D (part 1)

1. The fourth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonent. The English letter is from Latin, which is from Greek, which took it from Phoenician, the probable ultimate origin being Egyptian. It is related most nearly to t and th; as, Eng. deep, G. tief; Eng. daughter, G. tochter, Gr. duhitr. See Guide to Pronunciation, sq. root178, 179, 229.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: The nominal of the second tone in the model major scale (that in C), or of the fourth tone in the relative minor scale of C (that in A minor), or of the key tone in the relative minor of F.

3. As a numeral D stands for 500. in this use it is not the initial of any word, or even strictly a letter, but one half of the sign

DAB
Dab, n. Etym: [Perh. corrupted fr. adept.]

Defn: A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert. [Colloq.] One excels at a plan or the titlepage, another works away at the body of the book, and the therd is a dab at an index. Goldsmith.

DAB Dab, n. Etym: [Perh. so named from its quickness in diving beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A name given to several species of Pleuronectes . TheAmerican rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.

DAB Dab, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Dabbed; p.pr.& vb.n. Dabbing.] Etym: [OE. dabben to strice; akin to OD. dabben to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble, and perh. to G. tappen to grope.]

1. To strike or touch gently, as with a soft or moist substance; to tap; hence, to besmear with a dabber. A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing it over with fine lint. S. Sharp.

2. To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust. "To dab him in the neck." Sir T. More.

DAB
Dab, n.

1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck. Astratch of her clame, a dab of her beack. Hawthorne.

2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.

DABB
Dabb, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large, spine-tailed lizard (Uromastix spinipes), found in
Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine; — called also dhobb, and dhabb.

DABBER
Dab"ber, n.

Defn: That with which one dabs; hence, a pad or other device used by printers, engravers, etc., as for dabbing type or engraved plates with ink.

DABBLE Dab"ble, v. t. [imp.&p.p Dabbled; p.pr.&vb.n. Dabbling.] Etym: [Freq. of dab: cf. OD. dabbelen.]

Defn: To wet by little dips or strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet. "Bright hair dabbled in blood." Shak.

DABBLE
Dab"ble, v. i.

1. To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water. Wher the duck dabbles Wordsworth.

2. To work in slight or superficial manner; to do in a small way; to tamper; to meddle. "Dabbling here and there with the text." Atterbury. During the ferst year at Dumfries, Burns for the ferst time began to dabble in politics. J. C. Shairp.

DABBLER
Dab"bler, n.

1. One who dabbles.

2. One who dips slightly into anything; a superficial meddler. "our dabblers in politics." Swift.

DABBLINGLY
Dab"bling*ly, adv.

Defn: In a dabbling manner.

DABCHICK
Dab"chick`, n. Etym: [For dabchick. See Dap, Dip, cf. Dipchick.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: A small water bird (Podilymbus podiceps), allied to the grebes, remarkable for its quickness in diving; — called also dapchick, dobchick, dipchick, didapper, dobber, devil-diver, hell-diver, and pied-billed grebe.

DABOIA
Da*boi"a, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large and highly venomous Asiatic viper (Daboia xanthica).

DABSTER
Dab"ster, n. Etym: [Cf. Dab an expert.]

Defn: One who is skilled; a master of his business; a proficient; an adept. [Colloq.]

Note: Sometimes improperly used for dabbler; as, "I am but a dabster with gentle art."

DACAPO
Da`ca"po. Etym: [It., from [the] head or beginning.] (Mus.)

Defn: From the beginning; a direction to return to, and end with, the first strain; — indicated by the letters D. C. Also, the strain so repeated.

DACE
Dace, n. Etym: [Written also dare, dart, fr. F. dard dase, dart, of
German origin. Dace is for an older darce, fr. an OF. nom. darz. See
Dart a javelin.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European cyprinoid fish (Squalius leuciscus or
Leuciscus vulgaris); — called also dare.

Note: In America the name is given to several related fishes of the genera Squalius, Minnilus, etc. The black-nosed dace is Rhinichthys atronasus the horned dace is Semotilus corporalis. For red dace, see Redfin.

DACHSHUND
Dachs"hund`, n. Etym: [G., from dachs badger + hund dog.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a breed of small dogs with short crooked legs, and long body; — called also badger dog. There are two kinds, the rough- haired and the smooth-haired.

