Red, a. [Compar.
Redder (-d?r); superl. Reddest.] [OE.
red, reed, AS. reÁd, reód;
akin to OS. rōd, OFries. rād, D.
rood, G. roht, rot, OHG. rōt, Dan. &
Sw. röd, Icel. rauðr, rjōðr,
Goth. rÁuds, W. rhudd, Armor. ruz, Ir. &
Gael. ruadh, L. ruber, rufus, Gr.
'eryqro`s, Skr. rudhira, rohita; cf. L.
rutilus. √113. Cf. Erysipelas, Rouge,
Rubric, Ruby, Ruddy, Russet, Rust.]
Of the color of blood, or of a tint resembling that color; of the
hue of that part of the rainbow, or of the solar spectrum, which is
furthest from the violet part. "Fresh flowers, white and
reede." Chaucer.
Your color, I warrant you, is as red as any
rose.
Shak.
☞ Red is a general term, including many different
shades or hues, as scarlet, crimson, vermilion, orange red, and the
like.
☞ Red is often used in the formation of self-explaining
compounds; as, red-breasted, red-cheeked, red-
faced, red-haired, red-headed, red-skinned,
red-tailed, red-topped, red-whiskered,
red-coasted.
Red admiral (Zoöl.), a beautiful
butterfly (Vanessa Atalanta) common in both Europe and America.
The front wings are crossed by a broad orange red band. The larva
feeds on nettles. Called also Atalanta butterfly, and nettle
butterfly. -- Red ant. (Zoöl.)
(a) A very small ant (Myrmica molesta)
which often infests houses. (b) A larger
reddish ant (Formica sanguinea), native of Europe and America.
It is one of the slave-making species. -- Red
antimony (Min.), kermesite. See Kermes
mineral (b), under Kermes. --
Red ash (Bot.), an American tree
(Fraxinus pubescens), smaller than the white ash, and less
valuable for timber. Cray. -- Red bass.
(Zoöl.) See Redfish (d). -
- Red bay (Bot.), a tree (Persea
Caroliniensis) having the heartwood red, found in swamps in the
Southern United States. -- Red beard
(Zoöl.), a bright red sponge (Microciona
prolifera), common on oyster shells and stones. [Local, U.S.]
-- Red birch (Bot.), a species of birch
(Betula nigra) having reddish brown bark, and compact, light-
colored wood. Gray. -- Red blindness.
(Med.) See Daltonism. -- Red
book, a book containing the names of all the persons in
the service of the state. [Eng.] -- Red book of the
Exchequer, an ancient record in which are registered the
names of all that held lands per baroniam in the time of Henry
II. Brande & C. -- Red brass, an
alloy containing eight parts of copper and three of zinc. --
Red bug. (Zoöl.) (a)
A very small mite which in Florida attacks man, and produces great
irritation by its bites. (b) A red
hemipterous insect of the genus Pyrrhocoris, especially the
European species (P. apterus), which is bright scarlet and
lives in clusters on tree trunks. (c) See
Cotton stainder, under Cotton. -- Red
cedar. (Bot.) An evergreen North American tree
(Juniperus Virginiana) having a fragrant red-colored
heartwood. (b) A tree of India and Australia
(Cedrela Toona) having fragrant reddish wood; -- called also
toon tree in India. -- Red
chalk. See under Chalk. -- Red
copper (Min.), red oxide of copper; cuprite.
-- Red coral (Zoöl.), the precious
coral (Corallium rubrum). See Illusts. of Coral
and Gorgonlacea. -- Red cross. The
cross of St. George, the national emblem of the English.
(b) The Geneva cross. See Geneva
convention, and Geneva cross, under Geneva. --
Red currant. (Bot.) See
Currant. -- Red deer.
(Zoöl.) (a) The common stag (Cervus
elaphus), native of the forests of the temperate parts of Europe
and Asia. It is very similar to the American elk, or wapiti.
(b) The Virginia deer. See Deer. --
Red duck (Zoöl.), a European reddish
brown duck (Fuligula nyroca); -- called also ferruginous
duck. -- Red ebony. (Bot.) See
Grenadillo. -- Red empress
(Zoöl.), a butterfly. See Tortoise shell.
