r%m
(SMS) room
radius
- Remote authentication dial-in user service
- Remote
- authentication
- dial-in
- user
- service
- dial
1. The length of a line segment between
the center and circumference of a circle or
sphere. 2.
A straight line from the center to the perimeter
of a circle (or from the center to the
surface of a sphere). 3. A circular region whose area is indicated
by the length of its radius. 4. The outer
and slightly shorter of the two bones of the human
forearm. 5. Support consisting of a radial
member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim.
6. RADIUS (Remote authentication
dial-in user service) - a server for remote
user authentication and accounting.
Examples:
1) They located it within a radius
of 2 miles.
2) The relationship between the
radius and the circumference is r = \frac{c}{2\pi}.
3) RADIUS is currently the de-facto
standard for remote authentication.
Etymology:
"Radius" means "beam
of light" in Latin.
raffish
[RAF-ish]
1. Characterized by or suggestive of flashy
vulgarity, crudeness, or rowdiness; tawdry.
2. Marked by a carefree unconventionality
or disreputableness; rakish.
Examples:
1) The speaker was in his forties,
an attractive-looking man with a black eye patch
that gave him the raffish look of an amiable pirate.
(Sidney Sheldon, "The Best Laid Plans")
2) Sometimes we would go to the Gargoyle
Club,... but it was too full of raffish upper-class
drunks for my taste. (John Richardson, "The
Sorcerer's Apprentice")
3) We are told about Bacon's taste
for raffish, lower-class lovers, his penchant
for gambling and his almost complete disregard
for money. (Michiko Kakutani, "Portrait
of a Portraitist Of a Century's Horrors",
New York Times, December 14, 1993)
4) Tristan was a raffish young rebel,
a free spirit who sought every opportunity to
flout convention and challenge authority.
Etymology:
"Raffish" derives from
the noun "raff" (chiefly
used in the compound or duplicate, "riffraff"),
meaning "people of a low reputation".
"Raffish" sounds like
it should mean "resembling the raff".
But what is "raff"? Originally,
"raff" was "rubbish".
That term derives from the Middle English "raf",
and it was being used for trash and refuse back
in the 1400s. At around the same time, English
speakers were also using the word "riffraff"
to mean "disreputable characters" or
"rabble". The origins of "riffraff"
are distinct from the "rubbish" sense
of "raff"; "riffraff"
derives from an Anglo-French phrase meaning "one
and all". By the mid-1600s, the similarities
between "raff" and "riffraff"
had prompted people to start using the two words
as synonyms, and "raff"
gained a "rabble" sense. It was that
ragtag "raff" that gave
rise to the adjective "raffish"
in the late 1700s.
rail
- fulminate
- inveigh
- rail
in
- rail
off
- railing
- rails
- revile
- track
- train
- vilify
- vituperate
1. any of numerous widely distributed small
wading birds of the family Rallidae having short
wings and very long toes for running on soft mud
2. horizontal bar (usually of wood)
3. short for railway
Example: He traveled by rail.
4. barrier consisting of a horizontal bar
and supports
5. bar or bars of rolled steel making
a track along, which vehicles can roll
6. criticize severely; revile or
scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language
Example: He railed against the Republicans'
plan to cut Medicare.
7. spread negative information about
Example:
The Nazi propaganda railed the Jews.
Etymology:
Probably comes from Old French "reillier"
("to growl" or "to mutter")
and ultimately from Late Latin "ragere"
("to neigh").
8. complain bitterly
9. fish with a hand-line aver the rails
of a boat
Example: They are railing for fresh fish.
10. lay with rails
Example: Hundreds of miles were railed
out here.
11. travel by rail or train
Example: They railed from Rome to Venice.
12. convey (goods etc.) by rails
Example: Fresh fruit are railed from Italy
to Belgium.
13. separate with a railing
Example: Rail off the crowds from the Presidential
palace.
14. provide or enclose with rails
Example: The yard was railed.
15. enclose with rails
Example: They rail in the old graves.
General Synonyms:
fulminate, inveigh, rail in, rail off, railing,
rails, revile, track, train, vilify, vituperate
raillery
1. Good-humored banter or teasing;
good-natured ridicule.
Synonym: banter.
2. An instance of good-humored teasing;
a jest.
Examples:
1) Anticipating the raillery he'd
be subjected to at his 50th birthday party, Dan
got the jump on everyone by signing his invitations
"The Old Geezer."
2) I moved from one knot of people
to another, surrounded by a kind of envious respect
because of Sophie's interest in me, although subjected
to a certain mordant raillery from some of this
witty company. (Peter Brooks, "World Elsewhere")
3) Her raillery and mockery are
fun - but ultimately rather tiring, and tiresome.
(Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, "Eastward
Ho!" review of Shards of Memory, by Ruth
Prawer Jhabvala, New York Times, September 17,
1995)
Etymology:
"Raillery" is the anglicized
form of the French word "raillerie,"
which stems from the Middle French verb "railler,"
meaning "to mock." "Railler",
which probably comes from Old French "reillier"
("to growl" or "to mutter")
and ultimately from Late Latin "ragere"
("to neigh"), also gave us our verb
"rail". But "rail"
and "raillery" are quite
different in tone. "Rail"
means "to revile or scold in harsh, insolent,
or abusive language," whereas "raillery"
usually suggests cutting wit that pokes fun good-naturedly.
raiment
[RAY-ment]
Clothing in general; garments (usually singular
in form, with a collective sense).
Examples:
1) People want "habitations
for shelter and safety, and raiment for warmth
and decency." (Richard A. Epstein, "Principles
for a Free Society")
2) Agog with expectation, Stella
opened her package and found not the golden raiment
of a queen or a princess, but the drab uniform
of a cook. She wept for the rest of the day.
(William Weaver, "Almost Irresistible Stella"
New York Times, March 4, 1984)
3) A man in his Sunday raiment,
lemon-yellow gloves even, was visible inside the
window. (H.G. Wells, "The War of the Worlds")
Etymology:
"Raiment" is from Middle
English "rayment" (short for
"arrayment"), from "arrayen"
("to array").
rain on one's parade
- rain on your parade
- rain
- parade
To change the mood of an occasion from happy to
unhappy; to create a negative atmosphere.
Examples:
1) Who rained on your parade? You
were so happy ten minutes ago. 2)
I don't want to rain on your parade, but I have
to tell you that I just saw someone steal your
car.
Etymology:
A "parade" is a festive,
outdoor occasion, with marching bands and floats
and cotton candy. If it rains, though,
the parade is usually ruined.
rain or shine
- rain
- shine
- by
all means
- all
means
- means
In all weather; no matter what the weather is
like (describing something scheduled).
Synonym: by all means
Example:
I know that John will be at home at 8 p.m. rain
or shine.
raise the roof
To have fun and make a lot of noise.
Examples:
1) We're going to raise the roof at Stephanie's
party tonight! 2) The band raised the roof with
one great song after another.
Etymology: A 'roof' covers a house. Sometimes,
usually at parties, you can make so much noise
that it seems like the roof is going to blow right
off.
raise the wind
To borrow some money.
Example: Can you raise the wind to help
me (to) buy a car?
ram smth. down one's throat
- ram smth. down
- throat
- ram down
- ram
To force someone to do something that they really
don't want to do; to coerce.
Example: I complained about having to work
on the project, so the boss just rammed the whole
thing down my throat.
ramify
[RAM-uh-fye]
intransitive verb
1. To split up into branches or
constituent parts.
2. To send forth branches or extensions.
Example:
The bus system ramified so widely that it became
possible to travel to Athens in a single day from
a very large proportion of the villages of Greece...
(William H. McNeill, "The Metamorphosis of
Greece Since World War II")
transitive verb
3. To cause to branch.
4. To separate into divisions.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
"Ramify" has been part
of English since the 15th century and is an offshoot
of the Latin word for "branch," which
is "ramus." English acquired
several scientific words from "ramus,"
including "biramous" ("having
two branches"). Another English word derived
from "ramus" is the now obsolete
"ramage," meaning "untamed"
or "wild." "Ramage"
originated in falconry - it was originally used
of young hawks that had begun to fly from branch
to branch in trees. "Ramify"
started out as a scientific word, at first referring
to branching parts of plants and trees and later
to veins and nerves. But it soon branched out
into non-scientific and even figurative uses,
as in "ideas that ramify
throughout society."
ramping cat
A cat that is rearing up or standing on its hind
legs, with its front paws raised, as though it
were about to climb something; the expression
refers to a cat doing something that is entirely
in its nature.
Example:
At the twilight hour, if you become a Cat, you
can find out a lot, so much more that they are
loved and respected here. You can find their standard
image, a ramping cat of all sizes and colors with
it's left paw raised in salute and a coin, guit,
in it's right paw, in every shop, cafe, dressmaker's
and dry cleaner's. ("Notes Of Not A Stranger",
http://wushu.org.ua/Articles/Article5_eng.html)
History:
It's a quotation from Shakespeare, from
a speech by Hotspur in "King Henry
IV", who is explaining that Glendower
angers him through telling him
Of the dreamer Merlin, and his prophecies;
And of a dragon and a finless fish,
A clipt-wing'd griffin and a moulten raven,
A couching lion, and a ramping cat.
This last line is especially confusing to modern
readers. We would replace "couching"
by "crouching" (more specifically and
accurately the technical term "couchant")
and replace "ramping"
by "rampant". Shakespeare's
terms were from the heraldry of his time, describing
the stereotyped ways in which animals were portrayed
on shields.
A couching or couchant animal is crouching, but
specifically lying with its body on its legs but
its head erect. Shakespeare's "ramping"
is thought to derive from the Old French verb
"ramper" ("to creep, crawl
or climb") that has also given
us "rampant". In its original
English usage, "rampant"
was a heraldic term for an animal, usually a lion,
that was shown in profile facing right, standing
on one hind foot with its forefeet in the air.
This was taken to be a threatening or aggressive
posture, which is why "rampant"
now often has the sense of something wild or unrestrained.
All the examples from that of the fish onwards
are of animals that are in some way acting against
their true natures. The fish is without fins,
the griffin has had his wings clipped, the raven
has moulted, the lion is lying down submissively
and the cat is adopting a threatening posture
quite alien to our usual image of a timid puss.
If there is any fear of animal abuse at your local
hostelry, it's likely to be the cat that's doing
it.
ranchburger
A traditional, one-story ranch-style house, particularly
one in a suburban development where the surrounding
houses have a similar design. Also: ranch-burger,
ranch burger.
Examples:
1) You'll see examples of Ranch
homes whose only charm may have been their location
transformed into a wide variety of architectural
expressions. In an odd twist, the very fact that
many of these homes began as plain and ordinary
"Ranchburgers" is exactly the reason
they are great makeover candidates. (M. Caren
Connolly, "Ranches: Design Ideas for Renovating,
Remodeling, and Building New", Taunton Press,
August, 2003)
2) Such Ox-Bow incidentals are to be
expected in this "back porch country"
of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle region, now
mostly hardscrabble and pocked with more characterless
"prefab ranchburgers" than in its renowned
oil-rich or cattle country days. (Gordon Hauptfleisch,
"Hogman, Pass By", The San Diego Union-Tribune,
December 15, 2002)
3) What has the ''modern'' stolen
from the average house? And is it comfort that
is missing? I cannot think so. What, instead,
has been scorned for some time is any serious
consideration of bourgeois taste. The architectural
historian and critic Colin Rowe called one favorite
design ''the ranchburger,'' and now such buildings
get from the critics little better than bites.
