rifle 
pin and whose point is driven against the cartridge by the hammer s 
at the instant of firing ; t, the mainspring, connected by a link with 
the hammer below the hammer-pivot it ; i', the bear with sear-spring 
and safety-catch mechanism (not lettered) situated behind it ; -w, the 
trigger ; x, extractor and extr.tctor-inech;tnisni, tile extractor engag- 
ing the rim of the cartridge in the barrel and pulling the spent car* 
triage-shell out when the breech-block is movea rearward. Turning 
the linker-lever m, m, t, nt downward toward the front forces the 
breech-block, breech-pin, and hammer rearward, cocking the hammer 
and extracting the spent cartridge-shell. At the same time the ledge 
or abutment T on the finger-lever presses against the ledge / on the 
carrier-lever, forcing up the carrier r'. with its contained cartridge. 
When moved back to its original position the finger-lever permits the 
carrier to return to its original position and receive another cartridge 
from :he magazine/", and also forces the breech-block / forward, press- 
ing the cartridge into the breech of the barrel. The hammer remains 
cocked until the trigger is pulled. The loading of the gun and cock- 
ing for firing are thus effected by the single motion forward and rear- 
ward of the finger-lever m. The opening of a side plate (not shown) 
permits the charging of the magazine by successive insertions of car- 
tridges. 
public at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876. Since that 
time it has attained a world-wide reputation. Its con- 
struction is shown in the cut, to which an explanation ia 
appended. 
rifle 3 (i'1'fl), '(. [Origin uncertain.] 1. A bent 
stick standing on the butt of the handle of 
a scythe. HalliweU. 2. An instrument used 
after the manner of a whetstone for sharpen- 
ing scythes, and consisting of a piece of wood 
coated with sharp sand or emery, with a handle 
at one end. [Local, Eng. and New Eng.] 
rifle-ball (ri'ti-bal), . A bullet designed to 
be fired from a rifle. Such balls are not now made 
spherical, as formerly, but generally cylindrical, with a 
conoidal head, the base being usually hollowed and fitted 
with a plug, which causes the bullet to expand into the 
grooves of the bore of the weapon. See n/te2, v. t., and 
cut under bullet. 
rifle-bird (ri'fl-berd), w. An Australian bird of 
paradise, Ptilorhis paradisea, belonging to the 
slender-billed section (Epimaehinee) of the fam- 
ily Paradiseidie : said to have been so named 
by the early colonists from suggesting by its 
colors the uniform of the Rifle Brigade. This 
bird is 11 or 12 inches long, the wing 6, the tail -U, the 
hill 2; the male is black, splendidly iridescent with fiery, 
Rifle-bird (Ptitorhis faraditta). 
purplish, violet, steel-blue, and green tints, which change 
like burnished metal when viewed in differentlights ; the 
female is plain brown, vailed with buff, white, and black. 
The rifle-bin] inhabits especially New South Wales. There 
are 3 or 4 other species of Ptilorhis, of other parts of Aus- 
tralia and some of the adjacent islands, of which the best- 
known is P. magnified of New Guinea. 
rifle-corps (ri'fl-kor), M. A body of soldiers 
armed with rifles. Especially, in England, since about 
1857, a body of volunteers wearing a self-chosen uniform 
and undergoing drill by their own officers as part of a body 
of citizen-soldiers formed for the defense of the country. 
rifleman (ri'fl-man), n. ; pi. riflemen (-men). [< 
rifle 2 + man.'] A man armed with a rifle; a 
man skilled in shooting with the rifle; milit., 
formerly, a member of a body armed with the 
rifle when most of the infantry had muskets. 
rifleman-bird (ri'fl-man-berd), . Same as 
rifle-bird. Encyc. Brit", XX. 553. 
rifle-pit (ri'fl-pit), . A pit or short trench in 
front of an army, fort, etc., generally about 4 
feet long and 3 feet deep, with the earth thrown 
up in front so as to afford cover to two skir- 
mishers. Sometimes they are loopholed by laying a 
sand-bag over two other bags on the top of the breast- 
work, so that the head and shoulders of the rifleman are 
covered. 
rifler (ri'fler), . [ME. rifler, riffler, riflowr ; < 
riflei + -eri.] 1. One who rifles; a robber. 
