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R — Russophobe to Rytina (Part 6 of 6)

Rye
(Rye) n. [OE. rie, reie, AS. ryge; akin to Icel. rugr, Sw. råg, Dan. rug, D. rogge, OHG. rocco, roggo, G. rocken, roggen, Lith. rugei, Russ. roje, and perh. to Gr. 'o`ryza rice. Cf. Rice.]

1. (Bot.) A grain yielded by a hardy cereal grass closely allied to wheat; also, the plant itself. Rye constitutes a large portion of the breadstuff used by man.

2. A disease in a hawk. Ainsworth.

Rye grass, Italian rye grass, (Bot.) See under Grass. See also Ray grass, and Darnel. — Wild rye (Bot.), any plant of the genus Elymus, tall grasses with much the appearance of rye.

Rynd
(Rynd) n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A piece of iron crossing the hole in the upper millstone by which the stone is supported on the spindle.

Ryot
(Ry"ot) n. [Ar. & Hind. ra'iyat, the same word as ra'iyah, a subject, tenant, peasant. See Rayah.] A peasant or cultivator of the soil. [India]

The Indian ryot and the Egyptian fellah work for less pay than any other laborers in the world.
The Nation.

Rypophagous
(Ry*poph"a*gous) a. [Gr. "ry`pos filth + fagei^n to eat.] (Zoöl.) Eating, or subsisting on, filth.

Rys
(Rys) n. A branch. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Rysh
(Rysh) n. Rush, a plant. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Rysimeter
(Ry*sim"e*ter) n. See Rhysimeter.

Ryth
(Ryth) n. [Cf. AS. rið brook.] A ford. [Obs.]

Rytina
(||Ryt"i*na) n. [NL., fr. Gr. "ryti`s a wrinkle.] (Zoöl.) A genus of large edentulous sirenians, allied to the dugong and manatee, including but one species (R. Stelleri); — called also Steller's sea cow. [Written also Rhytina.]

It is now extinct, but was formerly abundant at Behring's Island, near Behring's Straits. It was twenty-five feet or more in length, with a thick, blackish, naked skin. The last were killed in 1768 for their oil and flesh.