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单词 r
释义

Rn.

Brit. /ɑː/, U.S. /ɑr/
Forms: R (capital), r (lower-case).
Etymology: Letter form. The eighteenth letter of the modern English alphabet and the seventeenth of the ancient Roman alphabet, in which it was derived through early Greek ?, ? from the Phoenician ?, representing the twentieth letter of the early Semitic alphabet. Letter name. ar , also †er ; the latter is usual as the letter name from at least the 4th cent. in post-classical Latin grammatical writings; the earlier history of the letter name is uncertain. Sound, and distribution within English. The phonetic realization of /r/ shows very considerable (allophonic) variation both within and between different varieties of English, although this does not affect the phonemic status of the sound as a distinct consonant phoneme. In Old English and Middle English the realization was probably as a rolled or trilled sound or as an alveolar tap; in southern English Received Pronunciation the sound has shown an unusual development to a voiced continuant or approximant [ɹ]. In Received Pronunciation and in other ‘non-rhotic’ accents /r/ has been lost except when it begins a syllable (this process probably began in the late 18th cent.), although in such varieties /r/ is frequently inserted intervocalically between words. A distinction is often made between ‘linking’ /r/ (where word-final /r/ was present historically and is reflected in the spelling, as in better off ), and ‘intrusive’ /r/ (i.e. where no /r/ was present historically and hence no r occurs in the spelling, as in e.g. law and order or, between syllables within a word, drawing ). ‘Intrusive’ /r/ is often stigmatized, although its avoidance is based only on the written forms of words and does not correspond to any phonological rule. (For a detailed discussion see J. C. Wells Accents of English (1982) 222–7.) Main developments within English. Old English r reflects both Germanic *r and (less commonly) *z (as in all other West Germanic and North Germanic languages; this sound had arisen from earlier *s either by the operation of Verner's Law, or before another voiced consonant; compare ēare ear n.1 beside Gothic ausō , māra more adj. beside Gothic maiza , hord hoard n.1 beside Gothic huzd , and also verbal forms such as loren , past participle of lēosan leese v.1, coren , past participle of cēosan choose v.). Cases of metathesis of r are found in all periods, as e.g. berstan burst v., hors horse n., fryhtu fright n., þirda third adj., or scruge , variant of scourge v., pomegarnate , variant of pomegranate n. Loss of /r/ in word-initial consonant clusters is comparatively rare (as e.g. in specan speak v., for earlier sprecan ). However, from the 15th cent. onwards loss of /r/ is found through assimilation before certain consonants, most commonly /s/ and /ʃ/, as in cuss n., hoss n., bust v.2, hash (variant of harsh adj.), the place name Worcester , etc. (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II §401). On simplification of initial hr- to r see H n. The early occurrence of this change is indicated by reverse spellings such as (in the Lindisfarne Gospels) hræst rest n.1, hreafere reaver n., hrioppa reap v.1 Simplification of initial wr occurred much later, and confusion between spellings with wr- and r- is comparatively rare: see discussion at W n., and compare especially confusion between rack and wrack (where semantic association is probably a factor: compare e.g. rack n.3, rack v.1, and also rack n.9, rack n.11). Combinative sound changes involving the sound /r/ have been common in all periods of the history of English, often with very different distribution and outputs in different varieties of the language. Some of the most important developments affecting a preceding vowel are sketched below (for the later period, concentrating on developments reflected in the southern English Received Pronunciation), but in all cases historical grammars should be consulted for fuller information. (See also the dictionary entries for the various vowel letters.) Early in the Old English period (as part of the process known as ‘breaking’) front vowels normally became diphthongized before r + another consonant, as in steorfan starve v., deorc dark adj., heorte heart n., eorðe earth n.1 hearm harm n., wearp warp n.1 At some point later in the Old English period short vowels were lengthened before rd , rl , or rn when not followed by another consonant, and also before rs and rþ when these were followed by a vowel (and hence were voiced consonants), as e.g. in swēord sword n., ēorl earl n., although this was not indicated by spelling in the Old English period and short vowels were evidently restored in some cases (e.g. by analogy with some inflected forms); such vowels are hence not conventionally marked long in modern philological use (e.g. in editions of Old English texts, etc.). In late Middle English and early modern English er usually showed lowering to ar, as in starve, dark, heart, although the date and extent of the change vary in different dialects, and in many cases the change is either blocked or e is restored owing to such processes as analogy or the influence of a Latin etymon (as e.g. in merchant, person). In a few cases (e.g. clerk, sergeant, Derby) a spelling with er corresponds to a pronunciation with /ɑː/ in southern English Received Pronunciation. In the early modern period short a and o both show lengthening before pre-consonantal or final r, as in part, harm, far, for, form, horse. Before pre-consonantal or final r, cases of e (where it had been preserved or restored), i, and (later) u all show centralization to the same reduced vowel, as in person, merchant, bird, firm, curse. Lengthening of the vowel probably only occurred considerably later, probably at the same time as r loss in non-rhotic varieties. A following r (in any position) prevented the regular raising of the reflexes of Middle English open ō, open ē, ā, and ai, as in oar, there, care, fair (compare the homophony of pear, pare, pair), although a different dialectal development accounts for such words as ear. In the case of ū (developed from either Middle English ū or close ō) lowering frequently occurs before r, as in source, pour, floor, and often also in moor, poor. In all cases where a long vowel or diphthong precedes r (including those cases where the consonant has now been lost) a glide vowel was developed in the precursor of southern English Received Pronunciation, as in the preceding examples and also e.g. here, fire, our, cure, although in many cases monophthongization has subsequently occurred.The digraph rh . rh is found in Latin (from the classical Latin period onwards) as a means of transliterating Greek initial (aspirated) ῥ ; in post-classical Latin and hence in Old French and Middle French and in Middle English rh tends to vary with r in words ultimately borrowed from Greek: compare e.g. forms at rhetoric n.1, rheum n.1; in most such cases the rh spelling is normal in modern English, although there are a small number of exceptions, e.g. rachis n., raphe n.1 Greek medial ρρ (formerly often printed ῤῥ ) is normally represented by rrh (as in diarrhoea ). A large number of analogical spellings in rh are found in words not ultimately of Greek origin but which have probably been perceived as such (or at least as learned), as e.g. rhadish at radish n. β. forms, rhatania at ratanhia n. Forms and rhatany n., rheam at ream n.3 α. forms. In Middle English rh occurs very occasionally in words with Old English initial hr , as e.g. rhof at roof n. α. forms.
I. The letter R (r).
1. The letter, and the sound it represents.intrusive, linking, ragged r: see the first element.
ΘΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > [noun] > letter
staffc888
bookstaffOE
Kc1000
Yc1000
Zc1000
AOE
EOE
GOE
MOE
ROE
letterc1225
print1340
tawc1400
Wc1465
J1591
stave1866
alphabet1972
X-
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 6 Semivocales syndon seofan: f, l, m, n, r, s, x.
c1175 Names of Letters in N. R. Ker Catal. MSS containing Anglo-Saxon (1957) 337 L l el, M m em, N n en, O o, Q quu, R r er, S s es, T te, [etc.].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 221 (MED) He fonde þre R and þre F i-write, and expowned what it was to mene.
a1500 (?a1400) Stanzaic Life of Christ (Harl. 3909) (1926) 2460 (MED) De Iebus & Salem compositum est nomen Ierusalem..saue b letter was putt þer-fro, And r sett þer-as b stode.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 34 R in the frenche tonge shalbe sounded as he is in latyn without any exception.
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. iv, in Wks. (1640) III R is the Dogs Letter, and hurreth in the sound.
1687 Act Regulating Assize of Cask 10 May in J. H. Trumbull Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1859) III. 418 Well packed, salted, filled, and sealed with the letter R, and such other letters as may signify the town, specia, and time of packing.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. R, a liquid Consonant... The Hebrews allow'd it the Privilege of a Guttural; that is, they never double it.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 112/1 A particular way of pronouncing the letter R, as if they hawked it up from the wind-pipe, like the cawing of rooks.
a1854 C. A. Southey Poet. Wks. (1867) 21 R's whose lower limbs Beyond the upper bulged unseemly out.
1888 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 365 The letter R is not yet menaced with extinction in Washington.
1928 W. S. Maugham Ashenden i. 2 The Colonel..was known in the Intelligence Department..by the letter R.
1991 P. O'Brian Nutmeg of Consol. (1993) iii. 58 His more or less neutral English was invaded by his native Scotch, with its curious glottal stops, strong aspirates and rolling r's.
1999 N.Y. Times 11 Feb. d8/2 A Dwim—‘do what I mean’—search function. If someone wants to find an Alanis Morissette CD, ‘it doesn't matter how many n's, r's or s's you put in.’
2. As a distinguishing letter, usually as part of an alphabetical sequence, denoting one of a series of things, a point in a diagram, a sheet of a book, etc.
Π
1421 in J. G. Edwards et al. Hist. Ess. in Honour of J. Tait (1933) 211 (MED) Inventarium librorum..R. Registrum diversarum literarum.
1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. (printer's signature mark) r1.
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. xi. f. 335v Draw a right line from the point R to the point L, and an other from the point R to the point M.
1673 T. Strode Let. 28 July in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1975) X. 105 It is required to know what the axis transversalis of that conicall section is whose vertex is g. and whose pole or umbilique point is R.
1702 V. Mandey tr. J. J. Hainlin Synopsis Mathematica: Astron. ii. v. 352 The Diagonal of this Parallelogram D E is equal in power to the Sides D O and O E, or D R and R E.
1814 J. Toplis tr. P. S. de Laplace Treat. Analyt. Mech. ii. 46 All the curves along which a moving body, subjected to the forces P, Q, and R, can pass from one given point to another given point.
1909 Science 15 Jan. 105/2 The variable star, 154428, R Coronæ, was found..to be faint on January 1, 1909, magn. 8.2.
1992 Which? Feb. 89/3 Features..N = variable speed trigger P = speed control switch R = detachable battery pack.
2004 Oxf. Dict. National Biogr. (Electronic text) at Horne, Henry Sinclair In May 1900 he was given command of R battery, RHA, which was attached to French's 3rd cavalry brigade.
3. the three R's: reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic, regarded as the fundamentals of education. Also in extended use, with reference to watchwords, key concepts, etc., in other spheres. [The phrase is said to have originated in a toast proposed c1807 by the English banker and politician Sir William Curtis (1752–1829).]
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society > education > learning > study > subject or object of study > [noun] > 3 R's
the three R's1825
basic skill1909
1825 Mirror Lit., Amusem., & Instr. 29 Jan. 75/1 It has been very much the fashion amongst a class of persons to attribute to Sir W. C. certain bulls... He is charged with having given, at public dinners, the following toasts:—‘The British tars of Old England’. ‘A speedy peace, and soon.’.. ‘The three R's—Reading, Writing, and Rithmetic’.
1828 New Jersey Eagle (Newark, New Jersey) 23 May 3/3 The three R's—honest 'Rithmetic, Reading & 'Riting I think I can say, I'm no fool in.
1864 Reader 30 Jan. 134 Middle-class schools, in which education is pushed beyond the three ‘R's’.
1879 Athenæum 5 Apr. 431/1 Romanism, Ritualism, and Rationalism, the three ‘r's’ of theological controversy.
1892 Academy 31 Dec. 602/3 Rhetoric, reflexion, and repetition—those three R.s of the inexperienced book~maker.
1941 W. J. Cash Mind of South ii. i. 131 Such sketchy knowledge of the three R's as could be snatched in a few months in an occasional ‘old field’ school.
1991 J. Makower et al. Green Consumer Supermarket Guide i. 24 The Green Consumer movement has its own set of ‘Three R's’: refuse, reuse, and recycle.
1998 Daily Tel. 6 Oct. 1/3 Mr Tobin also attacked the Government's emphasis on examination results and the three Rs in its education policy.
II. Symbolic uses (written without a following point).
4. Mathematics. [Initial letter of radius.] In form r or R. Radius; radius vector.
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the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > tensor > [noun] > vector > specific type of
R1675
radius vector1740
spin vector1882
axial vector1903
polar vector1903
free vector1904
position vector1906
four-vector1914
pseudovector1922
row vector1928
1675 J. Collins Let. 10 Apr. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1977) XI. 255 If you give the Radius R and the Versed Sine or Sagitta a and would find the Area of the Segment cutt off by the Chord line [etc.].
1762 Philos. Trans. 1761 (Royal Soc.) 52 19 R, the radius of the concave surface, is supposed less than r, the radius of the convex surface.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Radius Then the radius vector r is expressed by either of the following formulæ.
1831 J. Hind Princ. Differential Calculus 262 If r be the radius vector of a polar curve, and θ be the angle which it makes with a fixed axis.
1876 L. D'A. Jackson tr. W. R. Kutter Mean Velocity of Discharge of Rivers i. 2 r is the mean hydraulic radius, or the quotient of the water section by the wetted perimeter.
1933 A. S. Eddington Expanding Universe iii. 101 The volume of a spherical space of radius R is 2π2R3. This is larger than the ordinary Euclidean volume of a sphere.
2004 K. Nakamura & T. Harayama Quantum Chaos & Quantum Dots vi. 89 Let spherical shell billiards have outer (radius R) and inner (radius r) spheres where an electron gas is confined to the shell.
5. Biology. [Initial letter of rate.] In form r. The rate of increase of a population, usually measured by the factor by which its size is multiplied in each generation, or the maximum value that this factor might have if food and other resources were unlimited.
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the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > measure > [noun] > rate
R1841
productivity1881
fusion frequency1924
mutation rate1930
turnover rate1943
1841 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 3 310 The value of r, in the present case, is about 23, making the rate of increase in families about 1-23rd per annum.
1918 Publ. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 16 123 Where b = birth rate per head per annum, r = natural rate of increase per head per annum... The formulae thus obtained give the relationship between b and r.
1977 J. L. Harper Population Biol. Plants i. 3 There is a growing tendency to talk and write about r-phases in the life of a population—phases when it explodes with near-exponential growth after a disaster or after a new colonization into an unexploited environment.
2001 Demography 38 4/2 Derived from this cumulated tempo is the age- and period-specific tempo r(a,t), which measures the incremental postponement of fertility that occurs at age a and time t.
6. [Initial letter of resistance.]
a. In form R or r, usually italicized. = resistance n. 4a; spec. electrical resistance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > resistance > [noun]
resistance1746
R1842
water resistance1859
resistivity1885
skin effect1890
high-frequency resistance1892
leak1896
negative resistance1896
photoresistance1925
piezoresistance1954
piezoresistivity1958
1842 J. F. Daniell in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 132 138 E represents the electromotive force (so called) in the cell: R the resistances in the cell: r the amount of exterior resistances.
1889 G. M. Hopkins Exper. Sci. (1893) xviii. 448 The method of determining the resistance (R) of a single conductor has already been explained.
1916 W. Kent Mech. Engineers' Pocket-bk. (ed. 9) 1408 In a simple circuit we have two resistances, that of the circuit R and that of the internal parts of the source of electromotive force, called internal resistance r.
1986 W. L. Schweber Integrated Circuits for Computers x. 272 The current that flows through the resistor is, by Ohm's law I = V/R.
b. Microbiology. In form R. Denoting certain plasmids which confer antibiotic resistance on bacteria and which are often transmissible between bacteria by conjugation. Chiefly in R factor, R plasmid.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > other genetic structures
messenger1905
transforming principle1944
muton1957
prokaryon1957
recon1957
vector1958
operon1960
R1961
codon1962
replicon1963
regulon1964
promoter1965
promotor1966
transconjugant1974
cassette1977
1961 Gunma Jrnl. Med. Sci. 10 59 It is strongly suggested that there is a transmissible drug-resistance factor (R) which makes R− cells drug resistant when infected with R+ cells following cell-to-cell contact.
1967 Jrnl. Gen. Microbiol. 49 97 Genetic alterations resulting in the loss or acquisition of F or R pili are strictly correlated with loss or gain of ability to transfer the chromosome by conjugation.
1969 A. M. Campbell Episomes iii. 41 Cells harboring R can transfer it to other cells.
1975 Sci. Amer. July 28/3 Antibiotic-resistant E. coli isolated in many parts of the world..were found to contain plasmids, designated R factors..carrying the genetic information for products that in one way or another could interfere with the action of specific antibiotics.
2007 Chemosphere 66 1649/2 The R-plasmid, a known vehicle for providing antibiotic resistance, can be transferred by conjugation.
7. Physical Chemistry. [Arbitrary: first used by E. Clapeyron 1834, in Jrnl. de l'École Royale Polytechnique 14 164.] In form R. The gas constant, i.e. the constant of proportionality in the equation of state for an ideal gas, nRT = PV, where P = pressure, V = volume, n = the number of moles of gas, and T = absolute temperature; now taken to be approx. 8·314 joule kelvin−1 mole−1.
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the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > gaseous phase > [noun] > gas constants
R1851
1851 tr. R. Clausius in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 2 7 These quantities stand to each other in a relation of mutual dependence, which, by a union of the laws of Mariotte and Gay-Lussac, is expressed in the following equation, pv = R(a + t),..where p, v, and t express the pressure, volume, and temperature, of the gas in its present state, a a constant equal for all gases, and R also a constant.
1876 R. S. McCulloch Treat. Mech. Theory of Heat vii. 156 The law of Charles and Mariotte may be put under the form pv = Rτ.
1895 C. S. Palmer tr. W. Nernst Theoret. Chem. i. i. 31 The factor R is only conditioned by the unit of measure chosen, but is independent of the chemical composition of the gases in question.
1940 S. Glasstone Text-bk. Physical Chem. ix. 654 The value of R for solutions is thus very close to that of R usually accepted for a gas, namely 0·0821 liter-atm,..so that it is possible to write ΠV = RT, where R may be taken as the gas constant [and Π = osmotic pressure].
1978 P. W. Atkins Physical Chem. 13 In this expression R, the gas constant, is another fundamental constant with the value 8·3 J K−1 mol−1.
8. Chemistry. [Initial letter of radical.] In form R. Representing an unspecified (esp. organic) radical or group, esp. in formulae.
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the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic radicals > [noun] > formulae for
R1859
1859 A. W. Hofmann in Proc. Royal Soc. 9 151 A series of compound ammoniums being produced, the salts of which may be thus formulated..R′ representing a mono-atomic electropositive radical.
1909 C. A. Keane Mod. Org. Chem. viii. 130 In the formula for ketones, the radicals R and R′ may be either like or unlike.
1950 N. V. Sidgwick Chem. Elements I. 30 It can be shown that the cyanamides H2N·CN and HRN·CN are highly associated in benzene, while R2N·CN is monomeric.
1969 T. C. Thorstensen Pract. Leather Technol. iv. 52 The individual protein..appears to be a coiled spring with the R groups of the protein sticking to the outside, like appendages.
