First Thatcher, then Hadley, then Larned and Prex,
Each _put_ our class _through_ in succession.
_Presentation Day Songs_, June 14, 1854.
_Q_.
Q. See CUE.
QUAD. An abbreviation of QUADRANGLE, q.v.
How silently did all come down the staircases into the chapel
_quad_, that evening!--_Collegian's Guide_, p. 88.
His mother had been in Oxford only the week before, and had been
seen crossing the _quad_ in tears.--_Ibid._, p. 144.
QUADRANGLE. At Oxford and Cambridge, Eng., the rectangular courts
in which the colleges are constructed.
Soon as the clouds divide, and dawning day
Tints the _quadrangle_ with its earliest ray.
_The College_, in _Blackwood's Mag._, May, 1849.
QUARTER-DAY. The day when quarterly payments are made. The day
that completes three months.
At Harvard and Yale Colleges, quarter-day, when the officers and
instructors receive their quarterly salaries, was formerly
observed as a holiday. One of the evils which prevailed among the
students of the former institution, about the middle of the last
century, was the "riotous disorders frequently committed on the
_quarter-days_ and evenings," on one of which, in 1764, "the
windows of all the Tutors and divers other windows were broken,"
so that, in consequence, a vote was passed that "the observation
of _quarter-days_, in distinction from other days, be wholly laid
aside, and that the undergraduates be obliged to observe the
studying hours, and to perform the college exercises, on
quarter-day, and the day following, as at other times."--_Peirce's
Hist. Harv. Univ._, p. 216.
QUESTIONIST. In the English universities, a name given to those
who are in the last term of their college course, and are soon to
be examined for honors or degrees.--_Webster_.
In the "Orders agreed upon by the Overseers, at a meeting in
Harvard College, May 6th, 1650," this word is used in the
following sentence: "And, in case any of the Sophisters,
_Questionists_, or Inceptors fail in the premises required at
their hands,... they shall be deferred to the following year"; but
it does not seem to have gained any prevalence in the College, and
is used, it is believed, only in this passage.
QUILLWHEEL. At the Wesleyan University, "when a student," says a
correspondent, "'knocks under,' or yields a point, he says he
_quillwheels_, that is, he acknowledges he is wrong."
_R_.
RAG. This word is used at Union College, and is thus explained by
a correspondent: "To _rag_ and _ragging_, you will find of very
extensive application, they being employed primarily as expressive
of what is called by the vulgar thieving and stealing, but in a
more extended sense as meaning superiority. Thus, if one declaims
or composes much better than his classmates, he is said to _rag_
all his competitors."
The common phrase, "_to take the rag off_," i.e. to excel, seems
to be the form from which this word has been abbreviated.
RAKE. At Williams and at Bowdoin Colleges, used in the phrase "to
_rake_ an X," i.e. to recite perfectly, ten being the number of
marks given for the best recitation.
RAM. A practical joke.
---- in season to be just too late
A successful _ram_ to perpetrate.
_Sophomore Independent_, Union Coll., Nov. 1854.
RAM ON THE CLERGY. At Middlebury College, a synonyme of the slang
noun, "sell."
RANTERS. At Bethany College, in Virginia, there is "a band," says
a correspondent, "calling themselves '_Ranters_,' formed for the
purpose of perpetrating all kinds of rascality and
mischievousness, both on their fellow-students and the neighboring
people. The band is commanded by one selected from the party,
called the _Grand Ranter_, whose orders are to be obeyed under
penalty of expulsion of the person offending. Among the tricks
commonly indulged in are those of robbing hen and turkey roosts,
and feasting upon the fruits of their labor, of stealing from the
neighbors their horses, to enjoy the pleasure of a midnight ride,
and to facilitate their nocturnal perambulations. If detected, and
any complaint is made, or if the Faculty are informed of their
movements, they seek revenge by shaving the tails and manes of the
favorite horses belonging to the person informing, or by some
similar trick."
RAZOR. A writer in the Yale Literary Magazine defines this word in
the following sentence: "Many of the members of this time-honored
institution, from whom we ought to expect better things, not only
do their own shaving, but actually _make their own razors_. But I
must explain for the benefit of the uninitiated. A pun, in the
elegant college dialect, is called a razor, while an attempt at a
pun is styled a _sick razor_. The _sick_ ones are by far the most
numerous; however, once in a while you meet with one in quite
respectable health."--Vol. XIII. p. 283.
The meeting will be opened with _razors_ by the Society's jester.
--_Yale Tomahawk_, Nov. 1849.
