Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

REDOUT — REERMOUSE

REDOUT, n. [L. reductus, reduco, to bring back; literally a retreat. The usual orthography, redoubt, is egregiously erroneous.]

In fortification, an outwork; a small square fort without any defense, except in front; used in trenches, lines of circumvallation, contravallation and approach to defend passages, etc.

REDOUTABLE, a.

Formidable; that is to be dreaded; terrible to foes; as a redoubtable hero. Hence the implied sense is valiant.

REDOUTED, a. Formidable. [Not in use.]

REDPOLE, n. A bird with a red head or poll, of the genus Fringilla.

REDRAFT, v.t. [re and draft.] To draw or draft anew.

REDRAFT, n.

1. A second draft or copy.

2. In the French commercial code, a new bill of exchange which the holder of a protested bill draws on the drawer or indorsers, by which he reimburses to himself the amount of the protested bill with costs and charges.

REDRAFTED, pp. Drafted again; transcribed into a new copy.

REDRAFTING, ppr. Redrawing; drafting or transcribing again.

REDRAW, v.t. [re and draw.]

1. To draw again. In commerce, to draw a new bill of exchange, as the holder of a protested bill, on the drawer or indorsers.

2. To draw a second draft or copy.

REDRESS, v.t.

1. To set right; to amend.

In yonder spring of roses, find what to redress till noon.

[In this sense, as applied to material things, rarely used.]

2. To remedy; to repair; to relieve from, and sometimes to indemnify for; as, to redress wrongs; to redress injuries; to redress grievances. Sovereigns are bound to protect their subjects, and redress their grievances.

3. To ease; to relieve; as, she labored to redress my pain.

[We use this verb before the person or the thing. We say, to redress an injured person, or to redress the injury. The latter is most common.]

REDRESS, n.

1. Reformation; amendment.

For us the more necessary is a speedy redress of ourselves.

[This sense is now unusual.]

2. Relief; remedy; deliverance from wrong, injury or oppression; as the redress of grievances. We applied to government, but could obtain no redress.

There is occasion for redress when the cry is universal.

3. Reparation; indemnification. [This sense is often directly intended or implied in redress.]

4. One who gives relief.

Fair majesty, the refuge and redress of those whom fate pursues and wants oppress.

REDRESSED, pp. Remedied; set right; relieved; indemnified.

REDRESSER, n. One who gives redress.

REDRESSING, ppr. Setting right; relieving; indemnifying.

REDRESSIVE, a. Affording relief.

REDRESSLESS, a. Without amendment; without relief.

REDSEAR, v.i. [red and sear.] To break or crack when too hot, as iron under the hammer; a term of workmen.

REDSHANK, n.

1. A bird of the genus Scolopax.

2. A contemptuous appellation for bare legged persons.

REDSHORT, a. [red and short.] Brittle, or breaking short when red hot, as a metal; a term of workmen.

REDSTART, REDTAIL, n. [red and start.] A bird of the genus Motacilla.

REDSTREAK, n. [red and streak.]

1. A sort of apple, so called from its red streaks.

2. Cider pressed from the red streak apples.

REDUCE, v.t. [L. reduco; re and duco, to lead or bring.]

1. Literally, to bring back; as, to reduce these bloody days again.

[In this sense, not in use.]

2. To bring to a former state.

It were but just and equal to reduce me to my dust.

3. To bring to any state or condition, good or bad; as, to reduce civil or ecclesiastical affairs to order; to reduce a man to poverty; to reduce a state to distress; to reduce a substance to powder; to reduce a sum to fractions; to reduce on to despair.

4. To diminish in length, breadth, thickness, size, quantity or value; as, to reduce expenses; to reduce the quantity of any thing; to reduce the intensity of heat; to reduce the brightness of color light; to reduce a sum or amount; to reduce the price of goods.

5. To lower; to degrade; to impair in dignity or excellence.

Nothing so excellent but a man may fasten on something belonging to it, to reduce it.

6. To subdue; to bring into subjection. The Romans reduced Spain, Gaul and Britain by their arms.

7. To reclaim to order.

8. To bring, as into a class, order, genus or species; to bring under rules or within certain limits of description; as, to reduce animals or vegetables to a class or classes; to reduce men to tribes; to reduce language to rules.

9. In arithmetic, to change numbers from one denomination into another without altering their value; or to change numbers of one denomination into others of the same value; as, to reduce a dollar to a hundred cents, or a hundred cents to a dollar.

10. In algebra, to reduce equations, is to clear them of all superfluous quantities, bring them to their lowest terms, and separate the known from the unknown, till at length the unknown quantity only is found on one side and the known ones on the other.

11. In metallurgy, to bring back metallic substances which have been divested of their form, into their original state of metals.

