Wiktionary

ray

See also: Ray, rày, rầy, ra'y, and -raþ

EnglishEdit

 
Rays from the sun (1)
 
English Wikipedia has articles on:
Wikipedia Wikipedia

PronunciationEdit

  • enPR: rā, IPA(key): /ɹeɪ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1Edit

Via Middle English, borrowed from Old French rai, from Latin radius (“staff, stake, spoke”). Doublet of radius.

NounEdit

ray (plural rays)

  1. A beam of light or radiation.
    I saw a ray of light through the clouds.
  2. (zoology) A rib-like reinforcement of bone or cartilage in a fish's fin.
  3. (zoology) One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.
  4. (botany) A radiating part of a flower or plant; the marginal florets of a compound flower, such as an aster or a sunflower; one of the pedicels of an umbel or other circular flower cluster; radius.
  5. (obsolete) Sight; perception; vision; from an old theory of vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the eye to the object seen.
  6. (mathematics) A line extending indefinitely in one direction from a point.
  7. (colloquial) A tiny amount.
    Unfortunately he didn't have a ray of hope.
HyponymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from ray
TranslationsEdit

VerbEdit

ray (third-person singular simple present rays, present participle raying, simple past and past participle rayed)

  1. (transitive) To emit something as if in rays.
    • 1889, Robert Browning, letter to Dr. Furnivall:
      I had no particular woman in my mind; certainly never intended to personify wisdom, philosophy, or any other abstraction; and the orb, raying colour out of whiteness, was altogether a fancy of my own.
  2. (intransitive) To radiate as if in rays.
  3. (transitive) To expose to radiation.
    • 1928, Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, page 219:
      Rats' eyes with ulcus serpens were successfully treated; one second of raying stopped the progress of the ulcer, which healed uninterruptedly.
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Middle English raye, rayȝe, from Old French raie, from Latin raia, of uncertain origin. Compare Middle English reyhhe, reihe, reȝge (“ray, skate”), from Old English reohhe (“ray”).

NounEdit

ray (plural rays)

  2. A marine fish with a flat body, large wing-like fins, and a whip-like tail.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 3Edit

Shortened from array.

VerbEdit

ray (third-person singular simple present rays, present participle raying, simple past and past participle rayed)

  1. (obsolete) To arrange. [14th–18th c.]
  2. (now rare) To dress, array (someone). [from 14th c.]
  3. (obsolete) To stain or soil; to defile. [16th–19th c.]

NounEdit

ray (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete) Array; order; arrangement; dress.

Etymology 4Edit

From its sound, by analogy with the letters chay, jay, gay, kay, which it resembles graphically.

NounEdit

ray (plural rays)

  1. The letter ⟨/⟩, one of two which represent the r sound in Pitman shorthand.
Related termsEdit
  • ar, in Latin and the name of the other Pitman r

Etymology 5Edit

Alternative forms.

NounEdit

ray (plural rays)

  1. (music) Alternative form of re

AnagramsEdit

AinuEdit

EtymologyEdit

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

ray (Kana spelling ラィ)

  1. (intransitive) to die

Derived termsEdit

Bikol CentralEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

ray

  1. Clipping of rahay.

Buhi'non BikolEdit

NounEdit

ray

  1. good

Derived termsEdit

Northern KurdishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Arabic رَأْي‎ (raʔy).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

ray ?

  1. opinion

TurkishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Ottoman Turkish رای‎, from French rail.

NounEdit

ray (definite accusative rayı, plural raylar)

  1. rail

ReferencesEdit

  • Avery, Robert et al., editors (2013) The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN
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