(William H. Gass, "Making ourselves comfortable",
The New York Times, August 3, 1986)
Etymology:
The name comes from those ubiquitous ranch houses
(also called "ranchers" or "ramblers")
that, in neighborhoods around the country, have
been replicated with the zeal of McDonald's hamburgers.
rapier
[RAY-pee-er]
1. A type of narrow-bladed sword used in
the 18th century; a type of double-edged sword
used in the 16th and 17th centuries.
2. A swordfish.
3. Extremely sharp or keen.
Example:
In the June 1992 issue of "Field & Stream"
magazine, Dave Hughes offered the following fly-fishing
advice: "In one fluid motion, lift the rod
up and back, and drive it forward with a rapier
thrust."
Etymology, more examples:
A rapier is a straight, two-edged
sword with a narrow pointed blade, designed especially
for thrusting. According to "Encyclopaedia
Britannica", "the long rapier
was beautifully balanced, excellent in attack,
and superb for keeping an opponent at a distance."
The word itself, which we borrowed in the 16th
century, is from Middle French "rapiere."
(It has no connection to the word
"rape.") The first time that
"rapier" was used as an
adjective in its figurative "cutting"
sense, it described a smile: "Who can
bear a rapier smile? A kiss that dooms the soul
to death?" ("The Lover's Lament"
by Sumner Lincoln Fairfield, 1824). Wit was
first described as "rapier-like"
by an author in 1853, and, these days, the most
common use of the adjective "rapier"
is to describe wit.
rapine
[RAP-in] The act of plundering; the seizing
and carrying away of another's property by force.
Examples:
1) He who has once begun to live
by rapine always finds reasons for taking what
is not his. (Niccolo Machiavelli, "The
Prince", translated by N.H. Thomson)
2) Extortion and rapine are poor
providers. (Olaudah Equiano, "Unchained
Voices: an anthology of Black authors in the English-Speaking
World of the 18th Century")
3) The war, proclaimed William Lloyd
Garrison, was one "of aggression, of invasion,
of conquest, and rapine - marked by ruffianism,
perfidy, and every other feature of national depravity."
(Robert W. Johannsen, "America's Forgotten
War (Mexican War, 1846-1848)", The Wilson
Quarterly, Spring 1996)
Etymology, related words:
"Rapine" derives from
Latin "rapina", from "rapere"
("to seize and carry off, to snatch or hurry
away"), which also gives us "rapid".
rapprochement
[rap-rosh-MAWN]
The establishment or state of cordial relations.
Examples:
1) Mikhail Gorbachev and his team
of self-described reformers were publicly heralding
a new era of rapprochement with the West. (Ken
Alibek with Stephen Handelman, "Biohazard")
2) The documentary record of initial
White House-level efforts to initiate rapprochement
with China... remains slim. (William Burr,
"The Kissinger Transcripts")
3) But I have no desire for some kissy
rapprochement. (Zo? Heller, "Everything
You Know")
Etymology:
"Rapprochement" comes
from the French, from "rapprocher"
("to bring nearer"), from Middle French,
from "re-" + "approcher"
("to approach"), from Old French "aprochier",
from Late Latin "appropire",
from Latin "ad-" + "propius"
("nearer"), comparative of "prope"
("near").
rapscallion
- Rascallion
- blackguard
- scoundrel
- miscreant
rascal, ne'er-do-well
Example:
"The film ["Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl"] stars Johnny
Depp as the sauntering, dark-eyed rapscallion
Capt. Jack Sparrow...." (Anthony Breznican,
"The Associated Press", July 9, 2003)
Etymology:
The word "rascal" has been part
of English since the 15th century, but on its
own it apparently didn't quite capture the roguish
nature of the wily knaves of yore. By the 17th
century, English speakers had modified "rascal"
to create "rascallion". But it
seems that even that term didn't sound quite mischievous
enough. By the century's end, "rascallion"
had been further altered to create "rapscallion".
"Rascallion" is still
around as well, but it's very rare.
Synonyms:
blackguard, scoundrel, miscreant
rara avis
- rara
- avis
- rara
avises
- avises
- rarae
aves
- rarae
- aves
[RAIR-uh-AY-vis]
plural: rara avises [RAIR-uh-AY-vuh-suhz]
or rarae aves [RAIR-ee-AY-veez]
A rare or unique person or thing.
Examples:
1) He was, after all, that rara
avis, a Jewish Catholic priest with a wife and
children. (Jeremy Sams, "Lorenzo the magnificent,"
Independent, May 16, 2000)
2) "First of all," Arthur
said, "Jack is that rara avis among Ivy League
radicals, a birthright member of the proletariat."
(Charles McCarry, "Lucky Bastard")
3) Rara avis. You'd have to go far
and wide to find someone like that, especially
in these times. (Andrew Holleran, "In
September, the Light Changes")
Etymology:
"Rara avis" is Latin for
"rare bird."
rat pack
Etymology and meaning: Originally, this
referred to a group of same-age, same-interests
young Hollywood dudes that included Frank Sinatra,
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. (as the token Negro),
and a few others. In the 1950s and the early 1960s,
they acted in films together, hung out together,
drank and womanized together, and in general raised
hell together, but didn't get in trouble because
they were famous. In the early 1980s, this term
was applied to another crop of talented but spoiled
young actors who were all about the same age who
also acted and hung around and raised hell together.
rathskeller
[RAHT-skell-er]
A usually basement tavern or restaurant.
Example:
Many workers from the town's mills and factories
liked to gather after hours at the rathskeller
located underneath the banquet hall.
Etymology:
"Rathskeller" is a product
of Germany, deriving from two German nouns: "Rat"
(also spelled "Rath" in early
Modern German), which means "council,"
and "Keller," which means "cellar."
The etymology reflects the fact that many early
rathskellers were located in the basements
of "council houses," which were equivalent
to town halls. (The oldest rathskeller
found in Germany today is said to date from the
first half of the 13th century.) The earliest
known use of "rathskeller"
in English dates from 1766, but the word wasn't
commonly used until the 1900s. Although the German
word is now spelled "Ratskeller,"
English writers have always preferred the spelling
with the "h" - most likely to
avoid any association with the word "rat."
rationale
[rash-uh-NAL]
1. An explanation of controlling principles
of opinion, belief, practice, or phenomena.
2. An underlying reason.
Synonym: basis
Example:
One rationale for year-round school is that it
reduces the need to review old material forgotten
over summer vacation.
Etymology; related words; more meanings, examples:
The word "rationale" appeared
in the second half of the 17th century, just in
time for the Age of Reason. It is based on the
Latin "ratio," which means "reason,"
and "rationalis," which means
"endowed with reason." At first, "rationale"
meant "an explanation of controlling principles"
("a rationale of religious practices,"
for example), but soon it began to refer
to the underlying reason for something (as in
"the rationale for her behavior").
The latter meaning is now the most common use
of the term. The English word "ratio"
can also mean "underlying reason" (in
fact, it had this meaning before "rationale"
did), but in current use, it more often refers
to the relationship (in number, quantity, or degree)
between things.
razzmatazz
- razzle-dazzle
- razzle
- dazzle
- double-talk
- double
- talk
- razzamatazz
[raz-muh-TAZ]
1. A confusing or colorful often
gaudy action or display.
Synonym: razzle-dazzle
2. Inflated, involved, and often deliberately
ambiguous language.
Synonym: double-talk
3. Vim, zing.
Example:
It was a rally like any other, perhaps, but amidst
all the flag-waving and razzmatazz, we detected
a stronger than usual strain of genuine patriotic
feeling.
History, alternative spelling:
Before early forms of "razzmatazz"
entered English, "razzle-dazzle"
appeared on the scene, and long before "razzle-dazzle"
there was simply "dazzle"
(from "daze"). English speakers
are fond of forming new words through reduplication
of a base word, usually with just a slight change
of sound. Think of "okey-dokey,"
"fuddy-duddy," "super-duper,"
"roly-poly," "fiddle-faddle,"
and "dilly-dally." A hundred
or so years ago, the spirit that prompted "razzle-dazzle"
seems to have also inspired "razzmatazz"
shortly afterward. The coiners of "razzmatazz"
may have had "jazz" in mind.
Some of the earliest turn-of-the century uses
of "razzmatazz" refer
to rag-time or early jazz styles. By the 40s,
we'd come round to the "razzle-dazzle"
sense, though we still haven't completely settled
on the spelling. You might, for example, see "razzamatazz."
read between the lines
- read
- between
the lines
- between
- lines
- line
When you "read between the lines", you
go beyond the surface of what someone says or
does so you can find out what they really mean.
Example:
"Clare keeps telling me she's too busy to
go to school dances," Tanya said. "But
when you read between the lines, you can tell
she's afraid she won't have fun if she goes."
real estate
(Amer.) Tangible items of property, such
as land and buildings, as well as intangible rights
in land, such as easements or the right to graze
animals on someone else's land etc.
In the UK, one would use the term "real
property" (see) as distinct
from "personal property" which refers to
all other kinds of property.
real property
(Brit.) Tangible items of property, such
as land and buildings, as well as intangible rights
in land, such as easements or the right to graze
animals on someone else's land etc.
The term "real property" is used as
distinct from "personal property" which
refers to all other kinds of property, to describe
what Americans would call "real estate"
(see).
realia
- memorabilia
- juvenilia
- marginalia
[ree-AL-ee-uh, reh-yal'yuh]
Noun plural; there is no singular form
for this word, because "realia"
refers to a group of or classification of things.
1. (educ.) Objects, as coins, tools,
etc., used by a teacher to illustrate everyday
living;
objects or activities used to relate classroom
teaching to the real life especially of peoples
studied.
Example:
The teacher asked the exchange student from Brazil
to bring in photos, food items, and other realia
to share with the class.
2. (philos.) Things that are real.
History:
"Realia," a word invented
in the 1930s, is still mostly used in the classroom
by teachers, especially foreign language teachers,
and in the library by cataloguers (realia in libraries
can consist of things as bizarre as an author's
hair and teeth donated posthumously), but it's
seeping out. You might, for example, hear of someone
putting "realia" - objects
that represent present-day life - in a time capsule.
"Realia" is also sometimes
used philosophically to distinguish real things
from the theories about them. "Realia"
is one of those plural formations without a corresponding
singular form. Like "memorabilia"
("memorable things" or "mementos"),
"juvenilia" ("works
produced in an artist's or author's youth"),
and "marginalia" ("marginal
notes or embellishments"), it incorporates
the Latin plural ending "-ia."
Etymology: Late Latin, neuter plural of
"realis" - "real".
recalcitrant
[rih-KAL-suh-trunt]
1. obstinately defiant of authority or
restraint
Example:
Anna's doctor ordered a week of complete bed rest,
but, ever recalcitrant when it comes to doctors'
orders, she was up and baking a cake after two
days.
2. a) difficult to manage or operate;
b) not responsive to treatment; c)
resistant
Etymology:
Long before any human was dubbed "recalcitrant"
in English (that first occurred, as best we know,
in one of William Thackeray's works in 1843),
there were stubborn mules (and horses) kicking
back their heels. The ancient Romans noted as
much (Pliny the Elder among them), and they had
a word for it - "recalcitrare",
which literally means "to kick back".
(Its root "calc-", meaning "heel,"
is also the root of "calcaneus", the
large bone of the heel in humans.) Certainly Roman
citizens in Pliny's time were sometimes willful
and hardheaded - as attested by various Latin
words meaning "stubborn" - but it wasn't
until later that writers of Late Latin applied
"recalcitrare" and its derivative
adjective to humans who were stubborn as mules.
recherche
[ruh-sher-SHAY]
1. Uncommon; exotic; rare.
2. Exquisite; choice.
3. Excessively refined; affected.
4. Pretentious; overblown.
Examples:
1) . . . recherche topics interesting
only to university specialists. (Katharine
Washburn and John F. Thornton, "Dumbing Down")
2) She was mocking the pretensions
of the cookery writer who insists on recherche
ingredients not because of their qualities but
their snob value. (Angela Carter, "Shaking
a Leg")
3) In recent years, Garber's appetite
for the rigors of theory seems to have diminished.
