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A primitive, from which spring other words; a radical; a root; an etymon.

The chitinous ribbon bearing the teeth of mollusks; -- called also lingual ribbon, and tongue. See Odontophore.

Rasplike; as, raduliform teeth.

To sweep, snatch, draw, or huddle together; to take by a promiscuous sweep. [Obs.] Causes and effects which I thus raff up together. Carew.

Raphaelesque.

material used for tying plants, said to come from the leaves of a palm tree of the genus Raphia. J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants).

A pinnate-leaved palm (Raphia ruffia) native of Madagascar, and of considerable economic importance on account of the strong fiber (raffia) obtained from its leafstalks.

A colorless crystalline slightly sweet substance obtained from the molasses of the sugar beet.

Resembling, or having the character of, raff, or a raff; worthless; low. A sad, raffish, disreputable character. Thackeray.

A kind of lottery, in which several persons pay, in shares, the value of something put up as a stake, and then determine by chance (as by casting dice) which one of them shall become the sole possessor.

One who raffles.

A genus of stemless, leafless plants, living parasitically upon the roots and stems of grapevines in Malaysia. The flowers have a carrionlike odor, and are very large, in one species (Rafflesia Arnoldi) having a diameter of two or three feet.

A large collection of people or things taken indiscriminately. [Slang, U. S.] "A whole raft of folks." W. D. Howells. Raft bridge.

imp. of Reave. Chaucer.

A raftsman.

The business of making or managing rafts.

A man engaged in rafting.

Damp; musty. [Prov. Eng.]

To scold or rail at; to rate; to tease; to torment; to banter. [Prov. Eng.] Pegge.

An idle, ragged person. Nares. Grose.