Behold how Duncia leads her chosen sons,
All armed with squibs, stale jokes, _dull razors_, puns.
_The Gallinipper_, Dec. 1849.
READ. To be studious; to practise much reading; e.g. at Oxford, to
_read_ for a first class; at Cambridge, to _read_ for an honor. In
America it is common to speak of "reading law, medicine," &c.
We seven stayed at Christmas up to _read_;
We seven took one tutor.
_Tennyson, Prologue to Princess_.
In England the vacations are the very times when you _read_ most.
_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 78.
This system takes for granted that the students have "_read_," as
it is termed, with a private practitioner of medicine.--_Cat.
Univ. of Virginia_, 1851, p. 25.
READER. In the University of Oxford, one who reads lectures on
scientific subjects.--_Lyell_.
2. At the English universities, a hard student, nearly equivalent
to READING MAN.
Most of the Cantabs are late _readers_, so that, supposing one of
them to begin at seven, he will not leave off before half past
eleven.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 21.
READERSHIP. In the University of Oxford, the office of a reader or
lecturer on scientific subjects.--_Lyell_.
READING. In the academic sense, studying.
One would hardly suspect them to be students at all, did not the
number of glasses hint that those who carried them had impaired
their sight by late _reading_.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng.
Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 5.
READING MAN. In the English universities, a _reading man_ is a
hard student, or one who is entirely devoted to his collegiate
studies.--_Webster_.
The distinction between "_reading men_" and "_non-reading men_"
began to manifest itself.--_Alma Mater_, Vol. I. p. 169.
We might wonder, perhaps, if in England the "[Greek: oi polloi]"
should be "_reading men_," but with us we should wonder were they
not.--_Williams Quarterly_, Vol. II. p. 15.
READING PARTY. In England, a number of students who in vacation
time, and at a distance from the university, pursue their studies
together under the direction of a coach, or private tutor.
Of this method of studying, Bristed remarks: "It is not
_impossible_ to read on a reading-party; there is only a great
chance against your being able to do so. As a very general rule, a
man works best in his accustomed place of business, where he has
not only his ordinary appliances and helps, but his familiar
associations about him. The time lost in settling down and making
one's self comfortable and ready for work in a new place is not
inconsiderable, and is all clear loss. Moreover, the very idea of
a reading-party involves a combination of two things incompatible,
--amusement and relaxation beyond the proper and necessary
quantity of daily exercise, and hard work at books.
"Reading-parties do not confine themselves to England or the
island of Great Britain. Sometimes they have been known to go as
far as Dresden. Sometimes a party is of considerable size; when a
crack Tutor goes on one, which is not often, he takes his whole
team with him, and not unfrequently a Classical and Mathematical
Bachelor join their pupils."--_Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed.
2d, pp. 199-201.
READ UP. Students often speak of _reading up_, i.e. preparing
themselves to write on a subject, by reading the works of authors
who have treated of it.
REBELLION TREE. At Harvard College, a large elm-tree, which stands
to the east of the south entry of Hollis Hall, has long been known
by this name. It is supposed to have been planted at the request
of Dr. Thaddeus M. Harris. His son, Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris, the
present Librarian of the College, says that his father has often
told him, that when he held the office of Librarian, in the year
1792, a number of trees were set out in the College yard, and that
one was planted opposite his room, No. 7 Hollis Hall, under which
he buried a pewter plate, taken from the commons hall. On this
plate was inscribed his name, the day of the month, the year, &c.
From its situation and appearance, the Rebellion Tree would seem
to be the one thus described; but it did not receive its name
until the year 1807, when the famous rebellion occurred among the
students, and perhaps not until within a few years antecedent to
the year 1819. At that time, however, this name seems to have been
the one by which it was commonly known, from the reference which
is made to it in the Rebelliad, a poem written to commemorate the
deeds of the rebellion of that year.
And roared as loud as he could yell,
"Come on, my lads, let us rebel!"
* * * * *
With one accord they all agree
To dance around _Rebellion Tree_.
_Rebelliad_, p. 46.
But they, rebellious rascals! flee
For shelter to _Rebellion Tree_.
_Ibid._, p. 60.
Stands a tree in front of Hollis,
Dear to Harvard over all;
But than ---- desert us,
Rather let _Rebellion_ fall.
_MS. Poem_.
Other scenes are sometimes enacted under its branches, as the
following verses show:--
When the old year was drawing towards its close,
And in its place the gladsome new one rose,
Then members of each class, with spirits free,
Went forth to greet her round _Rebellion Tree_.
