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rick1

[rik]
noun
  1. Also hayrick. Chiefly Midland U.S. a large, usually rectangular stack or pile of hay, straw, corn, or the like, in a field, especially when thatched or covered by a tarpaulin; an outdoor or makeshift mow.
  2. a stack of cordwood or logs cut to even lengths.
  3. a frame of horizontal bars and vertical supports, as used to hold barrels in a distillery, boxes in a warehouse, etc.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to form grain into a stack or pile.
  2. to stack (cordwood) in ricks.
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Origin of rick1

before 900; Middle English rek(e), reek, Old English hrēac; akin to Old Norse hraukr, Old Frisian reak, Middle Dutch rooc, roke
Related formsrick·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ricker

Historical Examples

  • "Not by Ricker, for the best of all possible reasons," said Maxwell, with a laugh.

    The Story of a Play

    W. D. Howells

  • But I think I shall do Ricker's letters for him this winter at least.

    The Story of a Play

    W. D. Howells

  • Mrs. Ricker and Kitton accepted the situation with fine philosophy.

  • Mis' Ricker gettin' her fortune so puts her beyond the wolf.

  • He had determined to see the Ricker ranch and pay her owners a visit.

British Dictionary definitions for ricker

ricker

noun
  1. a young kauri tree of New Zealand
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Word Origin

from earlier use of the trunks as ships' rigging

rick1

noun
  1. a large stack of hay, corn, peas, etc, built in the open in a regular-shaped pile, esp one with a thatched top
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verb
  1. (tr) to stack or pile into ricks
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Word Origin

Old English hrēac; related to Old Norse hraukr

rick2

noun
  1. a wrench or sprain, as of the back
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verb
  1. (tr) to wrench or sprain (a joint, a limb, the back, etc)
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Word Origin

C18: see wrick
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ricker

rick

n.

Old English hreac "stack of hay or straw," from Proto-Germanic *khraukaz (cf. Old Norse hraukr, Frisian reak, Dutch rook "heap"); perhaps related to ridge.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper