Moral philosophy was his chiefest end; for the
rational, the natural, and mathematics . . . were
but simple pastimes in comparison of the other.
--Sir T.
North.
2. Having reason, or the faculty of reasoning; endowed with
reason or understanding; reasoning.
It is our glory and happiness to have a rational
nature. --Law.
3. Agreeable to reason; not absurd, preposterous,
extravagant, foolish, fanciful, or the like; wise;
judicious; as, rational conduct; a rational man.
4. (Chem.) Expressing the type, structure, relations, and
reactions of a compound; graphic; -- said of formul[ae].
See under {Formula}.
{Rational horizon}. (Astron.) See {Horizon}, 2
(b) .
{Rational quantity} (Alg.), one that can be expressed without
the use of a radical sign, or in extract parts of unity;
-- opposed to irrational or radical quantity.
{Rational symptom} (Med.), one elicited by the statements of
the patient himself and not as the result of a physical
examination.