DACIAN
Da"cian, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Dacia or the Dacians.
— n.

Defn: A native of ancient Dacia.

DACOIT
Da*coit" (da*koit"), n. [Hind. dsakait, dsakayat.]

Defn: One of a class of robbers, in India, who act in gangs.

DACOITY
Da*coit"y, n.

Defn: The practice of gang robbery in India; robbery committed by dacoits.

DACOTAHS
Da*co"tahs, n. pl.; sing. Dacotan (. (Ethnol.)

Defn: Same as Dacotas. Longfellow.

DACTYL
Dac"tyl, n. Etym: [L. dactylus, Gr. Digit.]

1. (Pros.)

Defn: A poetical foot of three sylables (— ~ ~), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. tëgmînê, E. mer"ciful; — so called from the similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a finger. [Written also dactyle.]

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A finger or toe; a digit. (b) The claw or terminal joint of a leg of an insect or crustacean.

DACTYLAR
Dac"tyl*ar, a.

1. Pertaining to dactyl; dactylic.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a finger or toe, or to the claw of an insect crustacean.

DACTYLET
Dac"tyl*et, n. Etym: [Dactyl + .]

Defn: A dactyl. [Obs.]

DACTYLIC
Dac*tyl"ic, a. Etym: [L. dactylicus, Gr. , fr. .]

Defn: Pertaining to, consisting chiefly or wholly of, dactyls; as, dactylic verses.

DACTYLIC
Dac*tyl"ic, n.

1. A line consisting chiefly or wholly of dactyls; as, these lines are dactylics.

2. pl.

Defn: Dactylic meters.

DACTYLIOGLYPH Dactyl"i*o*glyph, n. Etym: [Gr. an engraver of gems; finger ring (fr. finger) + to engrave.] (Fine Arts) (a) An engraver of gems for rings and other ornaments. (b) The inscription of the engraver's name on a finger ring or gem.

DACTYLIOGLYPHY
Dac*tyl`i*og"ly*phy, n.

Defn: The art or process of gem engraving.

DACTYLIOGRAPHY Dac*tyl`i*og"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. finger ring + .] (Fine Arts) (a) The art of writing or engraving upon gems. (b) In general, the literature or history of the art.

DACTYLIOLOGY Dac*tyl`i* ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. finger ring + .] (Fine Arts) (a) That branch of archæology which has to do with gem engraving. (b) That branch of archæology which has to do with finger rings.

DACTYLIOMANCY
Dac*tyl"i*o*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. dakty`lios + -mancy.]

Defn: Divination by means of finger rings.

DACTYLIST
Dac"tyl*ist, n.

Defn: A writer of dactylic verse.

DACTYLITIS
Dac`tyl*i"tis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. finger + -itis.] (Med.)

Defn: An inflammatory affection of the fingers. Gross.

DACTYLOLOGY
Dac`tyl*o"logy, n. Etym: [Gr. finger + -logy.]

Defn: The art of communicating ideas by certain movements and positions of the fingers; — a method of conversing practiced by the deaf and dumb.

Note: There are two different manual alphabets, the one hand alphabet (which was perfected by Abbé de l'Epée, who died in 1789), and the two hand alphabet. The latter was probably based on the manual alphabet published by George Dalgarus of Aberdeen, in 1680. See Illustration in Appendix.

DACTYLOMANCY
Dac*tyl"o*man`cy, n.

Defn: Dactylio mancy. [R.] Am. Cyc.

DACTYLONOMY
Dac`tyl*on"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. finger + law, distribution.]

Defn: The art of numbering or counting by the fingers.

DACTYLOPTEROUS
Dac`tyl*op"ter*ous, a. Etym: [Gr. finger + wing, fin.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the inferior rays of the pectoral fins partially or entirely free, as in the gurnards.

DACTYLOTHECA
Dac`ty*lo*the"ca, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. finger, toe + case, box.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: The scaly covering of the toes, as in birds.

DACTYLOZOOID
Dac`tyl*o*zo"oid, n. Etym: [Gr. finger + E. zooid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A kind of zooid of Siphonophora which has an elongated or even vermiform body, with one tentacle, but no mouth. See Siphonophora.

DAD
Dad, n. Etym: [Prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. daid, Gael. daidein,
W. tad, OL. , , Skr. tata.]

