rave meaning (informal): definition, etymology and quotations

rave

noun

/ɹeɪv/

Etymology From Middle English raven (“to rave; talk like a madman”), from Old French raver, variant of resver, of uncertain origin. Compare rave below, and rove.

Informal An enthusiastic review (such as of a play).

The first-night audience, yes. The first-night reviewers, not exactly. The notices have so far been mixed, only The Financial Times having delivered itself of an unequivocal rave.1989, The New York Times Theater Reviews, 1920-, volume 18, page 167:

A large-scale dance party with strobe lights and fast-paced electronic dance music, often illegally organized open-air or in underground venues.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music The genres of electronic dance music made to be played in rave parties.

Maybe I wear baggies / And white socks with flip-flops / Maybe I don't like listening to rave / And I'm not on the social mountaintops2009, Chrysalis Experiential Academy, Mind Harvesting, page 109:

Derived terms: algorave, all the rave, antirave, postrave, rave drug, ravewear, ravey

rave

verb

Etymology From Middle English raven (“to rave; talk like a madman”), from Old French raver, variant of resver, of uncertain origin. Compare rave below, and rove.

To be mentally unclear; to be delirious; to talk or act irrationally; to be wild, furious, or raging.

Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast?1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 47:
The mingled torrent of redcoats and tartans went raving down the valley to the gorge of Killiecrankie.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIII, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

To speak or write wildly or incoherently.

"She is in trance. Your daughter, sir, is a powerful medium." "A medium! You are raving."1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

Followed by "about" To talk with excessive enthusiasm, passion or excitement.

"of" or (formerly) "on"

He raved about her beauty.
The hallowed scene / Which others rave on, though they know it not.1812, Lord Byron, “Canto I”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, stanza LXII:

1 more example

“A beautiful country!” “I suppose it is. Everybody says so.” “Your cousin Feenix raves about it, Edith,” interposed her mother from her couch.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

Obsolete To rush wildly or furiously.

Under a mightie rocke, gainst which do rave The roaring billowes in their proud disdaine1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

To attend a rave (dance party).

The situation with Tommy's parents made me grateful my parents hadn't caught on to my partying that summer. How had I gotten away with raving every weekend, and sometimes on Thursday nights too?2021, Samantha Durbin, Raver Girl: Coming of Age in the 90s:

Synonyms: craze, have a kangaroo loose in the top paddock, have a screw loose, have bats in one's belfry, have bats in the belfry, have squirrels in the attic, have toys in the attic, nut out, nut up, rave
Derived terms: outrave, rant and rave
Related terms: rant, mad person, insane, insanity, becraze
Meronyms: gibber

rave

verb

Etymology

From northern Middle English raven, from Old Norse ráfa (“to wander, roam”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Perhaps from a dissimilation of Proto-Germanic *wab(b)ōną (“to sway, waver, swing, shake, wobble, totter, reel, careen”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to move, swarm, waft”). Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk rava (“to wander, be delirious”). Doublet of rove. Compare also Middle Dutch reven (“to utter nonsense, rave, be drowsy”) (whence modern Dutch revelen (“to rave, talk nonsense”), Middle Low German rēven (“to be crazy, think and talk nonsensically”), Middle High German reben (“to move about, dream, be confused”) (compare Alemannic German räbeln (“to make loud noise”)).

Newfoundland, Scotland To wander or roam.

Newfoundland, Scotland To stray or err.

rave

noun

Etymology English dialect raves, or rathes (“a frame laid on a wagon, for carrying hay, etc.”).

One of the upper side pieces of the frame of a wagon body or a sleigh.

It was astonishing to see how he had gnawed the rave of the sled.1851, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 3, page 519:
The main lever rests upon the rave when not in use.1875, Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, page 345:

2 more examples

Next I weld a collar on, A, to keep the brake in place when on the sled; then make a two-eyed bolt to fasten the brake to the rave.1891, Milton Thomas Richardson, Practical Blacksmithing, page 192:
The superstructure of the tender is modified by the removal of the side raves, and compartments for the fire-irons are formed on each side of the coal bunker.1956 April, “"Merchant Navy" Class Pacific Modified”, in Railway Magazine, page 212:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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Conjugation of “rave”, all tenses