Round that old tree, sacred to students' rights,
And witness, too, of many wondrous sights,
In solemn circle all the students passed;
They danced with spirit, until, tired, at last
A pause they make, and some a song propose.
Then "Auld Lang Syne" from many voices rose.
Now, as the lamp of the old year dies out,
They greet the new one with exulting shout;
They groan for ----, and each class they cheer,
And thus they usher in the fair new year.
_Poem before H.L. of I.O. of O.F._, p. 19, 1849.
RECENTES. Latin for the English FRESHMEN. Consult Clap's History
of Yale College, 1766, p. 124.
RECITATION. In American colleges and schools, the rehearsal of a
lesson by pupils before their instructor.--_Webster_.
RECITATION-ROOM. The room where lessons are rehearsed by pupils
before their instructor.
In the older American colleges, the rooms of the Tutors were
formerly the recitation-rooms of the classes. At Harvard College,
the benches on which the students sat when reciting were, when not
in use, kept in piles, outside of the Tutors' rooms. When the hour
of recitation arrived, they would carry them into the room, and
again return them to their places when the exercise was finished.
One of the favorite amusements of the students was to burn these
benches; the spot selected for the bonfire being usually the green
in front of the old meeting-house, or the common.
RECITE. Transitively, to rehearse, as a lesson to an instructor.
2. Intransitively, to rehearse a lesson. The class will _recite_
at eleven o'clock.--_Webster_.
This word is used in both forms in American seminaries.
RECORD OF MERIT. At Middlebury College "a class-book is kept by
each instructor, in which the character of each student's
recitation is noted by numbers, and all absences from college
exercises are minuted. Demerit for absences and other
irregularities is also marked in like manner, and made the basis
of discipline. At the close of each term, the average of these
marks is recorded, and, when desired, communicated to parents and
guardians." This book is called the _record of merit_.--_Cat.
Middlebury Coll._, 1850-51, p. 17.
RECTOR. The chief elective officer of some universities, as in
France and Scotland. The same title was formerly given to the
president of a college in New England, but it is not now in
use.--_Webster_.
The title of _Rector_ was given to the chief officer of Yale
College at the time of its foundation, and was continued until the
year 1745, when, by "An Act for the more full and complete
establishment of Yale College in New Haven," it was changed, among
other alterations, to that of _President_.--_Clap's Annals of Yale
College_, p. 47.
The chief officer of Harvard College at the time of its foundation
was styled _Master_ or _Professor_. Mr. Dunster was chosen the
first _President_, in 1640, and those who succeeded him bore this
title until the year 1686, when Mr. Joseph Dudley, having received
the commission of President of the Colony, changed for the sake of
distinction the title of _President of the College_ to that of
_Rector_. A few years after, the title of _President_ was resumed.
--_Peirce's Hist. of Harv. Univ._, p. 63.
REDEAT. Latin; literally, _he may return_. "It is the custom in
some colleges," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "on coming into
residence, to wait on the Dean, and sign your name in a book, kept
for that purpose, which is called signing your _Redeat_."--p. 92.
REFECTORY. At Oxford, Eng., the place where the members of each
college or hall dine. This word was originally applied to an
apartment in convents and monasteries, where a moderate repast was
taken.--_Brande_.
In Oxford there are nineteen colleges and five halls, containing
dwelling-rooms for the students, and a distinct _refectory_ or
dining-hall, library, and chapel to each college and hall.--_Oxf.
Guide_, 1847, p. xvi.
At Princeton College, this name is given to the hall where the
students eat together in common.--Abbreviated REFEC.
REGENT. In the English universities, the regents, or _regentes_,
are members of the university who have certain peculiar duties of
instruction or government. At Cambridge, all resident Masters of
Arts of less than four years' standing and all Doctors of less
than two, are Regents. At Oxford, the period of regency is
shorter. At both universities, those of a more advanced standing,
who keep their names on the college books, are called
_non-regents_. At Cambridge, the regents compose the upper house,
and the non-regents the lower house of the Senate, or governing
body. At Oxford, the regents compose the _Congregation_, which
confers degrees, and does the ordinary business of the University.
The regents and non-regents, collectively, compose the
_Convocation_, which is the governing body in the last
resort.--_Webster_.
See SENATE.
2. In the State of New York, the member of a corporate body which
is invested with the superintendence of all the colleges,
academies, and schools in the State. This board consists of
twenty-one members, who are called _the Regents of the University
of the State of New York_. They are appointed and removable by the
legislature. They have power to grant acts of incorporation for
colleges, to visit and inspect all colleges, academies, and
schools, and to make regulations for governing the
same.--_Statutes of New York_.