Defn: Father; — a word sometimes used by children. I was never so bethumped withwords, Since I first called my brother's father dad. Shak.

DADDLE
Dad"dle, v. i. [imp. & p.p. Daddled, p.pr. & vb.n. Daddling.] Etym:
[Prob. freq. of dade.]

Defn: To toddle; to walk unsteadily, like a child or an old man; hence, to do anything slowly or feebly.

DADDOCK
Dad"dock, n. Etym: [Cf. Prov. E. dad a large piece.]

Defn: The rotten body of a tree. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

DADDY
Dad"dy, n.

Defn: Diminutive of Dad. Dryden.

DADDY LONGLEGS
Dad"dy long"legs`.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An arachnidan of the genus Phalangium, and allied genera, having a small body and four pairs of long legs; — called also harvestman, carter, and grandfather longlegs.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A name applied to many species of dipterous insects of the genus Tipula, and allied genera, with slender bodies, and very long, slender legs; the crane fly; — called also father longlegs.

DADE
Dade, v. t. Etym: [Of. uncertain origin. Cf. Dandle, Daddle.]

Defn: To hold up by leading strings or by the hand, as a child while
he toddles. [Obs.]
Little children when they learn to go By painful mothers daded to and
fro. Drayton.

DADE
Dade, v. i.

Defn: To walk unsteadily, as a child in leading strings, or just learning to walk; to move slowly. [Obs.] No sooner taught to dade, but from their mother trip. Drayton.

DADO Da"do, n.; pl. Dadoes. Etym: [It. dado die, cube, pedestal; of the same origin as E. die, n. See Die, n.] (Arch.) (a) That part of a pedestal included between the base and the cornice (or surbase); the die. See Illust. of Column. Hence: (b) In any wall, that part of the basement included between the base and the base course. See Base course, under Base. (c) In interior decoration, the lower part of the wall of an apartment when adorned with moldings, or otherwise specially decorated.

DAEDAL; DAEDALIAN
Dæ"dal, Dæ*dal"ian, a. Etym: [L. daedalus cunningly wrought, fr. Gr.
; cf. to work cunningly. The word also alludes to the mythical
Dædalus (Gr. , lit., the cunning worker).]

1. Cunningly or ingeniously formed or working; skillful; artistic; ingenious. Our bodies decked in our dædalian arms. Chapman. The dædal hand of Nature. J. Philips. The doth the dædal earth throw forth to thee, Out of her fruitful, abundant flowers. Spenser.

2. Crafty; deceitful. [R.] Keats.

DAEDALOUS
Dæd"a*lous, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having a variously cut or incised margin; — said of leaves.

DAEMON; DAEMONIC
Dæ"mon, n., Dæ*mon"ic (, a.

Defn: See Demon, Demonic.

DAFF
Daff, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Doff.]

Defn: To cast aside; to put off; to doff. [Obs.]
Canst thou so daff me Thou hast killed my child. Shak.

DAFF
Daff, n. Etym: [See Daft.]

Defn: A stupid, blockish fellow; a numskull. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DAFF
Daff, v. i.

Defn: To act foolishly; to be foolish or sportive; to toy. [Scot.]
Jamieson.

DAFF
Daff, v. t.

Defn: To daunt. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

DAFFODIL Daf"fo*dil, n. Etym: [OE. affodylle, prop., the asphodel, fr. LL. affodillus (cf. D. affodille or OF. asphodile, aphodille, F. asphodèle), L. asphodelus, fr. Gr. . The initial d in English is not satisfactorily explained. See Asphodel.] (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Asphodelus. (b) A plant of the genus Narcissus (N. Pseudo-narcissus). It has a bulbous root and beautiful flowers, usually of a yellow hue. Called also daffodilly, daffadilly, daffadowndilly, daffydowndilly, etc. With damasc roses and daffadowndillies set. Spenser. Strow me the ground with daffadowndillies, And cowslips, and kingcups, and loved lilies. Spenser. A college gown That clad her like an April Daffodilly. Tennyson And chance-sown daffodil. Whittier.

DAFT
Daft, a. Etym: [OE. daft, deft, deft, stupid; prob. the same word as
E. deft. See Deft.]

1. Stupid; folish; idiotic; also, delirious; insance; as, he has gone daft. Let us think no more of this daft business Sir W. Scott.