The books have kept coming, but the italics-heavy
meditations and the recherche terminology have
receded. (Zo? Heller, "House Arrest,"
The New Republic, July 3, 2000)
Etymology:
"Recherche" comes from
French, from "rechercher" ("to
seek out"), from "re-" +
"chercher" ("to look for,
to seek").
reciprocate
[rih-SIP-ruh-kayt]
1. To move backward and forward alternately.
2. To give and take mutually.
3. To make a return for something done
or given.
Example:
We had a great time at our neighbors' dinner party,
and we hope to reciprocate with an invitation
to a party of our own soon.
Etymology, synonyms, more examples:
The verb "reciprocate"
is recorded from 1820; from Latin "reciprocus"
("returning the same way, alternating"),
from pre-L. "reco-proco-", from
"recus" (from "re-"
= "back" and "-cus",
adjective formation) + "procus"
(from "pro-" = "forward"
and "-cus").
"Reciprocate," "retaliate,"
"requite," and "return"
all mean "to give back," usually in
kind or in quantity. "Reciprocate"
implies a mutual or equivalent exchange or a paying
back of what one has received ("We reciprocated
their hospitality by offering to let them stay
for a week"). "Retaliate"
usually implies a paying back of an injury or
offense in exact kind, often vengefully ("Susan
retaliated by spreading equally nasty rumors about
them"). "Requite"
implies a paying back according to one's preference,
and often not in an equivalent fashion ("He
requited her love with cold indifference").
"Return" implies simply
a paying or giving back ("returned their
call" or "return good for evil").
recondite
[REK-uhn-dyt]
1. Difficult to understand; abstruse.
2. Concerned with obscure subject matter.
Examples:
1) And his fondness for stopping
his readers short in their tracks with evidence
of his recondite vocabulary is wonderfully irritating.
("Books of the Times," New York Times,
February 23, 1951)
2) Among his playmates he counts the
Italian novelist and semiotics professor Umberto
Eco, whom he befriended 15 years ago when they
engaged in a fierce ottava rima competition that
lasted for weeks. They still trade complicated
riddles and recondite guessing games by mail.
("Roberto Benigni: The Funniest Italian You've
Probably Never Heard Of," New York Times,
October 11, 1998)
3) He is a poet's poet, says another
admirer, sometimes recondite and always deeply
aware of the formal tradition of poetry. ("Crown
prince of puns to give the past new life,"
Irish Times, Saturday, May 22, 1999)
Etymology:
"Recondite" is from Latin
"reconditus", past participle
of "recondere" ("to store
back", i.e., "out of the
way," hence "to hide"); itself
from "re-" ("back, again")
+ "condere" ("to put away,
to store"). Thus, recondite
knowledge is "hidden" (because of obscurity
or difficulty) from the understanding of the average
person.
recreant
[REK-ree-uh]
adjective:
1. Cowardly; craven.
2. Unfaithful; disloyal.
noun:
1. A coward.
2. An unfaithful or disloyal person.
Examples:
1) His recreant companion disappears
around the fence, but he remains, smiling affably.
(Eric J. Segal, "Norman Rockwell and the
fashioning of American masculinity," Art
Bulletin, December 1, 1996)
2) To any man there may come at
times a consciousness that there blows, through
all the articulations of his body, the wind of
a spirit not wholly his; that his mind rebels;
that another girds him and carries him whither
he would not... The open door was closed in his
recreant face. (Genie Babb, "Where the
bodies are buried," Narrative, October 1,
2002)
3) Wordsworth compares himself to a
truant, a false steward, a recreant, when he does
not write poetry, when poetic numbers fail to
come spontaneously, when his harp is defrauded
and the singer ends in silence. (J. Douglas
Kneale, "Majestic Indolence: English Romantic
Poetry and the Work of Art," Criticism, September
22, 1996)
4) And it appears in the way the review
essay was set up: Aronson versus Miliband, the
recreant versus the faithful one. (Ronald Aronson,
"Response to Victor Wallis," Monthly
Review, October 1, 1996)
5) But was it worth surrendering your
religion, hence your honor, and becoming a recreant?
(Eugen Weber, "The Ups and Downs of Honor,"
American Scholar, January 1, 1999)
Etymology:
"Recreant" comes from
Old French, from the present participle of "recroire"
("to yield in a trial by battle"), from
"re-" + "croire"
("to believe"), from Latin "credere".
recrudescent
[ree-kroo-DES-uhnt]
Breaking out again after temporary abatement or
suppression; as, "a recrudescent epidemic".
Examples:
1. Now they are recrudescent like other
old maladies we thought we had eliminated. (Marilynne
Robinson, "The way we work, the way we live",
Christian Century, September 9, 1998)
2. Imagining the prospect of a recrudescent
Marxist revolutionary movement, the State Police
became politicised in a way reminiscent of the
1919-22 period. (Richard Oliver Collin, "Italy:
A Tale of Two Police Forces", History Today,
September 1999)
3. At the end of a six- to eight-month
treatment regimen, only about half the first cohort
of prisoners were declared cured -- and some of
these later developed signs of recrudescent disease.
(Paul Farmer, "TB Superbugs: The Coming Plague
on All our Houses", Natural History, April
1999)
Etymology:
Recrudescent derives from the present
participle of Latin recrudescere, "to bleed
again, hence to break out again", from "re-"
("again") + "crudescere",
from "crudus" ("bleeding,
raw"). The state or condition of being recrudescent
is recrudescence.
rectitudinous
[rek-tuh-TOO-duh-nuss]
1. characterized by straightness or moral
integrity
Example:
Their leader-to-be was . . . a sternly rectitudinous
former federal judge who may be the straightest
straight arrow in Washington. ("Newsweek",
March 16, 1987)
2. piously self-righteous
History, related words:
"Rectitudinous" comes
to us straight from the Late Latin "rectitudin-"
(English added the "-ous" ending),
which is, in turn, ultimately derived from the
Latin word "rectus," meaning
both "straight" and "right."
(There are other "rectus" descendants
in English, including "rectitude," of
course, and "rectilinear," "rectangle,"
and "rectify.") When "rectitudinous"
first appeared in print in 1897, it was in the
phrase "notoriously and unctuously rectitudinous."
Although "rectitude" often
expresses an admirable moral integrity, "rectitudinous"
has always had a less flattering side. It can
suggest not only moral uprightness but also a
displeasing holier-than-thou attitude.
recumbent
1. Reclining; lying down.
2. Resting; inactive; idle.
Examples:
1) While the lovers' intricately
carved tombs - with their host of angels surrounding
the recumbent figures of the deceased - draw crowds,
the soaring space of the Gothic cathedral and
the peaceful abbey cloisters seem to swallow and
silence the busloads of visitors. (Jill Knight
Weinberger, "Monuments To Love's Labors",
New York Times, August 15, 1999)
2) Winser was still recumbent but
in his frenzy he was trying to writhe his way
back onto his knees, kicking and twisting like
a felled animal, struggling to wedge his heels
under him, half rising, only to topple back again
onto his side. (John le Carr?, "Single
& Single")
3) Mr. Bloom, semi-recumbent on a reclining
chair, speaks in long sentences, interrupting
himself with long parenthetical remarks that contain
parentheses of their own. (Richard Bernstein,
"A Perennial Scrapper Takes On God and the
Bible", New York Times, October 24, 1990)
Etymology:
"Recumbent" comes from
the present participle of Latin "recumbere"
("lie back, to recline"), from "re-"
("back") + "-cumbere"
("to lie").
recusant
[RECK-yuh-zunt]
Refusing to submit to authority.
Example:
Several recusant senators refused to vote along
party lines.
History, more meanings:
In 1534, Henry VIII of England declared himself
the head of the Church of England, separating
it from the Roman Catholic Church, and the resultant
furor led to increased attention focused on people's
religious observances. A "recusant"
was someone who (from about 1570-1791) refused
to attend services of the Church of England, and
therefore violated the laws of mandatory church
attendance. The word derives from the Latin verb
"recusare," meaning "reject"
or "oppose." The adjective "recusant"
has been in use since the early 17th century.
Originally, it meant "refusing to
attend the services of the Church of England,"
but by the century's end, both the adjective and
the noun were also being used generally to suggest
resistance to authority of any form.
red tape
Excessive rules and regulations; bureaucratic
details and delays.
Examples:
1) With all the red tape, it took
me weeks to get a license for my new business.
2) The red tape at my job is driving
me crazy! I can't do anything without filling
out a ton of paperwork.
Etymology:
In 18th century England, the official documents
of the royal government were tied together with
red ribbon or tape.
redaction
[rih-DACK-shun]
1. An act or instance of putting
something in writing or adapting it for
publication.
2. A work that has been adapted for publication.
Synonyms: edition, version.
Example:
Tina was introduced to a number of literary classics
as a child via age-appropriate redactions, sometimes
in the style of comic books.
Etymology, related words:
"Redaction" is from the
Latin verb "redigere" ("to
bring back" or "to reduce"),
which was formed by adding the prefix "red-"
("back") to "agere",
meaning to "to drive, lead, act, or do. Some
other "agere" offsprings
include "act," "agenda," "cogent,"
"litigate," "chasten," "agile,"
and "transact", as well as "prodigal",
"agent", "essay", "navigate"
and "ambiguous".
redivivus
[red-uh-VY-vuhs; -VEE-]
Living again; brought back to life; revived; restored.
Examples:
1) Augustine redivivus, R. contends,
would find in the history of the present century
confirmation of his pessimistic views of human
nature. (Roland J. Teske, "Augustine:
Ancient Thought Baptized," Theological Studies,
June 1, 1995)
2) She is the young Magda redivivus
to the last degree, including the way she arches
her eyebrow when she speaks. (Judith Dunford,
"Exit Laughing," Newsday, May 8, 1994)
3) As for Neeson - of the nose-heavy,
asymmetrical countenance and shrewdly darting,
soul-searching eyes, he is a lopsided Gary Cooper
redivivus - hardly something to sneeze at. (John
Simon, "Michael Collins," National Review,
November 25, 1996)
4) Paulson appears as a Hogarth redivivus,
promulgating his views with the same antiacademic
and self-protective motivations he finds in Hogarth's
rationale for writing the Analysis. (Therese
Dolan, "The Beautiful, Novel, and Strange:
Aesthetics and Heterodoxy," The Art Bulletin,
March 1, 1998)
Etymology:
"Redivivus" comes from
Latin, from the prefix "red-" / "re-"
("again") + "vivus" ("alive").
Usage note: "Redivivus"
is used postpositively - that is, after the noun
it modifies.
redolent
[RED-uh-lunt]
1. Having or exuding fragrance.
Synonyms: scented; aromatic.
2. Full of fragrance; odorous; smelling
(usually used with 'of' or 'with').
3. Serving to bring to mind (usually used
with 'of' or 'with').
Synonyms: evocative; suggestive; reminiscent.
