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ray

Pronunciation: /ɹeɪ/

The English word “ray” has 15 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A beam of light or radiation.
  2. A rib-like reinforcement of bone or cartilage in a fish's fin.
  3. One of the spheromeres of a radiate, especially one of the arms of a starfish or an ophiuran.
  4. 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. Sight; perception; vision; from an old theory of vision, that sight was something which proceeded from the eye to the object seen.
  6. A line extending indefinitely in one direction from a point.
  7. Any of the superorder Batoidea of marine fish with flat bodies, large wing-like fins, and whip-like tails.
  8. Array; order; arrangement; dress.
  9. The letter ⟨/⟩, one of two which represent the r sound in Pitman shorthand.

verb

  1. To emit something as if in rays.
  2. To radiate as if in rays.
  3. To expose to radiation.
  4. To arrange.
  5. To dress, array (someone).
  6. To stain or soil; to defile.

Etymology

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

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.