Quint-essence, from quinta, fifth, and essentia. See EsSENCE. The ancients made fire, air, earth, and water to be the four elements, of which all earthly things were compounded. And as they allowed nothing to be real but what has a body, they would have the soul to be the fifth element, a kind of quintessence without a name, unknown here below, indivisible, unmoveable, all celestial, and divine.-" Quintessence is now used to denote an extract from any thing, coutaining all its virtues in a small quantity, it literally means, a fifth being, and was formerly employed to express the highest degree of rectification to which any substance can be brought."

Quotient, from quoties, how often. That is, how often one number is found in another. Quotient, in arithmetic, the number resulting from the division of a greater number by a smaller, and which shows how often the smaller is contained in the greater, or how often the divisor is contained in the dividend. Thus, the quotient of 12 divided by 3 is 4. To the question, in the number 120, how often is the number 10 to be found? I reply, 12.

RATIO, (see REASON,) in arithmetic, is that relation or habitude of two things, which determines the quantity of one from the quantity of another, without the intervention of a third; thus we say, the ratio of 5 to 10 is 2; the ratio of 12 and 24 is 2. Proportion

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able, and such is the object of this publication in addition to which it contains a great variety of information on topics extremely interesting to young persons.

is the sameness or likeness of two such relations; thus the relation between 5 and 10, and 12 and 24, being the same, or equal, the four terms are said to be in proportion. Hence, ratio exists between two numbers, but proportion requires, at least, three. Proportion, in fine, is the habitude or relation of two ratios, when compared together, as ratio is of two quantities. The two quantities that are compared, are called the terms of the ratio, as 5 and 10; the first of these (5) being called the antecedent, and the latter (10) the consequent. See PROPORTION. Ratiocination, from ratio, the exercise of that faculty of the mind called reason. The agreement or disagreement of two ideas does not appear from the bare consideration of the ideas themselves, unless some third be called in, and compared, either separately or conjointly with it: the act, then, by which, from ideas thus disposed and compared, we judge this or that to be so, or not so, is called reasoning or ratiocination. Radical, from radix, rudicis, a root. Something serving as a basis or foundation; or which, like a root, is the source or principle whence any thing arises. In grammar, the term radical is applied to words which are the roots or primitives of others; in opposition to compounds and derivatives.

rits."

Real, from realis, (res, a thing,) relative to a thing. Real is opposed to imaginary. Imaginary distempers are often attended with real and unfeigned sufferings, that enfeeble the body and dissipate the spiBlackmore.-Real, in law, is opposed to personal. "I am hastening to convert my estate that is personal into real." Personal estate is that consisting of money, moveables, &c. in opposition to lands and tenements which are called real estate.

Reason, is derived from ratio, through the medium of the French language. The French changed ratio into raison, whence our word reason. Ratio is from the

verb reor, which draws its origin from res, a thing. Reor is to think, that is, to occupy the mind in the

consideration of the thing (res) which is presented to its notice.-Reason is that faculty or power of the soul by which it distinguishes good from evil: or it is that principle by which, comparing several things or ideas together, we draw consequences from the relations they are found to have.

RE, RETRO.-"RE has been considered as an abbreviation of RETRO; the latter, however, is probably a compound of the former with trans; it evidently is analogous to contra and extra. Though we do not find RE used, except in composition, yet it is probable that it originally signified back.

From the same source we have rear, and the French arriere, the back or hinder part, generally applied to the last division of a fleet or army.

To rein is to keep back, to rest is to remain or stay behind; when back is applied to action, it may by an easy metaphor signify again. To go back, or in the direction of the back, is to go again over the same course; to give back any thing is to return it, or to give it again. Reponere, to repose, (ponere, to place,) is either to put AGAIN with reference to time, or to put BACK in a retired part with reference to place.

Our word recluse presents another figure of

the particle RE; it signifies shut up in a retired place, as if back or away from observation. These different significations of re are common in the composition of English words. To remove is literally to move back or away; it has also the figurative meaning to move again. To re-make is to make anew, and to re-mount is to mount a second time." Booth.

The particle RE, similarly to IN, has an intensive signification, (see p. 194,) as we find in the words, "refractory, relax, religion, remain, remedy, remove." RE, when placed before vowels, is often followed by d, to avoid the hiatus: from this mode of orthography we have such words as redundant, flowing over or back again, from the Latin unda, a wave; and to redeem, to purchase back, from emere, to buy.

Re-bellion, from rebellio, (which is compounded of re, again, and bellum. See BELLUM, p. 3.) Rebellion originally signified a second resistance; or a rising of such as had been formerly overcome in battle by the Romans, and had yielded themselves to their subjection. It is now generally used for a traitorous taking up of arms against the king.

Re-capitulate, (caput, the head,) is to repeat the general heads of that which has already been said or written.

Re-cede, recedo, (see CEDO, p. 6,) I move back. Recede

is to go back, and retreat is to draw back; the former is a simple action suited to one's convenience,

the latter is a particular action dictated by necessity : whoever can advance can recede, but in general those only retreat whose advance is not free.

Re-ceive, recipio, (see CAPIO, p. 5,) I take back; accept is to take to one's self: we receive what is our own, we accept what is offered by another.-Receipt is applied to inanimate objects which are taken into possession, reception is used in the sense of treating persons at their first arrival.

Reciprocal is taking and re-taking; when the act of exchange is free and voluntary, it is termed mutual; when it is equally obligatory on each party, it is termed obligatory: mutual applies to nothing but what is personal, reciprocal is applied to things remote from the idea of personality, as reciprocal verbs.— Recipe. A term applied to the formula of a remedy, appointed to be administered to a patient. It is thus called because always beginning with the word recipe, which signifies take, ordinarily expressed by the abbreviation R.

Re-cite, recito, (cito, I call,) I call over again. To recite is to repeat in a formal manner, to rehearse is to repeat or recite by way of preparation, to recapitulate is to repeat in a minute and specific manner.

The relation may concern matters of indifference, the recital is always of something that affects the interests of some individual: we speak of a relation of daily occurrences, the recital of one's calamities. Re-claim, from reclamo, (see CLAMO, p. 7,) I call back; signifies to call back to its right place that which has gone astray.

Re-cline, reclino, (see CLINO, p. 7,) I bend back. Re-col-lect, from recolligo, (see COLLECT,) I collect again; is used only to mark an operation of the mind. To remember is to call to mind that which has once been presented to it, but to recollect is to remember what has been remembered before. Remembrance is engaged in things that have but just left the mind,