Examples:
1) The 142-foot-long sidewheeled
steamer... ferried people from place to place,...
its two decks redolent with the aroma of fresh
grapes, peaches, and other fruit headed for the
rail spur at the Canandaigua pier, then on to
markets in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington,
D.C. (A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax, "Bogart")
2) The simple, semisweet and moist
cake was redolent of cinnamon and nutmeg and studded
with Mr. McCartney's favorite nuts, pecans. (Bryan
Miller, "Lots of Smidgens, But Hold the Meat,"
New York Times, September 7, 1994)
3) Backed by soaring sax and energetic
percussion, Martin makes the sort of celebratory,
Spanish party music redolent of warm weather and
cocktails. (Lisa Verrico, "Times"
(London), November 10, 2000)
4) It's a fine word, "Fellowship",
redolent of Oxbridge high tables and intellectual
excellence. (Paul Hoggart, "Times"
(London), February 24, 2001)
5) The forest grove beside the lake
was redolent of pine and spread with a soft carpet
of moss and pine needles - the ideal spot for
a picnic.
Etymology, more examples:
"Redolent" derives from
Latin "redolens, -entis", present
participle of "redolere" ("to
emit a scent, to diffuse an odor"), from
"red-, re-" + "olere"
("to exhale an odor"). So, "redolent"
is a relative of "olfactory"
("of, relating to, or connected with the
sense of smell"). In its earliest English
uses in the 15th century, "redolent"
simply meant "having an aroma." Today,
it usually applies to a place or thing impregnated
with odors, as in "the kitchen was redolent
of garlic and tomatoes". It can also
be used of something that reminds us of something
else or evokes a certain emotional response, as
in "a city redolent of antiquity."
redoubt
[rih-DOWT]
1. A small and usually temporary defensive
fortification.
2. A defended position or protective
barrier.
3. A secure place of refuge or defense;
a stronghold.
Examples:
1) Evicting the intruders from their
mountain redoubts with ground forces alone was
beginning to look like a protracted and expensive
task. ("Kashmir's violent spring,"
The Economist, May 29, 1999)
2) First, Milosevic himself will be
absent, apparently fearful of leaving his redoubt
in Belgrade. ("Lessons of Balkans Applied
to Kosovo," New York Times, February 1, 1999)
Etymology:
"Redoubt" derives from
French "redoute", from Italian
"ridotto", from Latin "reductus"
("a refuge, a retreat"), from "reducere"
("to lead or draw back"), from "re-"
("back") + "ducere"
("to lead").
redoubtable
1. Arousing fear or alarm.
Synonym: formidable.
2. Illustrious; eminent; broadly:
worthy of respect or honor.
Examples:
1) He had been particularly involved
in and articulate over policy toward East Asia,
stressing the threat from China after the Communists
won power there in 1949, and had made dramatic
impressions of competence and coolness on two
occasions -- under the physical threat of a crowd
in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1958, and in a dramatic
kitchen debate in the Soviet Union in 1959 with
the redoubtable Nikita Khrushchev. (William
Bundy, "A Tangled Web")
2) The prospect was daunting, not
least because Evelyn was still a redoubtable figure
on campus whom I saw almost every day and to whom
I went for advice almost as regularly. (Keith
Stewart Thomson, "The Common But Less Frequent
Loon and Other Essays")
3) At the head of the table, as
committee chair, sat the redoubtable Howard Mumford
Jones - a teacher famed even at Harvard for his
fierce authority, his wide-ranging erudition,
and his intolerant exacting preciseness. (Nicholas
Delbanco, "The Lost Suitcase")
Etymology:
"Redoubtable" comes to
us through Middle English, from the Anglo-French
verb "reduter" ("to dread");
it derives from Old French "redouter"
("to dread"), from Medieval Latin "redubitare"
("to fear", literally "to doubt
back at"), from Latin "re-"
(prefix that means "anew, once more, again")
+ "dubitare" ("to doubt",
"duter").
The word "redoubtable"
is worthy of respect itself, if only for its longevity;
it has been used in English for things formidable
since at least the 15th century. Things or people
that are formidable and alarming can also inspire
awe and even admiration, however, and it wasn't
long before the meaning of "redoubtable"
was extended from "formidable"
to "illustrious" and "worthy of
respect."
redound
- redound
to
- redound
to smth.
[rih-DOWND]
1. To have a consequence or effect.
2. To return; to rebound; to reflect.
3. To become added or transferred;
to accrue.
Examples:
1) Even if we don't officially round
them up, as we did with Japanese Americans in
World War II, the unofficial acts of meanness
and hatred against those who look like our blood
enemies are likely to redound to our shame.
(William Raspberry, "Worse to Come",
Washington Post, September 15, 2001)
2) Women are so inclined to vote
Democratic that a Republican drive to get out
the women's vote may actually redound to the Democrats'
advantage. (Ruth Conniff, "No more angry
feminists", The Progressive, October 1, 1996)
3) The Kemp Commission tracked three
periods of reduced taxation in this century. Each
was followed by an economic boom that redounded
to the benefit of the entire society. (Mona
Charen, "You Can't Punish the Rich Without
Hurting the Rest of Us", St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
January 25, 1996)
4) O'Sullivan busied himself writing
would-be contributors, outlining his plan for
the enterprise and how its glory would redound
to all associated with the project. (Edward
L. Widmer, "Young America")
5) [George] Washington was convinced
that treating other nations equally and fairly
would ultimately redound to the well-being of
the United States. (Jay Tolson, "U.S.
News & World Report", September 22, 2003)
Etymology, related words, more examples:
"Redound", originally
"to be in excess or to overflow," derives
from the Middle French "redunder,"
which in turn came from Latin "redundare"
("to overflow", "to be in abundance
or excess"), from "re-"
+ "unda" ("wave").
Although it looks and sounds like a number of
similar words (including "rebound,"
"resound," "abound,"
and "redundant"), "redound"
is a distinct term. In its earliest known English
uses in the late 1300s, "redound"
meant "to overflow" or "to abound,"
but those senses are now considered archaic. In
current use, "redound"
is often followed by "to,"
and the effect can be positive (as in our
last example sentence) or negative: "[It]
probably would have redounded strongly to my disadvantage
if I had pursued to completion my resolution...."
(Joseph Heller, "God Knows").
redux
[ree-DUKS]
Brought back.
Example:
Polka dots, stripes and florals with ... a distinct
'50s and '60s redux aura ... are a trend we're
glad to see returning. (Jaimee Rose, "The
Arizona Republic", July 15, 2005)
History:
In Latin, "redux" (from
the verb "reducere," meaning
"to lead back") could mean "brought
back" or "bringing back." The Romans
used "redux" as an epithet for
the Goddess Fortuna with its "bringing back"
meaning; Fortuna Redux was "one
who brings another safely home." But it was
the "brought back" meaning that made
its way into English. "Redux"
belongs to a small class of English adjectives
that are always used postpositively - that is,
they always follow the words they modify. "Redux"
has a history of showing up in titles of English
works, such as John Dryden's "Astraea
Redux" (a poem "on the happy
restoration and return of his sacred majesty,
Charles the Second"), Anthony Trollope's
"Phineas Redux", and John Updike's
"Rabbit Redux".
refractory
1. Stubbornly disobedient; unmanageable.
2. Resisting ordinary treatment or cure.
3. Difficult to melt or work; capable of
enduring high temperature.
Examples:
1) It's a head shot of Lucien Bouchard
peering out of the dark, openmouthed, teeth showing,
eyes glittering and appearing not to have shaved
in a week. In another age, the shot might have
been held up to a refractory kid with the warning,
"The boogeyman will get you if you don't
watch out." (George Bain, "Whose
Reality?" Time, October 13, 1997)
2) And even those most refractory infections
of all, those caused by viruses - formerly dismissed
as untreatable because viruses disappeared into
the inner labyrinths of the living cells, merging
into the very genomes - were becoming amenable
to early treatments. (Frank Ryan, M.D., "Virus
X")
3) Bauxite is mined in only a few
places. It is used to make aluminum, iron, copper
and dozens of refractory products such as the
bricks used to line blast furnaces. (Robert
Goodrich, "Melvin Price Support Center's
Bauxite Will Be Sold," St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
August 10, 2000)
Etymology:
"Refractory" comes from
Latin "refractarius" - "stubborn,"
from "refragari" - "to oppose,
to withstand, to thwart."
refulgence
[rih-FULL-junss]
A radiant or resplendent quality or
state.
Synonym: brilliance.
Example:
Cervantes' Don Quixote compares his beloved's
hair to "threads of the brightest gold of
Araby, whose refulgence dimmed the sun himself."
History, more examples, a related synonym:
"The full bow of the crescent moon peeps
above the plain and shoots its gleaming arrows
far and wide, filling the earth with a faint refulgence,
as the glow of a good man's deeds shines for a
while upon his little world after his sun has
set, lighting the fainthearted travellers who
follow on towards a fuller dawn." So
British author Sir Henry Rider Haggard
described the light of the moon in "King
Solomon's Mines". Haggard's example
reflects both the modern meaning and the history
of "refulgence." That
word derives from the Latin "refulgere,"
which means "to shine brightly" and
which is itself a descendant of the verb "fulgere,"
meaning "to shine." By the way, "fulgere"
also underlies "effulgence,"
a shining synonym of "refulgence."
refulgent
[rih-FUL-juhnt]
Shining brightly; radiant; brilliant; resplendent.
Examples:
1) If Moore was not quite a burned-out
case, his once refulgent light flickered only
dimly in his sad last years. (Martin Filler,
"The Spirit of '76", New Republic, July
9, 2001)
2) With its improbable towers tilting
against themselves and its titanium sheathing
in full refulgent glow, it brings on a question
that the world has not enjoyed asking itself since
the first moon landings: If this is possible,
what isn't? (Richard Lacayo, "The Frank
Gehry Experience," Time, June 26, 2000)
3) To the Renaissance, they [the Middle
Ages] were nothing but a dank patch of history,
a barren stretch of time between luminous antiquity
and an equally refulgent present. (Justin Davidson,
"On the Record," Newsday, January 19,
1997)
Etymology:
"Refulgent" comes from
the present participle of Latin "refulgere"
("to flash back, to shine brightly"),
from "re-" ("back")
+ "fulgere" ("to shine").
regale
[rih-GAY(uh)L]
Transitive verb:
1. To entertain with something that delights;
to give pleasure or amusement to.
2. To entertain sumptuously with fine food
and drink.
Intransitive verb:
3. To feast; to feed.
Noun:
4. A sumptuous feast.
5. A choice food; a delicacy.
6. Refreshment.
Examples:
1) If I've been away, and the boys
do remember to ask about my trip, I remark on
their thoughtfulness by saying, 'Thanks for asking!'
and then regale them with stories about my journey.
(Lucy Calkins, "Raising Lifelong Learners:
A Parent's Guide")
2) He might also regale them with
tales of how his Magic team beat Jordan's Bulls,
108-102,
in Game 6 to win their four-of-seven-game Eastern
Conference semifinal series before a stunned crowd
of 24,332 tonight at the United Center. ("Bulls
Burst in the Air as Magic Moves On," New
York Times, May 19, 1995)
3) Levin settled his guests in the
dense, cool shade of the young aspens on a bench
and some stumps purposely put there for visitors
to the bee-house who might be afraid of the bees,
and he went off himself to the hut to get bread,
cucumbers, and fresh honey, to regale them with.
(Leo Tolstoy, "Anna Karenina", translated
by Constance Garnett)
4) We often stopped to visit our
neighbor, knowing the garrulous man would regale
us with hilarious tales of his boyhood adventures.
Etymology, related words, more examples:
"Regale" has been a verb
since at least 1656; it was adapted from the French
"regaler" ("to entertain").
