rope-dancing 
rope-dancing (r6p'dan"sing), . The act or 
profession of a rope-dancer. Arlnttlinot. 
rope-drilling (r6p'dril"ing), n, A method of 
drilling or boriug holes, in which a rope or 
cable is used, for any purpose connected with 
prospecting or mining, or more especially for 
obtaining petroleum . The rope forms the connection 
between the drilling-tools proper (see cable-tools) and the 
walking-beam, which, driven by a ateam-eugine, gives the 
reciprocating motions to the drilling-tools. These are low- 
ered as the hole deepens by letting out the so-called " tem- 
per-screw," and they are rotated constantly by the driller 
by means of a short lever. The jars, by means of the vi- 
brations communicated through the rope, show the driller 
how the tools are working. Also called cable-drilling. 
rope-end (rop'eud), v. t. Same as rope's-end. 
The roof all frayed with cobwebs, and the corners such 
as, in the navy, we should have been rope-ended, for. 
R. D. Blackmore, Maid of Sker, vi. 
rope-grass (rop'gras), . See Restio. 
rope-house (rop'hous), . In. salt-manuf., an 
evaporating-house. It is a shed with open sides for 
free circulation of air, and with a number of ropes de- 
pending from the roof, to each of which leads a conduit : 
through this flows brine from a reservoir. The brine 
trickles slowly down the ropes, and the evaporation of the 
water leaves upon them a deposit of salt. 
rope-machine (rop'ma-sheu"), . 1. Amachine 
for making rope from yarn. It consists essentially 
of a series of bobbins arranged in a frame and made to re- 
volve as they deliver the yarns to a revolving reel, which 
compacts and unites them into the twisted rope. For 
large ropes, as cables, etc., a traveling rope-machine is 
used, the bobbins of yarn being made to revolve by asun- 
and-planet motion as they deliver the yarns to the form- 
ing-reel, and the entire mechanism advancing along the 
ropewalk as fast as the cable is formed. Compare rope- 
winch. 
2. A machine for laying up the strands of a rope: 
same as laying-machine. 3. Sameasrope-MJJnc/i. 
rope-maker (rop'ma"ker), n. One whose occu- 
pation is the making of ropes or cordage. 
rope-making (rop'ma/'king), n. The art or 
business of manufacturing ropes or cordage. 
ropent. A Middle English past participle of 
reap. 
rope-pattern (rop'^afern), n. An ornamental 
design in which twisted or spiral lines combine 
to form a decorative pattern. 
rope-porter (r6p'p6r"ter), . A pulley mounted 
on a frame, over which the ropes of steam-plows 
are borne off the ground so as to prevent wear 
and tear from friction. 
rope-pull (rop'pul), n. In athletics, same as 
tuy of war (which see, under tug). 
rope-pulling (rop'pul'ing), i. The sport of 
pulling at a rope, the contending parties en- 
deavoring to pull one another over a line 
marked on the ground between them. See 
tug of war, under tug, and also the quotation. 
The ancient custom of rope-pulling is always strictly 
observed in Ludlow on Shrove Tuesday. At about four 
o'clock in the afternoon the rope is given out from the 
town-hall by the Mayor, on whom this important duty by 
right devolves. Immediately on the rope being let down 
from a window, an indescribable struggle and trial of 
strength commences between the denizens of the different 
wards, which is not concluded without an obstinate con- 
tention. There are afterwards ordinaries at the various 
inns, and pleasure and conviviality are the order of the 
day. Halliwell. 
rope-pump (rop'pump), . A machine for rais- 
ing water, consisting of an endless rope or 
ropes passing over a pulley fixed at the place 
to which the water is to be raised, and under 
another pulley fixed below the surface of the 
water. The upper pulley being turned rapidly by a 
winch, motion is given to the rope, and the water rises 
along with the ascending part of the rope, partly by the mo- 
mentum it acquires when in motion, and partly by capil- 
lary attraction. 
roper (ro'per), it. [< ME. ropere, a rope-maker; 
< rope 1 + -cr 1 .] 1. A rope-maker. 
Robyn the ropere arose. Piers Plowman (B), v. 336. 
We will send you such things as you write to haue for 
the ropers; and wee would they should make more store 
of small cables and ropes. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 807. 
2. One who ropes or cords parcels, bales, and 
the like. 3. One who deserves a halter; a 
crafty fellow ; a rogue. Halliwell. (Douce.) 
[Prov. Eng.] 4. One who throws the lasso. 
[Western U. S.] 
Once a cowboy is a good roper and rider, the only other 
accomplishment he values is skill with his great army 
revolver. T. Roosevelt, The Century, XXXV. 506. 
rope-railway (rop'ral'wa), n. A railway on 
which the cars are moved by means of ropes 
wound upon drums actuated by stationary en- 
gines; a cable-railway. Such railways are 
common in mining districts. Also ropeway. 
rope-ripe (rop'rip), . Kit for being hanged; 
deserving punishment by hanging. [Rare.] 
