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here such protection is needed. Rail fence. See under Fence. -- Rail guard. (a) A device attached to the front of a locomotive on each side for clearing the rail obstructions. (b) A guard rail. See under Guard. -- Rail joint (Railroad), a splice connecting the adjacent ends of rails, in distinction from a chair, whic…

A heavy steel or iron beak attached to the prow of a steam war vessel for piercing or cutting down the vessel of an enemy; also, a vessel carrying such a beak.

The small transverse ropes attached to the shrouds and forming the steps of a rope ladder. [Written also ratlings, and rattlings.] Totten.

service in a church. -- Reading glass, a large lens with more or less magnifying power, attached to a handle, and used in reading, etc. -- Reading man, one who reads much; hence, in the English universities, a close, industrious student. -- Reading room, a room appropriated to reading; a room provided with papers,…

monk; specifically, one of a class of secluded devotees who live in single cells; usually attached to monasteries.

A small piece of cane or wood attached to the mouthpiece of certain instruments, and set in vibration by the breath. In the clarinet it is a single fiat reed; in the oboe and bassoon it is double, forming a compressed tube.

eter, a galvanometer in which the deflections of the needle are read by means of a mirror attached to it, which reflects a ray of light or the image of a scale; -- called also mirror galvanometer. -- Reflecting goniometer. See under Goniometer. -- Reflecting telescope. See under Telescope.

ing arch. See under Discharge, v. t. -- Relieving tackle. (Naut.) (a) A temporary tackle attached to the tiller of a vessel during gales or an action, in case of accident to the tiller ropes. (b) A strong tackle from a wharf to a careened vessel, to prevent her from going over entirely, and to assist in righting her.…

One earnestly devoted or attached to a religion; a religious zealot. The chief actors on one side were, and were to be, the Puritan religionists. Palfrey. It might be that an Antinomian, a Quaker, or other heterodoreligionists, was to be scourged out of the town. Hawthorne.

A half pier or pillar attached to a wall to support an arch. Oxf. Gloss.

A small gland or process to which bodies are attached; as, the glandular retinacula to which the pollinia of orchids are attached, or the hooks which support the seeds in many acanthaceous plants.

One of the curved bones attached to the vertebral column and supporting the lateral walls of the thorax.

An addition or amendment to a manuscript or other document, which is attached on a separate piece of paper; in legislative practice, an additional clause annexed to a bill while in course of passage; something extra or burdensome that is imposed. After the third reading, a foolish man stood up to propose a rider. Macau…

erk who traveled for a commercial house. [Obs. Eng.] (b) One of the "six clerks" formerly attached to the English Court of Chancery. -- Riding hood. (a) A hood formerly worn by women when riding. (b) A kind of cloak with a hood. -- Riding master, an instructor in horsemanship. -- Riding rhyme (Pros.), the meter of f…

ecifically, a circular ornament of gold or other precious material worn on the finger, or attached to the ear, the nose, or some other part of the person; as, a wedding ring. Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring. Chaucer. The dearest ring in Venice will I give you. Shak.

One skilled un, or attached to, a ritual; one who advocates or practices ritualism.

s, and feed on the ground. -- Roller bolt, the bar in a carriage to which the traces are attached; a whiffletree. [Eng.] -- Roller gin, a cotton gin inn which rolls are used for separating the seeds from the fiber. -- Roller mill. See under Mill. -- Roller skate, a skate which has small wheels in the place of the me…

nutriment for future growth. A true root, however, may never reach the ground, but may be attached to a wall, etc., as in the ivy, or may hang loosely in the air, as in some epiphytic orchids.

mast and usually the highest on a square-rigged vessel. The royal yard and royal sail are attached to the royal mast. -- Royal metal, an old name for gold. -- Royal palm (Bot.), a magnificent West Indian palm tree (Oreodoxa regia), lately discovered also in Florida. -- Royal pheasant. See Curassow. -- Royal purple,…

An adherent of a king (as of Charles I. in England, or of the Bourbons in france); one attached to monarchical government. Where Ca'ndish fought, the Royalists prevailed. Waller.