rash

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rash1 / rash/ • adj. displaying or proceeding from a lack of careful consideration of the possible consequences of an action: it would be extremely rash to make such an assumption a rash decision. DERIVATIVES: rash·ly adv. rash·ness n. rash2 • n. an area of reddening of a person's skin, sometimes with raised spots, appearing esp. as a result of allergy or illness. ∎  a series of things of the same type, esp. when unpleasant or undesirable, occurring or appearing one after the other within a short space of time: a rash of auto accidents.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
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rash A skin eruption: red spots or mottling of the skin, accompanying a variety of infectious illnesses, allergic reactions, chemical or heat irritation, or specific skin diseases. Rashes may be localized or body-wide and come in several descriptive categories; their distribution and character usually enable doctors to establish the cause.

Stuart Judge


See skin.
The Oxford Companion to the Body COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT
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rash •abash, ash, Ashe, bash, brash, cache, calash, cash, clash, crash, dash, encash, flash, gash, gnash, hash, lash, mash, Nash, panache, pash, plash, rash, sash, slash, smash, soutache, splash, stash, thrash, trash •earbash • kurbash • calabash •slapdash • pebbledash • balderdash •spatterdash • backlash • backslash •whiplash • eyelash • goulash •newsflash • thunderflash • mishmash •gatecrash • Midrash • potash •succotash

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes
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Rash

a splashing shower of rain; an unwelcome or unsightly outburst.

Examples : rash of dermatologists (modern )—Mensa Society ; of rain, 1470.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms
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rash1 (dial.) active, brisk XIV; hasty or impetuous in action or behaviour XVI. OE. *ræsc = (M)Du. rasch, OHG. rasc (G. rasch), ON. rǫskr doughty, brave:- Gmc. *raskuz.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
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rash (rash) n. a temporary eruption on the skin, usually typified by reddening, which may be accompanied by itching. A rash may be a local skin reaction or the outward sign of a disorder affecting the body.

A Dictionary of Nursing
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rash2 superficial eruption of the skin. XVIII. corr. in form to OF. ra(s)che skin eruption = It. raschia itch, but the late emergence of the word is against direct connection.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
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RASH Meteorol. rain shower

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH