n. [ AS. hring, hrinc; akin to Fries. hring, D. & G. ring, OHG. ring, hring, Icel. hringr, DAn. & SW. ring; cf. Russ. krug'. Cf. Harangue, Rank a row, Rink. ] A circle, or a circular line, or anything in the form of a circular line or hoop. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically, a circular ornament of gold or other precious material worn on the finger, or attached to the ear, the nose, or some other part of the person; as, a wedding ring. [ 1913 Webster ]

Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dearest ring in Venice will I give you. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A circular area in which races are or run or other sports are performed; an arena. [ 1913 Webster ]

Place me, O, place me in the dusty ring,
Where youthful charioteers contend for glory. E. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. An inclosed space in which pugilists fight; hence, figuratively, prize fighting. “The road was an institution, the ring was an institution.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A circular group of persons. [ 1913 Webster ]

And hears the Muses in a ring
Aye round about Jove's alter sing. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Geom.) (a) The plane figure included between the circumferences of two concentric circles. (b) The solid generated by the revolution of a circle, or other figure, about an exterior straight line (as an axis) lying in the same plane as the circle or other figure. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Astron. & Navigation) An instrument, formerly used for taking the sun's altitude, consisting of a brass ring suspended by a swivel, with a hole at one side through which a solar ray entering indicated the altitude on the graduated inner surface opposite. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Bot.) An elastic band partly or wholly encircling the spore cases of ferns. See Illust. of Sporangium. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. A clique; an exclusive combination of persons for a selfish purpose, as to control the market, distribute offices, obtain contracts, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ruling ring at Constantinople. E. A. Freeman. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ring armor, armor composed of rings of metal. See Ring mail, below, and Chain mail, under Chain. --
Ring blackbird (Zool.), the ring ousel. --
Ring canal (Zool.), the circular water tube which surrounds the esophagus of echinoderms. --
Ring dotterel, or
Ringed dotterel. (Zool.) See Dotterel, and Illust. of Pressiroster. --
Ring dropper, a sharper who pretends to have found a ring (dropped by himself), and tries to induce another to buy it as valuable, it being worthless. --
Ring fence. See under Fence. --
Ring finger, the third finger of the left hand, or the next the little finger, on which the ring is placed in marriage. --
Ring formula (Chem.), a graphic formula in the shape of a closed ring, as in the case of benzene, pyridine, etc. See Illust. under Benzene. --
Ring mail, a kind of mail made of small steel rings sewed upon a garment of leather or of cloth. --
Ring micrometer. (Astron.) See Circular micrometer, under Micrometer. --
Saturn's rings. See Saturn. --
Ring ousel. (Zool.) See Ousel. --
Ring parrot (Zool.), any one of several species of Old World parrakeets having a red ring around the neck, especially Palaeornis torquatus, common in India, and Palaeornis Alexandri of Java. --
Ring plover. (Zool.) (a) The ringed dotterel. (b) Any one of several small American plovers having a dark ring around the neck, as the semipalmated plover (Aegialitis semipalmata). --
Ring snake (Zool.), a small harmless American snake (Diadophis punctatus) having a white ring around the neck. The back is ash-colored, or sage green, the belly of an orange red. --
Ring stopper. (Naut.) See under Stopper. --
Ring thrush (Zool.), the ring ousel. --
The prize ring, the ring in which prize fighters contend; prize fighters, collectively. --
The ring. (a) The body of sporting men who bet on horse races. [ Eng. ] (b) The prize ring. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. (Falconry) To rise in the air spirally. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To sound, as a bell or other sonorous body, particularly a metallic one. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now ringen trompes loud and clarion. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Why ring not out the bells? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To practice making music with bells. Holder. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To sound loud; to resound; to be filled with a ringing or reverberating sound. [ 1913 Webster ]

With sweeter notes each rising temple rung. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hall with harp and carol rang. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

My ears still ring with noise. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To continue to sound or vibrate; to resound. [ 1913 Webster ]

The assertion is still ringing in our ears. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To be filled with report or talk; as, the whole town rings with his fame. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Rang r Rung p. p. Rung; p. pr. & vb. n. Ringing. ] [ AS. hringan; akin to Icel. hringja, Sw. ringa, Dan. ringe, OD. ringhen, ringkelen. √19. ] 1. To cause to sound, especially by striking, as a metallic body; as, to ring a bell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make (a sound), as by ringing a bell; to sound. [ 1913 Webster ]

The shard-borne beetle, with his drowsy hums,
Hath rung night's yawning peal. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To repeat often, loudly, or earnestly. [ 1913 Webster ]

To ring a peal, to ring a set of changes on a chime of bells. --
To ring the changes upon. See under Change. --
To ring in or
To ring out, to usher, attend on, or celebrate, by the ringing of bells; as, to ring out the old year and ring in the new. Tennyson. --
To ring the bells backward, to sound the chimes, reversing the common order; -- formerly done as a signal of alarm or danger. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A sound; especially, the sound of vibrating metals; as, the ring of a bell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any loud sound; the sound of numerous voices; a sound continued, repeated, or reverberated. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ring of acclamations fresh in his ears. Bacon [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A chime, or set of bells harmonically tuned. [ 1913 Webster ]

As great and tunable a ring of bells as any in the world. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ringed p. pr. & vb. n. Ringing. ] 1. To surround with a ring, or as with a ring; to encircle. “Ring these fingers.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Hort.) To make a ring around by cutting away the bark; to girdle; as, to ring branches or roots. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fit with a ring or with rings, as the fingers, or a swine's snout. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) An armature for a dynamo or motor having the conductors wound on a ring. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) The ring-necked scaup duck; -- called also ring-billed blackhead. See Scaup. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The reed bunting. It has a collar of white feathers. Called also ring bunting. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An eyebolt having a ring through the eye. [ 1913 Webster ]