It is related to gallant. The French verb
goes back to Middle French "galer",
which means "to have a good time", and
to Old French "gale", meaning
"pleasure". ("Gala",
meaning "a festive celebration," is
from the same source.) "Regale"
also has a history as a noun meaning "a sumptuous
feast". That use dates back to at least 1670,
when someone penned the following notice for posterity:
"My Lord Duke will not be able to get
away yet .., all the regales that are intended
for him not being yet at an end." (The
lord referred to is the Duke of Buccleuch, whose
regales ended once and for all 15 years
later when he was beheaded.)
regardless
[rih-GARD-luss]
despite everything
Example:
The weather forecast called for wind and rain,
but Susan decided to continue with her plans regardless.
History, related words:
"Regardless" is rather
simply derived from the noun "regard"
("attention, concern") plus "-less"
- nothing too shocking about that. But poor "regardless"
became embroiled in a usage scandal through no
fault of its own when people began using "irregardless"
as its synonym (probably blending "irrespective"
and "regardless"). "Irregardless"
originated in dialectal American speech in the
early 20th century, and usage commentators have
been decrying it since the 1920s, often declaring
"there is no such word." "Irregardless"
does exist, of course, but it tends to be used
primarily in speech and it is still considered
nonstandard. "Regardless"
is greatly preferred.
regifting
The activity of giving something as a gift that
you yourself originally received as a gift.
Example:
They say there's really only one fruitcake in
the world and it just gets passed from person
to person. Call it recycling or regifting, but
passing on gifts we don't want or need is becoming
a more acceptable part of our culture, experts
say ... Many Americans are devoted regifters.
Nearly a third of shoppers have regifted at least
one or more times, according to the 2003 American
Express Retail Index on holiday shopping. On average,
those who regift have done so at least three times.
About 60 percent of women regift and 40 percent
of men. ("The Beacon Journal", 21st
December 2003)
History, more meanings, related words, examples:
Christmas is almost upon us, the culmination of
several weeks of frenzied shopping activity, with
many of us trying very hard to make the dreams
of important people in our lives come true. If,
however, Christmas shopping is your worst nightmare,
have you ever been tempted to search your bottom
drawer for an effortless solution which is free
of expenditure? On the other hand, have you ever
opened a present and thought that its contents
looked strangely familiar? If the answer to either
of these questions is yes', then you're likely
to have been a participant or victim in the increasingly
popular activity of regifting. Though
the phenomenon of regifting is probably
something that has existed since gift-giving began,
the lexical gap for a description of this activity
was only filled in the mid-nineties. Into the
noughties, the phenomenon of regifting
is becoming more and more established with the
popularity of Internet sites such as eBay,
which reinforce the idea of recycling unwanted
goods.
The verb "regift"
has likewise now entered at least one online dictionary
with the definition to resell or auction an unwanted
gift on the Internet'. This verb often occurs
intransitively as illustrated in the citation
above, but it can also be used transitively -
"I regifted that pasta maker"
- and frequently ditransitively or with a prepositional
object - "I regifted her that pasta maker
or I regifted that pasta maker to my mother-in-law".
Other derivatives include an adjective
"regifted" - "a
regifted pasta maker" - a noun
"regift", referring to
the regiven gift itself, and an agent nominalization
"regifter" for people
who participate in the activity, a rather derogatory
way of describing someone during the festive season!
The word "regifting" is
a synthesis of the gerund deriving from the verb
"gift" (to give something as
a gift'), and the prefix "re-"
meaning again'. The first use of the term and
its derivatives is attributed to the American
comedian Jerry Seinfeld. In a 1995 TV show
"Superbowl", tickets and a label
maker were regifted, and the episode
took a light-hearted look at the mistakes people
make while trying to conceal the fact that something
is a regift.
When it first appeared, the phenomenon of
regifting took on rather negative overtones
due to its association with deception, i.e. the
idea that by regifting you were
not only deceiving the recipient, but also the
person who originally gave you the gift by not
being honest about the fact that you didn't want
it. However, the increasing popularity of the
world and its more recent link to Internet-based
auctions has made the phenomenon of regifting
more acceptable, and brought with it more light-hearted,
humorous overtones.
rejoinder
[rih-JOIN-dur]
An answer to a reply; or, in general, an
answer or reply.
Examples:
1) I kept looking for exceptions
to his pronouncements, flaws in his reasoning,
my constant rejoinders to his critical remarks
being "Yes, but..." (Richard Elman,
"Namedropping: Mostly Literary Memoirs")
2) The comment immediately drew a sharp
rejoinder from a friend. (Howard W. French,
"Tokyo Displays Mixed Feelings at Premiere
of 'Pearl Harbor,' " New York Times, June
21, 2001)
3) Chance on an unbelieving clod, and
the ultimate rejoinder is ready at hand: "Listen,
dummy, it actually happened!" (Benjamin
Cheever, "Like Watching Tennis," New
York Times, August 17, 1997)
Etymology:
"Rejoinder" derives from
Old French "rejoindre" ("to
answer, rejoin"), from "re-"
+ "joindre" ("to join"),
from Latin "iungere" ("to
join").
remonstrate
[rih-MAHN-strayt; REH-mun-strayt]
1. To present and urge reasons in opposition
to an act, measure, or any course of proceedings
- usually used with 'with'.
2. To say or plead in protest, opposition,
or reproof.
Examples:
1) If a hailstorm starts, surely
instead of remonstrating with it, you try to take
shelter. (Victor Pelevin, "A Werewolf
Problem in Central Russia and Other Stories")
2) When things went beyond the control
of her forceful personality, inventiveness or
charm, if the problem was something she could
not alter or manipulate, she didn't pine or remonstrate,
she merely buried what was threatening or damaging
to her sense of worth. (Colin Thubron, "Sophisticated
Traveler", New York Times, October 10, 1999)
3) Tories and Liberal Democrats remonstrated
with each other. (Matthew Parris, "Cockney
market forces drive Ginger bananas", Times
(London), May 16, 2001)
Etymology:
"Remonstrate" comes from
Medieval Latin "remonstrare"
("to show again, to point back to, as a fault"),
from "re-" + "monstrare"
("to show").
remunerate
[rih-MYOO-nuh-rate]
1. To pay an equivalent to for any service,
loss, or expense; to recompense.
2. To compensate for; to make payment for.
Examples:
1) Not to suggest that our bosses
remunerate us for our high moral standards, but
creative bureaucrats at Mesa City Hall have invented
a new fund from tax revenue that sets up a $20,000
account for each virtuous City Council member.
(Art Thomason, "Mesa Puts Quite a Price
on Discretion," Arizona Republic, May 18,
2000)
2) The plaintiff could therefore only
recover payment for her services if there was
evidence of an implied or express contract by
the business of which he was a partner (or by
the plaintiff personally) to remunerate her for
the work which she had done. (Kate O'Hanlon,
"No damages for wife's gratuitous work,"
Independent, May 27, 1999)
3) [The firm] wanted to meet long-term
investment requirements out of retained profits
and also to be able to properly remunerate all
the staff and give them a share of the profits.
(Roger Trapp, "Legal firms 'go offshore'
to avoid litigation," Independent, May 2,
1996)
Etymology:
"Remunerate" comes from
Latin "remunerari" - "to
reward," from "re-" ("back,
again") + "munerari" ("to
give, to present"), from "munus"
- "a gift."
remuneration
- recompense
- pay
- Renumeration
- munificent
1. something that remunerates
Synonyms: recompense, pay
Example: "I've put in a lot of hard
work and long hours on this project and I expect
proper remuneration for my efforts," Brad
said fiercely.
2. an act or fact of remunerating
Etymology:
The evidence shows "remuneration"
to be most at home in writing that concerns serious
financial matters, especially when large amounts
of money - or other forms of compensation - are
involved. Whether it's because money denotes numerals,
or simply because the "n" and "m"
are adjacent to each other on our keyboards, "reMUNeration"
appears misspelled as "reNUMeration"
to a rather inordinate degree in an electronic
database of published periodicals. ("Renumeration,"
a very rare word, means "to enumerate [to
count or list] again".) It pays to know that
the "-mun-" in "remuneration"
is from Latin "munus", meaning "gift",
a root it shares with "munificent",
an adjective which means "very liberal in
giving".
renascent
[rih-NAS-uhnt]
Springing or rising again into being; showing
renewed vigor.
Examples:
1) Their goal: to give voters in
the June presidential elections a realistic choice
between the rough-and-tumble reforms of President
Boris Yeltsin and the Soviet-era nostalgia of
Gennadi Zyuganov, leader of the renascent Russian
Communist Party. (James O. Jackson, "Can
Opposites Attract?" Time, May 13, 1996)
2) Where are the new ideas upon
which a renascent Toryism can build? (David
Aaronovitch, "There's no setting for Hague's
Tories at the nation's kitchen table," Independent,
March 11, 1999)
3) Rabbinical students saw themselves
at the center of a renascent American Judaism,
pioneers of a nationwide - no, worldwide - Jewish
faith rooted in the best of the past and vigorous
with contemporary innovations. (Chaim Potok,
"Legitimate Voyeurism," Forward, November
4, 1994)
4) Heading the pack of institutional
investors were dedicated "emerging-market
funds", set up specifically to reap high
returns in renascent stock and bond markets. ("The
miracle unmasked," The Economist, December
9, 1995)
Etymology:
"Renascent" comes from
Latin "renascens", present participle
of "renasci" ("to be born
again"), from "re-" ("again")
+ "nasci" ("to be born").
rendition
- renditioning
- renditioned
- rendered
- render
- torture-by-proxy
- torture
- proxy
Also: renditioning
The practice of capturing a criminal suspect and
handing them over to the authorities of a different
country for interrogation or imprisonment.
Examples:
1) Human rights groups consider
the practice of rendition a run-around to avoid
the judicial processes that the United States
has long championed. (CBS News, 27th December
2005) 2) Take the practice,
known in the spy trade as renditioning, of nabbing
jihadists and, without arresting them, bundling
them off to foreign jurisdictions. There, it's
hoped, interrogators who don't follow Queensbury
rules might uncover enemy plans(Investors Business
Daily, 30th December 2005) 3) Renditions
are broadened not only to bring serious, wanted
suspects to justice, but also to capture suspected
terrorists before they act. (San Francisco
Chronicle, 27th December 2005) 4) US
officials acknowledge that they have "renditioned"
suspects to third countries for interrogation.
(Hartford Courant, 11th December 2005)
History, related words, synonyms:
The word "rendition"
has existed in the English language since
the early 17th century. Although dictionaries
currently only feature the established sense relating
to a musical or theatrical performance, this new
sense of "rendition"
in fact relates more directly to the word's
origins, since it derives from the French word
"rendre", meaning to give back'.
In 2005, a new sense of the word "rendition"
was born. In the same year that the media
talked about Sir Paul McCartney's rendition
of a famous "Beatles" song at the
London Live8 <http://www.live8live.com>
concert, the same word was being used in a serious
context which in no way related to the conventional
definition of a particular performance or
interpretation of a piece of music or drama'.
In December 2005, the sense of "rendition"
that dominated the media was nothing to do
with entertainment, but rather the process of
capture and extradition of suspected terrorists.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in
November 2001 President Bush issued a military
order which, contrary to national and international
law, included the right to indefinitely detain
any non-US citizen anywhere in the world. This
controversial practice, described as "rendition",
involves grabbing terrorist suspects in one country
and flying them to their home or another country
where they are wanted for questioning. "Rendition"
in this sense occurs as both an uncountable
and countable noun, with the uncountable noun
referring to the process and the countable form
to an instance of it. "Renditioning"
is an alternative process noun. "Rendition"
is also used as a transitive verb, mainly
in the passive form as in "be/get renditioned
(to somewhere)", and the form
"renditioned" therefore
frequently occurs as a participle adjective. Terrorist
suspects who have been renditioned are
sometimes described with the attributive adjective
"rendered", as in "rendered
suspects were detained at&", and
"render" is sometimes
also used as an alternative verb form. Some 100
to 150 people have been renditioned
since 9/11, the CIA claiming that the procedure
is restricted to those considered to be the most
serious terror suspects. Rendition
continues to be a highly controversial practice
however, mainly because it allegedly involves
the extradition of suspects to countries where
torture forms a legal part of interrogation procedures.
