ray1

[rey] /reɪ/
noun
1.
a narrow beam of light.
2.
a gleam or slight manifestation:
a ray of hope.
3.
a raylike line or stretch of something.
4.
light or radiance.
5.
a line of sight.
6.
Physics, Optics.
  1. any of the lines or streams in which light appears to radiate from a luminous body.
  2. the straight line normal to the wave front in the propagation of radiant energy.
  3. a stream of material particles all moving in the same straight line.
7.
Mathematics.
  1. one of a system of straight lines emanating from a point.
  2. Also called half-line. the part of a straight line considered as originating at a point on the line and as extending in one direction from that point.
8.
any of a system of parts radially arranged.
9.
Zoology.
  1. one of the branches or arms of a starfish or other radiate animal.
  2. one of the bony or cartilaginous rods in the fin of a fish.
10.
Botany.
  1. ray flower.
  2. one of the branches of an umbel.
  3. vascular ray.
  4. (in certain composite plants) the marginal part of the flower head.
11.
Astronomy. one of many long, bright streaks radiating from some of the large lunar craters.
12.
a prominent upright projection from the circlet of a crown or coronet, having a pointed or ornamented termination.
verb (used without object)
13.
to emit rays.
14.
to issue in rays.
verb (used with object)
15.
to send forth in rays.
16.
to throw rays upon; irradiate.
17.
to subject to the action of rays, as in radiotherapy.
18.
Informal. to make a radiograph of; x-ray.
19.
to furnish with rays or radiating lines.
Idioms
20.
get / grab some rays, Slang. to relax in the sun, especially to sunbathe.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English raie, raye < Old French rai < Latin radius radius
Related forms
raylike, adjective
Synonyms
1. See gleam.

ray2

[rey] /reɪ/
noun
1.
any of numerous elasmobranch fishes, adapted for life on the sea bottom, having a flattened body and greatly enlarged pectoral fins with the gills on the undersides.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English raye (< Old French rai) < Latin raia

Ray

[rey for 1, 2, 4, 5; rahy for 3] /reɪ for 1, 2, 4, 5; raɪ for 3/
noun
1.
John, 1627?–1705, English naturalist.
2.
Man
[man] /mæn/ (Show IPA), 1890–1976, U.S. painter and photographer.
3.
Satyajit
[suht-yuh-jit] /ˈsʌt yə dʒɪt/ (Show IPA), 1921–92, Indian film director.
4.
Cape, a promontory at the SW extremity of Newfoundland, Canada, on the Cabot Strait, at the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
5.
a male given name, form of Raymond.
6.
Also, Raye. a female given name, form of Rachel.
Examples from the web for ray
  • His largest and best measured four feet in length, with a headlight-sized mirror and the zany appearance of a ray gun.
  • OK, so there's no such thing as a gamma ray machine that zaps scientists and turns them into giant green monsters.
  • If you get out of line, you may get blasted with an invisible heat ray.
  • The military isn't about to deploy its pain ray to the battlefield.
  • Navy has been pursuing a workable ray gun that could provide a leap ahead in ship self-defenses.
  • Using powerful x-ray technology, astronomers surveyed distant galaxies more than ten billion light-years away.
  • The team used x-ray technology called computed tomography.
  • The scanner always makes a noise, but it is not always taking an x-ray.
  • To parody a song, you have to listen to it with x-ray ears.
  • The x-ray video technology used to conduct the examinations could have applications in robotics and medicine.
British Dictionary definitions for ray

ray1

/reɪ/
noun
1.
a narrow beam of light; gleam
2.
a slight indication, esp of something anticipated or hoped for: a ray of solace
3.
(maths) a straight line extending from a point
4.
a thin beam of electromagnetic radiation or particles
5.
any of the bony or cartilaginous spines of the fin of a fish that form the support for the soft part of the fin
6.
any of the arms or branches of a starfish or other radiate animal
7.
(astronomy) any of a number of bright streaks that radiate from the youngest lunar craters, such as Tycho; they are composed of crater ejecta not yet darkened, and extend considerable distances
8.
(botany) any strand of tissue that runs radially through the vascular tissue of some higher plants See medullary ray
verb
9.
(of an object) to emit (light) in rays or (of light) to issue in the form of rays
10.
(intransitive) (of lines, etc) to extend in rays or on radiating paths
11.
(transitive) to adorn (an ornament, etc) with rays or radiating lines
Word Origin
C14: from Old French rai, from Latin radius spoke, radius

ray2

/reɪ/
noun
1.
any of various marine selachian fishes typically having a flattened body, greatly enlarged winglike pectoral fins, gills on the undersurface of the fins, and a long whiplike tail. They constitute the orders Torpediniformes (electric rays) and Rajiformes
Word Origin
C14: from Old French raie, from Latin raia

ray3

/reɪ/
noun
1.
(music) (in tonic sol-fa) the second degree of any major scale; supertonic
Word Origin
C14: see gamut

Ray1

/reɪ/
noun
1.
Cape Ray, a promontory in SW Newfoundland, Canada

Ray2

/reɪ/
noun
1.
John. 1627–1705, English naturalist. He originated natural botanical classification and the division of flowering plants into monocotyledons and dicotyledons
2.
Man, real name Emmanuel Rudnitsky. 1890–1976, US surrealist photographer
3.
Satyajit (ˈsætjədʒɪt). 1921–92, Indian film director, noted for his Apu trilogy (1955–59)
Word Origin and History for ray
n.

"beam of light," c.1300, from Old French rai (nominative rais) "ray (of the sun), spoke (of a wheel); gush, spurt," from Latin radius "ray, spoke, staff, rod" (see radius). Not common before 17c. [OED]; of the sun, usually in reference to heat (beam being preferred for light). Science fiction ray-gun is first recorded 1931 (but cf. Martian Heat ray weapon in H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds," 1898).

type of fish related to sharks, early 14c., from French raie (13c.), from Latin raia, of unknown origin.

ray in Medicine

ray (rā)
n.

  1. A narrow beam of light or other electromagnetic radiation.

  2. A narrow beam of particles, as a cathode.

  3. A structure or part having the form of a straight line extending from a point.

Ray (rā), John. 1627-1705.

English naturalist who was the first to use anatomy to distinguish between specific plants and animals. He established the species as the basic classification of living things.

ray in Science
ray
  (rā)   

  1. A thin line or narrow beam of light or other radiation.

  2. A geometric figure consisting of the part of a line that is on one side of a point on the line.

  3. See ray flower.