2000 M. Clugston & R. Flemming Adv. Chem. xxviii. 502 The general formula of the naturally occurring α-amino acids is RCH(NH2)COOH. With the exception of glycine (where R = H), all these substances contain a carbon atom that is attached to four different groups.
9. Physics. [Initial letter of Rydberg constant.] In form R. = Rydberg constant n. at Rydberg n. 2.Earlier denoted by N (e.g. Proc. Royal Soc. (1902) 70 18).
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the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > [noun] > component of wave number > formula giving wave numbers > constant appearing in
Rydberg constant1900
R1920
1920 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 39 47 If the nucleus be a simple point-charge, the negatived total energy W belonging to any one of the stationary orbits is given by W/ch = κ2R/n2,..where n is an integer, c the light velocity in vacuo, h Planck's constant, and R the Bohr expression of Rydberg's constant.
1965 R. N. Dixon Spectrosc. & Struct. ii. 31 The Rydberg constant RH corresponds to the minimum energy required for the removal of the electron.
1978 P. W. Watkins Physical Chem. xiv. 427 Balmer..pointed out that the wavelength of the light in the visible region..fitted the expression 1/ λ= R(1/ 4 − 1/ n2), n = 3, 4.
1995 D. M. P. Mingos Essent. Inorg. Chem. 1 (1997) 70 The quantum number n is the principal quantum number which determines the energies of the solutions to the hydrogen atom E = − hcR/n2.
10. Originally U.S. In form ®. Registered: indicating that the adjacent name, logo, etc., is a registered trademark.Incorporated in Statutes at Large U.S.A. 1946 (1947) LX. i. 436.In quot. 1999 humorous.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > marking to identify > mark of identification > [adjective]
R1925
1925 Registration of Trade-Marks (U.S. Congress Senate, Comm. on Patents) 20–1 Jan. 8 It shall be the duty of the registrant to accompany a registered trade-mark with the words ‘Registered in U.S. Patent Office’,..or by letter ‘R’ in a circle, thus ®.
1949 Portsmouth (New Hampsh.) Herald 10 Feb. 3/8 (advt.) Flavor you'll be proud of. Flakorn ® Corn Muffin Mix.
1963 Daily Times-News (Burlington, N. Carolina) 18 Nov. (advt.) Young lovelings feel romantic about Health-tex® cuddly crawler sets.
1993 Brit. Jrnl. Orthodontics 20 47/1 An upper appliance was fitted in the form of an 0.022″ Roth prescription Straight-Wire Appliance ®.
1999 T. Etchells Endland Stories 33 Even the chambermaids in the corridor outside came running and danced and sang, and apparently even real rose petals ® fell from the ceiling.
2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words (ed. 3) 116 Dow Jones Utility Average®, a trademark for a stock average of 15 large electric and gas utility companies that attempts to show overall price movements of utility stock.
11. Psychology. [Apparently arbitrary.] In factor analysis: correlation between traits and abilities as measured using a set of personality tests on a number of people. Usually attributive, esp. in r methodology, r technique. Cf. Q n. 12.
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the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > test of mental ability > factor analysis > [noun] > factor affecting test > traits as variables
R1925
1925 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. July 75 Where R is the matrix of the r-correlation coefficients.
1936 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. Apr. 345 It is convenient to designate all previous factor analysis as r technique, and this new inverted form as Q technique.
1974 W. B. Arndt Theories of Personality viii. 99 In an actual application of the procedure just described, fifty or more measurements would be made on one hundred or more subjects. This technique, based on normative data, is called the R-technique.
2002 J. S. Dryzek & L. T. Holmes Postcommunist Democratization ii. 20 By way of contrast, familiar R methodology techniques, such as survey research, model patterns within and across variables.
12. Chemistry. [Representing the initial letter of classical Latin rectus right (see rect adj.).] In form R. Used to designate (compounds having) a configuration about an asymmetric carbon atom in which the substituents, placed in order according to certain rules, form a clockwise sequence when viewed from a particular direction. Opposed to S n.1 13.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemical structure or stereochemistry > [adjective] > of or relating to configuration > of specific types
R1956
S1956
1956 R. S. Cahn et al. in Experientia 12 83/2 The suggested indications for asymmetry leading, under the sequence and conversion rules, to a right- and left-handed pattern, are capital italic R and S respectively, where R derives from the Latin rectus, meaning ‘right’, and S from sinister.
1966 H. Rakoff & N. C. Rose Org. Chem. xiv. 477 Going from OH to CHO to CH2OH traces a clockwise path, so the configuration about the asymmetric center in d-glyceraldehyde is rectus, and the compound would be designated (R)-glyceraldehyde.
1973 Times 20 Jan. 16/6 Most of the tests were therefore carried out using the R analogue which seemed to be free from side effects.
1999 Jrnl. Crustacean Biol. 19 699/2 An equal mixture of the (active) S-form and the (inactive) R-enantiomer of methoprene.
13. Medicine. [Initial letter of reproduction or reproductive.] In form R. The reproduction rate of an infectious disease, taken as the average number of cases of an infectious disease arising by transmission from a single infected individual. Cf. R number n. at Compounds.R is affected by multiple factors, such as the level of immunity within a population, the behaviour of a population, and the nature and mode of transmission of a microorganism. If R is less than or equal to 1, the disease will either disappear from the population or remain at a stable level. If R is greater than 1, the disease will spread between individuals and may result in an epidemic.R0 is frequently used to distinguish R in a population that has not previously encountered a disease: see R₀ n.
ΚΠ
1975 K. Dietz in Proc. SIMS Conf. Epidemiol. 1974 106 The quantity R is called the reproduction rate, since it represents the number of secondary cases that one case can produce if introduced to a susceptible population.
2003 E. Miller in B. R. Bloom & P.-H. Lambert Vaccine Bk. 45 For diseases in endemic equilibrium, R will have an average value of 1. In reality R is constantly fluctuating.
2020 Impact News Service (Nexis) 22 May However, without a vaccine, there are lots of things we can do to reduce R, including reducing our social contacts by continuing social distancing.
III. Simple abbreviations.
14. In form R. A substitution in speech and text for various names (forename or surname).
Π
1377 Winchester Chamberlain's Roll in Middle Eng. Dict. at Bagge-man Et de xi s. vi d. receptis de R. Bosyngton et A. Baroun, Bagemanis, de arreragiis ultimi compoti.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 156 To mak certeyn partie, R. a quitance toke.
?1575 J. Hooker Orders Enacted for Orphans f. 44v E.Y. hauing the custody and possession aswel of the Orphans & Children of the said R.L. as also of their said Fathers goods.
1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. ii. 14 To quell him comes Q. R. who limping frets At the safe passe of trixie Crackarets.
1766 T. Amory Life John Buncle II. v. 159 Soon after I went to England, Mr. R. a gentleman of my acquaintance of great fortune, got acquainted with her.
1857 Portage (Wisconsin) City Record 19 Aug. 1/4 R. says that Geology and Astronomy are not old enough to be everlasting.
1937 C. Brooks Jrnl. 15 Feb. (1998) 189 I was whizzed out to R's villa.
2006 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Nov. 264/1 While you're on your feet, Mrs. R., fetch us another pint, there's my girl!
15. Of Latin words.
a. In form R. [ < the initial letter of classical Latin rēx king (see rex n.1) or rēgīna queen (see Regina n.)] King; Queen. (Often used postpositively after a forename.)
ΘΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > titles applied to royalty
sire?c1225
His (also Her) Majestya1387
realty1400
rialnessc1450
R1466
royalty1543
Royal Highness1555
M1581
Ma.1584
majestyship1594
serenissimo1665
1466 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) II. 86/1 Coppir money..having in prent on the taparte the crois of Saint-Androu & the crovne on the tother parte, with superscripcione of Edinburgh on the taparte & ane R with James on the tother parte.
1575 E. Hake Commemoration Raigne Lady Elizabeth (note) 17. Nouemb. an. 18. Elizabeth R.
1586–7 King James VI Let. 26 Jan. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) III. 22 Youre most louing and affectionat brother and cousin James R.
1650 King Charles II in Hamilton Papers (1880) 254 Your most affectionate frinde, Charles R.
1788 Times 25 Feb. 3/2 Licence to the East-India Company to enlist a number of recruits not exceeding 2500 men... George R.
1861 Royal Proclam. 13 May 1 Victoria R. Whereas We are happily at Peace with all Sovereigns, Powers, and States.
1884 Amer. Law Reg. 32 218 In R. v. Burrow,..the prisoner was indicted for rape, and urged that he was in liquor.
1988 Advocate (Vancouver) Nov. 898 The dissenting judgment of Sheppard, J.A. of the B.C. Court of Appeal in R. v. Leforte.
2001 Trans. Royal Hist. Soc. 11 272 Small wonder that at his [sc. Churchill's] funeral, the queen's wreath bore the appreciative inscription, ‘In grateful remembrance: Elizabeth R.’
b. In form ℞. [ < the initial letter of classical Latin recipe take, 2nd singular present imperative of recipere receive v.] In medical prescriptions, as the opening instruction: take. Cf. Rx vb. at Initialisms 1, recipe v.
Π
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 399 An other laxatiue. ℞. Galangall six drames: Cinnamon an once, [etc.].
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke vi. xvi. 294 ℞. Electuarium Diatragacanthi frigidi.℥.j.bole Armoniacke washed in rose water.
1866 Harper's Mag. Apr. 677/2 The following is the prescription: ℞℥. Compound Ext. Fandangulum Tops 3ʒ [etc.].
1951 A. Grollman Pharmacol. & Therapeutics 755 The physician desiring to prescribe cod-liver oil in a palatable form need only indicate: ℞ Cod-liver oil emulsion (U.S.P.).
†c. In form R. [ < post-classical Latin r (a1210), used to represent 80] = the cardinal number ‘eighty’ (80). Obsolete.
Π
1903 N.E.D. at R R (in mediæval notation) = 80.
16. Of various English words.
a. In form R. Response (to a sentence of litany).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > parts of service > response > [noun]
answer1440
R1497
responda1555
response1578
interlocution1597
responsory1621
responsora1649
antiphona1652
responsala1652
cathisma1850
responsor1944
1497 Hore Virginis Marie Secundum Usum Sarum (new ed.) sig. b.ij V. In conspectu angelorum psallam tibi deus meus. R. Adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum et confitebor nomini tuo.
1534 Prymer in Eng. sig. Lviij Lorde we beseche the of thy blessyng *.R. Blessed ar they that suffre persecution for the ryghtewysnes of faythe, for theyrs is the kyngdome of Heuen.
1661 W. Prynne Short Exam. Exuberances Common Prayer iv. 45 V. Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
1748 Evening-office (Catholic Ch.) (ed. 5) 1 V. O God, come to my assistance. R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
1822 Vespers (Catholic Ch.) (ed. 11) 36 But thou art in us, O Lord, and thy holy name has been invoked upon us; forsake us not, O Lord. R. Thanks be to God.
1967 Jrnl. Amer. Musicol. Soc. 20 90 (table) V. Deus in adjutorium R. Domine ad adjuvandum.
†b. In form R. Rest. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > refreshment or invigoration > [noun] > esp. gained from sleep
resteOE
reposec1485
R1588
1588 H. Oldcastle & J. Mellis Briefe Instr. Accompts sig. Dvj Set the same down..on this Creditor side..with an R before it, signifying rest.
c. In form R. Rabbi. (Typically preceding a personal name.)
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > law > Jewish law > Talmudic scholar, rabbi > [noun]
rabbic1390
rabbin?1545
Talmudist1569
Talmudician1577
R1614
Talmudic1624
Morenu1650
tanna1718
Rav1809
Talmid Chacham1863
rebbe1881
lamdan1907
tannaite1919
1614 A. Willet Harmonie vpon 2nd Bk. Samuel xiii. 82 R. Kimhi, and R. Solomon, thinke that this was the cause; Thamar had hurt Amnon in striuing with him, and she had railed vpon him, calling him foole.
a1751 Visct. Bolingbroke Philos. Wks. (1754) II. 205 It is something odd to see the authority of Eusebius and Theodoret, of Maimonides, and R. Juda superfluously employed to confirm what the Bible had proved in several places to his hand.
1889 Jewish Q. Rev. 1 121 Another great Maimonist deserving special attention is R. Abraham ben Shem Tob Bibago,..who undertook to defend Maimonides against the attacks of Chasdai and others.
1952 Osiris 10 32 The reasonable suggestion by the Patriarch R. Juda I,..to apply consistently the scale of 24 to the division of the hour as well as of the day.
2001 Jrnl. Legal Stud. 30 269 R. Moshe Feinstein..goes further to add that the reduction in the incumbent's earnings below the average of his peer group can justify entry restrictions.
d. In form R (without point). Rogue (branded on a criminal). Now historical.
ΚΠ
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts iv. ii. sig. I3 My hand hissing..with the letter R. Printed vpon it.
1775 W. Addington Abridgem. Penal Statutes 51 Penalty and punishments 500 l. and imprisonment till paid, and to be branded in the right cheek with the letter R.
1875 S. McKeen Hist. Bradford, Vermont ix. 188 Criminals were branded with some ignominious mark on the cheek, as with an R for rogue.
1984 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 21 Jan. Rogues to be exiled to ‘parts beyond the seas’ were branded with an R.
e. In form R. Royal. See also Initialisms 2.Recorded earliest in RH n. at Initialisms 2.
ΘΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [adjective]
gracious?a1400
regal?c1400
royalc1450
R1654
1654 E. Nicholas Let. 16 Jan. in Papers (1892) II. 48 Beseech her R.H. that nothing that comes from me may in any kinde be taken notice.
1668 H. Oldenburg Let. 21 Nov. in Corr. (1968) V. 201 I am commanded by the R. Society to give you their hearty thanks.
1746 Abp. York Let. 26 Jan. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1904) 19 742 I ordered my coach immediately to pay my duty to his R. Highness.
1891 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. & Monthly Rec. Geogr. 13 116 Dr. Gregory, mathematical professor at the R. Artillery Academy.
1915 Times 28 Oct. 4/2 Died of wounds. Bogle, Sec. Lt. G. S., R. Engineers.
2000 Independent (Nexis) 17 June 6 Commander (CBE)..Lord, Commodore Richard John, R Navy.
f. In form R. River.
ΘΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > [noun] > river
floodc825
streamc875
eaeOE
water streamOE
flumec1175
fleamc1300
riverc1300
currentc1380
reea1500
ford1563
fluent1598
draught1601
nymph1605
amnic1623
flux1637
nullah1656
R1692
currency1758
silent highway1841
1692 L. Echard Gazetteer's or Newsman's Interpreter sig. L2/2 [London] stands on the R. Thames, in a fruitful Country.
1793 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 200 (in map) Severn R.
1873 Jrnl. Amer. Geogr. Soc. N.Y. 4 187 (table) Thence east and north to Thames R.
1907 F. W. Hodge Handbk. Amer. Indians I. 786/2 An Algonquian tribe that occupied both banks of the upper Hudson r.
1996 Times (Nexis) 11 May Other small ferries include..Exmouth-Starcross in Devon (R Exe).
g. In form R or r (without point). Nautical (now historical). Run, i.e. deserted (recorded against a sailor's name in a ship's books). Cf. run adj. 3.In quot. 1829 in figurative use.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > seafaring life > [adjective] > that has deserted
run1695
R1706
1706 London Gaz. No. 4216/3 All such Seamen.., that are made Run, for not repairing to their Duty, shall have their R's taken off.
1829 D. Jerrold Black-ey'd Susan ii. i. 28 There's not an R put to her [sc. a wife's] name?..She's not run—not shewn false colours?
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. R. in the muster-book means run, and is placed against those who have deserted, or missed three musters.
1962 W. Granville Dict. Sailors' Slang 93/2 R, pawn an, desert or ‘run’ from the Navy... He [sc. a deserter] pawns an R with the Paymaster.
1991 J. Derriman Marooned ii. 23 Each succeeding book shows ‘R’, ‘Sombrero Island’, and the date, December 13, 1807.
h. In form R. Rupee. Cf. re n.2
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > foreign coins > [noun] > coins of Indian subcontinent
fanam1555
St. Thomas' coin1559
pardao1582
seraphin1582
chequina1587
pagody1588
pagoda1598
tanga1598
mahmudi1612
rupee1612
mohur1614
tola1614
lakh1615
picec1617
sicca rupee1619
rupee1678
anna1680
cash1711
R1711
star pagoda1741
pie1756
sicca1757
dam1781
dub1781
hun1807
swamy-pagoda1813
chick1842
re1856
paisa1884
naya paisa1956
poisha1974
1711 C. Lockyer Acct. Trade India ix. 262 Venetians, and Gubbers, have no settled Rate; we sold the former for 4 Rupees, 1 Ana, 1 Pice, and latter for R. 4. o. 13.
1751 Acct. in W. Hedges Diary (1888) II. p. xi. (note) Oil 2 rs. Mussaul 1,,8.
1885 R. Kipling Let. 30 July in C. E. Carrington Rudyard Kipling (1955) iv. 67 One Proprietor offered My Mother Rs 1,000 for an Anglo-Indian story.
1971 Shankar's Weekly (Delhi) 4 Apr. 9/3 ‘It won't cost much.’ ‘No, about Rs. 10,000.’
2005 Asian Age 28 Sept. 10/6 The 60 photographers who live in the bylane have made Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 by selling only the idol's photographs.
i. Meteorology. Rain (in logbooks, weather records, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun]
raineOE
R1779
waterworks1806
1779 Philos. Trans. 1778 (Royal Soc.) 68 389 In the column of weather, f. denotes fair;..r. rain.
1856 T. B. Butler Philos. Weather 140 (caption) b. indicates blue sky..r. rain.
1931 Ecology 12 389 (caption) S = snow fall; R = rain.
2005 Atmospheric Environment 39 2255 (table) Precipitation form R=rain S=snow I=ice.
j. Physics. In form R (without point). = Réaumur scale n. at Réaumur n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > measurement of temperature > [noun] > specific scales
Fahrenheit thermometer1732
Fahrenheit scale1740
Fahrenheit1754
Réaumur scale1764
Celsius thermometer1781
Réaumur1785
Celsius1790
Celsius scale1790
R1806
Wedgwood1807
centigrade1812
absolute temperature scale1886
Kelvin scale1908
Rankine scale1931
Rankine temperature1938
1803 W. B. Johnson Hist. Progr. & Present State Animal Chem. III. 139 The thermometer of R. rose to 30°.]
1806 W. Henry Epitome Chem. (ed. 4) App. p. xxiv. Therefore 180° F = 100° C = 80° R = 150° D.
1886 Proc. Royal Soc. 41 37 The temperatures at the same respective depths had altered to 9° R. and 36.16° R.
1965 Isis 56 209 Réaumur based his scale upon the constant-boiling mixture of alcohol with about 10 per cent water, the expansion of which (1/1,000 per 1°R, uncorrected for glass expansion) corresponds to 1/2,250 per 1°F.