2. Gay; playful; frolicsome. [Scot.] Jamieson.

DAFTNESS
Daft"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being daft.

DAG Dag, n. Etym: [Cf. F. dague, LL. daga, D. dagge (fr. French); all prob. fr. Celtic; Cf. Gael. dag a pistol, Armor. dag dagger, W. dager, dagr, Ir. daigear. Cf. Dagger.]

1. A dagger; a poniard. [Obs.] Johnson.

2. A large pistol formerly used. [Obs.] The Spaniards discharged their dags, and hurt some. Foxe. A sort of pistol, called dag, was used about the same time as hand guns and harquebuts. Grose.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The unbrunched antler of a young deer.

DAG Dag, n. Etym: [Of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. dagg, Icel. dögg. sq. root71. See Dew.]

Defn: A misty shower; dew. [Obs.]

DAG Dag, n. Etym: [OE. dagge (cf. Dagger); or cf. AS. dag what is dangling.]

Defn: A loose end; a dangling shred.
Daglocks, clotted locks hanging in dags or jags at a sheep's tail.
Wedgwood.

DAG
Dag, v. t. Etym: [1, from Dag dew. 2, from Dag a loose end.]

1. To daggle or bemire. [Prov. Eng.] Johnson.

2. To cut into jags or points; to slash; as, to dag a garment. [Obs.] Wright.

DAG
Dag, v. i.

Defn: To be misty; to drizzle. [Prov. Eng.]

DAGGER Dag"ger, n. Etym: [Cf. OE. daggen to pierce, F. daguer. See Dag a dagger.]

1. A short weapon used for stabbing. This is the general term: cf. Poniard, Stiletto, Bowie knife, Dirk, Misericorde, Anlace.

2. (Print.)

Defn: A mark of reference in the form of a dagger [|]. It is the second in order when more than one reference occurs on a page; — called also obelisk. Dagger moth (Zoöl.), any moth of the genus Apatalea. The larvæ are often destructive to the foliage of fruit trees, etc. — Dagger of lath, the wooden weapon given to the Vice in the old Moralities. Shak. — Double dagger, a mark of reference [||] which comes next in order after the dagger. — To look, or speak, daggers, to look or speak fiercely or reproachfully.

DAGGER
Dag"ger, v. t.

Defn: To pierce with a dagger; to stab. [Obs.]

DAGGER
Dag"ger, n. Etym: [Perh. from diagonal.]

Defn: A timber placed diagonally in a ship's frame. Knight.

DAGGES
Dagges, n. pl. Etym: [OE. See Dag a loose end.]

Defn: An ornamental cutting of the edges of garments, introduced about a. d. 1346, according to the Chronicles of St Albans. [Obs.] Halliwell.

DAGGLE
Dag"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daggled; p. pr. & vb. n. Daggling.]
Etym: [Freq. of dag, v. t., 1.]

Defn: To trail, so as to wet or befoul; to make wet and limp; to
moisten.
The warrior's very plume, I say, Was daggled by the dashing spray.
Sir W. Scott.

DAGGLE
Dag"gle, v. i.

Defn: To run, go, or trail one's self through water, mud, or slush;
to draggle.
Nor, like a puppy [have I] daggled through the town. Pope.

DAGGLE-TAIL; DAGGLE-TAILED
Dag"gle-tail`, Dag"gle-tailed`, a.

Defn: Having the lower ends of garments defiled by trailing in mire or filth; draggle-tailed.

DAGGLE-TAIL
Dag"gle-tail`, n.

Defn: A slovenly woman; a slattern; a draggle-tail.

DAGLOCK
Dag"lock`, n. Etym: [Dag a loose and + lock.]

Defn: A dirty or clotted lock of wool on a sheep; a taglock.

DAGO
Da"go, n.; pl. Dagos. Etym: [Cf. Sp. Diego, E. James.]

Defn: A nickname given to a person of Spanish (or, by extension,
Portuguese or Italian) descent. [U. S.]

DAGOBA
Da*go"ba, n. Etym: [Singhalese dagoba.]

Defn: A dome-shaped structure built over relics of Buddha or some
Buddhist saint. [East Indies]

DAGON
Da"gon, Etym: [Heb. Dagon, fr. dag a fish: cf. Gr. .]