Lord, how you roll in your rope-ripe terms ! 
Cluipman, May-Day, ill. 1. 
5227 
rope-roll(rop'r61), . In macli., a drum on which 
a rope is wound. 
rope-runner (rop'ruu'er), M. See the quotation. 
I was what is called rope-runner on as neat a little tip- 
ping-engine as you need to see. A rope-runner is pretty 
much the same as a breakman on a goods-train that is, 
he has to see to coupling and uncoupling the wagons that 
run with his engine, and to drive the engine at a pinch. 
All the Year Hound, quoted in N. Y. Evening Post, April 
[10, 1886. 
ropery (ro'per-i), i.; pi. roperies (-iz). [(.rope 1 
+ -cry. In def. 2, cf. roper, 3.] 1. A place 
where ropes are made. 
In Riley's Memorials of London (an. 1310], . . . where 
mention is also made of a roperie or rope-walk, situate in 
the parish of Allhallows' the Great, Thames Street. 
Piert Plowman (ed. Skeat), Notes, p. 91. 
2t. Knavery; roguery. 
I pray you, sir, what saucy merchant was this, that was 
so full of his ropery' Shak., R. and J., ii. 4. 154. 
Thou art very pleasant, and full of thy ropery. 
Three Ladies of London. (Sares.) 
rope's-end (rops'end), v. t. [< rope's end.'] To 
punish by beating with a rope's end. 
rope-shaped (rop'shapt), a. Same as fttnili- 
Jorm. 
rope-socket (rop'sok'et), n. Same as rope- 
clamp. 
rope-spinner (rop'spin"er), . One who makes 
ropes in a ropewalk by means of a revolving 
wheel. 
rope-spinning (rop'spin'ing), n. The opera- 
tion of twisting ropes by means of a revolving 
wheel. 
rope-Stitch (rop'stich), n. In embroidery, a kind 
of work in which the separate stitches are laid 
diagonally side by side so as to produce the ap- 
pearance of a rope or twist. 
rope-trick (rop'trik), n. If. A trick that de- 
serves the halter. 
Why, that 's nothing ; an he begin once, he'll rail in his 
rope-trielcs. Sliak., T. of the S., i. 2. 112. 
2. A juggling trick performed with ropes. 
ropewalk (rop'wak), n. A long low building 
or shed prepared for making ropes, and fur- 
nished with machinery for that purpose. 
rope-walker (rop'wa'ker), n. Same as rope- 
dancer. 
ropeway (rop'wa), . Same as rope-railway. 
Rope railways, as they were called, or rope-ways for trans- 
mitting minerals and goods, seem to be rapidly growing in 
favour, especially for mining purposes. 
The Engineer, LXVIII. 454. 
rope-winch (rop'winch), . In rope-making, a 
set of three whirlers, actuated by a belt or 
band, each making the same number of turns 
per minute, for simultaneously twisting the 
three yarns which are to be laid up into a rope. 
By this arrangement the same twist is given to each of 
the three yarns, which can hardly be done by separate and 
independent twisting, and the uniformity of twisting se- 
cures a perfectly even rope. 
rope-work (rop'werk), . Decorative work imi- 
tating the twisted or spiral form of cordage. 
rope-yarn (rop'yarn), . A yarn composed of 
many fibers, as of hemp, loosely twisted, sev- 
eral of which twisted together make a strand. 
The owners of a vessel buy up incredible quantities of 
old junk, which the sailors unlay, and, after drawing out 
the yarns, knot them together, and roll them up in balls. 
These rope-yarns are constantly used for various purposes. 
R. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 16. 
ropily(ro'pi-li), adv. [(.ropy + -fy 2 .] In a ropy 
or viscous manner ; so as to be capable of being 
drawn out like a rope. Imp. Diet. 
ropiness (ro'pi-nes), n. [< ropy + -ness.'] The 
state or property of being ropy, or of contain- 
ing ropes; stringiuess, or capability of being 
drawn out in a string or thread without break- 
ing, as of glutinous substances; viscosity; ad- 
hesiveness. 
roping (ro'ping), . [< rope 1 + -ing 1 .'] A col- 
lection of ropes ; ropes in general. 
Coil all the remainder of the roping. 
Luce, .Seamanship, p. 332. 
roping (ro'ping), n. [< ME. ropynge, ropy, vis- 
cous: see rope 1 , r.] Ropy; viscous. 
Let us not hang like roping icicles 
Upon our houses' thatch, whiles a more frosty people 
Sweat drops of gallant youth in our rich fields ! 
Shak., Hen. V., ill. 5. 23. 
roping-needle (ro'ping-ne"dl), . A large nee- 
dle used in sewing bolt-rope on the edges of 
sails and awnings. 
roping-palm (ro'ping-pam), n. Xaut.. a heavy 
palm or piece of leather used in sewing bolt- 
rope on the edge of sails. Kee palm 1 , 4. 
rppish (ro'pish), a. [< rope 1 + -ink 1 .] Tend- 
ing to ropiness ; ropy. 
