in arch. See def. 2 (rt (1). 
False rib. Si-edef. i. Floating rib, a. rib tmatta. -in < : . 
ribald 
at one or both ends; a free or false rib, as the eleventh 
or twelfth of man. Laminated rib, in arch., a rib con- 
structed of layers of plank, laid flat, one overanother, anil 
bolted together. Longitudinal rib, in areh., a formeret, 
or arc formeret. See plan under rci. Rib and pillar. 
See pillar. Ribs of a parrel (/muM, a name formerly 
given to short pieces of wood having holes through which 
are reeved the two parts of the parrel-rope. Rib-top 
machine, a special form of knitting-machine for making 
ribbed hosiery. Ridge rib, in arch., a rib in the axis of 
a vault and extending along its ridge. It is of rare occur- 
rence except in English medieval vaulting, and is not 
used in vaults of the most correct and scientific design. 
Sacral rib, the pleurapophysis of a sacral vertebra, of 
whatever character. The very complex sacrarium of a 
bird often bears articulated or ankylosed ribs of ordinary 
character, called sacral, though these may be really lumbo- 
sacral, or dorsolumbar. No mammal has such sacral ribs ; 
but the whole "lateral mass," so called, of a mammalian 
sacrum, as in man, which ossifies from several indepen- 
dent centers, is regarded by some anatomists as pleurapo- 
physial, and therefore as representing a consolidation of 
sacral ribs. Surface-rib, in areh., a rib without con- 
structive office, applied to the surface of vaulting merely 
for ornament ; a lierne, tierceron, etc. Such ribs, as a 
rule, were not used until alter the best time of medieval 
vaulting. To give a rib of roastt, to rib-roast ; thrash 
soundly. See rib-roast. 
Though the skorneful do nmcke me for a time, yet in 
the ende I hope to giue them al a rybbe of route for their 
paynes. Gascoigne, Steele Glas (ed. Arber), Ep. Ded. 
Transverse rib, in arch.,& doubleau or arc doubleau. See 
plan under arcl. Wall-rib, in arch., same as arc far- 
mere! (which see, under arcl). 
rib 1 (rib), v. t. ; pret. and pp. ribbed, ppr. ribbinij. 
[< czft 1 , .] 1. To furnish with ribs ; strengthen 
or support by ribs : as, to rib a ship. 
Was I by rocks engender'd, ribb'd with steel, 
Such tortures to resist, or not to feel? 
Sandys, Paraphrase upon Job, vi. 
2. To form into ribs or ridges ; mark with al- 
ternate channels and projecting lines ; ridge : 
as, to rib a field by plowing; to rib cloth. 
The long dun wolds are ribb'd with snow. 
Tennyson, Oriana. 
The print of its first rush-wrapping, 
Wound ere it dried, still ribbed the thing. 
D. G. Rossetti, Burden of Nineveh. 
3. To inclose as with ribs ; shut in ; confine. 
It were too gross 
To rib her cerecloth in the obscure grave. 
Shak., M. of V., ii. 7. 81. 
And by the hand of Justice, never arms more 
Shall rib this body in, nor sword hang here, sir. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, i. 1. 
rib 2 (rib), ii. [< ME. ribbe, rybbe, < AS. ribbe. 
hound's-tongue, Cynoglossitm offieinale."} 1. 
Hound's-tongue. 2. Costmary. Caili, Any., 
p. 306. 3. Water-cress. Hattiicell. 
rib 3 (rib), r. t. [< ME. ribbcn, rybbyn, dress; of. 
D. repelen, beat (flax), = Sw. repa, ripple flax : 
see rip 1 , ripple 1 .] To dress (flax) ; ripple. 
rib 3 t (rib), ii. [< ME. rybbe, ryb: see ribS, v., 
and ripple 1 .] An instrument for cleaning flax. 
Halliwe/l. 
ribadoquin (ri-bad'o-kin), n. 1. See ribaude- 
quin. 
The clash of arms, the thundering of ribadoquines and 
arquebuses, . . . bespoke the deadly conflict waging. 
Irving, Granada, p. 455. 
2. Same as organ-gun. 
ribald (rib'ald), n. and a. [< ME. ribald, ribald, 
rebtild, riband, ryboitd, ribaut = Icel. ribbaJdi = 
MHG. ribalt, < OF. ribald, riband, ribauld, ri- 
baut, F. riband = Pr. ribaut = Sp. Pg. ribaldo 
= It. ribaldo, rubaldo (ML. ribaldns) (fern. OF. 
ribaude, ML. ribalda), a lewd, base person, a 
ruffian, ribald, also, without moral implication, 
a stout fellow, a porter, guard, soldier, etc. (see 
riband 2 ) ; of uncertain origin ; perhaps (with 
suffix -aid) < OHG. liripa, MHG. ribe, a prosti- 
tute ; cf. OF. riber, toy, wanton.] I. n. A low, 
base fellow; a profligate; a ruffian; a person 
of lewd habits: applied particularly to one who 
is coarse, abusive, or obscene in language. 
Ephistafus hym presit with his proude wordes, 
As a ribold with reueray in his Koide speche. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 7651. 
A wise man seide, as we may seen. 
Is no man wrecched, but he it wene, 
Be he kyng, knyght or ribaude: 
And many a ribaude is mery and baude, 
That swynkith and berith. bothe day and nyght, 
Many a burthen of grete myght. 
Rom. of the Roue, 1. 5673. 
As for that proverb, the Bishops foot hath been in it, 
it were more fit for a S curra in Trivio, or som Ribald upon 
an Ale-bench. Milton, On Def. of Hnnih. Remonst. 
In the last year of this reign (1376) we find the Commons 
petitioning the King "that Ribalds . . . and Sturdy Beg- 
gars may be banished out of every town." 
Ribton-Turner, Vagrants and Vagrancy, p. 52 
II. a. Licentious; profligate; obscene; 
coarse; abusive or indecent, especially in lan- 
guage ; foul-mouthed. 
The bnsv day, 
Waked by the lark, hath roused tile ribald crows. 
Shak., T. and C., iv. 2. 'J. 
