Definitions for: Ray


[n] cartilaginous fishes having horizontally flattened bodies and enlarged winglike pectoral fins with gills on the underside; most swim by moving the pectoral fins
[n] any of the stiff bony rods in the fin of a fish
[n] the syllable naming the second (supertonic) note of any major scale in solmization
[n] a column of light (as from a beacon)
[n] a group of nearly parallel lines of electromagnetic radiation
[n] a branch of an umbel or an umbelliform inflorescence
[n] (mathematics) a straight line extending from a point
[v] expose to radiation; "irradiate food"
[v] extend or spread outward from a center or focus or inward towards a center; "spokes radiate from the hub of the wheel"; "This plants radiates spines in all directions"
[v] emit as rays; "That tower rays a laser beam for miles across the sky"



Webster (1913) Definition: Ray, v. t. [An aphetic form of array; cf. Beray.]
1. To array. [Obs.] --Sir T. More.

2. To mark, stain, or soil; to streak; to defile. [Obs.]
``The fifth that did it ray.'' --Spenser.


Ray, n.
Array; order; arrangement; dress. [Obs.]

And spoiling all her gears and goodly ray. --Spenser.


Ray, n. [OF. rai, F. rais, fr. L. radius a beam or ray,
staff, rod, spoke of a wheel. Cf. Radius.]
1. One of a number of lines or parts diverging from a common
point or center, like the radii of a circle; as, a star of
six rays.

2. (Bot.) A radiating part of the flower or plant; the
marginal florets of a compound flower, as an aster or a
sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other
circular flower cluster; radius. See Radius.

3. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) One of the radiating spines, or cartilages, supporting
the fins of fishes.
(b) One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of
the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.

4. (Physics)
(a) A line of light or heat proceeding from a radiant or
reflecting point; a single element of light or heat
propagated continuously; as, a solar ray; a polarized
ray.
(b) One of the component elements of the total radiation
from a body; any definite or limited portion of the
spectrum; as, the red ray; the violet ray. See Illust.
under Light.

5. Sight; perception; vision; -- from an old theory of
vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the
eye to the object seen.

All eyes direct their rays On him, and crowds turn
coxcombs as they gaze. --Pope.

6. (Geom.) One of a system of diverging lines passing through
a point, and regarded as extending indefinitely in both
directions. See Half-ray.

Bundle of rays. (Geom.) See Pencil of rays, below.

Extraordinary ray (Opt.), that one or two parts of a ray
divided by double refraction which does not follow the
ordinary law of refraction.

Ordinary ray (Opt.) that one of the two parts of a ray
divided by double refraction which follows the usual or
ordinary law of refraction.

Pencil of rays (Geom.), a definite system of rays.

Ray flower, or Ray floret (Bot.), one of the marginal
flowers of the capitulum in such composite plants as the
aster, goldenrod, daisy, and sunflower. They have an
elongated, strap-shaped corolla, while the corollas of the
disk flowers are tubular and five-lobed.

Ray point (Geom.), the common point of a pencil of rays.

R["o]ntgen ray(Phys.), a kind of ray generated in a very
highly exhausted vacuum tube by the electrical discharge.
It is capable of passing through many bodies opaque to
light, and producing photographic and fluorescent effects
by which means pictures showing the internal structure of
opaque objects are made, called radiographs, or sciagraphs


Ray, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rayed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Raying.] [Cf. OF. raier, raiier, rayer, L. radiare to
irradiate. See Ray, n., and cf. Radiate.]
1. To mark with long lines; to streak. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

2. [From Ray, n.] To send forth or shoot out; to cause to
shine out; as, to ray smiles. [R.] --Thompson.


Ray, v. t.
To shine, as with rays. --Mrs. Browning.


Ray, n. [F. raie, L. raia. Cf. Roach.] (Zo["o]l.)
(a) Any one of numerous elasmobranch fishes of the order
Rai[ae], including the skates, torpedoes, sawfishes, etc.
(b) In a restricted sense, any of the broad, flat,
narrow-tailed species, as the skates and sting rays. See
Skate.

Bishop ray, a yellow-spotted, long-tailed eagle ray
(Stoasodon n[`a]rinari) of the Southern United States
and the West Indies.

Butterfly ray, a short-tailed American sting ray
(Pteroplatea Maclura), having very broad pectoral fins.


Devil ray. See Sea Devil.

Eagle ray, any large ray of the family Myliobatid[ae], or
[AE]tobatid[ae]. The common European species
(Myliobatis aquila) is called also whip ray, and
miller.

Electric ray, or Cramp ray, a torpedo.

Starry ray, a common European skate (Raia radiata).

Sting ray, any one of numerous species of rays of the
family Trygonid[ae] having one or more large, sharp,
barbed dorsal spines on the whiplike tail. Called also
stingaree.

Synonyms: beam, beam of light, electron beam, irradiate, irradiation, light beam, radiate, ray of light, re, shaft, shaft of light

See Also: cathode ray, crampfish, devilfish, eagle ray, elasmobranch, electric ray, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic wave, emit, extend, fin, give off, give out, go, guitarfish, heat ray, high beam, laser beam, lead, light, low beam, manta, manta ray, moonbeam, moonray, nonparticulate radiation, numbfish, particle beam, pass, pedicel, pedicle, process, run, sawfish, selachian, skate, solfa syllable, spine, stingray, sunbeam, sunray, torpedo, treat, vector, visible light, visible radiation

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