-- Red fir (Bot.), a coniferous tree
(Pseudotsuga Douglasii) found from British Columbia to Texas,
and highly valued for its durable timber. The name is sometimes given
to other coniferous trees, as the Norway spruce and the American
Abies magnifica and A. nobilis. -- Red
fire. (Pyrotech.) See Blue fire, under
Fire. -- Red flag. See under
Flag. -- Red fox (Zoöl.),
the common American fox (Vulpes fulvus), which is usually
reddish in color. -- Red grouse
(Zoöl.), the Scotch grouse, or ptarmigan. See under
Ptarmigan. -- Red gum, or Red
gum-tree (Bot.), a name given to eight Australian
species of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus amygdalina,
resinifera, etc.) which yield a reddish gum resin. See
Eucalyptus. -- Red hand (Her.),
a left hand appaumé, fingers erect, borne on an escutcheon,
being the mark of a baronet of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland; -- called also Badge of Ulster. -- Red
herring, the common herring dried and smoked. --
Red horse. (Zoöl.) (a)
Any large American red fresh-water sucker, especially Moxostoma
macrolepidotum and allied species. (b)
See the Note under Drumfish. -- Red lead.
(Chem) See under Lead, and Minium.
-- Red-lead ore. (Min.) Same as
Crocoite. -- Red liquor (Dyeing),
a solution consisting essentially of aluminium acetate, used as a
mordant in the fixation of dyestuffs on vegetable fiber; -- so called
because used originally for red dyestuffs. Called also red
mordant. -- Red maggot (Zoöl.),
the larva of the wheat midge. -- Red
manganese. (Min.) Same as
Rhodochrosite. -- Red man, one of
the American Indians; -- so called from his color. -- Red
maple (Bot.), a species of maple (Acer
rubrum). See Maple. -- Red mite.
(Zoöl.) See Red spider, below. --
Red mulberry (Bot.), an American mulberry
of a dark purple color (Morus rubra). -- Red
mullet (Zoöl.), the surmullet. See
Mullet. -- Red ocher (Min.),
a soft earthy variety of hematite, of a reddish color. --
Red perch (Zoöl.), the
rosefish. -- Red phosphorus. (Chem.)
See under Phosphorus. -- Red pine
(Bot.), an American species of pine (Pinus
resinosa); -- so named from its reddish bark. -- Red
precipitate. See under Precipitate. --
Red Republican (European Politics),
originally, one who maintained extreme republican doctrines in
France, -- because a red liberty cap was the badge of the party; an
extreme radical in social reform. [Cant] -- Red
ribbon, the ribbon of the Order of the Bath in
England. -- Red sanders. (Bot.) See
Sanders. -- Red sandstone.
(Geol.) See under Sandstone. -- Red
scale (Zoöl.), a scale insect (Aspidiotus
aurantii) very injurious to the orange tree in California and
Australia. -- Red silver (Min.), an
ore of silver, of a ruby-red or reddish black color. It includes
proustite, or light red silver, and pyrargyrite, or dark
red silver. -- Red snapper (Zoöl.),
a large fish (Lutlanus aya or Blackfordii) abundant in the
Gulf of Mexico and about the Florida reefs. -- Red
snow, snow colored by a mocroscopic unicellular alga
(Protococcus nivalis) which produces large patches of scarlet
on the snows of arctic or mountainous regions. -- Red
softening (Med.) a form of cerebral softening in
which the affected parts are red, -- a condition due either to
infarction or inflammation. -- Red spider
(Zoöl.), a very small web-spinning mite
(Tetranychus telarius) which infests, and often destroys,
plants of various kinds, especially those cultivated in houses and
conservatories. It feeds mostly on the under side of the leaves, and
causes them to turn yellow and die. The adult insects are usually pale
red. Called also red mite. -- Red
squirrel (Zoöl.), the chickaree. --
Red tape, the tape used in public offices for
tying up documents, etc.; hence, official formality and delay. --
Red underwing (Zoöl.), any species
of noctuid moths belonging to Catacola and allied genera. The
numerous species are mostly large and handsomely colored. The under
wings are commonly banded with bright red or orange. --
Red water, a disease in cattle, so called from
an appearance like blood in the urine.