Ray, n.  Zool. (a) Any one of numerous elasmobranch fishes of the order Raiae, including the skates, torpedoes, sawfishes, etc. (b) In a restricted sense, any of the broad, flat, narrow-tailed species, as the skates and sting rays. See Skate.
 Bishop ray, a yellow-spotted, long-tailed eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari syn. Stoasodon narinari) of the Southern United States and the West Indies; also called the spotted eagle ray and white-spotted eagle ray.
 Butterfly ray, a short-tailed American sting ray (Pteroplatea Maclura), having very broad pectoral fins.
 Devil ray. See Sea Devil.
 Eagle ray, any large ray of the family Myliobatidae, or Aetobatidae. The common European species (Myliobatis aquila) is called also whip ray, and miller.
 Electric ray, or Cramp ray, a torpedo.
 Starry ray, a common European skate (Raia radiata).
 Sting ray, any one of numerous species of rays of the family Trygonidae having one or more large, sharp, barbed dorsal spines on the whiplike tail.  Called also stingaree.

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 Ea·gle n.
 1. Zoöl. Any large, rapacious bird of the Falcon family, esp. of the genera Aquila and Haliæetus.  The eagle is remarkable for strength, size, graceful figure, keenness of vision, and extraordinary flight.  The most noted species are the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaëtus); the imperial eagle of Europe (Aquila mogilnik or Aquila imperialis); the American bald eagle (Haliæetus leucocephalus); the European sea eagle (Haliæetus albicilla); and the great harpy eagle (Thrasaetus harpyia).  The figure of the eagle, as the king of birds, is commonly used as an heraldic emblem, and also for standards and emblematic devices.  See Bald eagle, Harpy, and Golden eagle.
 2. A gold coin of the United States, of the value of ten dollars.
 3. Astron. A northern constellation, containing Altair, a star of the first magnitude. See Aquila.
 4. The figure of an eagle borne as an emblem on the standard of the ancient Romans, or so used upon the seal or standard of any people.
    Though the Roman eagle shadow thee.   --Tennyson.
 Note: ☞ Some modern nations, as the United States, and France under the Bonapartes, have adopted the eagle as their national emblem. Russia, Austria, and Prussia have for an emblem a double-headed eagle.
 Bald eagle. See Bald eagle.
 Bold eagle. See under Bold.
 Double eagle, a gold coin of the United States worth twenty dollars.
 Eagle hawk Zoöl., a large, crested, South American hawk of the genus Morphnus.
 Eagle owl Zoöl., any large owl of the genus Bubo, and allied genera; as the American great horned owl (Bubo Virginianus), and the allied European species (B. maximus). See Horned owl.
 Eagle ray Zoöl., any large species of ray of the genus Myliobatis (esp. M. aquila).
 Eagle vulture Zoöl., a large West African bid (Gypohierax Angolensis), intermediate, in several respects, between the eagles and vultures.

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 eagle ray
      n : powerful free-swimming tropical ray noted for `soaring' by
          flapping winglike fins; usually harmless but has venomous
          tissue near base of the tail as in stingrays