Opponents often describe the term "rendition"
as a euphemism for "torture-by-proxy".
renege
[rih-NIG; -NEG]
To go back on a promise or commitment.
Examples:
1) Today, politicians everywhere
routinely renege on pledges in the belief that
any problem can be solved by short-term fixes,
spin-doctoring or character assassination. (Larry
Elliott, "Universal man must take responsibility
for slaying Beveridge's five giants", The
Guardian, January 10, 2000)
2) But now the Senate is proposing
to renege on the deal, and the governors are furious.
(By Judith Havemann, Washington Post, March 13,
1999)
3) And George W. Bush knows from
seeing his father renege on his "no new taxes"
pledge how a single judgment can end up crippling
a presidency. (James Carney and Karen Tumulty,
"How They Run the Show", Time, October
29, 2000)
Etymology:
"Renege" is from Medieval
Latin "renegare" ("to deny
again, to go back upon"), from Latin "re-"
("back, again") + "negare"
("to say no, to deny").
repast
[rih-PAST]
Something taken as food; a meal.
Examples:
1) This repast could scarcely have
been digested before a "tea" of fresh
bread, butter, cheese, cold meat, and cake was
served at half past six. (Joan Druett, "Hen
Frigates")
2) On June 1, 1563,
in Basel, Thomas sat down to a meal, probably
the evening repast. (Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie,
"The Beggar and the Professor", translated
by Arthur Goldhammer)
3) When staying with friends in
American in 1949, the philosopher demanded bread
and cheese at all meals. Every time the dull repast
was laid before him, he would exclaim, as if for
the first time, "Hot diggetty!", a phrase
he had picked up from the movies. (Bee Wilson,
"Stomach tracts," New Statesman, January
8, 1999)
Etymology, related words:
"Repast" comes from Old
French "repaistre" ("to
feed"), from Latin "re-" + "pascere"
("to feed"). It is related to "pasture"
("the grass grown for the feeding of grazing
animals, or the land used for grazing").
repletion
1. The condition of being completely filled
or supplied.
2. Excessive fullness, as from overeating.
Examples:
1) We have to earn silence, then,
to work for it: to make it not an absence but
a presence; not emptiness but repletion. (Pico
Iyer, "The Eloquent Sounds of Silence",
Time, January 1993)
2) With distended belly and bursting
waistcoat, his eyes glazed with repletion, he
picks listlessly at his teeth with a fork. (Kenneth
Rose, "Madness of King George's son",
Daily Telegraph, November 14, 1998)
3) He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted
with his repletion. (Jeff Guinn, "The
Ghoul, the Bad, the Ugly", Arizona Republic,
June 7, 1999)
Etymology:
"Repletion" is derived
from Latin "replere" ("to
fill again, to fill up"), from "re-"
("again, once more") + "plere"
("to fill"). "Plenty"
is a related word.
repo man
One who seizes property and returns it to its
owners; usually, the term refers to someone who
takes cars back to the car dealer, when the driver
of the car has failed to pay for it in full.
Example: Maya was having trouble paying
her bills, so it was no surprise to hear the repo
man knocking on her door.
Etymology: 'Repo' is short
for 'repossess', meaning 'to take back
property'. A film called "Repo Man",
about a man who repossesses cars in southern California,
was popular in the 1980's.
reprobate
[REP-ruh-bayt]
1. A person foreordained to damnation.
2. A depraved person.
Synonym: scoundrel.
Example:
He was just an old reprobate who lived poor and
died broke... (Richard Peck, "A Long Way
from Chicago")
Etymology, more examples:
The earliest form of the word in Eng. was a verb,
meaning "to disapprove" (1432). In 1545,
an adjective appeared, "rejected as worthless,"
from L.L. "reprobatus", pp. of
"reprobare" ("disapprove,
reject, condemn"), from L. "re-"
("opposite of, reversal of previous condition")
+ "probare" ("prove to be
worthy").
These days, calling Uncle Fred a "reprobate"
is hardly a condemnation to hellfire and brimstone,
but the original reprobates of the
16th century were hardened sinners who had fallen
from God's grace. The noun is recorded from 1545
("one rejected by God"). Sense of "abandoned
or unprincipled person" is from 1592. By
the 19th century, "reprobate"
had acquired the milder, but still utterly condemnatory,
sense of "a depraved person." Gradually,
though, the criticism implied by "reprobate"
became touched with tolerance and even a bit of
humor. It is now most likely to be used as it
was in this August 1995 "New Yorker"
magazine article about the death of musician Jerry
Garcia: "It was suddenly obvious that
Garcia had become, against all odds, an American
icon: by Thursday morning, the avuncular old reprobate
had smuggled his way onto the front pages of newspapers
around the world."
repudiate
[rih-PYOO-dee-ayt]
1. to refuse to have anything to do with
Synonym: disown
2. to reject as untrue or unjust
Example:
The clerk repudiated the charges that he had stolen
money from the cash register.
History:
In Latin, the noun "repudium"
refers to the rejection of a spouse or prospective
spouse, and the related verb "repudiare"
means "to divorce" or "to reject."
In the 16th century, English writers used the
derivative "repudiate"
to mean "to divorce," when in reference
to a wife, or "to disown," when in reference
to a member of one's family, or just generally
"to reject or cast off." By the 19th
century the word had acquired a separate sense
meaning "to reject as untrue," which
was often used in reference to opinions, claims
and accusations. Nowadays this second sense is
the more common of the two.
repugn
- oppose
- repugnant
- pugnacious
- impugn
- pungent
[rih-PYOON]
To contend against.
Synonym: to oppose.
Example:
First and chief.... let the others repugn as they
will: all Titles of Nobility, from Duke to Esquire,
or lower, are henceforth abolished. (Thomas
Carlyle, "The French Revolution: A History")
History, related words:
"Repugn" is a word that
was relatively common in English in the 16th and
17th centuries. These days, however, English speakers
are more likely to be familiar with one of its
close relatives, namely, the adjective "repugnant,"
which formerly meant "hostile" but today
most commonly means "exciting distaste or
aversion." The Latin root for both of these
words is "pugnare," meaning "to
fight." Other English derivatives from this
root are "pugnacious,"
meaning "belligerent," and "impugn,"
meaning "to assail with words or arguments."
Even "pungent" ("spicy,
piquant, sharp - of flavor, odor, etc.; biting,
caustic, sarcastic; clever, witty") is a
relative of "pugnare." Therefore,
don't try to repugn, or impugn
for that matter, the influence of "pugnare"
on English - lest you appear pugnacious!
requisite
[REK-wuh-zit]
Essential, necessary.
Example:
The menu had all the requisite summer cookout
offerings: hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad,
and watermelon.
History, related words:
Acquiring an understanding of where today's word
comes from won't require a formal inquiry. Without
question, the quest begins with Latin "quaerere,"
which means "to ask" and is an ancestor
of a number of English words, including "acquire,"
"require," "inquiry,"
"question," "quest,"
and, of course, "requisite."
From "quaerere" came "requirere,"
meaning "to ask again." Repeated requests
can express a need, and the past participle of
"requirere," which is "requisitus,"
came to mean "needed" or "necessary."
The English language acquired "requisite"
when it was adopted into Middle English back in
the 1400s.
resile
[rih-ZYLE]
To recoil, retract; especially:
to return to a prior position.
Example:
The politician said he was sorry that his comments
had caused offense, but he stopped short of resiling
from his position.
Etymology, related words:
"Resile" is a resilient
word; it's been around in English since at least
1529. It's also a cousin of "resilient"
- both words derive from the Latin verb "resilire,"
which means to "jump back" or "recoil."
("Resilire" in turn comes from
"salire," meaning "to jump.")
"Resilient" focuses on
the ability of something to "bounce back"
from damage, whereas "resile"
generally applies to someone or something that
withdraws from an agreement or "jumps back"
from a stated position. "Resile"
is a word that shows up only occasionally in U.S.
sources; it is more common in British and especially
Australian English.
retrodict
to utilize present information or ideas to infer
or explain (a past event or state of affairs)
Example:
Geologists have retrodicted the positions of the
continents millions of years ago.
Etymology:
English speakers had started using "predict"
by at least the early 17th century; it's a word
formed by combining "prae-" (meaning
"before") and "dicere"
(meaning "to say"). Since the rough
translation of "predict" is "to
say before", it's no surprise that when people
in the 1950s wanted a word for "predicting"
the past, they created it by combining the word
for "backward" ("retro-")
with the "-dict" of "predict"
and got "retrodict". Other
"dicere" descendants in English
include "contradict", "benediction",
"dictate", "diction",
"inter dict", "malediction",
and, of course, "dictionary".
revanche
revenge; especially, a usually political
policy designed to recover lost territory or status
Example:
Soon after losing the northern territory to the
invading army, the general began drafting a plan
of revanche to get it back.
Etymology:
"Revanche" first appeared
in English in the mid-19th century, deriving,
along with our noun "revenge",
from the Middle French verb "revenchier"
("to revenge"). The word developed its
specific political application in the years following
the Franco-German War (1870-71), which resulted
in France losing the territory known as Alsace-Lorraine
to Germany. (The territory was returned to France
following World War I and then twice switched
hands again during World War II.) Although "revanche"
appears occasionally in English today, you are
more likely to encounter its relatives "revanchism",
which refers to a government's policy of revanche,
and "revanchist", referring
to a follower of such a policy. These words did
not appear in English until the 20th century.
revenant
[REV-uh-nahng (the final "ng" is
not pronounced, but the vowel is nasalized)]
One that returns after death or a long
absence.
Example:
The play is about a family of revenants who come
back to their ancestral home after years of political
exile.
History, more meanings:
Frightening or friendly, the classic revenant
was a ghost - a specter returned from the dead.
Even in figurative uses, death played its hand.
When Sir Walter Scott, in his 1828 novel
"The Fair Maid of Perth", used
"revenant" in one of the
earliest uses of the word in English, he was referring
to a criminal who had survived the gallows, who
"was cut down and given to his friends before
life was extinct, and ... recovered."
Eventually, though, we appended a more earthly
meaning: a revenant can be a flesh-and-blood
returnee when we use it simply to mean a person
who shows up after a long absence. We borrowed
"revenant" from the French,
who created it from their verb "revenir,"
which means simply "to return," as does
its Latin ancestor, "revenire."
reverberate
[rih-VER-buh-rayt]
1. Reflect; repel; echo.
2. To become driven back or reflected.
3. To continue in or as if in a
series of echoes.
Synonym: resound.
Example:
The pastor's sermon on the importance of loving
one's neighbor reverberated with special meaning
during the holidays.
Etymology:
The letter sequence "v-e-r-b"
in "reverberate" might
make you think at first of such word-related brethren
as "proverb," "verbal,"
and "verbose," all of which derive
from the Latin noun "verbum,"
meaning "word." In fact, "reverberate"
comes from a much different source: the Latin
verb "verberare," meaning "to
whip, beat, or lash," which is related to
the noun "verber," meaning "rod."
"Reverberate" entered
the English language in the 15th century, and
one of its early meanings was "to beat, drive,
or cast back." By the early 1600s it began
to appear in contexts associated with sound that
repeats or returns the way an echo does.
ribald
[RIB-uhld; RY-bawld]
1. Characterized by or given to vulgar
humor; coarse.
