ravern.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 424 Ravare, delirus, delirator.

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 96 (MED) Sum tyme men wen to see a þing wan þei see it not, os is schewid bi jogulors, dremers, and rafars.

a1532 in G. S. Stevenson Pieces from Makculloch & Gray MSS (1918) xiv. 28 Of fals rauerys adulatione.

1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Siii ^v How be it we see that euin this kynde of rauers dooe sometyme also prophecie of thyngis commyng, and sodeinly become knowers of tounges, and artes, whiche erste they neuer learned.

c1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxxvii. 69 Rek not, þairfoir, how raschelie ravarris raill.

1656 J. Sparrow tr. J. Böhme Aurora xxv. 594 It [sc. the planet Mars] is a Tyrant, Rager, Raver and Stomer.

1684 A. Behn Love-lett. between Noble-man & Sister 201 Why must those charms that bring Tranquility and peace to all, make me alone a wild, unseemly raver?

1704 W. Taverner Faithful Bride of Granada v. 47 Zelin. Help! Alla! Let me or dye, or save him Oli. Alas! weak Raver! thy Noise avails not.

1787 J. Whitaker Mary Queen of Scots Vindicated I. iv. 272 Such a deluded ideot in his his notions, and yet such a wild raver in his speeches, was this anti-pope of Scotland!

1800 T. Moore tr. Anacreon Odes liii. 19 He still can act the mellow raver, And play the fool as sweet as ever!

1884 T. A. Palmer Woman's Rights 9 I wonder if she has become one of the strong-minded ravers about woman's rights, because she has been disappointed in a love affair.

1936 R. P. Utter & B. B. Needham Pamela's Daughters v. 167 The difference between the wild raver and the passive fainter turns out to be that between life and death.

1993 Sun 31 May (Summer Soccer Special) 3/3 Glenn may not be a ranter and raver but he's quietly persuasive about everything he does.

1841 Punch 6 Nov. 203/1 Let every amateur, professor, and enthusiastic raver concerning ‘native talent’ go down on his knees..for..a singer who knows her business.

1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 63 I did actually begin to be a raver for those weekly meetings.

1961 Guardian 6 Mar. 3/4 The bearded ravers usually associated with the more esoteric ranges of HiFi.

a1991 D. Lean in Weekend Austral. (1993) 6–7 Nov. (Review Suppl.) 6/5 Among the real ravers are..Willy Wyler,..Billy Wilder, Fred Zinnemann, Richard Brooks, Joe Mankiewicz and..King Vidor. They are all so bloody generous.

1960 New Left Rev. Sept. 4/2 Teds and Mods, Beatniks and Ravers.

1968 R. Busby & G. Holtham Main Line Kill v. 44 There's a bloke I know makes his own LSD. Some of the ravers are giving it a try.

1978 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 24 Sept. 34/4 I have never analysed why, but many pop musicians are ravers—people who like to live it up—with a strong self-destructive streak.

1993 L. Davies Work, Sex & Rugby 20 I know her, mun, well I used to know her mother anyway. Gwen Williams, a right raver in her day.

1990 Independent 23 May 31/1 The Bang Club: for ravers only—celebrates fourth birthday Mon 28th with an all-dayer.

1992 Nose No. 13. 21/2 LSD is used sparingly as a stimulant. More often, ‘e’..is the raver's drug of choice.

1993 Gnosis Winter 56/2 The place where the party is held is kept secret until the very last moment. Then it's up to the raver to find out where it is.

2003 Independent (Nexis) 11 Oct. The real ravers head downstairs [at the club] to join what can only be described as a combustible scene, as a sexy and cosmopolitan crowd try to hold on while the DJs crank up the tempo.

2004 Mixmag Apr. 10/3 My friends are old skool ravers (into gabba techno and the like).