Hypertext Webster Gateway: "rifle"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rifle \Ri"fle\, v. t.
1. To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally
with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a
cannon.
2. To whet with a rifle. See {Rifle}, n., 3.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rifle \Ri"fle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Rifled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Rifling}.] [F. rifler to rifle, sweep away; of uncertain
origin. CF. {Raff}.]
1. To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry
off.
Till time shall rifle every youthful grace. --Pope.
2. To strip; to rob; to pillage. --Piers Plowman.
Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye: If
not, we'll make you sit and rifle you. --Shak.
3. To raffle. [Obs.] --J. Webster.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rifle \Ri"fle\, v. i.
1. To raffle. [Obs.] --Chapman.
2. To commit robbery. [R.] --Bp. Hall.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rifle \Ri"fle\, n. [Akin to Dan. rifle, or riffel, the rifle of
a gun, a chamfer (cf. riffel, riffelb["o]sse, a rifle gun,
rifle to rifle a gun, G. riefeln, riefen, to chamfer,
groove), and E. rive. See {Rive}, and cf. {Riffle}, {Rivel}.]
1. A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral
channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and
insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm
it has superseded the musket.
2. pl. (Mil.) A body of soldiers armed with rifles.
3. A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material,
used for sharpening scythes.
{Rifle pit} (Mil.), a trench for sheltering sharpshooters.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
rifle
n : a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore; "he
lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired"
v 1: steal goods; take as spoils; "During the earthquake people
looted the stores that were deserted by their owners"
[syn: {plunder}, {despoil}, {loot}, {reave}, {strip}, {ransack},
{pillage}, {foray}]
2: go through in search of something; search through someone's
belongings in an unauthorized way; "Who rifled through my
desk drawers?" [syn: {go}]
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