RATE

In old English law. A sum of money ing in socage, of which there were two sorts: One when the heir was married; the other when he was not. Reg. Orig. 163.

Proportional or relative value, measure, or degree; the proportion or stand- ard by which quantity or value is adjusted. Thus, the rate of interest is the proportion or ratio between the principal and interest. So the buildings in a town are rated for in- surance purposes; i. e., classified and indi- vidually estimated with reference to their in- surable qualities. In this sense also we speak of articles as being in “first-rate” or "second-rate" condition. Absolute measure, value, or degree. Thus, we speak of the rate at which public lands are sold, of the rates of fare upon railroads etc. The term is also used as the synonym of "tax;" that is, a 'sum assessed by govern- mental authority upon persons or property, by proportional valuation, for public pur- poses. It is chiefly employed in this sense in England, but is there usually confined to taxes of a local nature, or those raised by the parish; such as the poor-rate, borough-rate, etc. It sometimes occurs in a connection which gives it a meaning synonymous with "assess- ment;" that is, the apportionment of a tax among the whole number of persons who are responsible for it, by estimating the

Proportional or relative value, measure, or degree; the proportion or standard by which quantity or value is adjusted. Thus, the rate of interest is the proportion or ratio between the principal and interest. . So the buildings in a town are rated for in-. surance purposes; #. ¢€., classified and individually estimated with reference to their insurable qualities. In this sense also we speak of articles as being in “first-rate” or “second-rate” condition. Absolute measure, value, or degree. Thus, we speak of the rate at which public lands are sold, of the rates of fare upon railroads, etc. See Georgia R. & B. Co. v. Maddox, 116 Ga. 64, 42 S. E. 315; Chase v. New York Cent. R. Co., 26 N. Y. 526; People v. Dolan, ' 36 N. Y. 67. The term is also used as the synonym of “tax ;” that 1s, a sum assessed by governmental authority upon persons or. property, by proportional valuation, for public purposes. It is chiefly employed in this sense in England, but is there usually confined to taxes of a local nature, or those raised by the parish; such as the poor-rate, boroughrate, etc. It sometimes occurs in a connection which gives it a meaning synonymous with “as sessment ;” that is, the apportionment of u tax among the whole number of persons who are responsible for it, by estimating the value of the taxable property of each, and making a proportional distribution of the whole amount. Thus we speak of “rating” persons _and property. In marine insurance, the term refers to the classification or scaling of vessels base - on their relative state and condition in re gard to insurable qualities; thus, a vessel in the best possible condition and offering the best risk from the underwriter’s standpoint, is “rated” as “A 1.” See Insurance Companies v. Wright, 1 Wall. 472, 17 L. Ed. 505. —Rate of exchange. In commercial law. The actual price at which a bill, drawn in one country upon another country, can be bought or obtained in the former country at any given time. Story, Bills, § 31.—Rate-tithe. In English law. When any sheep, or other cattle, are kept in a parish for less time than a year, the owner must pay tithe for them pro rata, acee the custom of the place. Fitzh. Nat. rev. 51.

To chide with vehemence; to scold; to censure violently. Spencer. Go, rate thy minions, proud, insulting boy! Shak. Conscience is a check to beginners in sin, reclaiming them from it, and rating them for it. Barrow.

Established portion or measure; fixed allowance. The one right feeble through the evil rate, Of food which in her duress she had found. Spenser. That which is established as a measure or criterion; degree; standard; rank; proportion; ratio; as, a slow rate of movement; rate of interest is the ratio of the interest to the principal, per annum. Heretofore the rate and standard of wit was different from what it is nowadays. South. In this did his holiness and godliness appear above the rate and pitch of other men's, in that he was so . . . merciful. Calamy. Many of the horse could not march at that rate, nor come up soon enough. Clarendon. Variation; prise fixed with relation to a standard; cost; charge; as, high or low rates of transportation. They come at dear rates from Japan. Locke. A tax or sum assessed by authority on property for public use, according to its income or value; esp., in England, a local tax; as, parish rates; town rates. Order; arrangement. [Obs.] Thus sat they all around in seemly rate. Spenser. Ratification; approval. [R.] Chapman. The gain or loss of a timepiece in a unit of time; as, daily rate; hourly rate; etc. The order or class to which a war vessel belongs, determined according to its size, armament, etc.; as, first rate, second rate, etc. The class of a merchant vessel for marine insurance, determined by its relative safety as a risk, as A1, A2, etc.

To set a certain estimate on; to value at a certain price or degree. To rate a man by the nature of his companions is a rule frequent indeed, but not infallible. South. You seem not high enough your joys to rate. Dryden. To assess for the payment of a rate or tax. To settle the relative scale, rank, position, amount, value, or quality of; as, to rate a ship; to rate a seaman; to rate a pension. To ratify. [Obs.] "To rate the truce." Chapman. To rate a chronometer, to ascertain the exact rate of its gain or loss as compared with true time, so as to make an allowance or computation depended thereon.

To berate, scold.

To cause (hay, hemp, flax, etc) to decay (whether in an injurious way, or—as retting—in a useful way) by exposure to weather, particularly wetness.