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RAM , a male See also:sheep, one kept for breeding purposes in domestication and not castrated, as opposed to the castrated " wether " (see SHEEP). For the ram as one of the signs of the See also:zodiac, see See also:ARIES. The word may be connected with O.Nor. ramme, strong, or with Sansk. ram, to See also:sport. The butting propensities of the ram have given rise to the many transferred senses of the word, See also:chief and earliest of which is that of a battering See also:implement used before the days of See also:cannon for beating in the See also:gates and breaching the walls of fortified places (see BATTERING RAM). Many technical uses of the See also:term have been See also:developed from this, e.g. the See also:weight of a See also:pile-See also:driving See also:machine, the See also:piston of a See also:hydraulic See also:press and other See also:machines or portions of machines worked by See also:water See also:power (see See also:HYDRAULICS). The See also:ancient See also:war-vessels were fitted with a See also:beak (See also:Lat. rostrum, Gr. Erc,3o)tov), projecting from the bows, and used to ram or crush in the sides of an opposing See also:vessel; for the development of this in the See also:modern battleship, see See also:SHIP. End of Article: RAMAdditional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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