And eke repreue robbers and riffleria of peple. 
Itichard the Jtedeless, ill. 197. 
Parting both with cloak and coat, if any please to be the 
M 
ilton, Divorce. 
2. A hawk that does not return to the lure. 
Fran. Your Hawke is but a Rifler. 
Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness. 
However well trained, these birds [falcons] were always 
liable to prove riflers, that is, not to return to the lure. 
Encyc. Brit., XI. 700. 
rifle-range (ri'fl-ranj), ji. 1. A place for prac- 
tice in shooting with the rifle. 2. A specific 
distance at which rifle-shooting is practised. 
rifle-shell (ri'fl-shel), n. In ordnance, a shell 
adapted for firing from a rifled cannon. 
rifle-shot (ri'fl-shot), n. 1. A shot fired with 
a rifle. 2. One who shoots with a rifle. 
5176 
The scientific knowledge required to become a success 
ful rifle-shot necessitates much study, anil continual prac- 
tice with the weapon is also called for. 
W. W. Oreener, The Gun, p. 157. 
rifling 1 (ri'fliug), n. [Verbal n. of rifle 1 , r.] 1. 
The act of plundering or pillaging. 2. pi. The 
waste from sorting bristles. 
rifling 2 (ri'fling), H. [Verbal n. of rz/ZeV-] 1. 
The operation of cutting spiral grooves in the 
bore of a gun. 2. A system or method of spiral 
grooving in the bore of a rifle. Whatever may be the 
form of cross-section in the grooves, the modern practice is 
to make them, for small-arms, extremely shallow ; and, 
though the rectangular form with sharp angles is still re- 
tained, the angles are commonly rounded, this being an 
easier form to keep clean. Henry's system of rifling, used 
in most military rifles, has seven grooves ; and the gi OT8i 
make one turn in 22 inches. The grooves are broad, rec- 
tangular, and very shallow, with rounded angles, the lands 
being much narrower than the grooves. This is the sys- 
tem used in the Martini-Henry rifle. The system most in 
vogue in America for match-rifles Is that of a uniform spi- 
ral, one turn in 18 inches, with very shallow grooves. With 
shallow grooves, hardened bullets are required ; and the 
method of shallow grooving, with hardened bullets, is now 
taking the place of deep grooves and soft bullets, which 
were characteristic of Whitworth's and Henry's system of 
rifling. In express-rifles the rifling is very shallow with a 
slow spiral (one turn in 4 feet to one turn In 6 feet) ; and 
six is considered the best number of grooves. The so-called 
" M et ford system"of rifling, used in England for fine match- 
rifles, employs five extremely shallow grooves, each Includ- 
ing about 32 of the circumference of the bore, the twist of 
the spiral increasing toward the muzzle, generally finishing 
with one turn in 17 inches ; but it is part of this system to 
vary the spiral in different guns according to the character 
of tne powder to be used. In large-bore rifles with shallow 
circular-arc-bottomed grooves, the grooves are often ten in 
number, with one turn in 7 feet. A system, still of doubt- 
ful expediency, has been introduced, called the non-fmitiny 
tyttem. In this method the barrel is rifled in its front 
half only. Some very fine shooting has been done by 
guns thus rifled. The VYhitworth system of rifling is that 
of a hexagonal bore with spiral faces. It is still retained 
for ordnance. The projectiles for such rifles are also hex- 
agonal with twisted sides. The Haddan system of rifling 
for ordnance consists of three spiral grooves of deep ellip- 
tical cross-section, into which fit three wings on the front 
of the shot or shell. Other shapes of grooves are also 
used for ordnance. Ratchet-rifling, a kind of grooving 
in gun-barrels in which the grooves have a cross-section 
closely approximating a right-angled triangle with the hy- 
potenuse at the bottom of the groove, like the spaces be- 
tween the teeth of a ratchet. It is now used only for In- 
ferior guns. 
rifling-machine (ri'fliug-ma-shen"), n. A ma- 
chine serving to cut spiral grooves or rifles in 
the surface of the bore of a small-arm or cannon. 