2003 K. W. Whitten et al. Gen. Chem. (ed. 7) i. 43/2 On the Réamur scale, which is no longer used, water freezes at 0°R and boils at 80°R.
k. Right (side or direction). Frequently in stage directions and picture captions.
ΚΠ
1820 D. Darling Beaux without Belles iv. 22 Enter O'Diam md, R. H. in female dress.]
1823 J. H. Payne Two Galley Slaves ii. ii. 27 Exit, R.
1893 G. B. Shaw Let. 27 Apr. (1965) I. 392 The old style—the Princess & the audience grouped R, and Adrienne beginning L in profile.
1940 Musical Times 81 409/2 If you set out the bass from the start..you get, reading from L. to R.: minim D, quavers C, B, D, E, F, G, crotchet A.
1976 M. S. Hoque Hunger i. i. 1 Moina and Latif appear—R. They are just visible by the door.
1977 Rolling Stone 24 Mar. (caption) (Opposite, l to r): John, Mick, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
2006 Jet (Nexis) 20 Nov. 44 (caption) Los Angeles Lakers legends (l-r) current player Kobe Bryant and former players Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
l. In form R. Chiefly in the names of companies: Railway.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun]
railway1822
railroad1824
road1825
rail1840
R1850
pike1940
1850 E. F. Smith Rep. Cases. Eng. Court of Chancery XXII. 597 (heading) 1848—Great Western R. Co. v. Birmingham and Oxford Junction R. Co.
1889 J. H. Murray Dict. Appendix 119/1 Met. R., Metropolitan Railway.
1955 Econ. Hist. Rev. 8 215 Board and General Meetings, Minutes (MS.) of: Furness R., Coniston R., Whitehaven and Furness Jc. R., L. and N. W. R.,..all at Euston.
m. In form R (without point). Reverse (as on the selector mechanism in a vehicle with automatic transmission).
Π
1882 Engineering 10 Mar. 219/3 An indicator R is..located upon the same pin as the reverse lever.
1951 W. K. Toboldt et al. Automatic Transmissions i. 15 The selector may be set in any one of five positions, namely, parking (P), neutral (N), low (L), drive (D), and reverse (R).
2002 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 21 Nov. (Overdrive section) od8 Neutral ‘O’ is in the middle, reverse ‘R’ is to the left and forward.
n. Bacteriology. In form R (without point). = rough adj. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > organism > micro-organism > bacterium > [adjective] > specific quality of
tetragenous1888
lysogenic1899
toxicogenic1899
cryophilic1916
R1920
rough1921
smooth1921
sulphate-reducing1926
thermoduric1927
lac−1947
induced1951
inducible1953
thermoacidophilic1976
1920 J. A. Arkwright in Jrnl. Pathol. & Bacteriol. 23 359 The R form grows in colonies which have a more or less jagged outline, are flatter and often have an irregular, rough, or dull surface and are slightly opaque.
1999 Vaccine 24 4793/1 The two colony morphologies (smooth: S and rough: R) were strongly related to the two genotypes.
o. Physics. In form R or r (without point). = Roentgen n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > measurement of ionizing radiation > [noun] > units of radioactivity > roentgen unit
R1922
roentgen unit1922
1922 Physics Abstr. A. 25 508 The instrument is calibrated in terms of a unit R (the Röntgen), i.e. the ionisation produced in 1 sec. by 1 gm. of Ra at a distance of 20 mm. after filtration by 0·5 mm. of Pt.
1938 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) iv. 58 The γ-radiation from 1 mg. Ra..supplies 8·6 r per hour at a distance of 1 cm.
1988 D. Ing Chernobyl Syndrome 138 The dangers from fallout radiation—best expressed in terms of the radiation dose rate, roentgens per hour (R/hr)—quite rapidly decrease during the first few days.
p. U.S. Politics. In form R (without point). Republican (see republican adj. 3a(c)).Chiefly used as postmodifier to indicate a politician's party affiliation.
ΚΠ
1935 Kingston (N.Y.) Daily Freeman 28 June 1/3 Representative Reed (R-N.Y.) who said the tax program..would not raise enough revenue.
1969 Science 9 May 655/2 Congressmen who favor ABM deployment, such as Senator John Tower (R–Texas).
2001 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Feb. a26 (table) Governors' Fiscal Grades... Jeb Bush (R) Florida B... Mike Huckabee (R) Arkansas C.
q. In form R (without point). = rand n.3 (Chiefly preceding a number.)
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > specific South African
rix-dollar1711
rand1941
R1959
1959 Act 61 in Stat. of Union 702 The coinage units of the Union shall..be the rand (abbreviated as R) and the cent.
1961 Times 27 Jan. 19/4 Offers of ‘one-ninetyfour’ and ‘one-ninetyfive’..were chalked up as ‘R1.94’ and ‘R1.95’.
1971 J. McClure Steam Pig iv. 40 She kept her money in the post office, just over R200.
2006 Sunday Times (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 12 Nov. 36 A friend who came to university in her first week with R20 in her purse. ‘She ate polony and bread the whole week.’
r. Originally U.S. In form R (without point). Restricted; spec. a rating given by a regulatory body to a film considered unsuitable for a younger audience (esp. because of sexual content, violence, or obscenity). Frequently in R-rated adj., R-rating n.
ΚΠ
1965 Acronyms & Initialisms Dict. (Gale Res. Co.) (ed. 2) 589 R... Restricted (Military document classification).
1968 N.Y. Times 9 Oct. 46/1 For the first time the motion picture producers..will actually bar persons under sixteen from seeing ‘X’ rated films and restrict them from seeing ‘R’ rated films unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian.
1976 New Yorker 12 Jan. 70/2 Many of these theatres wouldn't have taken it if it had an R and the kids couldn't go by themselves.
1976 New Yorker 12 Jan. 70/2 Peckinpah was forced to trim ‘The Killer Elite’ to change its R rating to a PG.
2003 Creativity May 51/1 Yes, they're flip books of strippers in action, but..they'd get no more than an R rating if they were movies.
2005 Dreamwatch Feb. 50/2 The DVD will be R-rated because I shot an R-rated version, knowing I'd be able to trim things out and angle shots.

Compounds

r-colour n. Phonetics = r-colouring n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [noun] > types of > articulation of
rounding1833
labialism1869
labialization1869
obscuring1873
raising1874
unrounding1874
reduction1885
delabialization1907
r-colour1935
centralization1939
vowel-laxing1977
1935 J. S. Kenyon Amer. Pronunc. (ed. 6) 193 In South England..the ‘r color’ itself disappeared, leaving the sound ɜ.
1998 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 118 265/2 In any case, its r-color cannot have been very strong.
r-coloured adj. Phonetics displaying r-colouring.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of
openeOE
sharp?1533
simple1582
small1599
soft1625
obscurea1637
round1710
slender1755
close1760
wide1824
lowered1836
narrow1844
labialized1856
orinasal1856
central1857
reduced1861
free1864
high1867
low1867
mid1867
mixed1867
rounded1867
unrounded1871
raised1876
unreduced1894
obscured1897
spread1902
lax1909
slack1909
tense1909
centralized1926
flat1934
r-coloured1935
checked1943
1935 J. S. Kenyon Amer. Pronunc. (ed. 6) 158 In Southern American speech, instead of accented ɜ, an ‘r-colored’ vowel varying to ɝ is often heard.
1950 D. Jones Phoneme xvi. 82 r-coloured vowels are found with significant function in various types of American and British English.
1999 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 62 567/2 The tendency for -r to collide with a/i/u had led to the existence of variable consonant allophones surrounding r-coloured vowel phonemes.
r-colouring n. Phonetics the modification of a vowel sound caused by a following r, as in the U.S. pronunciation of bird, work, etc.
ΚΠ
1936 Amer. Speech 11 228 Retroflexion is..interpreted liberally to mean any sort of ‘r-coloring’ of the vowel.
1950 D. Jones Phoneme xvi. 82 r-colouring, when vowels are said with simultaneous lowering of the soft palate.
2004 W. B. McGregor Lang. Kimberley, W. Austral. iv. 85 It is usually the quality of the preceding..vowel that distinguishes these consonants: it usually has an r-like quality called r-colouring near retroflexes.
R month n. each of those months having an r in their names (September to April), during which oysters are said to be in season.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing for type of fish > [noun] > for shellfish > for oysters > time
R month1764
1599 H. Buttes Dyets Dry Dinner sig. M7v Oysters..in those Moneths that have the letter R. in their names.]
1764 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 3 Sept. (1932) (modernized text) VI. 2611 Here is no domestic news of changes and chances in the political world; which, like oysters, are only in season in the R months, when the Parliament sits.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Sept. 7/2 The ‘r’ months have, however, opened at Brussels in the usual way; the Zeeland and Ostend oysters..made their welcome appearance.
1917 Decatur (Illinois) Rev. 2 Sept. 22/3 The first day of the first ‘R’ month has come and gone and not an oyster is in town yet.
2004 Time Out N.Y. 30 Sept. 34/3 Even oysters, traditionally confined to the ‘R’ months, are safe year-round.
R number n. Medicine reproduction number, the average number of cases of an infectious disease arising by transmission from a single infected individual; cf. sense 13, reproduction number n., reproductive number n.
ΚΠ
2006 BioMed. Engin. OnLine 5 (Internet Archive Wayback Machine 13 Oct. 2006) Such indices are usually the most effective predictors of system behavior. Examples include the Reynolds number (the ratio of the inertial force to the viscous force) in fluidics, the R number in epidemiology of infections, and the ratio of tumor growth to normal growth in oncology.
2014 Newstex Blogs (Nexis) 25 Dec. The ‘R number’ for Ebola—the number of new infections expected, on average, from each case—has held fairly steady [between] 2 and 2.5, roughly the same as influenza, about half that of SARS or smallpox and far below measles, with an R number as high as 18.
2020 Bridgwater Mercury (Nexis) 29 May The research shows that on May 26, the seven-day rolling average R number for the Somerset County Council area was 0.96.
r-process n. [ < the initial letter of rapid adj. + process n.] Astronomy a nucleosynthetic process believed to occur in stars in circumstances of high neutron flux (e.g. in supernova explosions), in which atomic nuclei heavier than iron are formed from lighter ones by a succession of rapid neutron captures and slower beta decays.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > star > star-matter > [noun] > stellar process
agglutination1753
nebularizationa1892
fission1919
carbon cycle1940
r-process1956
s-process1956
nucleosynthesis1957
starquake1969
1956 F. Hoyle et al. in Science 5 Oct. 612/2 We have distinguished two conditions under which the Neutron capture can take place, a slow (s) process and a rapid (r) process... The r-process we associate with the explosion of supernovae, the time scale being as small as 10 to 100 seconds.
1977 J. Narlikar Struct. Universe ii. 49 Whereas the s-process produces proton-rich nuclei, the r-process produces neutron-rich nuclei.
2003 Connecting Quarks with Cosmos (U.S. National Res. Council: Div. Engin. & Phys. Sci.) vii. 139 Almost all the relevant r-process nuclei could be accessible for study in a suitably designed two-stage acceleration facility..that produces isotopes and reaccelerates them.
r-selected adj. Biology influenced by r selection.
ΚΠ
1969 Ecology 50 1028/2 One would predict that most insects, being relatively r-selected compared with vertebrates, should have more variable overlap values.
1975 Nature 30 Oct. 737/2 An r-selected organism sees its environment as unstable and unpredictable.
r selection n. Biology natural selection under conditions that favour the reproductive strategy of producing numerous offspring of which only a small number survive to reproductive age.The conditions favouring this are an abundance of resources and little competition.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > evolution > [noun] > selection
natural selection1842
selection1857
survival of the fittest1864
selection value1892
organic selection1896
post-selection1896
orthoselection1907
survival value1912
kin selection1964
r selection1967
1967 R. H. MacArthur & E. O. Wilson Theory of Island Biogeogr. vii. 149 In an environment with no crowding (r selection), genotypes which harvest the most food (even if wastefully) will rear the largest families and be most fit.
1998 Jrnl. Ecol. 86 849/1 High disturbance rates lead to selection of fast-growing organisms (r-selection).
R value n. the heat-insulating property of a building material.
Π
1969 U.S. Patent 3,436,534 7 A direct readout electrical analog system,..there being means..to readout R value according to the relation R = X/K wherein X is the thickness of at least one of the refractory strata, K is the thermal conductivity and R is thermal resistance thereof.
1975 Athens (Ohio) Messenger 9 May 14/2 Insulation is rated by its resistance to heat flow. This is called its R value (R for resistance).
1988 Harrowsmith Jan. 86/3 A typical double-glazed window with an R-value of 2 loses heat at least 10 times faster than the moderately well-insulated wall that surrounds it.
1999 BackHome Mar. 29/1 Fiberglass insulation..will lose much of its R-value if it gets wet.

Initialisms

Many of the terms given here without points are also frequently used with points, and vice versa. Less commonly, variation between upper- and lower-case letters may occur where the initialism is not a proper name.
I1. (For initialisms in which R stands for ‘Royal’, see Initialisms 2.)See also RDX n., REM n.2, RNA n., ROTC n., etc. (as main entries).
R.A. n. Rear Admiral.
Π
1780 J. Adams Let. 1 June in J. Sparks Diplomatic Corr. Amer. Revol. (1857) III. 98 (table) Rear Admiral Rowley's Division... Conqueror, R. A. Rowley..74 [guns].
1869 J. S. Barnes Submarine Warfare ii. 17 (heading) Letter of Com. Symons to R.A. Sir Peter Parker.
1997 Waikato Times (Hamilton, N.Z.) (Nexis) 27 Aug. 2 RA Wilson said the matter was still under investigation and any sanction would be dependent on its outcome.
RA n. U.S. resident adviser (or assistant).
ΚΠ
1948 Ann. Rep. President Stanford Univ. App. IV. 386 Lower-division R.A.s were provided meal tickets ($140.00 per quarter).
1988 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times 13 Mar. 12 The RA issued a mandatory invitation to the four students to hear a lecture on drunken driving and, loosely put, spring break etiquette.
2004 L. Barnes Deep Pockets (2005) iv. 33 I wondered whether I could trick the RA into divulging the roommate's name.
RA n. Medicine = rheumatoid arthritis n. at rheumatoid adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > disorders of joints > [noun] > rheumatism or arthritis
arthritis1543
rheum1667
rheumatism1670
rheumatiz1760
rheumatica1796
arthrosia1822
screwmatic1832
rheumatoid arthritis1859
arthritism1868
polyarthritis1868
osteoarthritis1878
panarthritis1890
screw1897
Still's disease1905
rheumatic1918
osteoarthrosis1932
RA1957
1957 Jrnl. Chronic Dis. 5 688 Certain clinical similarities have been noted between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the group of syndromes associated with various types of arterial inflammation.
1980 Lancet 19 Jan. 160/1 These patients with RA will thus have been a highly selected for the presence of thyroid disorders.
1993 Bella Sept. 15/2 Like many people, Maria thought RA was a disease for older people—she is only 27.
R.A. n. Astronomy right ascension.
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1785 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 75 253 The north pole is here assumed to be situated in R.A. 186° and P.D. 5°.
1843 T. H. Sumner New & Accurate Method finding Ship's Position iv. 74 The RA of the fixed stars and planets, is, too, readily found, in the large edition of the Nautical Almanac.
1972 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 82 p. ii (advt.) Note the extremely stable design with the RA drive between the oil sealed polar axis bearings which transmit the load to the massive base casting.
RAD n. Computing = rapid application development n. at rapid adj., adv., and n. Compounds 1.
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1989 PC Week (Nexis) 13 Feb. 31/3 I'm impressed by Genesis' next tool, the Rapid Application Development (RAD) system.
1997 NetGuide Aug. 32/2 To handle multiple languages and locales, the NetDynamics visual RAD environment..now provides support for customizing formats.
RAF n. [ < German RAF, initialism < Rote Armee Fraktion] now historical Red Army Faction (in Germany).
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1972 Daily Kennebec Jrnl. (Augusta, Maine) 29 May 7/2 The RAF wants to demonstrate that it can strike when and where it wants.
1980 C. Moorehead Fortune's Hostages viii. 155 The freeing of six jailed ‘RAF’ prisoners.
2002 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 31 Oct. 7 While the RAF dissolved itself in 1996, former activists are still serving prison sentences for the bombing campaigns and assassinations.
RAID n. Computing redundant array of inexpensive disks (or drives), a data storage system which combines multiple hard drives to form a system functioning as single drive.
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1988 D. A. Patterson et al. in Proc. 1988 SIGMOD Internat. Conf. (Assoc. Comput. Machinery) (title) A case for redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID).
2003 R. Hyde Art of Assembly Lang. 520 RAID is a mechanism for combining lots of cheap disk drives together to form the equivalent of a really large disk drive.
RAP n. Military Regimental Aid Post.
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1931 Times 10 Aug. 15/1 A wounded man is first-aided at his ‘R.A.P.’ (regimental aid post).
1948 E. H. Smith Guns against Tanks 29 The 26th Battalion's Medical Officer..earned the admiration of the gunners by bringing his RAP truck to within fifty yards of the forward positions.
2001 Courier Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 17 Apr. h4 Dr Duffy had just left the RAP for a quick visit to the battle area.
RAST n. Medicine = radioallergosorbent test at radioallergosorbent adj.; frequently attributive.
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1967 Lancet 25 Nov. 1107/1 These results indicate that the r.a.s.t. reaction is allergen specific.
2000 Daily Tel. 7 Nov. 22/3 A simple pin prick test or a Rast blood test will reveal which allergens provoke an IgE response.
2004 Intelligencer (Doylesville, Pa.) 30 May (Parade Mag.) 16/2 A commonly used blood test called RAST..determines the number of IgE antibodies present in a person who has allergylike reactions and symptoms.
RBA n. Reserve Bank of Australia, the central bank of Australia.
Π
1973 Jrnl. Econ. Lit 11 989/1 The book outlines the structure of the model [developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia] (neo-Keynesian and referred to as RBA 1)..and gives the structural equation.]
1982 Canberra Times 30 June 36/8 The RBA chairman said the move away from quantitative restraint on bank lending was made against the background of the rapid changes that had taken place in recent years in the pattern of financial intermediation.
2002 Australian 1 Oct. (Brisbane ed.) 28/1 (heading) The RBA should listen to Australia—and raise interest rates.
RBC n. Medicine red blood cell; red blood cell count.
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1907 Lancet 1 June 1485/2 (table) Blood: Hb = 42 per cent.; r.b.c. = 3,370,000.