2. A ribald person; a lewd fellow.
Examoles:
1) Mr. Plummer's Barrymore delights
you with his own delight in his silly, ribald
jokes (most of which are unprintable here).
(Ben Brantley, "A Dazzler of a Drunk, Full
of Gab and Grief," New York Times, March
26, 1997)
2) The blues took form in the late
nineteenth century as a musical synthesis that
combined "worksongs, group seculars, field
hollers, sacred harmonies, proverbial wisdom,
folk philosophy, political commentary, ribald
humor and elegiac lament." (Constance
Valis Hill, "Brotherhood in Rhythm")
3) Their contrasting habits and
preoccupations are telling and endearing: Piccard,
the fussy one, sleeps in pajamas, Jones in the
nude. Piccard scribbles homages in his journal
to Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry, while Jones tosses
off ribald limericks. (Louise Jarvis, "Are
We There Yet?", New York Times, November
14, 1999)
Etymology:
"Ribald" derives from
Old French "ribaud", from "riber"
- "to be wanton," from Old High German
"riban" - "to be amorous"
(originally, "to rub").
rictus
[RIK-tuhs]
1. The gape of a bird's mouth.
2. The mouth orifice.
3. A gaping grin or grimace.
Examples:
1) A rictus of cruel malignity lit
up greyly their old bony faces. (James Joyce,
"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man")
2) His belly swelled grotesquely, his
hands curled, his cheeks puffed out, his mouth
contorted in a rictus of pain and astonishment.
(Tony Horwitz, "Confederates in the Attic")
3) Then, as the sympathy and praise
engulfed him, Hector would invariably roll over
onto his back, legs in the air, his mouth twisted
into an otherworldly rictus. (Bruce McCall,
"Writers Who Were Really Dogs," New
York Times, June 5, 1994)
4) Randy's face contorted into a
rictus that made his promise to keep Phoebe's
secret seem insincere.
History, more examples, related words:
"Rictus" is from Latin
"rictus" ("the open mouth"),
from "ringi" ("to show the
teeth", "to open the mouth").
When "rictus" was first
used in English in the early 19th century, it
referred to the hole formed by the mouth of a
bird. Later, it was applied to the mouths of other
animals, including humans. In English, "rictus"
eventually acquired a sense referring to the expression
of someone grinning widely, as in Lawrence
Durrell's 1957 novel "Justine":
"This ghastly rictus gouged out in his taut
cheeks." Although "rictus"
might be used to describe the mouth of a laughing
or smiling person, it is not related to "risible,"
a word associated with laughter ("laughable,
causing laughter, funny; pertaining to laughter;
having a tendency to laugh"). Rather, "risible"
descends from Latin "ridere,"
which means "to laugh."
ride shotgun
To sit in the front passenger seat of a vehicle.
Example:
Whenever we take a trip in Billy's pickup, Sally
always rides shotgun.
rife
[RYFE]
1. Prevalent, especially
to an increasing degree.
2. Abundant, common.
3. Copiously supplied; abounding (usually
used with "with").
Example:
The article was rife with grammatical and factual
errors.
History, more meanings and examples:
English is rife with words that
have Germanic connections, many of which have
been handed down to us from Old English. "Rife"
is one of those words - it's related to Middle
Low German "rive," meaning "abundant."
Not a whole lot has changed with "rife"
in its 900-year history. We continue to use the
word, as we have since the 12th century, for negative
things, especially those that are widespread or
prevalent. Typical examples are "shoplifting
was rife" or "the city was rife
with greed and corruption". "Rumors"
and "speculation" are also frequently
described as "rife," as
well. But "rife" can also
be appropriately used, as it has been for hundreds
of years, for good or neutral things. For example,
you might speak of "the summer garden,
rife with scents".
rigmarole
[RIG-uh-muh-rol]
1. Confused or meaningless talk.
2. A complex and sometimes ritualistic
procedure.
Example:
Instead of going through the rigmarole of filling
out deposit and withdrawal slips, waiting in line,
and explaining her transactions to the bank teller,
Lauren usually finds it simpler to use the ATM.
History, spelling variant:
In the Middle Ages, the term "Rageman"
or "Ragman" referred to a game
in which a player randomly selected a string attached
to a roll of verses and read the selected verse.
The roll was called a Ragman roll after
a fictional king purported to be the author of
the verses. By the 16th century, "ragman"
and "ragman roll" were being
used figuratively to mean "a list or
catalog." Both terms fell out of written
use, but "ragman roll" persisted
in speech, and in the 18th century it resurfaced
in writing as "rigmarole,"
with the meaning "a succession of confused,
meaningless, or foolish statements."
Only in the last century did "rigmarole"
(also spelled "rigamarole,"
reflecting its common pronunciation) acquire its
most recent sense, "a complex and ritualistic
procedure."
rinky-dink
Of poor quality, not serious.
Example: Most things with a "Made
in China" label on them are rinky-dink.
riparian
- riparian
rights
- riparian
right
relating to or living on the bank of a natural
watercourse or sometimes of a lake or tidewater
Example:
Residents of the riparian community learned to
brace themselves for a flood whenever the river
was close to cresting its banks.
Etymology:
"Riparian" came to English
from the same source that gave us "river"
- the Latin "riparius", a noun
deriving from "ripa", meaning
"bank" or "shore". First appearing
in English in the 19th century, "riparian"
can apply to things that occur alongside a river
(such as riparian towns, trees, etc.) as
well as things that are found within it (riparian
rocks, fish, etc.). Some river communities
have laws called "riparian rights",
referring to the rights of those owning land along
a river to have access to the waterway. Note the
distinction of this word from "littoral",
which usually refers to things that occur along
the shore of a sea or ocean.
riposte
[rih-POST, rih-POAST]
1. A quick thrust given after parrying
an opponent's lunge in fencing.
2. A quick and effective reply by word
or act; a retaliatory maneuver or measure;
a retaliatory verbal sally; retort.
3. To make a riposte.
Examples:
1. She had an agile, teasing sense of humor
that included a sure grasp of the absurd and an
instinct for punchy ripostes. (Sally Bedell
Smith, "Diana in Search of Herself")
2. It was an inelegant riposte, especially
for one so quick-witted as Neumann. (Peter
Gay, "My German Question")
3. When she told him how much she hated
being called an old trout, he'd riposte: "The
trout is the most beautiful of fish."
(Angela Carter, "Shaking a Leg")
Etymology:
In the sport of fencing, a riposte
is a counterattack made after successfully fending
off one's opponent. English speakers borrowed
the name for this particular maneuver from French
in the early 1700s, but the French had simply
modified Italian "riposta," which
literally means "answer." Ultimately
these words come from the Latin verb "respondere,"
meaning "to promise in return, to answer,
to respond", from "re-"
+ "spondere" ("to promise").
It seems fitting that "riposte"
has since come full circle to now refer to a quick
and witty response performed as a form of retaliation
in the thrust and parry of a verbal contest.
risorgimento
[ree-zor-juh-MEN-toh]
1. (Often capitalized) The 19th
century movement for Italian political unity.
2. A time of renewal or renaissance;
revival.
Example:
Retailers hope the new biography and CD box set
will spark a risorgimento of interest in the long-forgotten
songwriter.
History:
During the period of the French Revolution and
Napoleonic wars (1796-1815), the French dominated
Italy and introduced many new reforms to the Italian
states. After the wars, the states were restored
to their former rulers, the Austrians, and took
on a conservative character. In response, a number
of secret societies arose as part of an ideological
and literary movement in support of a united Italy
free of foreign domination. This movement was
given the name "Risorgimento,"
which literally translates from Italian as "rising
again." Although most modern use of the term
still refers to this movement, the word also has
another broader meaning in English; it acquired
its second sense ("revival") in the
mid-20th century.
rivulet
[RIV-yuh-lut]
A small stream or brook.
Synonym: streamlet.
Examples:
1) But Stephen speaks of water in
the desert, and triumphal swelling progress: raindrop,
runnel, rivulet, river, sea. (Blake Morrison,
"As If")
2) There was a rivulet of scummy
water heading for his highly polished black shoe.
(Joanne Harris, "Chocolat")
3) After two minutes in the steam
chamber, sweat began to flow in rivulets from
every pore in my body, dripping steadily from
my fingertips. (Fen Montaigne, "Reeling
in Russia")
Etymology:
"Rivulet" is from Italian "rivoletto",
diminutive of "rivolo", from
Latin "rivulus", diminutive of
"rivus" - "a brook, a stream."
roborant
[ROB-uh-ruhnt]
1. Strengthening; restoring vigor.
2. A strengthening medicine; a tonic; a
restorative.
Examples:
1) A major field study of the effect
of pollen extracts on the common cold and its
roborant... effects in 775 Swedish military recruits
did not give unequivocal results in relation to
the prophylactic effect of the preparation used
against the common cold. (James P. Carter,
"Racketeering in Medicine")
2) That day, I felt the need of
a roborant after my ghost-ridden night, and I
swigged down two doses. (William Least Heat
Moon, "River Horse")
Etymology:
"Roborant" derives from
the present participle of Latin "roborare"
- "to strengthen," from "robur,
roboris" - "strength."
roll out the red carpet
- roll
out
- red
carpet
- roll
- red
- carpet
To treat a visitor very well; to give someone
a grand, elaborate welcome.
Example:
The city rolled out the red carpet for the visiting
royalty.
Etymology:
In England, the Queen walks on a 'red carpet'
(or rug) whenever she attends a formal
event. The carpet is temporary, and is
literally rolled out onto the ground just
for the occasion.
roly-poly
1. An adjective to describe a round and
fuzzy thing, like a puppy or a kitten.
2. Can also be used to describe someone
who is chubby in a not-unpleasant way (in this
case, the person doesn't need to be fuzzy!), like
a human teddy bear.
romzomcom
Abbreviation for "romantic zombie comedy".
Example:
Styling itself a "Romzomcom" (a romantic
zombie comedy, if you please), it's closer to
the spirit of Romero's original 1968 zombie masterpiece,
Night Of The Living Dead, and it culminates in
a gore-strewn siege, with a local pub in place
of the original's isolated farmhouse.
History:
This is a word that will pass so fast that the
linguistic radar will have only a few moments
to observe it. It's being used to describe and
promote the new British film "Shaun of
the Dead", which is tagged with the by-line
"A romantic comedy, with zombies".
It's an everyday tale of life, love and the living
dead, in which the main character wakes up one
morning with a hangover, only to discover that
the dead have risen in the night and taken over
the world.
roo
1. (Austr. slang) kangaroo. (Plural
- roos.)
Example:
Roo Island is a small island off the coast of
Neopia Central. It is inhabited mostly by, yes,
you guessed it!..
Etymology:
Early 20th century. Shortening.
2. To pluck the wool from the fleece of
a sheep.
Example:
They survived and prospered in isolation on the
Shetland Islands. Their fleece was rooed and spun
into fine yarn.
History:
The word is closely associated with the crofting
communities of Orkney and Shetland, though the
technique is now rarely practised because it takes
so long. It's a Scandinavian term, brought to
the islands by Norse settlers more than a thousand
years ago, and it has modern equivalents in such
languages as Norwegian and Icelandic. In such
harsh northern climates, to shear sheep would
be to put them at risk of dying from the cold
and wet, even in summer. However, the local breeds
naturally shed their old wool in the Spring as
the new fleece grows out. With a lot of painstaking
work that required nimble fingers, local women
would pluck or "roo" the
old wool close to the sheep's skin as it grew
out on various parts of the body. The new fleece
was left in place, providing protection for the
skin against the elements. One of the advantages
of this method was that the fibres, being uncut,
had no sharp ends and so the spun wool was softer
than that obtained by shearing.