Defn: The national god of the Philistines, represented with the face
and hands and upper part of a man, and the tail of a fish. W. Smith.
This day a solemn feast the people hold To Dagon, their sea idol.
Milton.
They brought it into the house of Dagon. 1 Sam. v. 2.

DAGON
Dag"on, n. Etym: [See Dag a loose end.]

Defn: A slip or piece. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DAGSWAIN
Dag"swain`, n. Etym: [From Dag a loose end]

Defn: Acoarse woolen fabric made of daglocks, or the refuse of wool.
"Under coverlets made of dagswain." Holinshed.

DAG-TAILED
Dag"-tailed`, a. Etym: [Dag a loose end + tail.]

Defn: Daggle-tailed; having the tail clogged with daglocks. "Dag- tailed sheep." Bp. Hall.

DAGUERREAN; DAGUERREIAN
Da*guer"re*an, Da*guerre"i*an, a.

Defn: Pertaining to Daguerre, or to his invention of the daguerreotype.

DAGUERREOTYPE
Da*guerre"o*type, n. Etym: [From Daguerre the inventor + -type.]

1. An early variety of photograph, produced on a silver plate, or copper plate covered with silver, and rendered sensitive by the action of iodine, or iodine and bromine, on which, after exposure in the camera, the latent image is developed by the vapor of mercury.

2. The process of taking such pictures.

DAGUERREOTYPE
Da*guerre"o*type, v. t. [imp. & p.p. Daguerreotyped; p. pr. & vb. n.
Daguerreotyping.]

1. To produce or represent by the daguerreotype process, as a picture.

2. To impress with great distinctness; to imprint; to imitate exactly.

DAGUERREOTYPER; DAGUERREOTYPIST
Da*guerre"o*ty`per, Da*guerre"o*ty`pist, n.

Defn: One who takes daguerreotypes.

DAGUERREOTYPY
Da*guerre"o*ty`py, n.

Defn: The art or process of producing pictures by method of Daguerre.

DAHABEAH
Da`ha*be"ah, n. Etym: [Ar.]

Defn: A nile boat

DAHLIA Dah"lia, n.; pl. Dahlias. Etym: [Named after Andrew Dahl a Swedish botanist.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of plants native to Mexico and Central America, of the order Compositæ; also, any plant or flower of the genus. The numerous varieties of cultivated dahlias bear conspicuous flowers which differ in color.

DAHLIN
Dah"lin, n. Etym: [From Dahlia.] (Chem.)

Defn: A variety of starch extracted from the dahlia; — called also inulin. See Inulin.

DAHOON
Da*hoon" (da*hoon"), [Origin unknown.]

Defn: An evergreen shrub or small tree (Ilex cassine) of the southern United States, bearing red drupes and having soft, white, close- grained wood; — called also dahoon holly.

DAILINESS
Dai"li*ness, n.

Defn: Daily occurence. [R.]

DAILY
Dai"ly, a. Etym: [AS. dæglic; dæg day + -lic like. See Day.]

Defn: Happening, or belonging to, each successive day; diurnal; as, daily labor; a daily bulletin. Give us this day our daily bread. Matt. vi. 11. Bunyan has told us . . . that in New England his dream was the daily subject of the conversation of thousands. Macaulay.

Syn. — Daily, Diurnal. Daily is Anglo-Saxon, and diurnal is Latin. The former is used in reference to the ordinary concerns of life; as, daily wants, daily cares, daily employments. The latter is appropriated chiefly by astronomers to what belongs to the astronomical day; as, the diurnal revolution of the earth. Man hath his daily work of body or mind Appointed, which declares his dignity, And the regard of Heaven on all his ways. Milton. Half yet remains unsung, but narrower bound Within the visible diurnal sphere. Milton.

DAILY
Dai"ly, n.; pl. Dailies (.

Defn: A publication which appears regularly every day; as, the morning dailies.

DAILY
Dai"ly, adv.

Defn: Every day; day by day; as, a thing happens daily.

DAIMIO Dai"mi*o, n.; pl. Daimios. Etym: [Jap., fr. Chin. tai ming great name.]

Defn: The title of the feudal nobles of Japan.daimyo The daimios, or territorial nobles, resided in Yedo and were divided into four classes. Am. Cyc.

DAINT
Daint, n. Etym: [See Dainty, n.]

Defn: Something of exquisite taste; a dainty. [Obs.] — a.