1922 Indian Med. Gaz. 57 126/2 The results of blood examination before treatment of soamin was R.B.C. 3,000,000, W.B.C. 3,500.
1993 Jrnl. Trop. Pediatrics 39 212/1 Cases with two α-gene deletion had significantly higher RBC count, total haemoglobin and haematocrit.
RBE n. Biology and Medicine relative biological effectiveness (of radiation); the inverse of the ratio of two doses of different radiation that have the same biological effect; (also) the ratio of the dose of some standard radiation to the dose given, where the doses are such that they have the same biological effect .
ΚΠ
1954 P. E. Smith in A. J. Fleming et al. Mod. Occup. Med. xiii. 179 When irradiation with two different types of radiation requires different doses to achieve the same biological effect, the radiations are said to have a relative biological effectiveness (R.B.E.) different from one. The R.B.E. is the inverse of the dosage ratio required for equal effect.
1988 Mutation Res. 207 128/1 Findings on the mutagenic ability of tritium in cell cultures and on its RBE compared to X- and γ-rays.
2005 Physics in Med. & Biol. 50 2765 Currently, most clinical range-modulated proton beams are assumed to have a fixed overall relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of 1.1.
RBI n. Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of India.
Π
1962 Oxf. Econ. Papers 14 41 For urban housing the R.B.I. takes the year-to-year increase in rental income from this source.
2002 Econ. & Polit. Weekly 20 Apr. 1527/1 The RBI undertook partial sterilisation of the foreign asset cumulation through an increase in reserve requirements and some open market sale of government securities.
RBI n. Baseball run(s) batted in, a run (or runs) caused by a batter and officially credited to the batter's record.
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1921 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 23 July 7/5 (box) Batting averages of Syracuse Stars... A.B...Pct...R.B.I.
1951 Sun (Baltimore) 6 Oct. b1/7 (heading) Yankee hurler says own R.B.I. gave him biggest thrill.
2004 A. Barra Brushbacks & Knockdowns 179 If he escapes another serious injury he will almost certainly pass the 1,500 RBI mark before September 2005.
RBL n. Australian Finance reasonable benefit limit, the maximum superannuation benefit that a person can amass without incurring a higher rate of taxation.
ΚΠ
1988 Sydney Morning Herald 26 May 33/7 The reasonable benefit limits (RBLs) currently applying to funded arrangements will be amended so that they apply only to benefits referable to deductible contributions and fund earnings.
2002 Austral. Financial Rev. (Sydney) 28 Sept. 33/1 Being in a position to seriously consider the pension RBL as part of your super planning adds an extra dimension.
rbST n. Physiology = recombinant bovine somatotropin at bovine adj. Additions.
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1986 Jrnl. Chromatogr. 357 424 Proteins from the host bacteria used for rbSt production or bovine proteins from the purification of pbSt may be present as process impurities.
1999 J. Elkington & J. Hailes New Foods Guide iv. 150 Milk from rBST-treated cows contains high levels of an insulin-like growth factor.
2006 New Yorker 15 May 86/3 You want to insure that there are no traces of recombinant bovine somatotropin hormone (rbST) in your children's milk.
RBT n. Australian random breath test (or testing); cf. breath test n.
ΚΠ
1983 Sydney Morning Herald 23 Dec. 6 (heading) RBT is not all that it seems.
2007 West Australian (Perth) (Nexis) 18 Jan. 2 Subi cops were on the prowl, setting up RBTs to ensure nobody got into or out of their fair suburb without blowing in the bag.
RC adj. (also R-C) radio-controlled; radio control. Sometimes difficult to distinguish from uses with the sense ‘remote-controlled’ (cf. remote-controlled adj.).
Π
1974 Star News (Pasadena, Calif.) 8 Feb. c8/6 (advt.) 6 ch R-C boat & plane.
2006 Lowell (Mass.) Sun (Nexis) 20 Dec. Shawn had a wide range of hobbies, including interest in Hondas, Radio Control (RC) cars.., and movies.
RC n. reinforced concrete.
Π
1911 H. Adams & E. R. Matthews Reinforced Concrete Constr. p. xiii Space gained by building R. C. Walls.
1953 Archit. Rev. 114 305/1 Floors are of r.c. slab with a lightweight screed containing embedded heating coils.
1998 Building Design (Nexis) 21 Aug. 19 Wall-tie corrosion, weathering of in situ concrete, and cladding falling off are problems found with RC frames.
2000 Struct. Engineer 1 Feb. 17/1 (table) Automated calculations for steel, RC, timber and other materials.
RC adj. (also R-C) remote-controlled; remote control. Sometimes difficult to distinguish from uses with the sense ‘radio-controlled’ (cf. radio-controlled adj. at radio n. Compounds 3).
Π
1977 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 19 Aug. 1 b/7 (advt.) R-C Sting Ray car (remote control).
2004 Evening Standard (Nexis) 9 Dec. c25 There are several remote controlled toys: the 27mHz ATV Quad Bike, RC Mini convertible, Honda RC211V.
RC n. Electronics resistance/capacitance; resistor/capacitor; usually attributive.
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1932 C. L. Boltz Everyman's Wireless x. 190 A 2-valve circuit incorporating detector and one stage of L.F. amplification with R.C. coupling.
1965 Wireless World July 326/1 RC coupling has been employed throughout, in preference to direct coupling, to minimize drift.
2001 Computer Music May 35/2 Each individual RC element is known as a pole, so if you have two RCs in a synth then you'll have a two-pole filter, which will attenuate 12dB per octave.
RC adj. and n. Roman Catholic.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Roman Catholicism > person > [noun]
papist1528
Romanist1534
Roman1537
Romist1543
papistic1545
popestant1549
flesh-maker1551
mass-monger1551
Romish1551
Pope catholicc1554
popeling1563
catholic1570
Romish Catholic1571
popera1577
Pope worshipper1579
papane1581
Roman Catholic1581
Cacolike1582
Cartholic1582
papisha1595
Babylonian1603
papal1611
popinian1613
Papalin1616
Romulist1620
papicolist1633
western1640
papagan1641
universalist1644
red-letter man1677
RC1691
Azymite1728
papalist1752
craw-thumper1786
catholicist1812
papisher1817
pontifical1832
Romanite1839
dogan1847
mickey1851
redneck1852
mackerel-snatcher1855
Latin1867
Romanensian1885
Roman candle1897
Mick1902
Mick Dooley1905
Mickey Doo1905
left-footer1911
Pape1927
right-footer1929
Doolan1940
tyke1941
Tim1958
mackerel-snapper1960
Teague1971
Mickey Doolan1972
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 101 He was..an eloquent Preacher, and a zealous maintainer of the R. C. Religion, as well in his Sermons as Writings.
1713 C. Dodd Hist. Eng. College Doway sig. A4 By R. C. chaplain to an English regiment, that march'd in upon its surrendring to the allies.
1820 J. Milner Suppl. Mem. Eng. Catholics II. 176 Arrangements..inconsistent with the integrity and safety of the R.C. Religion.
1857 H. Lind Jrnl. 23 May in Canad. Geographic (1998) Sept. 82/2 Went to see a poor man... He and all his family..speak an impure dialect of French and Indian, [are] R.C.s and of almost lawless habits.
1944 J. H. Fullarton Troop Target 26 ‘What about the R.C.s?’ ‘Oh, yes. Leave the left-footers behind as gun-picquets.’
1988 K. Amis Difficulties with Girls ix. 112 Simon's fraternity would have left..before the actual prayers, with the RCs and those of other faiths.
2005 Commerc. Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) (Nexis) 31 May b9 I was asked if I wasn't RC, what religion was the one I would be happy with and convert to.
RCA n. Radio Corporation of America.
Π
1921 N.Y. Times 2 May 26/7 (advt.) Via RCA means routed through the trans-oceanic system of the Radio Corporation of America.
1957 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 26 Jan. 56/2 The American school has not yet, so far as I know, made use of the RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer.
2003 J. Dawson & S. Propes 45 RPM iii. 19 The format was also going to be included in many of RCA's upcoming radio and television consoles.
RCIA n. Roman Catholic Church Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the procedures followed by an adult wishing to convert to the Roman Catholic faith.
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1977 Living Light Spring 141 The RCIA reminds us..that our goal is adult faith-life.
1983 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 15 Jan. a4/2 Guest speaker..will lead a discussion on how the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) can renew the Christian Community.
1999 A. Widdecombe in D. Longenecker Path to Rome p. xiv Others still said it was disgusting that I had not had to do the full RCIA course.
RCD n. = residual current device n. at residual adj. Compounds.
Π
1983 Which? June 253/2 Using electrical appliances such as lawnmowers..you can cut the cable and so run the risk of electrocution. To protect yourself you can fit an RCD (residual current device).
1994 Guardian 6 Sept. (Educ. section) 12/4 In an RCD, both live and neutral wires pass through a cut-off switch before being connected to the appliance.
2004 P. Hymers New Home Builder xi. 214 RCDs are residual circuit breakers that immediately trip out the supply if an earth leakage is detected.
RCM n. radar (or radio) countermeasures.
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1945 Electronic Industries Sept. 222 RCM, radar counter measures.
1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War xxxiii. 289 I was amazed to sit through meetings of the Radio Counter Measures Board right up to the end of 1942 discussing whether it was advisable for us to start an ‘R.C.M. War’.
1996 Biogr. Mem. Fellows Royal Soc. 42 507 When in Britain, White made a comprehensive survey of the latest radar and R.C.M. developments.
RD n. refer (also understood as return) to drawer (of cheque).
Π
1885 Jrnl. Inst. Bankers 6 135 When a cheque is returned for want of funds, the best answer to give is ‘Refer to Drawer’ (or ‘R/D’).
1907 Times 6 Mar. 4/2 Penny's cheque had been returned to be re-presented, and..when it was re-presented it came back with ‘R—D’ upon it.
1938 N. Marsh Death in White Tie iii. 41 One of my cheques has been returned R.D.
2000 Business Day (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 9 Feb. 20 Clients are able to send RD cheques to the company, which records the information on its database.
RDA n. recommended dietary (or daily) allowance (or amount) (cf. recommended daily allowance at recommended adj. 2); also figurative.
Π
1953 L. G. Allbaugh Crete vi. 128 The computed NRC-RDA [NRC = National Research Council] calorie allowance for community families is 2,695 and for municipal families, 2,474 calories.
1961 Ann. Rep. National Vitamin Found. Incorporated 1960 8 The National Research Council's Food and Nutrition Board established its first Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) in 1943.
1995 Which? Feb. 11/1 The EC hasn't yet set RDAs for copper and selenium.
1999 BBC Good Food July 115/4 Some over-the-counter supplements contain 300 per cent more than the RDA and are still considered safe.
2005 Time Out N.Y. 1 Dec. 91/2 The always-affable Ron Poole's longtime award-winning staple should fulfill your RDA of stand-up and cabaret-type comics.
RDC n. Rural District Council.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > local government body > [noun] > district council
rural district council1888
urban district council1888
district council1894
RDC1904
U.D.C.1905
rural1952
urban1952
1904 Local Govt. Jrnl. 2 Jan. 3/1 (heading) Contracts open. 3/2 Granite.—The Clerk, R.D.C., Midhurst.
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 114 Alderman Reeves, the chairman of the R.D.C., called the decision the worst he had ever seen.
2000 Science 7 Jan. 42/3 Benefits from safari hunting [in Zimbabwe] may be spread beyond the community that bears the costs or may be concentrated in the RDC.
RDF n. and v. (a) n. radio direction-finding; radio direction-finder; (b) v. transitive to employ RDF against.RDF was formerly the name in Britain for what was later called radar.
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the world > space > direction > [noun] > finding direction > device for finding direction > radio direction finder
RDF1938
snifter1944
1938 F. A. Lindemann 8 Mar. in R. V. Jones Most Secret War (1978) iv. 40 Lest too much reliance be placed upon the R.D.F. methods, it is perhaps worth pointing out that certain difficulties may easily be encountered in actual use.
1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags i. 28 We've got a most valuable invention called R.D.F.
1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags i. 28 The German air-bases are too far away for them to be able to attack us. If they do, we'll R.D.F. them out of the skies.
1975 S. Johnson Urbane Guerilla iii. 147 We didn't RDF him... The trouble is RDF-ing, radar direction finding, requires a cross-bearing.
1990 Small Boat Jrnl. Jan. 28/2 More sophisticated navigational electronics—depthsounder, RDF, loran, radar, satnav—are fun to have and can be helpful.
2001 Chesapeake Bay Mag. Oct. 62/2 If you remember homing in on low-frequency beacons, you may know these transmitter sites as the old Coast Guard RDF system.
RDF n. U.S. Military rapid deployment force.
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1979 Washington Post 20 Dec. a22/1 The planned 110,000-member Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) has been discussed frequently in recent weeks.
2004 F. A. Boyle Destroying World Order i. 40 Even with a creditable RDF the United States could not by itself successfully defend Iranian oil fields.
RDF n. refuse-derived fuel.
Π
1974 Post Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 1 June 6/6 RDF, when burned, will generate about half the BTU's..of coal.
1991 Atom Jan. 13 (caption) Refuse derived fuel (RDF) from the combustible materials mechanically removed from the waste can be made into these pellets.
2003 H. L. Hickman Amer. Alchemy vii. 260 RDF is an important part of the total integrated solid waste management strategy.
RDI n. recommended daily intake (cf. recommended adj.).
Π
1974 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71 4442 Abbreviation: RDA, Recommended Dietary Allowance; RDI, Recommended Daily Intake.
1990 Milling & Banking News (Nexis) 3 July 1 The U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance reference values on the nutrition label would be replaced with a new RDI (Reference Daily Intakes).
2002 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 28 Apr. (Body + Soul section) 4/4 The RDI was established many decades ago and is basically the minimum of nutrients required to prevent diseases of malnutrition.
RDS n. Radio radio data system, a system for transmitting digital information (such as clock time and travel announcements) alongside an FM radio signal.
ΚΠ
1985 Guardian 26 Sept. 17/5 Philip's RDS (Radio Data System) transmissions..provide information in the form of digital signals on such obstructions as traffic jams and road works.
1995 Which? Oct. 38/2 The Sony MHC-EX7 £700 is another good buy, and has a sophisticated RDS tuner.
2004 Gramophone Aug. 100/2 Completing the package is an FM RDS/AM tuner, with automatic tuning and plenty of presets.
rdv n. originally U.S. rendezvous.
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1955 R. J. Schwartz Compl. Dict. Abbrev. 152/3 RDV, rendezvous (US Army).
1986 E. V. Lustbader Shan ii. 162 Alan Thune was murdered..while on his way to a routine rdv with his regular contact.
1996 A. Hall Quiller Balalaika 5 My contact for the rdv was already here.
RE n. religious education.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > [noun] > systematic education > religious education
RE1920
RI1961
society > faith > worship > preaching > catechesis > [noun] > at school
RE1920
RI1961
1904 Biblical World 24 224 Dr. Ira Landrith, General Secretary of the R.E.A. [sc. Religious Education Association].]
1920 Jrnl. Negro Hist. 5 177 The courses in religion which are offered in Negro colleges... The Methods and Organization of R.E.
1963 R. T. D. Acland We teach them Wrong 9 I told the deputy head master that I was a Lay Reader in the Church of England and could perhaps help with R.E. lessons.
2002 Times Educ. Suppl. 27 Sept. (Jobs section) 119/4 (advt.) The successful candidate must be able to teach RE across the full age and ability range up to GCSE and A level.
REE n. Geology rare earth element(s).
ΚΠ
1963 Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 27 577 The absolute abundance of a typical REE (La) in bronzitic and hypersthenic chondrites was found to be 0.34 ppm.
1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 352 The Langtang leucogranite shows higher concentrations of all REEs.
1999 I. Kostov & R. I. Kostov Crystal Habits Minerals vi. 326 Its structure consists of layers of REE and F atoms..alternating with sheets of CO3 groups.
REIT n.
Brit. /riːt/
,
U.S. /rit/
U.S. Finance a real estate investment trust.
ΚΠ
1961 Business Lawyer July 924 It would appear that a carefully organized and operated REIT will be able to avoid regulation under the Investment Act of 1940.
2005 L. Bagshawe Tuesday's Child v. 88 I was thinking more of yield vs. growth, REITs, mortgage derivatives, vacancy hedging.
REN n. Telecommunications ringer equivalence (or equivalency) number, a measure of the load a device places on a telephone line.
ΚΠ
1984 Washington Post 12 Jan. c5/5 The so-called ringer equivalency number, or REN, helps determine whether your new phone—in combination with several others you may have on the line—will overload your household's phone circuits.
1998 What Cellphone Aug. 105/1 The sum of the RENs of all devices connected to a normal wired phone line should not exceed four.
RF n. (also rf) radio frequency; a radio-frequency signal.
Π
1918 W. H. Eccles Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. (ed. 2) 471 The r.f. generator 1 and microphone 2 induce currents in circuit 5.
1930 Proc. IRE 18 1339 A relatively simple outfit is used comprising an r-f oscillator of variable frequency.
1936 R. S. Glasgow Princ. Radio Engin. xiii. 395 (in figure) A.V.C. connection to grid returns of R.F. amplifiers.
1956 Proc. CERN Sympos. 1 64/2 Synchrotron oscillations (if an rf is present) are damped.
2002 Surfer's Path June 109/1 (advt.) Removable RF welded wetsuit bag with changing mat.
R.F. n. Cartography = representative fraction n. at representative adj. and n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1886 H. D. Hutchinson Mil. Sketching made Easy i. 12 A French map may show a scale of mètres, but to be generally useful to Englishmen it would be necessary to add to it a scale of yards with the same R.F.
1969 G. C. Dickinson Maps & Air Photographs vii. 102 In countries using the metric system scales of so many centimetres to a kilometre usually also give R.F.s with convenient round numbers.
1990 APT Bull. 22 122 The picture plane is drawn on the plan at the determined angle to the reference object with the plane touching the object at the point where the RF value was measured.
RFC n. [initialism < Request for Comments] Computing any of a series of archived, sequentially numbered documents describing technical aspects of networked computer communication, esp. standards for such communication; a standard so described.
ΚΠ
1969 S. Crocker Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 1. 2 (running title) RFC 1 Host Software 7 April 1969.
1994 .net Dec. 29/1 RFC1034 and RFC1035..describe the Internet's global naming set-up, the DNS, or Domain Name System.
2002 Personal Computer World Aug. 137/3 There's also an Internet standard, or RFC, in development for IMPP—the Instant Messaging and Presence Protocol.
RFD n. U.S. rural free delivery.
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1901 Ohio Farmer 4 July 12/3 The postmaster general has directed that mail on rural free delivery routes will not be delivered hereafter except to one of the 14 approved boxes... [signed] H. Conquest Clarke, Chief Special Agent of R.F.D.