12. In surgery, to restore to its proper place or state a dislocated or fractured bone.

To reduce a figure, design or draught, to make a copy of it larger or smaller than the original, but preserving the form and proportion.

REDUCED, pp. Brought back; brought to a former state; brought into any state or condition; diminished; subdued; impoverished.

REDUCEMENT, n. The act of bringing back; the act of diminishing; the act of subduing; reduction.

[This word is superseded by reduction.]

REDUCER, n. One that reduces.

REDUCIBLE, a. That may be reduced.

All the parts of painting are reducible into these mentioned by the author.

REDUCIBLENESS, n. The quality of being reducible.

REDUCING, ppr. Bringing back; bringing to a former state, or to a different state or form; diminishing; subduing; impoverishing.

REDUCT, v.t. [L. reductus, reduco.] To reduce. [Not in use.]

REDUCT, n. In building, a little place taken out of a larger to make it more regular and uniform, or for some other convenience.

REDUCTION, n. [L. reductio.]

1. The act of reducing, or state of being reduced; as the reduction of a body to powder; the reduction of things to order.

2. Diminution; as the reduction of the expenses of government; the reduction of the national debt.

3. Conquest; subjugation; as the reduction of a province to the power of a foreign nation.

4. In arithmetic, the bringing of numbers of different denominations into one denomination; as the reduction of pounds, ounces, pennyweights and grains to grains, or the reduction of grains to pounds; the reduction of days and hours to minutes, or of minutes to hours and days. The change of numbers of a higher denomination into a lower, as of pounds into pence or farthings, is called reduction descending; the change of numbers of a lower denomination into a higher, as of cents into dimes, dollars or eagles, is called reduction ascending. Hence the rule for bringing sums of different denominations into one denomination, is called reduction.

5. In algebra, reduction of equations is the clearing of them of all superfluous quantities, bringing them to their lowest terms and separating the known from the unknown, till the unknown quantity alone is found on one side, and the known ones of the other.

6. Reduction of a figure, men, etc. is the making of a copy of it on a smaller or larger scale, preserving the form and proportions.

7. In surgery, the operation of restoring a dislocated or fractured bone to its former place.

8. In metallurgy, the operation of bringing metallic substances which have been changed, or divested of their metallic form, into their natural and original state of metals. This is called also revivification.

REDUCTIVE, a. Having the power of reducing.

REDUCTIVE, n. That which has the power of reducing.

REDUCTIVELY, adv. By reduction; by consequence.

REDUNDANCE, REDUNDANCY, n. [L. redundantia, red-undo. See Redound.]

1. Excess or superfluous quantity; superfluity; superabundance; as a redundancy of bile.

Labor throws off redundancies.

2. In discourse, superfluity of words.

REDUNDANT, a.

1. Superfluous; exceeding what is natural or necessary; superabundant; exuberant; as a redundant quantity of bile or food.

Notwithstanding the redundant oil in fishes, they do not increase fat so much as flesh.

Redundant words, in writing or discourse, are such as are synonymous with others used, or such as add nothing to the sense or force of the expression.

2. Using more words or images than are necessary or useful.

Where an author is redundant, mark those paragraphs to be retrenched.

3. In music, a redundant chord is one which contains a greater number of tones, semitones or lesser intervals, than it does in its natural state, as from fa to sol sharp. It is called by some authors, a chord extremely sharp.

REDUNDANTLY, adv. With superfluity or excess; superfluously; superabundantly.

REDUPLICATE, v.t. [L. reduplico; re and duplico. See Duplicate.]

To double.

REDUPLICATE, a. Double.

REDUPLICATION, n. The act of doubling.

REDUPLICATIVE, a. Double.

REDWING, n. [red and wing.] A bird of the Turdus.

REE, RE, n. A small Portuguese coin or money of account, value about one mill and a fourth, American money.

REE, v.t. [This belongs to the root of rid, riddle, which see.]

To riddle; to sift; that is, to separate or throw off. [Not in use or local.]

RE-ECHO, v.t. [re and echo.] To echo back; to reverberate again; as, the hills re-echo the roar of cannon.

RE-ECHO, v.i. [supra.] To echo back; to return back or be reverberated; as an echo.

And a loud groan re-echoes from the main.

RE-ECHO, n. The echo of an echo.

RE-ECHOED, pp. [supra.] Returned, as sound; reverberated again.

RE-ECHOING, ppr. Returning or reverberating an echo.

REECHY, a. [a mis-spelling of reeky. See Reek.]

Tarnished with smoke; sooty; foul; as a reechy neck.

REED, n.

1. The common name of many aquatic plants; most of them large grasses, with hollow jointed stems, such as the common reed of the genus Arundo, the bamboo, etc. The bur-reed is of the genus Sparganium; the Indian Flowering reed of the genus Canna.