Defn: Dainty. [Obs.]
To cherish him with diets daint. Spenser.

DAINTIFY
Dain"ti*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daintified; p. pr. & vb. n.
Daintifying.] Etym: [Dainty + -fy.]

Defn: To render dainty, delicate, or fastidious. "Daintified emotion." Sat. rev.

DAINTILY
Dain"ti*ly, adv.

Defn: In a dainty manner; nicely; scrupulously; fastidiously; deliciously; prettily.

DAINTINESS
Dain"ti*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being dainty; nicety; niceness; elegance; delicacy; deliciousness; fastidiousness; squeamishness. The daintiness and niceness of our captains Hakluyt. More notorious for the daintiness of the provision . . . than for the massiveness of the dish. Hakewill. The duke exeeded in the daintiness of his leg and foot, and the earl in the fine shape of his hands, Sir H. Wotton.

DAINTREL
Dain"trel, n. Etym: [From daint or dainty; cf. OF. daintier.]

Defn: Adelicacy. [Obs.] Halliwell.

DAINTY Dain"ty, n.; pl. Dainties. Etym: [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]

1. Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [Obs.] I ne told no deyntee of her love. Chaucer.

2. That which is delicious or delicate; a delicacy. That precious nectar may the taste renew Of Eden's dainties, by our parents lost. Beau. & Fl.

3. A term of fondness. [Poetic] B. Jonson.

Syn. — Dainty, Delicacy. These words are here compared as denoting articles of food. The term delicacy as applied to a nice article of any kind, and hence to articles of food which are particularly attractive. Dainty is stronger, and denotes some exquisite article of cookery. A hotel may be provided with all the delicacies of the season, and its table richly covered with dainties. These delicacies I mean of taste, sight, smell, herbs, fruits, and flowers, Walks and the melody of birds. Milton. [A table] furnished plenteously with bread, And dainties, remnants of the last regale. Cowper.

DAINTY
Dain"ty, a. [Compar. Daintier; superl. Daintiest.]

1. Rare; valuable; costly. [Obs.] Full many a deynté horse had he in stable. Chaucer.

Note: Hence the proverb "dainty maketh dearth," i. e., rarity makes a thing dear or precious.

2. Delicious to the palate; toothsome. Dainty bits Make rich the ribs. Shak.

3. Nice; delicate;elegant, in form, manner, or breeding; well-formed;
neat; tender.
Those dainty limbs which nature lent For gentle usage and soft
delicacy. Milton.
Iwould be the girdle. About her dainty, dainty waist. Tennyson.

4. Requirinig daintles. Hence; Overnice; hard to please; fastidious; sqrupulous; ceremonious. Thew were a fine and Dainty people. Bacon. And let us not be dainty of leave taking, But shift away. Shak. To make dainty, to assume or affect delicacy or fastidiousness. [Obs.] Ah ha, my mistresses! which of you all Will now deny to dance She that makes dainty, She, I'll swear, hath corns. Shak.

DAIRA
Da"ï*ra, n. [Turk. daire circuit department, fr. Ar. daïrah circle.]

Defn: Any of several valuable estates of the Egyptian khedive or his family. The most important are the Da"i*ra Sa"ni*eh, or Sa"ni*yeh, and the Da"i*ra Khas"sa, administered by the khedive's European bondholders, and known collectively as the Daira, or the Daira estates.

DAIRY
Dai"ry, n.;pl. Dairies. Etym: [OE. deierie, from deie, daie, maid; of
Scand. origin; cf. Icel. deigja maid, dairymaid, Sw. deja, orig., a
baking maid, fr. Icel. deig. Dough.]

1. The place, room, or house where milk is kept, and converted into butter or cheese. What stores my dairies and my folds contain. Dryden.

2. That department of farming which is concerned in the production of milk, and its conversion into butter and cheese. Grounds were turned much in England either to feeding or dairy; and this advanced the trade of English butter. Temple.

3. A dairy farm. [R.]

Note: Dairy is much used adjectively or in combination; as, dairy farm, dairy countries, dairy house or dairyhouse, dairyroom, dairywork, etc.

DAIRYING
Dai"ry*ing, n.

Defn: The business of conducting a dairy.

DAIRYMAID
Dai"ry*maid`, n.

Defn: A female servant whose business is the care of the dairy.