1974 M. Hoyt Thirty Miles for Ice Cream xv. 187 Our mail used to be delivered by an R.F.D. mailman riding behind a horse in a sort of outhouse on wheels, painted red, white and blue, and lettered U.S. Mail.
2002 G. J. Downey Telegraph Messenger Boys vii. 132 By 1902, RFD had closed nearly half of the 70,000 small, rural, fourth-class post offices, but the spatial extent of the post office network actually increased.
RFG n. = reformulated gasoline at reformulated adj. 2.
Π
1991 Chem. Week (Nexis) 13 Nov. 35 Meeting higher oxygen content and lower volatile organic and toxic emissions requirements for reformulated gasoline (RFG) will have big repercussions in the chemical market place.
2006 Platts Oilgram Price Rep. (Nexis) 3 Jan. 3 Trading in RFG was thin and was assessed at 0.25 cts/g under Jan NYMEX.
RFL n. Rugby Football League.
ΚΠ
1954 Whitaker's Cumulative Bk. List CXVIII. 128/1 Rugby Football League Official Guide for the Season 1953-54... R.F.L. 180 Chapeltown Rd., Leeds.
1988 Times (Nexis) 21 Oct. The chief executive of the RFL and a member of the International Rugby Football League committee.
2009 Metro 10 Feb. (London ed.) 40/1 The RFL match review panel decided to cite him.
RFLP n. Genetics restriction fragment length polymorphism, the variation in length of the fragments resulting from the digestion of DNA with restriction enzymes; (also) a technique for investigating this.
ΚΠ
1980 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77 6754/1 Some of these [DNA sequence variations] should be detectable as variants in the lengths of the DNA fragments produced by a restriction enzyme (restriction fragment length polymorphism or RFLP).
1994 Washington Post 23 Aug. a4/3 Because RFLP testing consumes samples, Simpson's lawyers have been arguing..that the prosecution should be forced to share the evidence.
2000 P. Cornwell Last Precinct (2001) 394 It's all PCR unless the lab is still doing the old RFLP, which is very reliable but just takes forever.
RFP n. = request for proposal n. at request n.1 Phrases 6.
Π
1963 Managem. Technol. 3 80 What a defense company wants is to be ‘ready’ when an RFP for a weapon system of interest to the company is issued.
1995 Internet World. Feb. 48/1 Applications are transaction-oriented, ranging from government RFPs (Requests for Proposals) to purchase orders.
RFU n. Rugby Football Union.
ΚΠ
1924 Times 6 Oct. 6/4 Applications for all matches must be made by letter to the secretary of the R.F.U.
1977 Greeley (Colorado) Tribune 27 Apr. 30/6 Players from Utah, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Texas comprise the Western RFU.
2005 Spectator 22 Oct. 87/2 The RFU insist that they, spiritually, own the players, certainly those they pick (and pay top-whack extra) to play for England.
RGN n. Registered General Nurse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > healer > nurse > [noun] > registered nurse
registered nurse1876
State Registered Nurse1903
RN1904
RGN1922
S.R.N.1922
1916 Lancet 27 May 1095/2 A Bill has recently been introduced into the Legislature of British Columbia to divide the nurses of the province into two classes—registered graduate nurses (R.G.N.) and registered household nurses.]
1922 Nursing Mirror & Midwives' Jrnl. 1 July 261/1 The Scottish General Nursing Council..‘unanimously adopted’ the resolution as to the undermentioned initials..General Trained..[England] S.R.N...[Scotland] R.G.N.
1975 Irish Independent 27 May 16/5 (advt.) Resident R.G.N., or S.E.N., required for day duty in nursing home in Dublin south east.
1999 Daily Tel. 29 Jan. 29/6 Seven of us are now taxpayers, myself working for 23 years as an RGN until ill-health forced me to retire.
RH n. (also rh) relative humidity.
Π
1918 New Phytologist 17 210 The relative humidity of the air had an affect on the results, so that the R.H. was determined at the time of each set of observations.
1991 Constr. Weekly Products Suppl. Sept. 35/4 A new humidity probe..allows the equilibrium relative humidity (rh) of concrete to be accurately measured at depth.
2001 S. Roaf et al. Ecohouse (2002) i. 29 This demonstrates the excellent ability of the earth walls to control the RH in a space, in a ‘breathing wall’.
RI n. religious instruction.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > [noun] > systematic education > religious education
RE1920
RI1961
society > faith > worship > preaching > catechesis > [noun] > at school
RE1920
RI1961
1961 Where? 3 16/2 Religious instruction (RI): The only subject which state schools are obliged to teach by law: in county and voluntary controlled schools.
1976 Evening Post (Nottingham) 15 Dec. 13/3 (advt.) A teacher required in January and April for Independent School..(3) R.I. with an interest in general counselling for girls 11 and over.
2002 Daily Mail (Nexis) 8 Aug. 6 In the Fens..you read the local paper the way you read the Bible during RI lessons at Village College.
RIA n. Medicine and Biology radioimmunoassay.
ΚΠ
1971 Steroids 18 789 Double isotope and radioimmunoassay (RIA) methods have been developed which are capable of determining deoxycorticosterone concentrations in human peripheral plasma.
1999 New Scientist 13 Nov. 92 (advt.) Use is made of a range of analytical methods, including: amino acid sequencing.., IEF, UV/Vis spectroscopy, ELISA and RIA.
RIAA n. Recording (before 1970: Record) Industry Association of America.
Π
1952 Billboard 16 Feb. 18/1 Selection of an executive secretary for RIAA..was put off until early next week.
1975 Gramophone Jan. 1421/3 The RIAA correction curve for discs shows only the slightest deviation from the ideal playback curve.
2004 ‘Dr. K.’ Hackers' Tales ii. 52 It's funny how people always get round restrictions: the RIAA are fighting the trading of MP3s, but new file-sharing programs come out all the time.
RIB n. rigid inflatable boat (cf. rigid inflatable adj. and n. at rigid adj. and n. Compounds 2).
Π
1982 Offshore Mar. 93/3 The RIB comprises a solid, V-shaped hull fixed to an inflatable tube above the water line that serves as a combination gunwale and fender.
2002 Independent 12 Jan. (Mag.) 44/1 You usually see rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) on the news crashing through towering waves to rescue capsized yachts or assaulting polluting oil rigs.
RICE n. rest, ice, compression, elevation, a treatment recommended for minor soft tissue injury.
Π
1985 Capital (Annapolis, Maryland) 25 June 25/3 There is no specific time limit to the application of modalities such as rest, ice, compression and elevation (abbreviated RICE).
2003 D. V. Vigil in A. Rubin Sports Injuries & Emergencies 360 In addition to RICE, wrapping the injured extremity with the knee in flexion will help limit hematoma formation.
2004 Indianapolis Star 26 June (State ed.) e9/6 You're beset with minor aches and pains. What to do? Take the RICE advice: That's rest, ice, compression and elevation.
RIF n. U.S. (also with pronunciation
Brit. /rɪf/
,
U.S. /rɪf/
) reduction in force, a reduction in the size of a workforce.
ΚΠ
1966 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 1 Mar. 25/1 RIF procedures give employees ‘bumping’ rights in their jobs.
1993 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 21 Feb. i. 14/5 I was distressed to learn that the Pentagon is considering an RIF that would potentially affect 1,600 people without consulting the Congress.
2004 T. Van Geel & M. Imber Teacher's Guide to Educ. Law viii. 224 Before a school board may dismiss a teacher as part of a RIF, the board must have proof that a change in circumstances necessitated the reduction.
RK n. religious knowledge (as an educational subject).
ΚΠ
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 173 One feels Lewis Carroll would have liked the current terms Physical Torture (for P.T.) and Religious Destruction or Ridiculous Kapers (for R.K.).
1968 G. Mitchell Three Quick & Five Dead i. 24 ‘Edward teaches history and something he calls R.K.’ ‘Religious Knowledge,’ said Laura. ‘They used to call it Scripture in my young day.’
2004 Church Times 27 Aug. 8/4 You can always spot when there is an unresolved problem in education by the number of times the names are changed. Thus we know there is a difficulty with RE. We've had scripture,divinity, RK, RI, and now RS.
RM n. now historical Reichsmark(s).
ΚΠ
1875 Anglo-Brazilian Times 23 July 6/1 On Hamburg the rates for Bank paper at 90 days have been 442 Reis per R.M.
1963 L. Deighton Horse under Water 251 Peterson had a Reisepass..and 200 RM.
2005 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 8 May (Review section) 2 In one year alone..she had earned 13,650 RM, almost as much as her husband.
RM n. Resident Magistrate.
Π
1840 Tipperary Free Press 5 Aug. 3/1 Mr. Duff, R.M., will lay the proceedings before the Chief Secretary.
1899 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ (title) Some experiences of an Irish R.M.
1947 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 3 Nov. 12/5 Some cases before the R.M. Court... His Hon. Mr. S. T. B Sanguinetti, R.M. observed that he had left over the case from last week.
2004 Belfast News Let. (Nexis) 27 Jan. 7 The RM said he expected progress on the matter..when the case comes back to court.
RMB n. = renminbi n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > standards and values of currencies > [noun] > specific monetary units or units of account > specific Chinese
tael1588
candareen1615
mace1615
liang1827
fen1852
avo1919
yuan1921
jiao1949
RMB1970
renminbi1971
1970 Times 15 May 27/1 The Chinese insistence that traders from Britain..should make payments in the Chinese currency R.M.B. (Renminbi—people's currency).
2004 Jrnl. Econ. Lit. 42 147 (caption) Household income, saving, consumption in 100 million current RMB Yuan.
RME n. = rape methyl ester n. at rape n.5 Compounds 2.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > [noun] > specific miscellaneous types > derived from living matter
biofuel1974
bioethanol1980
biodiesel1986
rape methyl ester1991
RME1991
1991 South Aug. 58/2 Bio-diesel is made by mixing rape seed oil (ESO) with Methyl Alcohol to produce Methyl RSO. Glycerol is then added to produce Rape Methyl Ester (RME).
2006 Biomass & Bioenergy 30 466/2 Under these conditions, in Fig. 13, RME produces a lower smoke reading and in Fig. 14, higher NOx levels, than diesel.
RMS n. (also rms) = root-mean-square n. at root n.1 Compounds 2; usually attributive.
Π
1897 A. Hay Princ. Alternate-current Working vii. 93 When we speak of so many volts of an alternating P.D., or so many amperes of an alternating current, we thereby mean their R.M.S. values.
1940 Jrnl. Acoustical Soc. Amer. 11 278/1 Peak and r.m.s. pressures in one-eighth-second intervals..from the voices of six men and five women.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July–Oct. 975/1 15 W rms loudspeakers having 4 Ω impedance and offering good power handling.
2004 Keyboard Feb. 76/3 You can also switch between peak and RMS modes.
RN n. Registered Nurse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > healer > nurse > [noun] > registered nurse
registered nurse1876
State Registered Nurse1903
RN1904
RGN1922
S.R.N.1922
1904 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 4 408 Any woman who not being certified under this act..who shall take or use the name or title of registered nurse or the abbreviation R.N...shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine.
1973 Parade 18 Feb. 8/1 Incoming patients are evaluated by an RN as to their degree of urgency, and sent to the appropriate area.
1995 Nursing Times 22 Mar. 7/3 RNs who blow the whistle on poor standards of care risk punitive measures from managers.
ROA n. [ < Russian ROA, initialism < Russkaja osvoboditel′naja armija the Russian Liberation Army] historical Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russians opposed to Stalin, organized to fight with the German Army in the latter stages of the Second World War.
ΚΠ
1949 Russ. Rev. 8 12 The short-lived ‘Russian Liberation Army’, known as ‘ROA’, was in existence from the end of 1944 to VE Day in May, 1945.
1959 Listener 23 July 146/2 We follow the fortunes of Vlasov's Army of Liberation, the ROA, during the last months of the war.
2005 Prague Post (Nexis) 19 May A memorial stone was erected in recent years bearing the insignia of the ROA—the blue and white cross.
ROC n. Republic of China (since 1949 the official name of Taiwan).
Π
1965 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 1 May 7/1 Liu and a party of four other officers from the ROC are in Korea to observe comptroller activities of the Eighth Army.
2000 N.Y. Times 13 Dec. a35 (advt.) The new ROC government is committed to making Taiwan a ‘Green Silicon Island’.
ROC n. Canadian colloquial rest of Canada, all of Canada except the province of Quebec.
ΚΠ
1989 Canad. Public Policy 15 46/2 The rest of Canada (ROC) experienced a mild increase in dependence.
2005 Gazette (Montreal) 28 Oct. a27/2 In the ROC, it makes the feds look tough on Quebec.
ROE n. Military = rules of engagement n. at rule n.1 Phrases 2j.
ΚΠ
1970 Rep. Rev. Preliminary Investig. My Lai Incident (U.S. Dept. Army) I. ix. 5 The rules of engagement (ROE) for military operations in Vietnam are based on specific authority granted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
2002 E. L. Haney Inside Delta Force (2003) 304 These guys seem to have discovered the limiting factors of our ROE..and they've been taking advantage of it.
ROFL v. (also rofl, ROTFL, rotfl) colloquial (oriɡ. and chiefly in electronic communications) rolling on (the) floor laughing; used to convey hilarity or ridicule.
ΚΠ
1989 Re: Noise on Air in rec.ham.radio (Usenet newsgroup) 8 Dec. There's a message in news.announce.newusers where you could have RTFM [i.e. ‘read the fucking manual’] about RTFM..(he said, ROFL).
2007 @Ravages 27 Dec. in twitter.com (O.E.D Archive) An old post of mine is drawing some seriously funny comments. rotfl at some.
2011 L. Kaelin & S. Fraoli When Parents Text 195 Mom Is dildodorf dead Me ROFL dumbledore is dead, yes.
ROI n. Business return on investment.
ΚΠ
1957 H. O. Edson in Controller June 272/1 Although the ratio of profit to sales declined from 20% to 15.6%, the ROI remains constant.
2005 J. Dicker United States of Wal-Mart iii. 75 Suppliers grumbled..that the rollout was rushed and that few companies could justify the cost based on ROI.
ROK n. (also Rok) (also with pronunciation
Brit. /rɒk/
,
U.S. /rɑk/
) Republic of Korea (the official title of South Korea); (with plural) a soldier of the Republic of Korea (now historical).
ΚΠ
1950 N.Y. Times 2 July iv. 1/6 The man who took over direction of operation ROK—Relief of Korea—in these dire circumstances was General MacArthur.]
1950 Life 11 Sept. 51/2 (heading) The Durable Roks.
1950 Life 11 Sept. 51/2 But the Rok (for Republic of Korea) army was more durable than anybody thought.
1972 P. M. Bartz S. Korea 2/2 South Korea's correct title is the Republic of Korea, usually abbreviated R.O.K.
1995 T. Clancy & S. Pieczenik Op-Center xix. 82 Major Kim Lee of the ROK was not among those who wanted the land returned to South Korea.
2006 Intelligencer Jrnl. (Lancaster, Pa.) (Nexis) 11 Nov. a1 We were involved with the ROKs as a sister unit.
RON n. Oil Industry = research octane number n. at research n.1 Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1959 Monthly Summary Automobile Engin. Lit. Oct. 21 The curve [of cost per mile against octane number] has its maximum near 98 R.O.N.
1967 Statistician 17 151 The most important and precise of the three octane numbers is the RON.
1993 Financial Rev. (Sydney) 30 July 5/2 (headline) Refiners win one-point cut in RON level of super fuel.
R.O.P n. Agriculture, chiefly Canadian record of performance, official documentation of the progeny of livestock used for breeding.
ΚΠ
1917 Agric. Gaz. Canada Aug. 670 (heading) Number of cows entered for R.O.P. test... Ayrshire..656.
1947 K. M. Wells Owl Pen (1950) xiii. xxxvii. 225 Our goats..were neither registered, accredited, pure-bred, or R.O.P.
1994 Hanover (Ont.) Post 28 June b9/5 (advt.) Limousin bulls ready for service R.O.P. tested.
ROP n. Printing run of paper (or press or publication); chiefly attributive, esp. with reference to the inclusion of advertisements or the use of colour printing in newspapers.
ΚΠ
1955 R. J. Schwartz Compl. Dict. Abbrev. 155/3 Rop, run of paper (advertising).
1961 Penrose Ann. 55 110 Only in recent years was the reproduction of colour transparencies taken up by means of ROP printing, where the full range of colours is produced by superimposing the three basic colours.
1977 Newsweek (Nexis) 21 Mar. 3 Newsweek's ROP capacity permits color coverage of late-breaking news stories into the weekend, just hours before the presses start running.
1996 Sociol. Perspectives 39 185 ROP news is a measure of the repetitive day-in, day-out content of the paper as a whole.
2001 Marketing Sci. 20 203/2 A price promotion supported by ROP advertising was undertaken for the Prince brand.
Rosco n.
Brit. /ˈrɒskəʊ/
,
U.S. /ˈrɑskoʊ/
(also ROSCO, rosco) British rolling stock (leasing) company.
ΚΠ
1994 Evening Standard 18 Mar. 33 The hope is to prepare the rolling stock companies—or Roscos—for sale by allowing them to develop a business track record.
2000 P. W. B. Semmens & A. J. Goldfinch How Steam Locomotives really Work ix. 342 Since the privatization of the railways, the locomotives..are owned by one of the Rolling-Stock Leasing Companies (ROSCOs), and leased to the Train Operating Companies.
2006 Daily Tel. 30 Nov. (Business section) 30/8 The DfT hit back, arguing the Roscos' excess profits were ‘the equivalent of an annual 8pc increase on all season tickets’.
ROSLA n.
Brit. /ˈrɒzlə/
,
U.S. /ˈrɑzlə/
British raising of the school-leaving age; cf. RSLA n.
ΚΠ
1971 Brit. Jrnl. Educ. Stud. 19 105 How long does it ordinarily take for the results of research to permeate the teaching profession? Not so long as it used to, but long enough to make ROSLA a risky gamble.
1977 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 125 300/1 When the additional ROSLA year operated, the prospect of a further year of standard education seems to have been unpalatable to some of the potential beneficiaries.
2002 Bristol Evening Post (Nexis) 1 July 10 ROSLA was a disaster. Leaving ages should be reduced, provided the leaver can meet a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy.
ROV n. remotely operated vehicle.
Π
1980 Offshore 5 Oct. 130/1 A team of researchers..has been developing and refining a system of acoustical telemetry which promises to free ROVs from their restrictive tethers.
2002 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Mar. b1/2 This unknown deep-sea squid was found purely by accident..last spring by the remotely operated vehicle Tiburon. The ROV was on a mission..to collect samples of sediments.
ROW n. right of way.