For small-arms, the cutter-head is armed with two or more 
cutters, and the grooves are cut in the pulling stroke of 
the rifling rod to prevent bending, no work being done 
on the return stroke. After every stroke the cutter-head 
or barrel is revolved a certain angular distance (depending 
on the number of grooves to be cut) by the automatic ro- 
tation of the rifling bar, so that the several grooves are 
successively occupied by each cutter. For cannon, the 
cutter-head fits the bore exactly, and the cutter projects 
above its cylindrical surface to a height equal to the depth 
of the chip to be taken oat at each stroke, cutting but one 
groove at a time. The twist is obtained automatically by 
means of a rack and pinion. The pinion-wheel is made 
fast to the cutter-bar, and gears into a rack carrying two 
or three friction-wheels at one end. These friction-wheels 
roll upon an inclined guide, curved or straight according 
as the twist is to be increasing or uniform. 
rifling-tool (ri'fling-tol), w. An instrument for 
rifling firearms. 
rift 1 (rift), n. [< ME. rift, ryfte, < Dan. rift = 
Norw. rift, a rift, crevice, rent, = Icel. ript, a 
breach of contract; with formative -t, < Dan. 
rive = Norw. rira, tear, rive: see rive 1 ."] 1. 
An opening made by riving or splitting; a fis- 
sure ; a cleft or crevice ; a chink. 
The grete barrez of the abynie he burst vp at onez, 
That alle the regioun to-rof in rtfles ful grete, 
<t clouen alle in lyttel cloutes the clyffez ay where, 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), it. 964. 
He pluckt a bough, out of whose r\fte there came 
Smal drops of gory bloud, that trickled down the same. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. ii. 30. 
It is the little rift within the lute 
That by and by will make the music mute. 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien (song). 
2+. A riving or splitting ; a shattering. 
The remnond, that rode by the rugh bonkis. 
Herd the rurde and the njfle of the rank schippls, 
The frusshe and the fare of folke that were drounet. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 12697. 
rift 1 (rift), r. [< riffl, n.] I. trans. 1. To rive; 
cleave; split. 
To the dread rattling thunder 
Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak 
With his own bolt. Shak., Tempest, v. 1. 45. 
The rifted crags that hold 
The gathered ice of winter. Bryant, Song. 
2. To make or effect by cleavage. 
The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way 
into the secret of things. Thoreau, Walden, p. 106. 
II. intrans. To burst open; split. 
lid shriek, that even your ears 
Should rift to hear me. Shalt., W. T., v. 1. 66. 
lift 1 (rift), p. a. Split; specifically, following 
the general direction of the splitting or check- 
rig 
ing: said of a log: as, rift pine boards. Com- 
pare quartered, 4. 
rift-'t, w. [ME. rift, < AS. rift, a veil, curtain, 
cloak, = Icel. ript. ripti, a kind of cloth or linen 
jerkin.] A veil: a curtain. Lnynmon. 
rift 3 (rift), r. i. [< ME. riftcii, ryften, < Icel. 
>'!//>ld, belch ; of. ropi. a belching, ropri, belch.] 
To belch. [Obsolete or dialectal.] 
rift 4 (rift), 11. [Prob. an altered form, simulat- 
ing riffi, of riffV; see riff?, m-/ 1 , n.] A shal- 
low place in a stream ; a fording-place ; also, 
rough water indicating submerged rocks. [Lo- 
cal.] 
rig 1 (rig), w. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
ridge. 
rig 2 (rig), r. ; pret. and pp. rigged, ppr. rigging. 
[Early mod. E. rygge; < Norw. rigga, bind up, 
wrap round, rig (a ship) (cf. rigg, rigging of 
a ship), = Sw. dial, rigga, in rigga p&, harness 
(rigup) (ahorse); perhaps allied to AS. "vrilmn, 
wredn (pp. wrigen), cover: M*wy8,] I. trans. 
1 . To fit (a ship) with the necessary tackle ; fit, 
as the shrouds, stays, braces, etc., to their re- 
spective masts and yards. 
