Rack, vb. 1) to extend, to stretch, to strain; a) trans.: “being lacked and lost, why, then we r. the value,” Ado IV, 1, 222. that (my credit) shall be --ed, even “to the uttermost,” Merch. I, 1, 181. “thousand escapes of wit make thee the father of their idle dreams and r. thee in their fancies,” Meas. IV, 1, 65 (form strained and unnatural conceptions of thee, disfigure thee; cf. Racker). b) intr. == to strain, to make violent efforts: “a pair of tribunes that have -- ed for Rome, to make coals cheap,” Cor. V, 1, 16 (O. Edd. wracked).
2) to torture by stretching the limbs: Meas. V, 317. H6B III, 1, 376.
3) to put to pain, to torment, to harass: “I'll r. thee with old cramps,” Tp. I, 2, 369. “how have the hours --ed and tortured me,” Tw. V, 226. “the commons hast thou --ed,” H6B I, 3, 131 (i. e. by exaction).
In LLL V, 2, 828 O. Edd. --ed, M. Edd. rank.
Shakespeare Lexicon. Alexander Schmidt. Berlin. Georg Reimer. 1902.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a high level of accuracy.
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