Π
1949 Brainerd (Minnesota) Daily Disp. 18 Feb. 7/3 Said Section intersects the West R.O.W. line of the State Hy.
2004 Farmers Weekly (Nexis) 28 May 2 I ride a road legal motorbike on the small number of rights of way (ROW) that allow vehicles.
RP n. = received pronunciation n.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > accent > [noun] > correct accent or pronunciation
received pronunciation?1710
orthoepy1801
orthophony1845
orthoglossy1877
RP1889
R.S.1889
cut glass1966
the mind > language > languages of the world > Indo-Hittite > [noun] > Indo-European > Germanic > English > standard
King's English1553
king's languagea1566
Queen's English1592
received pronunciation?1710
Standard English1806
Southern English1860
World English1888
RP1889
Modified Standard English1913
Received Standard1913
B.B.C. English1928
Oldspeak1949
1889 A. J. Ellis On Early Eng. Pronunc. V. v. 6 Other Abbreviations in Frequent Use... rp., received pronunciation, or that of pronouncing dictionaries and educated people.
1937 D. Jones in Le Maître Phonétique Apr. (Suppl.) Many [foreigners learning English] naturally choose what has been termed ‘received’ pronunciation (R.P.), as being a widely understood type of English.
1964 Eng. Stud. 45 26 There is no Standard Accent of English, and almost the only people who think there is are a small number of RP speakers who feel that their accent is..in some way superior.
1984 Times Educ. Suppl. 19 Oct. 29/1 ‘Estuary English’ is a mixture of ‘London’ and General RP forms.
1996 A. Calder in H. Ritchie New Sc. Writing 228 Some sardonic youth accused me of being English because my voice is consistently rp.
2003 R. Liddle Too Beautiful for You (2004) 9 Her voice..is in glorious on-screen mode, an icy RP garnished with extract of Surrey.
RP n. Medicine = retinitis pigmentosa n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > [noun] > disorders of retina
retinitis1821
retinitis pigmentosa1859
retinal detachment1860
detached retina1863
choroido-retinitis1869
neuroretinitis1878
chorioretinitis1880
pseudoglioma1884
macular degeneration1918
retinoblastoma1924
pseudofovea1925
retinopathy1930
RP1975
Rb1976
1975 Investigative Ophthalmol. 14 236 The level of retinol-binding protein..was determined by a single radial immunodiffusion technique in the serum of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
2001 Science 21 Sept. 2171/3 The inherited disorder retinitis pigmentosa (RP) affects 1 in 4000 individuals.
RPB n. British Finance recognized professional body, a professional organization authorized to regulate the activities of its members in the field of financial services.
ΚΠ
1986 Financial Times 29 Apr. 10/6 The top regulatory body, the SIB, would have power to change the rules of the RPBs if they were thought to be out of line with acceptable standards.
2004 Printing World (Nexis) 29 Jan. 20 RPBs can act quickly to suspend or restrict an IP's authorisation.
RPG n. [ < Russian RPG, initialism < reaktivnyj protivotankovyj granatomët, lit. ‘rocket anti-tank grenade-launcher’] a shoulder-fired weapon capable of firing an unguided rocket; (also) a shell of the type fired by this (also called rocket-propelled grenade).
Π
1967 Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo) 4 Aug. 10/1 The newest..weapons in the Communist arsenal are..the 152 field guns and the RPG7 anti-tank weapon.]
1968 Los Angeles Times 5 Mar. i. 29/1 They had an RPG (rocket launcher) and they were aiming directly at me.
1996 P. Godwin Mukiwa (1997) xv. 287 The second RPG had air-burst over Chipikiri's position, and he had collected some shrapnel in the bum.
2004 J. Moore Bush's War for Reelection i. 10 Still under attack from RPGs and small arms weaponry, Reid's platoon crossed the two northern bridges over the canal.
RPG n. Computing Report Program Generator, a high-level programming language typically used for business applications.
ΚΠ
1962 Computer Bull. Dec. 110/1 IBM is making available a full range of programs. autocoder, iocs..and Report Program Generator (RPG) are all available.
1989 CIO June 23/1 All our RPG-coded customer records..are stored in the database at headquarters.
2007 R. Greenwald et al. Oracle Essent. (ed. 4) xiii. 308 AS/400 applications written in RPG, C, or COBOL.
RPG n. role-playing game.
Π
1979 Dragon Mag. Sept. 18/3 I am very, very tired of Mr. Gygax's rumbling ramblings on why AD&D is the one true RPG.
2004 N. Barham Dis/Connected 283 Sean likes fighting games and shooting games... He plays a lot online. Shoot-'em-ups, RPGs.
RPI n. Economics (chiefly British) retail price index.
ΚΠ
1974 Times 24 May 19 If the retail price index (RPI) for April..reaches 198.4 per cent, it will trigger a 40p a week rise for those covered by threshold clauses.
2000 Econ. Affairs 20 59/2 The Chancellor's commitment is to maintain the real value—the purchasing power—of the pensions and other payments which are linked to the RPI.
RPM n. (also r.p.m.) resale (also retail) price maintenance.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > pricing > [noun] > price-fixing by manufacturers
price fixing1889
resale price maintenance1914
retail price maintenance1914
RPM1951
1951 Winnipeg Free Press 20 Dec. 17/2 RPM has been operating for longer than the average consumer can remember.
1966 J. F. Pickering Resale Price Maintenance i. 15 In a number of trades r.p.m. was enforced privately through the mechanism of the relevant trade association.
2001 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 15 May 18 The Community Pharmacy Action Group claims that getting rid of the RPM will signal the death knell for pharmacists which serve their communities.
rpm n. (also RPM) revolutions per minute.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > revolution or rotation > [noun] > speed of revolution
rpm1878
1878 J. H. Cooper Treat. Use of Belting in Transmission of Power 24 [A belt] driving 140 horsepower from a drum of 9 feet diameter, and going at the speed of 130 Rpm.
1906 Trans. Inst. Engineers & Shipbuilders Scotl. 49 30 Especially should this be done in cases where..the weight increases more rapidly in inverse proportion to the r.p.m. and the diameter than it does with other types.
1966 R. Thomas Spy in Vodka (1967) xix. 218 The engine was responding nicely..and I was estimating the rpm's needed for the next bend.
1991 Independent 5 Jan. 29/1 When Wagner's Mastersingers of Nuremberg first came out on record, in 1951, the happy purchaser needed a van to help him take the 34 78-rpm discs home.
RPV n. remotely piloted vehicle.
Π
1970 Air Force & Space Digest Oct. 40/2 This study of the Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) potential consisted of detailed examinations of presently available technologies.
1977 Time 23 May 33/3 That will make being a pilot a cushy job: he sits at a TV console 200 miles away and gets the RPV to provide surveillance or relay radio messages or pinpoint targets for precision bombing.
2005 T. Blackmore War X v. 150 Information could not be processed quickly enough by an RPV for it to be cut loose from its human moorings.
RQ n. Physiology = respiratory quotient n. at respiratory adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > respiratory organs > breathing > [noun] > respiratory quotient
respiratory quotient1879
RQ1900
1900 W. S. Hall Text-bk. Physiol. 219 In herbivora, R.Q. = 0.9 to 1.0.
1968 R. Passmore & J. S. Robson Compan. Med. Stud. I. xlii. 4/2 Ingestion of glucose within minutes restores the blood glucose concentration..without changes in the RQ.
2006 Domest. Animal Endocrinol. 30 108 Peripheral ghrelin reduces food intake as well as RQ and might influence the type of substrate (macronutrient) that is used as metabolic fuel.
RR n. North American railroad.
ΚΠ
1830 S. H. Long & W. G. McNeill Narr. Proc. Board Engineers Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road 21 They however congratulate themselves and the Rail-road Company on the acquisition of an experienced agent... [signed] Caspar W. Wever, Esq. Sup't of Construction for the B. & O. R. R. Company.
1950 H. M. Corning New Washington 289 Railroad Stations: West end of Main St. for Union Pacific RR.
2006 Intelligencer Jrnl. (Lancaster, Pa.) (Nexis) 1 Nov. 5 The Stiegel Valley model RR exhibit next door, makes for a very nice attraction for residents and guests.
rRNA n. Cell Biology = ribosomal RNA n. at ribosomal adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > nucleic acid > RNA
pentose nucleic acid1924
ribonucleic acid1930
ribose nucleic acid1942
RNA1942
sRNA1957
ribosomal RNA1959
messenger RNA1961
transfer RNA1961
metagon1962
rRNA1962
tRNA1962
1962 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 48 1394 A mixture of ribosomal RNA precursor (R-RNA) and D-RNA.
1983 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell xiv. 792 Because eggs require even greater numbers of ribosomes to support protein synthesis..the rRNA genes are specifically amplified to generate 1 or 2 million copies.
2000 C. Tudge Variety of Life ii. iii. 134 Some of the genes of Thermoplasma also contain introns; notably the genes that code for tRNAs, rRNAs, and the enzyme DNA polymerase.
RRP n. (also r.r.p.) chiefly British, Australian, and New Zealand recommended retail price.
ΚΠ
1975 Musical Times 116 242 A new sampler record..is being issued by EMI Records..r.r.p. 99p.
2006 Stonnington Leader (Austral.) (Nexis) 11 Oct. 28 A chunky tome..capturing the desserts in all their tantalising glory... RRP $34.95.
RRSP n. Canadian Finance Registered Retirement Savings Plan, an investment account by means of which tax may be deferred on money saved for retirement.
ΚΠ
1972 Winnipeg (Manitoba) Free Press 11 Jan. 38/2 He recommends that people with a good credit rating should borrow the money to put into an RRSP.
2004 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 22 May b8/5 Limits for RRSPs and registered pension plans (RPPs) are based on the principle of earnings replacement.
R.S. n. Received Standard (English); (formerly) received speech; see received adj. 1b.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > a language > dialect > [noun] > standard
R.S.1889
standard1904
Received Standard1913
Schriftsprache1931
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > accent > [noun] > correct accent or pronunciation
received pronunciation?1710
orthoepy1801
orthophony1845
orthoglossy1877
RP1889
R.S.1889
cut glass1966
1889 A. J. Ellis On Early Eng. Pronunc. V. v. 3 They all spoke ‘received speech’ (abbreviated to rs.) in ‘received pronunciation’ (abbreviated to rp.).
1934 H. C. Wyld in S.P.E. Tract (Soc. for Pure Eng.) No. XXXIX. 605 With this type [of spoken English]..I contrast what, for want of a better name, I call Received Standard (henceforward referred to in this paper by the initials R.S.).
1964 C. Barber Ling. Change Present-day Eng. ii. 22 I shall use the expression Received Standard (R.S.) to refer to all aspects of the language.
2004 P. Tew Contemp. Brit. Novel p. xiii The spoken English of the south-east is not and never has been RS-English, which is a construct and legacy of a very small elite.
RSFSR n. [ < Russian RSFSR, initialism < Rossijskaja Sovetskaja Federativnaja Socialističeskaja Respublika the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic] now historical Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.Also explained as Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.
ΚΠ
1920 Times 2 Oct. 11/6 In the constitution of R.S.F.S.R. things are a little different.
1923 Nation 31 Jan. 130/1 The Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic (RSFSR)..and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic (Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia) are concluding the present treaty on their consolidation into one united state.
1975 Whitaker's Almanack 956/1 By the 1947 Peace Treaty with Finland, the district of Petsamo..was added to the territory of the R.S.F.S.R.
2001 Jrnl. Peace Res. 38 109/1 The battle for hegemony between the USSR and RSFSR..provided the context for Yeltsin's recognition of Baltic independence following the failure of the 1991 putsch.
RSI n. = repetitive strain injury n. at repetitive adj. and n. Compounds.
Π
1983 Med. Jrnl. Austral. 10 Dec. 605/2 As a result, the phrases ‘occupational overuse syndrome’ and ‘repetitive strain injury’ (RSI) are now used.
1991 Personal Computer World Feb. 135/1 A common RSI is Tenosynovitis, the inflammation of the tendon sheaths in the hands, wrists and arms.
2001 M. Blake 24 Karat Schmooze v. 51 Graham was sitting on a stool supping his pint,..mouse hand twitching with the early onset of RSI.
RSJ n. rolled steel joist.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > joist > types of
bridge1420
trimming-joist?1677
binding-joist1679
bridging1733
bridging joist1733
bay1823
trimming-piece1833
trimmed joist1876
RSJ1940
tail-joist-
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 733/1 R.S.J., rolled steel joist.
1954 Archit. Rev. 115 334 The extension has a reinforced concrete frame with the exception of the top floor of the main block, which has a RSJ portal frame and a flat roof of asbestos cement decking.
1978 Private Eye 17 Mar. 15 We had..three RSJs put across the ceiling to stop the upstairs coming downstairs.
2003 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 29 June 6 At least he'll be there to supervise the putting in of the RSJs.
RSLA n. British raising of the school-leaving age; cf. ROSLA n.
ΚΠ
1968 P. G. Walker Polit. Diaries 1 Jan. (1991) 318 I told Roy that if there had to be cuts I preferred RSLA being put off rather than cuts on Universities.
1979 Rep. on Educ. (Dept. Educ. & Sci.) No. 95. 1/1 The raising of the school leaving age to 16 (RSLA)—on 1 September 1972 with effect from 1 September 1973—marked the achievement of a long held objective.
1981 P. Willis Learning to Labor Introd. 4 Their final year was to be the first year of RSLA.
RSM n. Regimental Sergeant Major.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer by rank > [noun] > sergeant-major
first sergeant1776
sergeant-major1802
company sergeant major1813
S.M.1890
top1898
top sergeant1898
major1901
RSM1913
top cutter1917
top kick1918
Sar-Major1919
top soldier1926
Sarn't-major1946
1913 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. 170 R.S.M. (tit.), Regimental Sergeant-Major.
1917 B.E.F. Times 15 Aug. in Wipers Times: Compl. Series (2006) 207/1 Pick a servant, who's up to his business, No matter a lean or a fat man, Barabbas was but a beginner, compared With the R.S.M.'s batman.
1955 E. Waugh Officers & Gentlemen i. ix. 107 The RSM sent up the rocket which announced the start of the exercise.
a1985 P. White With the Jocks (2003) 396 Near the entrance to the door I noticed one of the Germans was an RSM, and found that he could talk English very well.
2009 C. Kirke Red Coat, Green Machine iv. 65 Promotion to RSM excluded the possibility of friendship within the unit.
RSS n. [originally an abbreviation of RDF Site Summary, afterwards interpreted as Rich Site Summary, and now usually as Really Simple Syndication] Computing an xml format for web feeds (feed n. Additions); frequently attributive, esp. in RSS feed.
ΚΠ
1999 Netscape World 6 Dec. 6/1 Hey, My Netscape users. And anyone else who knows what to do with an RSS file. Last week, we set up a daily newsfeed for My Netscape.
2006 A. Steffen et al. Worldchanging (2008) 423/1 With RSS, blog content can be more broadly distributed; readers can then subscribe to content from many blogs using a news aggregator.
2009 New Yorker 26 Jan. 72/3 The zippy thrill of reading an RSS feed on your iPhone.
RSV n. Virology = respiratory syncytial virus n. at respiratory adj. Compounds.
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the world > life > biology > organism > micro-organism > virus > [noun] > types of
latent virus1750
influenza virus1880
poxvirus1891
filter-passer1906
mosaic virus1914
bacteriophage1921
herpes virus1925
Rous sarcoma virus1925
Rous virus1925
papillomavirus1935
poliovirus1939
Semliki Forest virus1944
actinophage1947
mycophage1947
mengovirus1949
tumour virus1950
Zika1952
mycobacteriophage1953
Sindbis virus1953
myxovirus1954
echovirus1955
RNA virus1955
adenovirus1956
SV1956
arborvirus1957
enterovirus1957
foamy virus1957
respiratory syncytial virus1957
polyoma1958
parainfluenza1959
reovirus1959
arbovirus1960
cytomegalovirus1960
TMV1960
vacuolating agent or virus1960
Coxsackie virus1961
rhinovirus1961
RSV1961
papovavirus1962
paramyxovirus1962
picornavirus1962
mycophage1963
parvovirus1965
rhabdovirus1966
Ross River virus1966
coronavirus1968
EBV1968
Epstein–Barr virus1968
leukovirus1968
CMV1969
arenovirus1970
oncornavirus1970
togavirus1970
alphavirus1971
calicivirus1971
Dane particle1971
flavivirus1971
flavovirus1971
maedi1971
orbivirus1971
mycovirus1972
visna-maedi virus1972
flu virus1973
maedi-visna virus1973
corona1974
orthopoxvirus1974
rotavirus1974
whitepox1974
retravirus1975
Ebola virus1976
morbillivirus1976
retrovirus1976
Ebola1977
lentivirus1979
reassortant1979
HTLV1980
morbilli1981
filovirus1982
LAV1983
CV1985
HIV1986
HIV virus1987
C-192020
Covid2020
Covid-192020
CV-192020
1961 Amer. Jrnl. Dis. Children 102 461/1 The significance of the RSV isolations is suggested by..the frequency of isolation of this agent from bronchiolitis patients as compared with well controls.
2006 A. Goodman Intuition i. i. 5 For years he'd been developing a variant of Respiratory Syncytial Virus and had dreamed of using his modified RSV to transform cancer cells into normal cells.
RSV n. Revised Standard Version (of the Bible).
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society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > text > edition > [noun] > Revised
Revised Version1880
RV1886
Revised Standard Version1946
RSV1947
1947 Jrnl. Relig. 27 123/1 In these various regards the R.S.V. is not entirely consistent.
1974 F. L. Cross & E. A. Livingstone Oxf. Dict. Christian Church (ed. 2) 171/2 The RSV is widely used not only in America but also in Britain..and other English-speaking countries.
1995 Catholic Insight Apr. 7/1 Before a Catholic edition of the RSV was produced, it was necessary to change ‘O favoured one’ to ‘full of grace’.
RSV n. Biology and Medicine Rous sarcoma virus (cf. Rous n. 1).
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1956 Jrnl. Nat. Cancer Inst. 16 365 Lesions of the central nervous system produced by a duck variant of the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV).
2003 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100 5388/2 Stocks of different RSV strains and characteristics are available.
RT n. (also R/T) radio-telephone; radio-telegraph.
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society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > types of > radio-telegraphs
wireless telegraph1895
Marconigraph1902
radio-telegraph1903
radiograph1904
spark telegraph1934
rig1935
radioteletype1939
RT1941
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > telephone > types of > radio-telephone
wireless telephone1894
radio-telephone1907
radiophone1919
ship-to-shore1923
RT1941
mobile unit1952
1941 C. Beaton Diary Apr. in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) xi. 87 The wireless operator is tuning up his set; the second pilot testing his RT.