DAIRYMAN
Dai"ry*man, n.; pl. Dairymen (.

Defn: A man who keeps or takes care of a dairy.

DAIRYWOMAN
Dai"ry*wom`an, n.; pl. Dairywomen (.

Defn: A woman who attends to a dairy.

DAIS
Da"is (da"îs), n. Etym: [OE. deis, des, table, dais, OF. deis table,
F. dais a canopy, L. discus a quoit, a dish (from the shape), LL.,
table, fr. Gr. a quoit, a dish. See Dish.]

1. The high or principal table, at the end of a hall, at which the chief guests were seated; also, the chief seat at the high table. [Obs.]

2. A platform slightly raised above the floor of a hall or large room, giving distinction to the table and seats placed upon it for the chief guests.

3. A canopy over the seat of a person of dignity. [Obs.] Shiply.

DAISIED
Dai"sied, a.

Defn: Full of daisies; adorned with daisies. "The daisied green."
Langhorne.
The grass all deep and daisied. G. Eliot.

DAISY Dai"sy, n.; pl. Daisies. Etym: [OE. dayesye, AS. dæges day's eye, daisy. See Day, and Eye.] (Bot.) (a) A genus of low herbs (Bellis), belonging to the family Compositæ. The common English and classical daisy is B. prennis, which has a yellow disk and white or pinkish rays. (b) The whiteweed (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum), the plant commonly called daisy in North America; — called also oxeye daisy. See Whiteweed.

Note: The word daisy is also used for composite plants of other genera, as Erigeron, or fleabane. Michaelmas daisy (Bot.), any plant of the genus Aster, of which there are many species. — Oxeye daisy (Bot.), the whiteweed. See Daisy (b).

DAK
Dak, n. Etym: [Hind. .]

Defn: Post; mail; also, the mail or postal arrangements; — spelt also dawk, and dauk. [India] Dak boat, a mail boat. Percy Smith. — Dak bungalow, a traveler's rest-house at the and of a dak stage. — To travel by dak, to travel by relays of palanquines or other carriage, as fast as the post along a road.

DAKER; DAKIR
Da"ker, Da"kir, n. Etym: [See Dicker.] (O. Eng. & Scots Law)

Defn: A measure of certain commodities by number, usually ten or twelve, but sometimes twenty; as, a daker of hides consisted of ten skins; a daker of gloves of ten pairs. Burrill.

DAKER HEN Da"ker hen`. Etym: [Perh. fr. W. crecial the daker hen; crec a sharp noise (creg harsh, hoarse, crechian to scream) + iar hen; or cf. D. duiken to dive, plunge.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The corncrake or land rail.

DAKOIT; DAKOITY
Da*koit", n., Da*koit"y, n.

Defn: See Dacoit, Dacoity.

DAKOTA GROUP
Da*ko"ta group`. (Geol.)

Defn: A subdivision at the base of the cretaceous formation in Western North America; — so named from the region where the strata were first studied.

DAKOTAS
Da*ko"tas, n. pl.; sing. Dacota (. (Ethnol.)

Defn: An extensive race or stock of Indians, including many tribes, mostly dwelling west of the Mississippi River; — also, in part, called Sioux. [Written also Dacotahs.]

DAL
Dal, n. Etym: [Hind.]

Defn: Split pulse, esp. of Cajanus Indicus. [East Indies]

DALE Dale, n. Etym: [AS. dæl; akin to LG., D., Sw., Dan., OS., & Goth. dal, Icel. dalr, OHG. tal, G. thal, and perth. to Gr. a rotunda, Skr. dhara depth. Cf. Dell.]

1. A low place between hills; a vle or valley. Where mountaines rise, umbrageous dales descend. Thomson.

2. A trough or spout to carry off water, as from a pump. Knight.

DALESMAN
Dales"man, n.; pl. Dalesmen (.

Defn: One living in a dale; — a term applied particularly to the inhabitants of the valleys in the north of England, Norway, etc. Macaulay.

DALF
Dalf,

Defn: imp. of Delve. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DALLES
Dalles (dalz), n. pl. [F. dalle a tube, gutter, trough.]

Defn: A rapid, esp. one where the channel is narrowed between rock walls. [Northwestern U. S. & Canada]

The place below, where the compressed river wound like a silver
thread among the flat black rocks, was the far-famed Dalles of the
Columbia.
F. H. Balch.

