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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



482 words match “GUN”

REPEATING a.
charged from, a revolving chamber at the breech of the barrel. See Revolver, and Magazine gun, under Magazine. -- Repeating instruments (Astron. & Surv.), instruments for observing angles, as a circle, theodolite, etc., so constructed that the angle may be measured several times in succession, and different, but succe…
REWET n.
A gunlock. [R.]
RIB n.
A longitudinal strip of metal uniting the barrels of a double- barreled gun.
RICOCHET n.
A rebound or skipping, as of a ball along the ground when a gun is fired at a low angle of elevation, or of a fiat stone thrown along the surface of water. Ricochet firing (Mil.), the firing of guns or howitzers, usually with small charges, at an elevation of only a few degrees, so as to cause the balls or shells to bo…
RIFLE n. 2 definitions
A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.
RIFLING n. 2 definitions
The act or process of making the grooves in a rifled cannon or gun barrel.
RIM-FIRE a.
from center-fire; -- said of cartridges; also, using rim-fire cartridges; as, a rim-fire gun. Such cartridges are now little used.
RISE v.
To retire; to give up a siege. He, rising with small honor from Gunza, . . . was gone. Knolles.
ROCK n.
s for blasting, etc. -- Rock duck (Zoöl.), the harlequin duck. -- Rock eel. (Zoöl.) See Gunnel. -- Rock goat (Zoöl.), a wild goat, or ibex. -- Rock hopper (Zoöl.), a penguin of the genus Catarractes. See under Penguin. -- Rock kangaroo. (Zoöl.) See Kangaroo, and Petrogale. -- Rock lobster (Zoöl.), any one of seve…
ROMANTICISM n.
a school of writers who sought to revive certain medi He [Lessing] may be said to have begun the revolt from pseudo- classicism in poetry, and to have been thus unconsciously the founder of romanticism. Lowell.
ROWLOCK n.
gement serving as a fulcrum for an oar in rowing. It consists sometimes of a notch in the gunwale of a boat, sometimes of a pair of pins between which the oar rests on the edge of the gunwale, sometimes of a single pin passing through the oar, or of a metal fork or stirrup pivoted in the gunwale and suporting the oar.…
SALTPETER; SALTPETRE n.
itrification (see Nitrification, 2). It is a strong oxidizer, is the chief constituent of gunpowder, and is also used as an antiseptic in curing meat, and in medicine as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and refrigerant. Chili salpeter (Chem.), sodium nitrate (distinguished from potassium nitrate, or true salpeter), a white cry…
SCALE n.
, for measuring or laying off distances, etc., as in drawing, plotting, and the like. See Gunter's scale.
SCORE n.
A distance of twenty yards; -- a term used in ancient archery and gunnery. Halliwell.
SCYTHE v.
scythe; to cut off as with a scythe; to mow. [Obs.] Time had not scythed all that youth begun. Shak.
SEAR n.
The catch in a gunlock by which the hammer is held cocked or half cocked. Sear spring, the spring which causes the sear to catch in the notches by which the hammer is held.
SERVANT n.
loyer; a subordinate helper. "A yearly hired servant." Lev. xxv. 53. Men in office have begun to think themselves mere agents and servants of the appointing power, and not agents of the government or the country. D. Webster.
SERVE v.
To work; to operate; as, to serve the guns.
SEVENTY-FOUR n.
A naval vessel carrying seventy-four guns.
SHARP a.
y; violent; impetuous. "In sharp contest of battle." Milton. A sharp assault already is begun. Dryden.
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