1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird xiii. 180 The R/T isn't functioning, and neither are the radar or echo sounder.
1991 Motor Boat & Yachting Jan. 283/3 (advt.) VHF R/T, shore support, battery charger.
1992 Pilot July 57/1 All arriving aircraft may assume clearance to land is granted unless they are given a red light..or an RT instruction to go around.
RTA adj. ready to assemble (esp. of furniture).
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1973 Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times 16 Aug. 19/1 The RTA items to select now are sturdier, more chic and reasonably priced.
2002 Cabinet Maker (Nexis) 8 Nov. s27 RTA furniture accounts for around 5% of Kingstown's output.
RTA n. British road traffic accident.
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1965 ‘C. Aird’ Henrietta Who? ii. 17 We're treating it as an R.T.A., Doctor.
2000 Superintendent Winter 4/1 A very serious RTA involving a police vehicle and a taxi.
RTE n. [ < Irish RTÉ, initialism < Radio Telefís Éireann Radio [and] Television of Ireland] Radio Telefís Éireann, the official public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.
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1967 Times 31 Mar. 28/3 (advt.) If you would like to know more about this aspect of RTE please get in touch.
1979 J. J. Lee Ireland 1945–70 173 Over 50 per cent of RTE television broadcasting featured imported programmes at the end of the 1960s.
2000 Tuam (County Galway) Herald & Western Advertiser 8 July 20/3 RTE will be present to film proceedings for a 55 minute documentary.
RTF n. Computing = Rich Text Format n. at rich adj., n., and adv. Compounds 3.
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society > computing and information technology > data > [noun] > format
format1955
SGML1983
Standard Generalized Markup Language1983
Rich Text Format1986
RTF1986
CD-R1988
rich text1988
Hypertext Markup Language1992
PDF1992
HTML1993
dynamic HTML1995
Extensible Markup Language1996
XML1996
MathML1997
1986 Computerworld 9 June 2/2 Microsoft introduced the Rich Text Format (RTF), a specification that allows applications to exchange text while maintaining their particular fonts, colors, sizes and styles.
1996 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 24 Sept. 11 CorelWeb.Transit converts WordPerfect, MS Word, Ami Pro and RTF files into HTML.
2007 P. G. Aitken Microsoft Outlook 2007 Bible v. 74 Unless you know that all recipients will have a compatible email client you should avoid using RTF.
RTFM v. Computing slang ‘read the fucking manual’.
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1979 J. J. Dongarra et al. LINPACK Users' Guide p. iii ‘R.T.F.M’, anonymous.
1983 Wanted VMS BACKUP for UNIX in net.unix-wizards (Usenet newsgroup) 30 Sept. The VMS people have a cute little piece of advice for people who are too slug-headed to read the manuals: RTFM.
1988 MacUser Mar. 79/3 (heading) RTFM... May I refer you to pages 33 to 35 of your Macintosh Plus Owner's manual.
1996 E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. (ed. 3) 389 No, I can't figure out how to interface UNIX to my toaster, and yes, I have RTFM.
2005 Future Music Winter 11/1 Anyone..will also be able to pick up a manual and learn that for themselves (RTFM as they say).
RTO n. Railway Transport(ation) Officer; Railroad Transportation Officer.
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1916 Times 29 Dec. 5/1 Without cessation night and day..they move on a journey out and home of 200 miles to a time-table jealously guarded by R.T.O.'s and their staffs.
1919 G. S. Gordon Let. 20 June (1943) 95 We then drove over to the Gare de Lyon, where we hung about the R.T.O.'s office till 11, getting tickets made out, and our luggage registered.
1930 Amer. Speech 5 385 R.T.O., Railroad transportation officer.
1955 E. Waugh Officers & Gentlemen i. v. 45 Guy sought aid of the RTO and was rebuffed.
1978 Ld. Lovat March Past i. viii. 132 His last appointment was that of Railway Transport Officer (RTO) at Euston Station.
RTU adj. British Military returned to unit.
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1917 R. Kipling Bk. of Words (1928) 147 I'm not defending ragging—I've known cases where everyone who took part in it ought to have been R.T.U.
1976 K. Bonfiglioli Something Nasty in Woodshed ix. 103 Mortdecai would never wear the coveted red tabs on his khaki. ‘RTU’ (Returned to Unit) would follow his name for ever.
2006 Evening Post (Nottingham) (Nexis) 18 Jan. If you faltered it was RTU—returned to unit.
RTW n. and adj. (a) n. an aeroplane ticket for round-the-world travel via several destinations; (b) adj. round-the-world (frequently designating an aeroplane ticket).
ΚΠ
1986 Guardian 25 Jan. 10/1 RTWs require a minimum of three stopovers, and students of jet lag recommend that these should be at least four days long.
1986 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 24 Aug. 2 The highly promoted fare angered the world's airlines, because the price of the RTW ticket was less than half the cost of a regular economy fare to circle the globe.
1996 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald Amer. 14 July (Stars Mag. section) 3/2 I committed to 11 stops on my RTW ticket in eight months.
2003 K. Dydynski Columbia (Lonely Planet) (ed. 3) 68/1 RTWs which include Latin America or the South Pacific will cost at least an additional A$1000.
RV n. rateable value.
Π
1924 Times 11 Dec. 10/1 (advt.) £100 R. V.
1976 Dumfries & Galloway Standard 25 Dec. 17/7 (advt.) Modernised ground floor flat... R.V. to be reassessed.
2003 Press & Jrnl. (Aberdeen) (Nexis) 19 Mar. 11 Small businesses were previously defined as all property with a RV under £10,000.
RV n. originally Services' rendezvous.
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1942 E. Partridge Dict. Abbrev. 86/1 r.v. or R.V., (place of) rendezvous. (Common to all three services.)
1973 C. Egleton Seven Days to Killing xiv. 163 He had no way of knowing whether Tarrant would have set up a fail-safe RV or not.
1993 ‘A. McNab’ Bravo Two Zero (1994) iii. 54 Sometimes we had to man an RV point while AWACS talked the downed pilot on to us.
RV v. intransitive to rendezvous or meet.
Π
1975 N. Luard Travelling Horseman vi. 162 We'll r.v...in the boozer, and I'll take him over to the garage.
2003 L. Hawking Jaded iv. 79 Turn left out of the box, and left at the corner. Stand by the hedge, out of the light. RV your location in ten.
RV n. Revised Version (of the Bible).
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society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > text > edition > [noun] > Revised
Revised Version1880
RV1886
Revised Standard Version1946
RSV1947
1886 Hebraica 2 203 The Book of Job is divided in the RV.
1932 G. H. Box Judaism in Greek Period 143 As translated in the R.V., the passage says that joy always passes into sorrow.
2000 D. Norton Hist. Eng. Bible as Lit. xiv. 329 The RV was made by two companies, one for each Testament.
† R.W. n. Obsolete Right Worshipful (also Worthy).
Π
1593 R. Mayland Let. in Times (1928) 19 July 17/5 To the R.W. Sir W. Moore, knt. at Pirforde.
1668 D. Lloyd Memoires 249 (note) Making the R.W. sir..his Executor.
1855 G. Oliver Revelations of Square xi. 319 Only think of being addressed by the honourable title of Right Worshipful—R.W. Sir this, and R.W. Sir that.
1903 W. H. Grimshaw Official Hist. Freemasonry v. 35 At this meeting R. W. Bro. Anthony Sayre was elected M. W. Grand Master.
† Rx v. [ < the symbol ℞ (see sense 15b), interpreted as an initialism] North American Obsolete transitive (in imperative) (in medical prescriptions, as the opening instruction) take (cf. sense 15b); also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1855 New Hampsh. Jrnl. Med. 5 190 The following prescription was most useful. Rx Valerian Fl. Ext.
1919 Indianapolis Star 19 Dec. 22/4 (advt.) Has he the ‘gimmes’? He can be cured. Here's the prescription. Rx ‘Gimme’ shirts, neckwear, hosiery, [etc.].
Rx n. (also RX) North American a (medical) prescription; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > pharmacy > [noun] > prescription or recipe
receipta1398
recipe1533
billa1535
prescription1568
prescript1583
physic-bill1614
script1887
Rx1911
scrip1917
1911 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 20 Oct. 17 (advt.) RX prescription shoes excepted.
1936 Nebraska State Jrnl. 27 Nov. 5/1 Results will be recorded in an RX (prescription) book.
1952 W. S. Burroughs Let. 15 May (1993) 125 What with all the codeine you want without RX in any bodega, it is a relatively simple matter to send the Chinaman on his way.
1992 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. 23 July a8/1 (heading) Tough Rx for deficit reduction.
2004 Adbusters May 31/3 Less has been said, however, about the fact that most Rx drugs do not even work.
I2. Initialisms in which R stands for ‘Royal’.See also RADA n.1, R.A.F. n., REME n.2 (as main entries).
RA n. Royal Academy; Royal Academician (hence RA-ship).
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > [noun] > painter > distinguished
Zeuxis1577
Apelles?1614
old master1696
RA1785
1785 Daily Universal Reg. 2 Mar. 2/4 Portrait, by Chamberlain. The sacred initials R. A. Defend this piece from execration.
1813 Examiner 17 May 316/1 Far above the mediocrity of most of our R.A.'s.
1829 J. Constable Let. 5 Apr. (1965) III. 21 I beg my best regards to Mrs Leslie—I am always dear Leslie. / your obliged friend / John Constable R.A.
1857 Train 3 37 Scarcely any of his [sc. Millais's] predecessors in R.A.-ship.
1890 D. Lloyd George Let. 10 June (1973) 28 He had numerous R.A.'s & in fact I should fancy his picture gallery alone must have aggregated £10,000 in value.
1912 M. C. Salaman Whitman's Print-collector's Handbk. (ed. 6) vi. 137 He won considerable celebrity, and an R.A.-ship, as an admirable painter of animals.
1970 Oxf. Compan. Art 547/2 He was trained as a chorister in the Chapel Royal, and later received an allowance..to study at the R.A. Schools.
2002 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 13 June 32/4 Clearly the RA summer show functioned as an early version of Hello or People magazine.
RA n. Royal Artillery.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > artillery
artillery1598
ordnance1665
RA1815
the heavies1908
1815 J. Kane List Officers Royal Regim. Artillery 65 List of Subaltern Officers of the Corps of R.A. Drivers.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 285/2 Parachute light,..invented by Colonel (now General) Boxer R.A.
1955 Times 16 June 4/3 Both achieved a creditable rate of bangs per minute, the R.E. with various demolitions and a set piece assault by flail tanks, the R.A. with gunfire.
2006 Evening Post (Nottingham) (Nexis) 31 Jan. 8 An RA surveyor is different to the suited gents who like to build property up.
RAAF n. (also with pronunciation
Brit. /raf/
,
U.S. /ræf/
,
Australian English /ræf/
) Royal Australian Air Force.
Π
1927 Times 27 Apr. 14/1 The Duke complimented the R.A.A.F. on the excellence of the air escorts provided during his tour.
1975 W. Nagle Odd Angry Shot 1 ‘Ready to emplane... Ready to emplane...’ ‘Jesus, does he think a man's deaf, bloody RAAF pogo.’
2002 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 20 Feb. 3/3 The RAAF's fleet of ageing F-111 strike aircraft was grounded for six days after a metal fatigue scare.
RAC n. Royal Armoured Corps.
Π
1939 Times 5 July 22/4 Capt. L. Brewer, from R.A.C. to be Maj.
2001 R. A. Hart Clash of Arms iii. 137 The Tunisian campaign first shook the RAC's faith in massed armor as well as its view of armor specialization.
RAC n. Royal Automobile Club.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > driver or operator of vehicle > [noun] > driver of motor vehicle > motoring associations
AAA1902
AA1905
RAC1906
1906 Autocar Handbk. xxvi. 201 Members of most of the best clubs require only one proposer when joining the R.A.C.
1977 J. Bingham Marriage Bureau Murders v. 61 A large, respectable hotel, mentioned in the A.A. and R.A.C. handbooks.
2006 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 23 Aug. 19 She had joined the RAC for protection after the death of her husband, as she often drove alone.
RAD n. Royal Academy of Dancing.
Π
1939 Times 30 Mar. 17/2 The first R.A.D. ball in aid of the building fund of the Royal Academy of Dancing will be held at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, on Thursday.
2001 Jrnl. Soc. Dance Res. 19 17 Grant's training was eclectic, though the majority of it came from the RAD as taught in New Zealand.
RAE n. now historical Royal Aircraft Establishment.
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1919 Times 19 June 7/3 The instrument, designed by Dr. Searle, F.R.S., of the R.A.E., was strapped to the knee of an observer.
1977 R.A.F. News 11 May 11/3 The Experimental Flying Squadron..is widely referred to as the sharp end of RAE flying.
2000 Biogr. Mem. Fellows Royal Soc. 46 131 Spencer..persuaded the head of the RAE to purchase a Snark fuselage..and test it to destruction.
RAFVR n. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
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1937 Times 19 July 11/4 (heading) R.A.F.V.R. pilot killed.
2001 D. F. Clark Stand by Your Beds! v. 122 The RAFVR chaps were officers trying to become gentlemen.
RAM n. Royal Academy of Music.
Π
1852 Musical Times Jan. 321/2 The gentlemen of the choir of Ely Cathedral, assisted by Miss E. Taylor, R.A.M.
1891 G. B. Shaw in World 23 Dec. 15/2 I am not in the habit of advising novices to lay the foundations of their vocal methods in the R.A.M.
2006 Evening Standard (Nexis) 20 Mar. 43 Judith Weir's..opera hasn't been performed in London for a number of years and all credit to the RAM for tackling it.
RAMC n. Royal Army Medical Corps.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > medical division
bearer company1810
RAMC1898
1898 Times 12 July 9/4 Surg.-Gen. W. Taylor, M.D., R.A.M.C., has been selected for..the forthcoming expedition to Khartum.
1971 S. Hill Strange Meeting i. 67 Dick's in the R.A.M.C. but he's gone out to Egypt.
2001 I. McEwan in Granta Spring 28 Robbie put himself at the disposal of the RAMC captain and helped on the stretcher parties.
RAOC n. Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > other branches
language1703
langue1799
guides1802
army intelligence1902
yak corps1904
A.E.F.1914
anti-aircraft1915
RAOC1918
1918 Times 28 Nov. 9/3 (heading) R.A.S.C., R.A.V.C., and R.A.O.C.
1971 S. Milligan Adolf Hitler iii. 75 Thirty Signallers drove to the R.A.O.C. Depot at Reigate in a three-ton truck.
2002 Derby Evening Tel. (Nexis) 15 Feb. 31 Former officers and soldiers of the RAOC.
RASC n. now historical Royal Army Service Corps.
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1899 Times 11 Nov. 12/2 16th Company (Bearer Company) R.A.S.C.
1955 Times 12 Aug. 4/7 The Army Emergency Reserve transport columns of the R.A.S.C.
2004 Aberdeen Evening Express (Nexis) 3 June 26 Alex joined the RASC the day after his 22nd birthday, at the beginning of 1940.
R. Aux. A.F. n. Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
Π
1939 Times 15 Feb. 5/4 A. C. Brighton (R. Aux. A.F.) beat P. W. Scotland (11th City of London Yeomanry) (9-0, 9-2, 9-2).
1972 L. Hunt Twenty-one Squadrons 12 It was on 16th December 1947 that King George VI gave permission for the ‘Royal’ prefix and from that date until the squadrons disbanded..they were R Aux AF units.
2004 Flight Internat. (Nexis) 7 Dec. 50 A Meteor pilot of No. 604 Squadron, R.Aux.A.F., had a lucky escape after baling out at 20,000ft.
RCAF n. Royal Canadian Air Force.
Π
1924 Pay & Allowance Regulations R. Canad. Air Force IV. 14 Officers..not carried on the General List, R.C.A.F., but..attached to the Royal Canadian Air Force for flying duty.
1958 ‘J. Castle’ & A. Hailey Flight into Danger ii. 27 ‘I know it looks a bit like RCAF,’ Dun was saying, fingering his great bush of a moustache.
2003 Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) 8 Feb. b6/2 The Nomads are hosting the RCAF 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron from Bagotville, Quebec.
RCMP n. Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police forces in specific countries or regions
holy brotherhooda1739
hermandad1772
religious police1775
state police1779
gendarmerie1792
police1798
Scotland Yard1830
guardia civil1846
RCMP1920
RUC1922
Arab Legion1923
Garda Síochána1923
Schupo1923
Mets1944
Vopo1954
maréchaussée1955
U.S.C.1963
Garda1970
1920 Globe (Toronto) 9 Feb. 3/4 The great increase in the membership of the force consequent of the extensions of its duties to Eastern Canada and the absorption of the Dominion Police within the organization of the R.C.M.P.
1967 Canad. Ann. Rev. 1966 21 Prime Minister Pearson had asked for any information in the RCMP files which indicated impropriety or wrongdoing.
2000 K. Reichs Deadly Décisions ii. 21 He's RCMP... Or GRC if you prefer French. Gendarmerie royale du Canada.
RCN n. now historical Royal Canadian Navy.
ΚΠ
1919 Jane's Fighting Ships 162/3 (caption) Photo, Lieut. Com. Saal, R.C.N.
1942 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 42 707/1 The Royal Canadian Navy Nursing Service..provides nursing personnel in R.C.N. hospitals.
2006 North Bay (Ont.) Nugget (Nexis) 11 Nov. b2 Nine true accounts of Canadian valour on the high seas, as the RCN exceeded even the highest expectations of their allies.
RE n. Royal (Corps of) Engineers.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > engineers
ginour?1265
pioneer corps1775
Royal Engineers1787
RE1838
REME1942
Seabees1942
1838 Times 18 June 3/3 Ord. Lieut. (R.E.) one day's pay.
1877 Army Circular Dec. App. 18 Each Officer of R.E. below the rank of Major..is allowed 2 public horses.
1921 V. E. Inglefield Hist. 20th (Light) Div. iii. 37 Rations, R.E. material, etc., had to be brought up a long way from the dumps under very difficult conditions.
1999 Leading Lights 2 No. 12. 8/2 The original was the work of Captain John Pitt Kennedy RE who converted an old windmill on the site by adding a balcony, light, and supporting Doric columns.
RFA n. now historical Royal Field Artillery.
ΚΠ
1899 Times 9 Oct. 10/2 Aides-de-Camp..Captain F. Lyon, R.F.A.
1974 A. Price Other Paths to Glory vi. 71 Those casualties in the first two years [of the First World War] came from the..8th Hussars and the RFA—I'll bet they were all regulars.
RFA n. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (ship).
Π
1911 Shipping World 15 Mar. 276/1 (caption) The R.F.A. ‘Burma’.
1931 Jane's Fighting Ships 84/2 Oilers (R.F.A.).
1990 AirFrame Dec. 31 The Sea King HC4s..have been painted Desert Pink for their role as medevac helicopters aboard RFA Argus.
