The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Rural \Ru"ral\, a. [F., fr. L. ruralis, fr. rus, ruris, the
country. Cf. Room space, Rustic.]
1. Of or pertaining to the country, as distinguished from a
city or town; living in the country; suitable for, or
resembling, the country; rustic; as, rural scenes; a rural
prospect.
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Here is a rural fellow; . . .
He brings you figs. --Shak.
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2. Of or pertaining to agriculture; as, rural economy.
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Rural dean. (Eccl.) See under Dean.
Rural deanery (Eccl.), the state, office, or residence, of
a rural dean.
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Syn: Rustic.
Usage: Rural, Rustic. Rural refers to the country itself;
as, rural scenes, prospects, delights, etc. Rustic
refers to the character, condition, taste, etc., of
the original inhabitants of the country, who were
generally uncultivated and rude; as, rustic manners; a
rustic dress; a rustic bridge; rustic architecture,
etc.
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We turn
To where the silver Thames first rural grows.
--Thomson.
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Lay bashfulness, that rustic virtue, by;
To manly confidence thy throughts apply.
--Dryden.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dean \Dean\, n. [OE. dene, deene, OF. deien, dien, F. doyen,
eldest of a corporation, a dean, L. decanus the chief of ten,
one set over ten persons, e. g., over soldiers or over monks,
from decem ten. See Ten, and cf. Decemvir.]
1. A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical
and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary,
subordinate to a bishop.
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Dean of cathedral church, the chief officer of a chapter;
he is an ecclesiastical magistrate next in degree to
bishop, and has immediate charge of the cathedral and its
estates.
Dean of peculiars, a dean holding a preferment which has
some peculiarity relative to spiritual superiors and the
jurisdiction exercised in it. [Eng.]
Rural dean, one having, under the bishop, the especial care
and inspection of the clergy within certain parishes or
districts of the diocese.
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2. The collegiate officer in the universities of Oxford and
Cambridge, England, who, besides other duties, has regard
to the moral condition of the college. --Shipley.
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3. The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some
colleges or universities.
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4. A registrar or secretary of the faculty in a department of
a college, as in a medical, or theological, or scientific
department. [U.S.]
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5. The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony;
as, the dean of the diplomatic corps; -- so called by
courtesy.
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Cardinal dean, the senior cardinal bishop of the college of
cardinals at Rome. --Shipley.
Dean and chapter, the legal corporation and governing body
of a cathedral. It consists of the dean, who is chief, and
his canons or prebendaries.
Dean of arches, the lay judge of the court of arches.
Dean of faculty, the president of an incorporation or
barristers; specifically, the president of the
incorporation of advocates in Edinburgh.
Dean of guild, a magistrate of Scotch burghs, formerly, and
still, in some burghs, chosen by the Guildry, whose duty
is to superintend the erection of new buildings and see
that they conform to the law.
Dean of a monastery, Monastic dean, a monastic superior
over ten monks.
Dean's stall. See Decanal stall, under Decanal.
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