I rygge a shyppe, I make It redye to go to the see. 
Palsgrave, p. 091. 
Our ship . . . 
Is tight and yare and bravely rigg'd as when 
We first put out to sea. Shale., Tempest, v. 1. 224. 
Sow Patrick he rigg'd out his ship, 
And sailed ower the faem. 
Sir Patrick Spent (Child's Ballads, III. S3SI). 
2. To dress; fit out or decorate with clothes 
or personal adornments: often with out or vp. 
[Colloq.] 
She is not rigged, sir ; setting forth some lady 
Will cost as much as furnishing a fleet. 
/'. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. 1. 
Jack was rigged irui in his gold and silver lace, with a 
feather in his cap. Sir K. L' Estrange. 
You shall see how I rigg'd my Squire out with the Re- 
mains of my shlpwreck'd Wardrobe. 
Wycherley, Plain Dealer, Iv. 1. 
Why, to show yon that I have a kindness for you and 
your Husband, there is Ten Guineas to rig you for the 
Honours I design to prefer you to. 
Mrs. Centlivre, Gotham Election, L 1. 
3. To fit out; furnish; equip; put in condition 
for use: often followed by out or up. [Colloq.] 
She insisted upon being stabbed on the stage, and she 
had rigged up a kitchen carving-knife with a handle of 
gilt paper, ornamented with various breastpins, ... as a 
Tyrian dagger. H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 501. 
I was aroused by the order from the officer, "Forward 
there! /-// the head-pump !" . . . Having called up the 
"idlers," . . . and rigged the pump, we began washing 
down the decks. R. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 8. 
Cat-rigged, rigged as a cat-boat. See cut under cat^rig. 
To rig in a boom, to draw in a boom which is rigged 
out. To rig out a boom, to run out a studdingsail-boom 
on the end of a yard, or a jib-boom or flying-jib boom on 
the end of a bowsprit, in order to extend the foot of a sail. 
To rig the capstan. See capstan. To rig the cast, 
in angling, to fix the hooks on the leader by their snells. 
To rig the market, to raise or lower prices artificially in 
order to one's private advantage ; especially, in the stock 
exchange, to enhance fictitiously the value of the stock or 
shares In a company, as when the directors or officers buy 
them up out of the funds of the association. The market 
Is also sometimes rigged by a combination of parties, as 
large shareholders, interested in raising the value of the 
stock. 
The gold market may be rigged as well as the Iron or any 
other special market. 
Jevons, Money and Mech. of Exchange, p. 214. 
II. intrans. To make or use a rig, as in an- 
fling: as, to rig light (that is, to use a light 
shing-tackle). 
rig 2 (rig), w. [= Norw. rigg, rigging: see the 
verb.] 1. Naut., the characteristic manner of 
fitting the masts and rigging to the hull of any 
vessel: thus, schooner-ru/, ship-ni/, etc., have 
reference to the masts and sails of those ves- 
sels, without regard to the hull. 2. Costume; 
dress, especially of a gay or fanciful descrip- 
tion. [Colloq.] 3. An equipage or turnout; 
a vehicle with a horse or horses, as for driving. 
[Colloq., U. 8.] 
One part of the team [in Homer] (or rig, as they say west 
of the Hudson) had come to include by metonymy the 
whole. Tram. Amer. Philol. Ass., XVI. 110. 
4. Fishing-tackle collectively; an angler's 
cast. [Colloq. 1 Cat rig. See cat-rig Gunter rig 
(naut.\ a method of rigging boats in which the topmast 
is made to slide up and down alongside of the lower mast. 
When hoisted, the topmast stretches up the head of the 
three-cornered sail. This rig is largely used in the I'nited 
States navy, and takes its name from the sliding scale 
known as Qunter's scale, on account of the sliding up and 
down of the topmast. Also sliding-gunter rift. Square 
rig, that rig in which the sails are bent to horizontal yards. 
rig' 3 ! (rig), r. [Early mod. E. rigge; prob. for 
*n-rig, and akin to wrif/f/le, wrtde: see icriggle, 
,/,/..] I. intrang. To romp; play the wanton. 
