Search the Dictionary

Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



609 words match “COMPOSITION”

REAL a.
real estate in the hands of the heir, chargeable with the debts of the ancestor. -- Real composition (Eccl. Law), an agreement made between the owner of lands and the parson or vicar, with consent of the ordinary, that such lands shall be discharged from payment of tithes, in consequence of other land or recompense gi…
REFRACTING a.
lar prism included between the two sides through which the refracted beam passes in the decomposition of light. -- Refracting telescope. (Opt.) See under Telescope.
REFRAIN n.
or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition. We hear the wild refrain. Whittier.
RELIEF n.
A fine or composition which the heir of a deceased tenant paid to the lord for the privilege of taking up the estate, which, on strict feudal principles, had lapsed or fallen to the lord on the death of the tenant.
REQUIEM n.
Any grand musical composition, performed in honor of a deceased person.
RESOLUTION n.
tions, and, taken together, are an equivalent for the single one; -- the opposite of Ant: composition of a force. -- Resolution of a nebula (Astron.), the exhibition of it to the eye by a telescope of such power as to show it to be composed of small stars.
RESULTANT a.
s acting conjointly, or a motion which is the result of two or more motions combined. See Composition of forces, under Composition.
RETORT n.
A vessel in which substances are subjected to distillation or decomposition by heat. It is made of different forms and materials for different uses, as a bulb of glass with a curved beak to enter a receiver for general chemical operations, or a cylinder or semicylinder of cast iron for the manufacture of gas in gas wor…
RHAPSODY n. 2 definitions
tements composed under excitement, and without dependence or natural connection; rambling composition. "A rhapsody of words." Shak. "A rhapsody of tales." Locke.
RHETORIC n.
The art of composition; especially, elegant composition in prose.
RHYME n.
An expression of thought in numbers, measure, or verse; a composition in verse; a rhymed tale; poetry; harmony of language. "Railing rhymes." Daniel. A ryme I learned long ago. Chaucer. He knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rime. Milton.
RIFACIMENTO n.
A remaking or recasting; an adaptation, esp. of a literary work or musical composition.
RIGOR n.
th] , death stiffening; the rigidity of the muscles that occurs at death and lasts till decomposition sets in. It is due to the formation of myosin by the coagulation of the contents of the individual muscle fibers.
ROCKET n.
An artificial firework consisting of a cylindrical case of paper or metal filled with a composition of combustible ingredients, as niter, charcoal, and sulphur, and fastened to a guiding stick. The rocket is projected through the air by the force arising from the expansion of the gases liberated by combustion of the co…
ROLLER n.
A cylinder coated with a composition made principally of glue and molassess, with which forms of type are inked previously to taking an impression from them. W. Savage.
RONDO n.
A composition, vocal or instrumental, commonly of a lively, cheerful character, in which the first strain recurs after each of the other strains. "The Rondo-form was the earliest and most frequent definite mold for musical construction." Grove.
RUBY n.
uby of arsenic, Ruby of sulphur (Chem.), a glassy substance of a red color and a variable composition, but always consisting chiefly of the disulphide of arsenic; -- called also ruby sulphur. -- Ruby of zinc (Min.), zinc sulphide; the mineral zinc blende or sphalerite. -- Ruby silver (Min.), red silver. See under Red…
RUST n.
A composition used in making a rust joint. See Rust joint, below.
RUTILE n.
own color, and brilliant metallic adamantine luster, occurring in tetragonal crystals. In composition it is titanium dioxide, like octahedrite and brooklite.
RUTIN n.
plants, and obtained as a bitter yellow crystalline substance which yields quercitin on decomposition.
← Previous Page 24 of 31 Next →