Result from Foreign Dictionaries (3 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Rather \Rath"er\ (r[a^][th]"[~e]r), a. [Compar. of {Rath}, a.] Prior; earlier; former. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Now no man dwelleth at the rather town. --Sir J. Mandeville. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Rather \Rath"er\ (r[a^][th]"[~e]r; 277), adv. [AS. hra[eth]or, compar. of hra[eth]e, hr[ae][eth]e, quickly, immediately. See {Rath}, a.] [1913 Webster] 1. Earlier; sooner; before. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Thou shalt, quod he, be rather false than I. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster] A good mean to come the rather to grace. --Foxe. [1913 Webster] 2. More readily or willingly; preferably. [1913 Webster] My soul chooseth . . . death rather than my life. --Job vii. 15. [1913 Webster] 3. On the other hand; to the contrary of what was said or suggested; instead. [1913 Webster] Was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. --Mark v. 26. [1913 Webster] 4. Of two alternatives conceived of, this by preference to, or as more likely than, the other; somewhat. [1913 Webster] He sought throughout the world, but sought in vain, And nowhere finding, rather feared her slain. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 5. More properly; more correctly speaking. [1913 Webster] This is an art Which does mend nature, change it rather, but The art itself is nature. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 6. In some degree; somewhat; as, the day is rather warm; the house is rather damp. [1913 Webster] {The rather}, the more so; especially; for better reason; for particular cause. [1913 Webster] You are come to me in happy time, The rather for I have some sport in hand. --Shak. [1913 Webster] {Had rather}, or {Would rather}, prefer to; prefers to; as, he had rather, or would rather go than stay. "I had rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." --1 Cor. xiv. 19. See {Had rather}, under {Had}. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: rather adv 1: on the contrary; "rather than disappoint the children, he did two quick tricks before he left"; "he didn't call; rather (or instead), he wrote her a letter"; "used English terms instead of Latin ones" [syn: {rather}, {instead}] 2: to some (great or small) extent; "it was rather cold"; "the party was rather nice"; "the knife is rather dull"; "I rather regret that I cannot attend"; "He's rather good at playing the cello"; "he is kind of shy" [syn: {rather}, {kind of}, {kinda}, {sort of}] 3: more readily or willingly; "clean it well, preferably with warm water"; "I'd rather be in Philadelphia"; "I'd sooner die than give up" [syn: {preferably}, {sooner}, {rather}] 4: to a degree (not used with a negative); "quite tasty"; "quite soon"; "quite ill"; "quite rich" [syn: {quite}, {rather}]