from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
R
n 1: a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing
radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of
electricity in 1 cc of dry air [syn: {roentgen}, {R}]
2: (physics) the universal constant in the gas equation:
pressure times volume = R times temperature; equal to 8.3143
joules per kelvin per mole [syn: {gas constant}, {universal
gas constant}, {R}]
3: the 18th letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: {R}, {r}]
4: the length of a line segment between the center and
circumference of a circle or sphere [syn: {radius}, {r}]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
R \R\ ([aum]r).
R, the eighteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal
consonant. It is sometimes called a semivowel, and a liquid.
See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 178, 179, and
250-254. "R is the dog's letter and hurreth in the sound."
--B. Jonson.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In words derived from the Greek language the letter h
is generally written after r to represent the aspirated
sound of the Greek "r, but does not affect the
pronunciation of the English word, as rhapsody,
rhetoric.
[1913 Webster] The English letter derives its form from
the Greek through the Latin, the Greek letter being
derived from the Ph[oe]nician, which, it is believed,
is ultimately of Egyptian origin. Etymologically, R is
most closely related to l, s, and n; as in bandore,
mandole; purple, L. purpura; E. chapter, F. chapitre,
L. capitulum; E. was, were; hare, G. hase; E. order, F.
ordre, L. ordo, ordinis; E. coffer, coffin.
[1913 Webster]
{The three Rs}, a jocose expression for reading, (w)riting,
and (a)rithmetic, -- the fundamentals of an education.
[1913 Webster]