1997 Navy News July (Portsmouth Suppl.) 6/2 Most RFA ships carry..Royal Navy helicopters and their support teams.
RFC n. now historical Royal Flying Corps.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > air force > [noun]
maritime power1711
fourth arm1901
arm1908
air force1911
RFC1913
R.A.F.1918
Royal Air Force1918
U.S.A.A.F.1943
U.S.A.F.1947
1913 Flight 12 Apr. 404/1 (heading) Motto for the R.F.C.
1933 V. Brittain Test. of Youth ii. vii. 293 As we left the harbour a transport of the R.F.C. cheered us.
2005 G. Sheffield & J. Bourne in D. Haig War Diaries & Lett. 1914–18 121 Haig held a conference with..Trenchard of the RFC and Allenby of the Cavalry Corps.
RGA n. now historical Royal Garrison Artillery.
ΚΠ
1899 Times 8 Aug. 9/5 The orders for the removal of No. 22 Company, Western Division, R.G.A.,..from India to Aden..have been cancelled.
1909 Army & Navy Gaz. 6 Feb. 140/1 Sir F. D. Blake, Bt., late Northumberland R.G.A. (Mil.).
2000 Sunday Times (Nexis) 15 Oct. Lewis's appointment as a war artist, following his baptism of fire with the RGA, forced him..to get back in touch with reality.
RH n. Royal Highness(es); cf. H.R.H. n. at H n. Initialisms.
Π
1654 E. Nicholas Let. 16 Jan. in Papers (1892) II. 48 Beseech her R.H. that nothing that comes from me may in any kinde be taken notice.
1773 J. Reynolds Let. 20 July in Burlington Mag. (1987) Nov. 733/2 This person..asked his R.H. if he did not know how to buckle a shoe.
1864 Notes & Queries 5 522/1 These are the paternal arms of his R.H. Prince Albert.
1960 Musical Times 101 401/2 The organ was used for the first time..in the presence of their R.H. the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
2004 Bucks Winslow Advertiser (Nexis) 11 Nov. RH The Princess Royal opened a new £10million production facility at the Chaucer Industrial Estate.
RHA n. Royal Horse Artillery.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > named companies, regiments, etc. > [noun] > British
Ulsters1649
Scots Guardsa1675
fusilier1680
guards1682
Scots Dragoons1689
Scots Fusiliers1689
Inniskilling1715
Scots Greys1728
blue1737
Black Watch1739
Oxford blues1766
green linnets1793
Grenadiers1800
slashers1802
the Buffs1806
tartan1817
Gay Gordons1823
cheesemongers1824
Green Jacket1824
The Bays1837
RHA1837
dirty half-hundred1841
die-hard1844
lifeguard1849
cherry-picker1865
lancer-regiment1868
cheeses1877
Territorial Regiment1877
the Sweeps1879
dirty shirts1887
Scottish Rifles1888
shiner1891
Yorkshire1898
imperials1899
Irish guards1902
Hampshires1904
BEF1914
Old Contemptibles1915
contemptibles1917
Tank Corps1917
the Tins1918
skins1928
pioneer corps1939
red devils1943
Blues and Royals1968
U.D.R.1969
1837 Times 20 Apr. 6/3 Major Louis, R.H.A., on promotion, by Sir. H. Vivian.
1916 E. W. Hamilton First 7 Div. 27 The 119th Battery R.F.A. was at this time just south-west of Eloges, and L Battery R.H.A. just north-east of Andregnies.
2005 Evening Post (Nottingham) (Nexis) 11 Mar. 35 The RHA holds a reunion every year in Nottingham..for men who served with the regiment.
RI n. Royal Institution.
Π
1803 Jrnl. Nat. Philos., Chem., & Arts Feb. 103 Journal of the R.I.
1860 Jrnl. Proc. Linnean Soc.: Zool. 4 p. liv Lectures on Education, delivered at the R.I.
1960 New Scientist 1 Dec. 1454/2 He was so excited at the prospect of working with the great man that..he had forgotten to ask how much he would be paid at the RI.
2006 P. Broks Understanding Pop. Sci. 159 The RI continues to play a major role in popularizing science.
RIAF n. now historical Royal Indian Air Force.
ΚΠ
1945 Times 31 May 3/2 Commissions in the R.I.A.F can be held only by Indians.
1971 R. Russell tr. A. Ahmad Shore & Wave xv. 161 On one side stood Hasan, looking very smart in his R.I.A.F. uniform.
RIBA n. Royal Institute of British Architects.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > [noun] > institution
RIBA1861
1861 Times 7 June 9/1 Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope, Hon. Fellow R.I.B.A., and President of the Architectural Museum.
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 86 I had to go to the R.I.B.A. and give the certificates and prizes for the best-designed houses of the year.
2000 Victorian July 26/1 Harvey and Wicks were awarded the Bronze Medal of the RIBA.
RIC n. now historical Royal Irish Constabulary.
ΚΠ
1882 Times 5 Aug. 6/5 Mr. Callan..stated that last night he received a telegram from ‘R. I. C.’.
1903 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ All on Irish Shore 196 Two tall constables of the R.I.C. stood at the door of the cottage.
1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends i. iv. 47 He saw a private soldier, not an RIC Auxiliary, but an honest to God Tommy.
RICS n. Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Π
1946 Times 3 Dec. 10 The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors..will shortly be seeking..permission to change the professional designations of members so as to secure that Fellows be permitted to use after their names the letters F.R.I.C.S.]
1947 Times 11 Apr. 10 Applicants should be Associates of the R.I.C.S.
2004 RICS Business Mar. 20/2 RICS said it was ‘extremely concerned’ that infrastructure capacity constraints would hold back housing and employment growth in the capital.
RIN n. now historical Royal Indian Navy.
ΚΠ
1935 Times 29 July 21/6 The new sloop Indus, Commander E. M. Bayfield, R.I.N., is due to leave Portsmouth to-day for Bombay.
2003 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 18 Mar. 21 He was..serving on HMIS Dalhousie, based at Bombay..before becoming RIN liaison officer in London.
RM n. Royal Marine(s).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > marines
maritime regiment1668
marine1672
marine regiment1690
Marine Corps1798
Royal Marine1802
royals1826
RM1827
amphibe1831
1827 J. Wright Let. 13 Nov. in P. H. Nicolas Hist. Rec. Royal Marine Forces (1845) II. viii. 313 (heading) Deputy Adjutant-general's office, R.M.
1923 Admiralty Fleet Order No. 1643 22 June The R.M. Artillery at Eastney, and the R.M.L.I. at Forton will be combined into the Portsmouth Division, R.M.
1962 S. Bassett Royal Marine iii. 69 If I got high marks, I'd be appointed Superintendent RM Signals, a Corps appointment.
2006 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 26 Sept. 8 Over 200 RM bandsmen lost their lives..during the Second World War.
RMA n. now historical Royal Marine Artillery.
ΚΠ
1845 Times 6 Nov. 7/6 Robert Chipp, R.M.A., was drowned..whilst on boat service.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 26 Mar. 246/3 After 1894 the R.M.A. were no longer sent to sea in small craft, but assigned only to first-class ships and flagships.
1993 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 47 65 I do not know why he chose the RMA but I have supposed he chose the marines..as the surest way of seeing action, and the artillery because of his instinctive taste for ballistics.
RMC n. Royal Military College (at Sandhurst; officially titled Royal Military Academy from 1947); (Canadian) Royal Military College (of Canada).
ΚΠ
1855 Let. in Times 20 Feb. 8/3 I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, an old student at the R. M. C.
1888 Civil Service List Canada 1887 13 (table) Oliver, Col. John Ryder. Comm., R.M.C.
1941 Ld. Alanbrooke Diary 28 Feb. in War Diaries (2001) 143 Then on to RMC for dinner and opening remarks.
1968 A. Powell Mil. Philosophers i. 55 Chu enjoyed the RMC so much he wants to go to Eton.
1994 Toronto Star 1 Oct. a20/1 The rooks did seven weeks of basic training in Chilliwack, B.C., before coming to RMC at the end of August.
RMLI n. now historical Royal Marine Light Infantry.
ΚΠ
1864 Times 13 Oct. 7/6 The object of the expedition is to..bring back Dr. Bakie, and to take up Lieutenant Bourchier, R.M.L.I., who takes Dr. Bakie's place for the next 12 months.
1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin ix. 166 He..told the marine corporal of the watch to turn out twenty marines..and then to inform Captain Hannibal Chance, R.M.L.I., that a Zeppelin was in sight.
1980 Globe & Laurel July 241/1 The original Forton RMLI Cadet Band was disbanded on amalgamation of the RMLI and RMA.
RMP n. Royal Military Police.
ΚΠ
1947 Times 16 Apr. 2 He is anxious to obtain first-hand accounts of interesting incidents during the last war in which members of the R.M.P. took part.
2006 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 25 Nov. 15 The RMP offers a varied and diverse career, with opportunities to work in a range of places and operational theatres.
RMS n. Royal Mail Steamer (or Ship).
ΚΠ
1859 Times 21 Dec. 1/1 Deaths... On board the R.M.S. Shannon, on his passage from Valparaiso to England, David Rattray, Esq.
1936 Discovery June 181/2 R.M.S. ‘Queen Mary’, the greatest achievement of British shipbuilding.
1976 P. Kemp Oxf. Compan. Ships & Sea 684/1 R.M.S., the prefix, short for Royal Mail Ship, placed before the name of a British merchant ship with a licence to carry the Royal Mails.
2006 Vancouver (Brit. Columbia) Province (Nexis) 4 June (Travel section) d4 Life on RMS St. Helena is sheer luxury.
RN n. Royal Navy.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > [noun] > the British navy
the king's (also queen's) navya1382
Royal Navy1583
the navy royal1601
the fleet1712
RN?1791
the senior service1899
silent service1904
?1791 Addr. to Public (Soc. Improvem. Naval Archit.) Index 9 Bentinck, William, Esq; R. N. viz. Royal Navy.
1819 Trans. Soc. Arts 37 110 The Gold Medal of the Society was this Session voted to Mr. Thomas Cook, Lieut. R.N. for a Life Raft.
1946 ‘Tackline’ You met such Nice Girls xiii. 144 It is very strange..why R.N. officers are so much meaner with their clothing-coupons than R.N.V.R. officers.
2000 Guardian (Nexis) 17 Nov. 28 After four years in the RN, his long-running stomach ulcer saw him invalided out.
RNAS n. Royal Naval Air Service (now historical); (also) Royal Naval Air Station.
ΚΠ
1914 Times 15 Sept. 1/2 Deaths... Flight Lieutenant Richard T. Gates, R.N.A.S. (General Manager of the London Aerodrome).
1919 C. P. Thompson Cocktails 186 They had not seen each other since Perris left the destroyer to adorn the R.N.A.S. with his decorative person.
1990 D. J. Calvert Harrier (‘Aircraft Illustr.’ Special) 38/1 The pilots from Escuadrilla 008 had qualified on ski-jump operations at RNAS Yeovilton in June 1988.
1997 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 61 218 The German bombing of Britain brought competition between the RNAS and RFC to a head in the 1917 deliberations of the Air Board.
2004 Flight Deck Spring 25/2 On return to RNAS Culdrose we continued with training flights.
RND n. now historical Royal Naval Division.
ΚΠ
1914 R. Brooke Let. 24 Sept. (1968) 619 The nucleus of the R.N.D. is marines, Naval Reserve, etc.—more or less trained men.
1916 W. S. Churchill Let. 29 Nov. in M. Gilbert W. S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. i. 34 I rejoiced to read of the glorious achievements of the RND.
2001 Gloucester Citizen (Nexis) 5 Dec. 11 The RND supplemented an existing cadre of high-calibre Royal Marines with officers promoted from within.
RNLI n. Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > Royal National Lifeboat Institution
RNLI1886
1886 Times 18 June 4/6 Mr. Young took the chair, and with him on the platform..were..Captain la Primandye, R.N.L.I.;..and others.
1924 Life-Boat: Centenary Number 33 Small wonder that its sister-organization in little Holland has kept its eye upon the largest and oldest organization, the R.N.L.I.
2004 C. Connelly Attention All Shipping (2005) 130 The RNLI receives no money from the government; it's all funded by donations.
RNR n. Royal Naval Reserve.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > [noun] > the British navy > reserve branch
RNR1862
Royal Naval Reserve1863
RNVR1903
Wavy Navy1918
1861 Times 14 Dec. 4/4 The buttons of both classes to be of the Royal Navy pattern, with the letters ‘R.N.R.’ in old English character, surmounted by a crown.]
1862 Times 9 May 9/3 Captain W. V. Campbell, R.N.R., Deputy Chairman.
1902 C. J. C. Hyne Mr. Horrocks, Purser 85 What's the use of being R.N.R. if you don't let people know it?
2002 Daily Post (Liverpool) (Nexis) 28 Mar. 3 The RNR provides an effective means of developing leadership and teamwork skills.
RNVR n. now historical Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > [noun] > the British navy > reserve branch
RNR1862
Royal Naval Reserve1863
RNVR1903
Wavy Navy1918
1903 Times 23 Nov. 10/4 The undermentioned have been appointed officers of the R.N.V.R. and attached to the Clyde Division.
1934 Brassey's Naval & Shipping Ann. 25 New rules were notified in Fleet Orders dated April 6, 1933, respecting the rank of Commodore in the R.N.R. and R.N.V.R.
2000 Church Times 7 Jan. 7/4 His studies were interrupted by war service in the RNVR, where he served as a sub-lieutenant in destroyers on the Russian convoys.
RNZAF n. Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Π
1934 Times 14 June 4/7 The R.N.Z.A.F. was formed in June, 1923, and has a training school at Canterbury and a combined seaplane and aeroplane base at Auckland.
1947 Air Force News (Cairo) 14 Jan. 1/2 The first two senior RNZAF officers nominated for participation in the exchange scheme with the RAF.
2001 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 55 343/1 In late 1941, Leslie Woods joined the RNZAF, qualified as a pilot and flew Kittyhawks and Corsairs in operations in the South Pacific.
ROC n. now historical Royal Observer Corps.
ΚΠ
1942 Times 27 Jan. 2/2 Headdress will continue to be a dark blue beret bearing the R.O.C. metal badge.
1942 E. Partridge Dict. Abbrev. 84/2 R.O.C., Royal Observer Corps..A civilian body that scans the skies. Modest and selfless.
2005 Western Daily Press (Nexis) 26 Apr. 20 The ROC was dissolved at the end of the Cold War.
ROH n. Royal Opera House.
Π
1971 Times 2 Aug. 5 (heading) ROH Orchestra Albert Hall.
2004 Opera Now Mar. 120/2 ROH was too hot a potato for the Council to handle.
RoSPA n.
Brit. /ˈrɒspə/
,
U.S. /ˈrɑspə/
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > [noun] > making safe > person responsible for safety > organization
RoSPA1948
1948 Fire Protection & Accident Prevention Year Bk. 1948–9 iii. 139 The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)... The aim of the Society is the prevention of accidents of all kinds.
1965 Autocar 24 Sept. 609/1 The leaflet recently published by RoSPA in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport.
1998 Daily Tel. 19 Feb. 23/8 I do not recall any Rospa warnings alerting us to the dangers of Pompeiian wine jars.
RS n. Royal Society.
Π
1663 J. Beale Let. 14 Dec. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 233 If R S should thinke fit to allowe a seasone for Rusticall reviewes, I conceive the fittest time would be in Autumne or Spring or both.
1783 J. Banks Let. 13 Oct. (2000) 64 We have people Enough in the R.S. able & willing to undertake it.
1869 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 159 p. vii The Copley Medal to M. Henri Victor Regnault, For. Mem. R.S.
1931 Sci. Monthly Oct. 343/2 John Eliot was..not a fellow of the R.S.
2001 Sunday Times (Nexis) 12 Aug. Some say the discrimination against women reflected in the fellowships of the RS is a symptom of the sexism that pervades science.
RSC n. Royal Shakespeare Company.
Π
1966 Times 15 Dec. 4 (advt.) RSC in return of Robert Bolt's ‘much praised children's play’..The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew.
2002 R. Gervais & S. Merchant Office: Scripts 1st Ser. Episode 5. 218 I don't know where we're going tonight... I know the RSC's in town.
RSPB n. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [noun] > birds > conservation of birds > society
RSPB1907
1907 Bird Notes & News 2 52/2 In our parish nearly all belong to the R.S.P.B.
1937 Discovery Jan. 21/2 We are not planning to have our own bird sanctuaries with watchers to protect them, as this work is already being carried out with great success by the R.S.P.B.
2000 Wildlife News Jan. 27/4 As well as RSPB-approved peanuts the shop also stocks table seed, feeder seed, [etc.].
RSPCA n. Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > [noun] > society for prevention of cruelty
RSPCA1870
1870 Animal World 1 July (Suppl.) 177/1 (heading) Annual report of the R.S.P.C.A.
1924 E. G. Fairholme & W. Pain Cent. Work for Animals iii. 53 At the present time the R.S.P.C.A., working in England and Wales, alone employs two hundred and three full-time inspectors.
2002 P. Long Guide to Rural Wales vi. 207/2 A wonderful collection of exotic, unusual and interesting creatures brought in from rescue centres, the RSPCA, other zoos or pet shops.
RUC n. now historical Royal Ulster Constabulary.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police forces in specific countries or regions
holy brotherhooda1739
hermandad1772
religious police1775
state police1779
gendarmerie1792
police1798
Scotland Yard1830
guardia civil1846
RCMP1920
RUC1922
Arab Legion1923
Garda Síochána1923
Schupo1923
Mets1944
Vopo1954
maréchaussée1955
U.S.C.1963
Garda1970
1922 in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. iii. 1948 The Secretary of State for the Colonies..stated that the RUC were not up to strength.
1941 T. J. Campbell Fifty Years of Ulster xxii. 322 The R.U.C. are an armed force, provided with revolvers and rifles.
2000 M. Fletcher Silver Linings (2001) v. 105 By the mid-1970s all RUC officers had to wear body armour.

Derivatives

r-less adj. Phonetics lacking, or not pronouncing, an r; (of a month) having no r in its name (cf. R month n. at Compounds).
ΚΠ
1851 Tait's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 223/2 In r-less months, by fancy fond beguiled, I seek the cool shade of the well-known shop.
1902 H. L. Wilson Spenders xxiv. 277 Her speech bore just a hint of the soft r-less drawl of the South.
1964 Western Folklore 23 273 European female oysters..when harvested in the R-less months before spawning..provide a rather gritty mouthful.
2000 Oceanic Linguistics 39 336 The English of Pacific Islanders who speak r-less dialects.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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