Raff merchant, a dealer in lumber and odd refuse. [Prov. Eng.]

Raffaelesque
(Raf`fa*el*esque") a. Raphaelesque.

Raffia
(Raf"fi*a) n. (Bot.) A fibrous material used for tying plants, said to come from the leaves of a palm tree of the genus Raphia. J. Smith

Raffinose
(Raf"fi*nose`) n. [F. raffiner to refine.] (Chem.) A colorless crystalline slightly sweet substance obtained from the molasses of the sugar beet.

Raffish
(Raff"ish) a. Resembling, or having the character of, raff, or a raff; worthless; low.

A sad, raffish, disreputable character.
Thackeray.

Raffle
(Raf"fle) n. [F. rafle; faire rafle to sweep stakes, fr. rafler to carry or sweep away, rafler tout to sweep stakes; of German origin; cf. G. raffeln to snatch up, to rake. See Raff, v.]

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

Radius vector to Raid

Radius vector
(||Ra"di*us vec"tor)

1. (Math.) A straight line (or the length of such line) connecting any point, as of a curve, with a fixed point, or pole, round which the straight line turns, and to which it serves to refer the successive points of a curve, in a system of polar coördinates. See Coördinate, n.

2. (Astron.) An ideal straight line joining the center of an attracting body with that of a body describing an orbit around it, as a line joining the sun and a planet or comet, or a planet and its satellite.

Radix
(Ra"dix) n.; pl. L. Radices E. Radixes [L. radix, -icis, root. See Radish.]

1. (Philol.) A primitive word, from which spring other words; a radical; a root; an etymon.

2. (Math.) (a) A number or quantity which is arbitrarily made the fundamental number of any system; a base. Thus, 10 is the radix, or base, of the common system of logarithms, and also of the decimal system of numeration. (b) (Alg.) A finite expression, from which a series is derived. [R.] Hutton.

3. (Bot.) The root of a plant.

Radula
(||Rad"u*la) n.; pl. Radulæ (- le). [L., a scraper, fr. radere to scrape.] (Zoöl.) The chitinous ribbon bearing the teeth of mollusks; — called also lingual ribbon, and tongue. See Odontophore.

Raduliform
(Ra*du"li*form) a. [L. radula a scraper + -form.] Rasplike; as, raduliform teeth.

Raff
(Raff) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Raffed (raft); p. pr. & vb. n. Raffing.] [OF. raffer, of German origin; cf. G. raffen; akin to E. rap to snatch. See Rap, and cf. Riffraff, Rip to tear.] To sweep, snatch, draw, or huddle together; to take by a promiscuous sweep. [Obs.]

Causes and effects which I thus raff up together.
Carew.

Raff
(Raff), n.

1. A promiscuous heap; a jumble; a large quantity; lumber; refuse. "A raff of errors." Barrow.

2. The sweepings of society; the rabble; the mob; — chiefly used in the compound or duplicate, riffraff.

3. A low fellow; a churl.


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