3. At Harvard College, an officer chosen from the _Faculty_, whose
duties are under the immediate direction of the President. All
weekly lists of absences, monitor's bills, petitions to the
Faculty for excuse of absences from the regular exercises and for
making up lessons, all petitions for elective studies, the returns
of the scale of merit, and returns of delinquencies and deductions
by the tutors and proctors, are left with the Regent, or deposited
in his office. The Regent also informs those who petition for
excuses, and for elective studies, of the decision of the Faculty
in regard to their petitions. Formerly, the Regent assisted in
making out the quarter or term bills, of which he kept a record,
and when students were punished by fining, he was obliged to keep
an account of the fines, and the offences for which they were
imposed. Some of his duties were performed by a Freshman, who was
appointed by the Faculty.--_Laws Harv. Coll._, 1814, and
_Regulations_, 1850.
The creation of the office of Regent at Harvard College is noticed
by Professor Sidney Willard. In the year 1800 "an officer was
appointed to occupy a room in one of the halls to supply the place
of a Tutor, for preserving order in the rooms in his entry, and to
perform the duties that had been discharged by the Butler, so far
as it regarded the keeping of certain records. He was allowed the
service of a Freshman, and the offices of Butler and of Butler's
Freshman were abolished. The title of this new officer was
Regent."--_Memories of Youth and Manhood_, Vol. II. p. 107.
See FRESHMAN, REGENT'S.
REGISTER. In Union College, an officer whose duties are similar to
those enumerated under REGISTRAR. He also acts, without charge, as
fiscal guardian for all students who deposit funds in his hands.
REGISTRAR, REGISTRARY. In the English universities, an officer who
has the keeping of all the public records.--_Encyc._
At Harvard College, the Corporation appoint one of the Faculty to
the office of _Registrar_. He keeps a record of the votes and
orders passed by the latter body, gives certified copies of the
same when requisite, and performs other like duties.--_Laws Univ.
at Cam., Mass._, 1848.
REGIUS PROFESSOR. A name given in the British universities to the
incumbents of those professorships which have been founded by
_royal_ bounty.
REGULATORS. At Hamilton College, "a Junior Class affair," writes a
correspondent, "consisting of fifteen or twenty members, whose
object is to regulate college laws and customs according to their
own way. They are known only by their deeds. Who the members are,
no one out of the band knows. Their time for action is in the
night."
RELEGATION. In German universities, the _relegation_ is the
punishment next in severity to the _consilium abeundi_. Howitt
explains the term in these words: "It has two degrees. First, the
simple relegation. This consists in expulsion [out of the district
of the court of justice within which the university is situated],
for a period of from two to three years; after which the offender
may indeed return, but can no more be received as an academical
burger. Secondly, the sharper relegation, which adds to the simple
relegation an announcement of the fact to the magistracy of the
place of abode of the offender; and, according to the discretion
of the court, a confinement in an ordinary prison, previous to the
banishment, is added; and also the sharper relegation can be
extended to more than four years, the ordinary term,--yes, even to
perpetual expulsion."--_Student Life of Germany_, Am. ed., p. 33.
RELIG. At Princeton College, an abbreviated name for a professor
of religion.
RENOWN. German, _renommiren_, to hector, to bully. Among the
students in German universities, to _renown_ is, in English
popular phrase, "to cut a swell."--_Howitt_.
The spare hours of the forenoon and afternoon are spent in
fencing, in _renowning_,--that is, in doing things-which make
people stare at them, and in providing duels for the
morrow.--_Russell's Tour in Germany_, Edinburgh ed., 1825, Vol.
II. pp. 156, 157.
We cannot be deaf to the testimony of respectable eyewitnesses,
who, in proof of these defects, tell us ... of "_renowning_," or
wild irregularities, in which "the spare hours" of the day are
spent.--_D.A. White's Address before Soc. of the Alumni of Harv.
Univ._, Aug. 27, 1844, p. 24.
REPLICATOR. "The first discussions of the Society, called
Forensic, were in writing, and conducted by only two members,
styled the Respondent and the Opponent. Subsequently, a third was
added, called a _Replicator_, who reviewed the arguments of the
other two, and decided upon their comparative
merits."--_Semi-centennial Anniversary of the Philomathean
Society, Union Coll._, p. 9.
REPORT. A word much in use among the students of universities and
colleges, in the common sense of _to inform against_, but usually
spoken in reference to the Faculty.
Thanks to the friendly proctor who spared to _report_ me.
_Harvardiana_, Vol. III. p. 79.