3. (Abbr., econ.) Rules Of Origin.
Rules included in a FTA specifying when a good
will be regarded as produced within the FTA, so
as to cross between members without tariff.
Example:
Typical ROOs are based on percentage of value
added or on changes in tariff heading.
4. (Abbr.) Rules Of Order.
Example:
Robert's Rules Association is an unincorporated
membership association representing Robert's Rules
of Order (ROO).
5. (Abbr.) Return On Opportunity.
Example:
This Hurwitz Group white paper discusses the driving
forces behind Business Service Management and
how companies can realize Return on Opportunity
(ROO) from Business Service Management solutions.
6. (Abbr.) Reserve Officer Orientation.
Example:
The ROO (Reserve Officer orientation) meeting
is held on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month
at 7:00 pm at the following location: ...
7. (Abbr.) Research On Optics.
Example:
A special feature of the group is the parallel
research on optics (ROO) for this wavelength range.
8. The Airport Code of Rondonopolis, Mt,
Brazil.
rookie
- rooky
- newbie
- greenhorn
- newby
A beginner; one who is new to a profession or
field.
Examples:
1) The older players taught the rookie how to
play the game. 2) It's not easy being a rookie
police officer.
Etymology: This word is derived from 'recruit',
a new member of an army.
Synonyms: newbie, greenhorn
roseate
1. resembling a rose especially in color
2. overly optimistic; viewed favorably
Example:
Alicia was making some fairly roseate predictions
about the outcome of the contest, but Ben was
trying not to get his hopes up.
Etymology, more examples:
"Everything's coming up roses." "He
views the world through rose-tinted glasses."
"She has a rosy outlook on life." In
English, and not only, they tend to associate
roses and rose color with optimism, and "roseate"
is no exception. "Roseate"
comes from the Latin adjective "roseus",
and ultimately from the noun "rosa",
meaning "rose". Figurative use of "roseate"
began in the 19th century, and the literal sense
of the term has been in the language since the
16th century. Literal uses of "roseate"
are often found in descriptions of sunrises and
sunsets. "Through yon peaks of cloud-like
snow / The roseate sunlight quivers," wrote
Shelley in "Prometheus
Unbound". And in an early short story
"Mrs. Manstey's View",
Edith Wharton wrote, "The
sunset was perfect and a roseate light, transfiguring
the distant spire, lingered late in the west".
roue
[roo-AY]
A man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure; a
debauchee; a rake.
Examples:
1) I spent some time with Desmond,
an old roue who was recovering from a lifetime
of excesses in a village near Fontainebleau. (Roger
Scruton, "Purely medicinal", New Statesman,
October 15, 2001)
2) She caught the eye of New York aristocrat
Gouverneur Morris, ex-U.S. Minister to France,
a one-legged cosmopolitan roue. (Rumor had it
that a jealous husband had shot Morris's leg off.)
(Bill Kauffman, "Unwise Passions", American
Enterprise, January 2001)
3) Yet he acted the roue to the end,
carrying on an intimate liaison with a girl who
worked at the asylum - he was 74, she was 17.
(Rex Roberts, "Write Stuff", Insight
on the News, December 11, 2000)
Etymology:
"Roue" comes from French,
from the past participle of "rouer"
- "to break upon the wheel" (from the
feeling that a roue deserves such a punishment),
ultimately from Latin "rota"
- "wheel".
rub one's fur the wrong way
- rub
- fur
- the wrong way
- wrong way
- wrong
- way
To irritate or upset someone.
Etymology: Reference to the annoyance a
cat displays if his fur is stroked backwards.
rubicund
- blushing
- sanguine
- flush
- roseate
[ROO-bih-kund]
Inclining to redness; ruddy; red.
Synonyms: blushing, sanguine, flush, roseate.
Examples:
1) The men are second cousins, around
forty, resembling each other not very much, one
taller and leaner, less rubicund than the other,
who has just returned from California. (John
Lukacs, "A Thread of Years")
2) Rubicund from his cocktail, big,
broad, lustrous with power, he exuded what Walter
Pater called the "charm of an exquisite character,
felt in some way to be inseparable from his person."
(Edmund Morris, "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald
Reagan")
Etymology:
"Rubicund" comes from
Latin "rubicundus" ("red, ruddy"),
from "rubere" ("to be red").
rubric
- red-letter
day
- red-letter
- red
- letter
- day
[ROO-brik]
1. Heading, title;
2. Class, category.
3. A rule, especially for
the conduct of a liturgical service.
Example:
The new magazine includes a section of odd news
items that fall under the rubric "Odds &
Ends."
History:
Centuries ago, whenever manuscript writers inserted
special instructions or explanations into a book,
they put them in red ink to set them off from
the black used in the main text. (They used the
same practice to highlight saints' names and holy
days in calendars, a practice which gave us the
term "red-letter day.")
Ultimately, such special headings or comments
came to be called "rubrics,"
a term that traces back to "ruber,"
the Latin word for "red." While the
printing sense remains in use today, "rubric"
also has an extended sense referring to any class
or category under which something is organized.
ruddy
[RUDD-ee]
1. Having a healthy reddish color.
2. Red, reddish.
3. (British) Used as an intensive.
Example:
I noticed a man who looked like a gentleman farmer...;
he had a broad back and round shoulders, a kind,
ruddy face, and he wore a broad-brimmed hat. (Anna
Sewell, "Black Beauty")
History, related words, more examples:
In Old English, there were two words meaning "red":
"read" and "rudu."
"Read" evolved into our present-day
"red." "Rudu"
evolved into "rud" (a
word now encountered only in dialect or archaic
usage) and "ruddy." Most
often, "ruddy" is applied
to the face when it has the red glow of good health
or is red from a suffusion of blood from exercise
or excitement. It is also used in the names of
some birds, such as the American ruddy duck.
In British English, "ruddy"
is sometimes used as a colorful euphemism for
the intensive "bloody,"
as English writer Sir Kingsley Amis illustrates
in "The Riverside Villas Murder":
"Ruddy marvelous, the way these coppers'
minds work.... I take a swing at Chris Inman in
public means I probably done him in."
rule of thumb
In contrast to an official rule or an exact measurement,
a rule of thumb is a general
principle or a rough estimate that has been shown
by experience to work.
Example:
"I'm going to get some potato chips. Want
some?" Dorothy asked her brother.
"Nope, my rule of thumb while I'm training
for the race is "Don't eat anything you enjoy
too much," said Andrew.
rule the roost
People use this phrase to describe a person who
bosses other people around.
Example:
Katie and June were watching television in their
living room. When Janice came in from playing,
she ran in front of her sisters and changed the
channel.
"Hey!" Katie said. "We were here
first." "Too bad," Janice
said. "I'm the oldest." "You
may be the oldest," June said, "but
that doesn't mean you rule the roost!"
Etymology: It comes from the way a rooster
acts in a chicken house, or "roost".
run with the pack
- go
with the flow
- run
- pack
- go
- flow
To fit in with a group; to go along with everyone
else.
Examples:
1) Greedie Co. isn't a bad company, but they're
just running with the pack in terms of new products.
2) Julie is an easy-going person; she just runs
with the pack, so she makes friends easily.
Etymology: Animals of similar species will
often congregate and coexist together as an individual
unit made up of many members.
Synonym: go with the flow
run-of-the-mill
People use this phrase when they are describing
something that is very ordinary.
Example:
"How was your day, Carmen?" Mrs. Morello
asked. "Oh, nothing unusual, just run-of-the-mill,"
replied Carmen. "But I'm really looking
forward to our field trip to the museum tomorrow."
rural rebound
- rural
renaissance
- rural
revival
- booming
boondocks
- booming
boondock
- revival
- renaissance
- rural
- rebound
- booming
- boondocks
- boondock
The recent and significant population increases
in rural and exurban areas following years of
declining or stagnant population growth.
Examples:
1) Many urban dwellers began to
seek "second places" outside town. Many
now - to be followed by many more in the future
- are returning to the exurban frontier full-time.
Among so-called developed regions, this "rural
rebound" is especially marked in North America
- Europe is so ancient, and so small, that a rural/urban
synergy has perforce operated there for centuries.
(Peter Ferguson, "Rural migration",
The Globe and Mail, April 26, 2004)
2) Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at
Loyola University-Chicago who has written about
the rural rebound, said that non-metro areas with
populations under 50,000 gained 5.2 million residents
between 1990 and 2000. Populations still declined
in the Great Plains, western Corn Belt and Mississippi
Delta regions. But they increased in the Mountain
West, Upper Great Lakes (including parts of Minnesota
and Wisconsin), Ozarks, and parts of the South
and Northeast. Also, 86 percent of rural counties
adjacent to metropolitan areas grew in the 1990s.
(Jon Tevlin, "Greener acres," Star
Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), December 28,
2003)
Synonyms, history:
Proving that the rural rebound is
at heart an alliterative trend, this phenomenon
also goes by the names "rural renaissance"
(1984), "rural revival"
(1986), and "booming boondocks"
(1998). The acknowledged rural rebound
expert is Kenneth M. Johnson, a sociologist at
Loyola University-Chicago. In a paper co-authored
with Calvin L. Beale of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, the case for the rural rebound
is neatly summarized: Most rural areas of the
United States are now growing at the fastest rate
in more than 20 years. Rural population gains
between 1990 and 2000 have been both extremely
widespread and substantial. Fueled by an influx
of migrants from urban areas and fewer people
leaving, rural gains since 1990 are near record
levels. They reflect a sharp reversal of the trend
of the 1980s, when most rural (nonmetropolitan)
areas lost population. This is only the second
period of widespread nonmetropolitan growth in
80 years. Nonmetropolitan areas - those without
an urban center of 50,000 or more - gained 5.2
million additional residents (10.3 percent) between
April 1990 and April 2000. In contrast, such areas
grew by only 1.3 million during the 1980s. The
rate of population increase in rural areas since
1990 is nearly four times as great as that during
the 1980s. Almost 74 percent of the 2303 rural
counties are now growing, compared to only 45
percent during the 1980s. (Kenneth M. Johnson,
Calvin L. Beale, "The Rural Rebound: Recent
Nonmetropolitan Demographic Trends in the United
States", <http://www.luc.edu/depts/ sociology/johnson/p99webn.html>,
March 14, 2003)
rusticate
[RUHS-tih-kayt]
Intransitive verb
1. To go into or reside in the country;
to pursue a rustic life.
Transitive verb:
2. To require or compel to reside
in the country; to banish or send away
temporarily. 3. (Chiefly British)
To suspend from school or college.
4. To build with usually rough-surfaced
masonry blocks having beveled or rebated
edges producing pronounced joints.
5. To lend a rustic character to; to cause
to become rustic.
Examples:
1) Ezra holds out in London, and
refuses to rusticate. (T. S. Eliot to Conrad
Aiken, "21 August 1916", The Letters
of T. S. Eliot: Volume I, 1898-1922, edited by
Valerie Eliot)
2) For the longest time, we're stuck
in a cabin hewn out of the ground in a parcel
of woods as the boys hide and mend; for another,
we rusticate on a farm bounded by fields that
must be tilled by the hard labor of man and beast.
(Stephen Hunter, "When Johnny Doesn't
Come Marching Home", Washington Post, December
17, 1999)
3) Czechoslovak Communists would imprison
or rusticate those who had been active in the
Prague Spring. (Charles S. Maier, "Dissolution")
Etymology:
"Rusticate" comes from
the past participle of Latin "rusticari"
("to live in the country"), from "rusticus"
("rural, rustic"), from "rus"
("the country").