Raw (?), a. [Compar Rawer (?); superl. Rawest.] [AS. hre�xa0;w; akin to D. raauw, LG. rau, G. roh, OHG. r&omac;, Icel. hrar, Dan. raa, Sw. r�x86;, L. crudus, Gr. kre`as flesh, Skr. kravis raw flesh. &root;18. Cf. Crude, Cruel.]

1.

Not altered from its natural state; not prepared by the action of heat; as, raw sienna; specifically, not cooked; not changed by heat to a state suitable for eating; not done; as, raw meat.

2.

Hence: Unprepared for use or enjoyment; immature; unripe; unseasoned; inexperienced; unpracticed; untried; as, raw soldiers; a raw recruit.

Approved himself to the raw judgment of the multitude.
De Quincey.

3.

Not worked in due form; in the natural state; untouched by art; unwrought.

Specifically:
  1. Not distilled; as, raw water.
    [Obs.] Bacon.
  2. Not spun or twisted; as, raw silk or cotton.
  3. Not mixed or diluted; as, raw spirits.
  4. Not tried; not melted and strained; as, raw tallow.
  5. Not tanned; as, raw hides.
  6. Not trimmed, covered, or folded under; as, the raw edge of a piece of metal or of cloth.

4.

Not covered; bare. Specifically:

  1. Bald. [Obs.]
    "With scull all raw."
    Spencer
  2. Deprived of skin; galled; as, a raw sore.
  3. Sore, as if by being galled.
    And all his sinews waxen weak and raw
    Through long imprisonment.
    Spenser.

5.

Disagreeably damp or cold; chilly; as, a raw wind.

"A raw and gusty day."

Shak.

Raw material, material that has not been subjected to a (specified) process of manufacture; as, ore is the raw material used in smelting; leather is the raw material of the shoe industry. -- Raw pig, cast iron as it comes from the smelting furnace.

 

© Webster 1913.


Raw, n.

A raw, sore, or galled place; a sensitive spot; as, to touch one on the raw.

Like savage hackney coachmen, they know where there is a raw.
De Quincey.

 

© Webster 1913.