If I hear again
Of such fell outrage to the college laws,
Of such loud tumult after eight o'clock,
Thou'lt be _reported_ to the Faculty.--_Ibid._, p. 257.
RESIDENCE. At the English universities, to be "in residence" is to
occupy rooms as a member of a college, either in the college
itself, or in the town where the college is situated.
Trinity ... usually numbers four hundred undergraduates in
_residence_.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p.
11.
At Oxford, an examination, not always a very easy one, must be
passed before the student can be admitted to
_residence_.--_Westminster Rev._, Am. ed., Vol. XXXV. p. 232.
RESIDENT GRADUATE. In the United States, graduates who are
desirous of pursuing their studies in a place where a college is
situated, without joining any of its departments, can do so in the
capacity of _residents_ or _resident graduates_. They are allowed
to attend the public lectures given in the institution, and enjoy
the use of its library. Like other students, they give bonds for
the payment of college dues.--_Coll. Laws_.
RESPONDENT. In the schools, one who maintains a thesis in reply,
and whose province is to refute objections, or overthrow
arguments.--_Watts_.
This word, with its companion, _affirmant_, was formerly used in
American colleges, and was applied to those who engaged in the
syllogistic discussions then incident to Commencement.
But the main exercises were disputations upon questions, wherein
the _respondents_ first made their theses.--_Mather's Magnalia_,
B. IV. p. 128.
The syllogistic disputes were held between an _affirmant_ and
_respondent_, who stood in the side galleries of the church
opposite to one another, and shot the weapons of their logic over
the heads of the audience.--_Pres. Woolsey's Hist. Disc., Yale
Coll._, p. 65.
In the public exercises at Commencement, I was somewhat remarked
as a _respondent_.--_Life and Works of John Adams_, Vol. II. p. 3.
RESPONSION. In the University of Oxford, an examination about the
middle of the college course, also called the
_Little-go_.--_Lyell_.
See LITTLE-GO.
RETRO. Latin; literally, _back_. Among the students of the
University of Cambridge, Eng., used to designate a _behind_-hand
account. "A cook's bill of extraordinaries not settled by the
Tutor."--_Grad. ad Cantab._
REVIEW. A second or repeated examination of a lesson, or the
lesson itself thus re-examined.
He cannot get the "advance," forgets "the _review_."
_Childe Harvard_, p. 13.
RIDER. The meaning of this word, used at Cambridge, Eng., is given
in the annexed sentence. "His ambition is generally limited to
doing '_riders_,' which are a sort of scholia, or easy deductions
from the book-work propositions, like a link between them and
problems; indeed, the rider being, as its name imports, attached
to a question, the question is not fully answered until the rider
is answered also."--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed.
2d, p. 222.
ROLL A WHEEL. At the University of Vermont, in student parlance,
to devise a scheme or lay a plot for an election or a college
spree, is to _roll a wheel_. E.g. "John was always _rolling a big
wheel_," i.e. incessantly concocting some plot.
ROOM. To occupy an apartment; to lodge; _an academic use of the
word_.--_Webster_.
Inquire of any student at our colleges where Mr. B. lodges, and
you will be told he _rooms_ in such a building, such a story, or
up so many flights of stairs, No. --, to the right or left.
The Rowes, years ago, used to _room_ in Dartmouth Hall.--_The
Dartmouth_, Vol. IV. p. 117.
_Rooming_ in college, it is convenient that they should have the
more immediate oversight of the deportment of the
students.--_Scenes and Characters in College_, p. 133.
Seven years ago, I _roomed_ in this room where we are now.--_Yale
Lit. Mag._, Vol. XII. p. 114.
When Christmas came again I came back to this room, but the man
who _roomed_ here was frightened and ran away.--_Ibid._, Vol. XII.
p. 114.
Rent for these apartments is exacted from Sophomores, about sixty
_rooming_ out of college.--_Burlesque Catalogue_, Yale Coll.,
1852-53, p. 26.
ROOT. A word first used in the sense given below by Dr. Paley. "He
[Paley] held, indeed, all those little arts of underhand address,
by which patronage and preferment are so frequently pursued, in
supreme contempt. He was not of a nature to _root_; for that was
his own expressive term, afterwards much used in the University to
denote the sort of practice alluded to. He one day humorously
proposed, at some social meeting, that a certain contemporary
Fellow of his College [Christ's College, Cambridge, Eng.], at that
time distinguished for his elegant and engaging manners, and who
has since attained no small eminence in the Church of England,
should be appointed _Professor of Rooting_."--_Memoirs of Paley_.