Roquelaun 
of George II. 
rorid 
ropy (ro'pi), n. [Formerly also roapy ; < ME. 
ropy; < rope 1 + -y 1 .] 1. Resembling a rope or 
cord; cord-like. [Rare.] 
In vain 
Their lax'd and ropy sinews sorely strain 
Heap'd loads to draw. ./ Boillie. 
2. Capable of being drawn into a thread, as a 
glutinous substance; stringy; viscous; tena- 
cious; glutinous: as, ropy wine; ropy lees. 
Wine is called ropy when it shows a milky or flaky sedi- 
ment and an oily appearance when poured out. 
Ropy as ale, . . . Viscosus. Prompt. Parv. t p. 436. 
Roquefort cheese. See cheese*. 
roquelaure (rok'e-lor), . [Also rocMay, rocke- 
lay,rokelay, rocklow, rocolo, roquelo, rocklier, roc- 
lier; < P. roquelaure; 
so called from the Due 
de Roquelaure. Hence 
rocklay, etc.] A form 
of short cloak much 
worn in the earlier 
part of the eigh- 
teenth century. 
Within the roquelaure's 
clasp thy hands are pent. 
day, Trivia, 1. 51. 
It is not the firmest 
heart (and Jeanie, under 
her russet rokelay, had one 
that would not have dis- 
graced Cato's daughter) 
that can most easily bid 
adieu to these soft and 
mingled emotions. 
Scott, Heart of Mid- 
[Lothian, xiv. 
Scarlet seems to have 
been the favourite colour for the roquelaure or cloak, and 
some must have been "exceedingly magniflcal," scarlet 
roeklows and roeliers, with gold buttons and loops, being 
advertised as lost. 
./. Athtan, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, I. 160. 
roquelo (rok'e-16), . Same as roquelaure. 
She then saw, parading up and down the hall, a figure 
wrapped round In a dark blue roquelo. 
Mme. D'ArUay, Camilla, ix. 4. (Dames.) 
roquet 1 (ro-ka'), v. t. [Appar. an arbitrary al- 
teration of croquet, to express a special mean- 
ing.] In the game of croquet, to cause one's 
ball to strike (another ball), entitling the play- 
er to place his own ball beside that he has 
struck and to continue in play. 
roquet 1 (ro-ka'), n. [< roquet 1 , v.] In the game 
of croquet, a stroke by which a player roquets 
another ball. 
roquet 2 (ro'ket), n. [Origin obscure.] A lizard 
of the genus Liocephalus. 
roquet-croquet (ro-ka'kro-ka'), n. In the game 
of croquet, the act of a player, after roqueting 
a ball, of putting his own in contact with it 
and driving both away by a blow of the mallet 
against his own ball. 
roquet-croquet (ro-ka'kro-ka'), v. t. [< roquet- 
croquet, w.] In the game of croquet, to move by 
a roquet-croquet, as one's own and another ball. 
roralt (ro'ral), a. [< L. ros (ror-), dew, + -al.] 
Pertaining to dew, or consisting of dew ; dewy. 
These see her from the dusky plight . . . 
With roral wash redeem her face. 
It. Green, The Spleen. 
rorationt (ro-ra'shon), n. [< L. roratio(n-), a 
falling of dew, < rdrare, pp. roratus, distil dew, 
< ros (ror-), dew : see rore*.] A falling of dew. 
Bailey, 1727. 
rore 1 !, > A Middle English form of roar. 
rore' 2 t, v. i. [ME. roreu. rooren; origin obscure ; 
perhaps a use of rore 1 , roar, cry (ef. roop, cry 
out, auction).] To barter or exchange mer- 
chandise. 
Rooryn or chaungyne on chaffare fro a nother. 
Prompt. Para., p. 71, note 4. 
rore 3 (ror), . [< L. ros (ror-), dew. Cf. rorid, 
rory, itoney-rore, rosemary.] Dew. Compare 
lioney-rore. 
roric (ro'rik), a. [< L. ros (ror-), dew, 4- -ic.] 
Pertaining to or resembling dew ; dewy : spe- 
cifically applied to certain curious figures or 
appearances seern on polished solid surfaces 
after breathing on them, also to a class of re- 
lated phenomena produced under various con- 
ditions. See cohesion figures, under cohesion. 
Koricmcian (ro-ri-kro'shi-an), w. and a. [As 
if < L. ros (ror-), dew, + crux (eruc-), a cross.] 
Same as Rosicrucian : an occasional spelling 
adopted by those who take the implied view of 
the derivation of the word. 
roridt (ro'rid), . [< L. roridus, dewy, < ros 
(ror-), dew: see rort'3.] Dewy. 
A loose and rorid vapour. 
Marlowe and Chapman, Hero and Leauder, Sestlad 3. 