2. A musical pipe; reeds being anciently used for instruments of music.

3. A little tube through which a hautboy, bassoon or clarinet is blown.

4. An arrow, as made of a reed headed.

5. Thatch.

REEDED, a.

1. Covered with reeds.

2. Formed with channels and ridges like reeds.

REEDEN, a. ree’dn. Consisting of a reed or reeds’ as reeden pipes.

REEDGRASS, n. A plant, bur-reed, of the genus Sparganium.

RE-EDIFICATION, n. [from re-edify.] Act or operation of rebuilding; state of being rebuilt.

RE-EDIFIED, pp. Rebuilt.

RE-EDIFY, v.t.

To rebuild; to build again after destruction.

RE-EDIFYING, ppr. Rebuilding.

REEDLESS, a. Destitute of reeds; as reedless banks.

REEDMACE, n. A plant of the genus Typha.

REEDY, a. Abounding with reeds; as a reedy pool.

REEF, n.

A certain portion of a sail between the top or bottom and a row of eyelet holes, which is folded or rolled up to contract the sail, when the violence of the wind renders it necessary.

REEF, n.

A chain or range of rocks lying at or near the surface of the water.

REEF, v.t. [from the noun.] To contract or reduce the extent of a sail by rolling or folding a certain portion of it and making it fast to the yard.

REEF-BANK, n. A piece of canvas sewed across a sail, to strengthen it in the part where the eyelet holes are formed.

REEFED, pp. Having a portion of the top or bottom folded and made fast to the yard.

REEFING, ppr. Folding and making fast to the yard, as a portion of a sail.

REEF-LINE, n. A small rope formerly used to reef the courses by being passed through the holes of the reef spirally.

REEF-TACKLE, n. A tackle upon deck, communicating with its pendant, and passing through a block at the top-mast head, and through a hole in the top-sail-yard-arm, is attached to a cringle below the lowest reef; used to pull the skirts of the top-sails close to the extremities of the yards to lighten the labor of reefing.

REEK, n.

1. Vapor; steam.

2. A rick, which see.

REEK, v.i. [L. fragro. The primary sense is to send out or emit, to extend, to reach.]

To steam; to exhale; to emit vapor; applied especially to the vapor of certain moist substances, rather than to the smoke of burning bodies.

I found me laid in balmy sweat, which with his beams the sun soon dry’d, and on the reeking moisture fed.

Whose blood yet reeks on my avenging sword.

REEKING, ppr. Steaming; emitting vapor.

REEKY, a. Smoky; soiled with smoke or steam; foul.

REEL, n. [See Reel, to stagger.]

1. A frame or machine turning on an axis, and on which yarn is extended for winding, either into skeins, or from skeins on to spools and quills. On a reel also seamen wind their log-lines, etc.

2. A kind of dance.

REEL, v.t. To gather yarn from the spindle.

REEL, v.i.

To stagger; to incline or move in walking, first to one side and then to the other; to vacillate.

He with heavy fumes opprest, reel’d from the palace and retir’d to rest.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man. Psalm 107:27.

RE-ELECT, v.t. [re and elect.] To elect again; as, to re-elect the former governor.

RE-ELECTED, pp. Elected again; re-chosen.

RE-ELECTING, ppr. Electing again.

RE-ELECTION, n. Election a second time, or repeated election; as the re-election of a former representative.

RE-ELIGIBILITY, n. The capacity of being re-elected to the same office.

RE-ELIGIBLE, a. [re and eligible.] Capable of being elected again to the same office.

RE-EMBARK, v.t. [re and embark.] To embark or put on board again.

RE-EMBARK, v.i. To embark or go on board again.

RE-EMBARKATION, n. A putting on board or a going on board again.

RE-EMBATTLE, v.t. [re and embattle.] To array again for battle; to arrange again in the order of battle.

RE-EMBATTLED, pp. Arrayed again for battle.

RE-EMBATTLING, ppr. Arranging again in battle array.

RE-EMBODY, v.t. [re and embody.] To embody again.

RE-ENACT, v.t. [re and enact.] To enact again.

RE-ENACTED, pp. Enacted again.

RE-ENACTING, ppr. Enacting anew; passing again into a law.

RE-ENACTION, n. The passing into a law again.

RE-ENACTMENT, n. The enacting or passing of a law a second time; the renewal of a law.

RE-ENFORCE, v.t. [re and enforce.] To strengthen with new force, assistance or support, as to re-enforce an argument; but particularly, to strengthen an army or a fort with additional troops, or a navy with additional ships.

RE-ENFORCED, pp. Strengthened by additional force, troops or ships.

RE-ENFORCEMENT, n.

1. The act of re-enforcing.

2. Additional force; fresh assistance; particularly, additional troops or force to augment the strength of an army or of ships.