DALLIANCE
Dal"li*ance, n. Etym: [From Dally.]

1. The act of dallying, trifling, or fondling; interchange of
caresses; wanton play.
Look thou be true, do not give dalliance Too mnch the rein. Shak.
O, the dalliance and the wit, The flattery and the strifeTennyson.

2. Delay or procrastination. Shak.

3. Entertaining discourse. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DALLIER
Dal"li*er, n.

Defn: One Who fondles; a trifler; as, dalliers with pleasant words.
Asham.

DALLOP
Dal"lop, n. Etym: [Etymol. unknown.]

Defn: A tuft or clump. [Obs.] Tusser.

DALLY Dal"ly, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dallied; p. pr. & vb. n. Dallying.] Etym: [OE. , dailien; cf. Icel. pylja to talk, G. dallen, dalen, dahlen, to trifle, talk nonsense, OSw. tule a droll or funny man; or AS. dol foolish, E. dull.]

1. To waste time in effeminate or voluptuous pleasures, or in idleness; to fool away time; to delay unnecessarily; to tarry; to trifle. We have trifled too long already; it is madness to dally any longer. Calamy. We have put off God, and dallied with his grace. Barrow.

2. To interchange caresses, especially with one of the opposite sex; to use fondling; to wanton; to sport. Not dallying with a brace of courtesans. Shak. Our aerie . . . dallies with the wind. Shak.

DALLY
Dal"ly, v. t.

Defn: To delay unnecessarily; to while away.
Dallying off the time with often skirmishes. Knolles.

DALMANIA
Dal*ma"ni*a, n. Etym: [From Dalman, the geologist.] (Paleon.)

Defn: A genus of trilobites, of many species, common in the Upper
Silurian and Devonian rocks.

DALMANITES
Dal`ma*ni"tes, n.

Defn: Same as Dalmania.

DALMATIAN
Dal*ma"tian, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Dalmatia. Dalmatian dog (Zoöl.), a carriage dog, shaped like a pointer, and having black or bluish spots on a white ground; the coach dog.

DALMATICA; DALMATIC Dal*mat"i*ca, n., Dal*mat"ic (, n. Etym: [LL. dalmatica: cf. F. dalmatique.]

1. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A vestment with wide sleeves, and with two stripes, worn at Mass by deacons, and by bishops at pontifical Mass; — imitated from a dress originally worn in Dalmatia.

2. A robe worn on state ocasions, as by English kings at their coronation.

DAL SEGNO
Dal` se"gno. Etym: [It., from the sign.] (Mus.)

Defn: A direction to go back to the sign Segno.

DALTONIAN
Dal*to"ni*an, n.

Defn: One afflicted with color blindness.

DALTONISM
Dal"ton*ism, n.

Defn: Inability to perceive or distinguish certain colors, esp. red; color blindness. It has various forms and degrees. So called from the chemist Dalton, who had this infirmity. Nichol.

DAM
Dam, n. Etym: [OE. dame mistress, lady; also, mother, dam. See Dame.]

1. A female parent; — used of beasts, especially of quadrupeds; sometimes applied in contempt to a human mother. Our sire and dam, now confined to horses, are a relic of this age (13th century) . . . .Dame is used of a hen; we now make a great difference between dame and dam. T. L. K. Oliphant. The dam runs lowing up end down, Looking the way her harmless young one went. Shak.

2. A kind or crowned piece in the game of draughts.

DAM Dam, n. Etym: [Akin to OLG., D., & Dan. dam, G. & Sw. damm, Icel. dammr, and AS. fordemman to stop up, Goth. Faúrdammjan.]

1. A barrier to prevent the flow of a liquid; esp., a bank of earth, or wall of any kind, as of masonry or wood, built across a water course, to confine and keep back flowing water.

2. (Metal.)

Defn: A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace. Dam plate (Blast Furnace), an iron plate in front of the dam, to strengthen it.

DAM
Dam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dammed; p. pr. & vb. n. Damming.]

1. To obstruct or restrain the flow of, by a dam; to confine by constructing a dam, as a stream of water; — generally used with in or up. I'll have the current in this place dammed up. Shak. A weight of earth that dams in the water. Mortimer.

2. To shut up; to stop up; to close; to restrain.
The strait pass was dammed With dead men hurt behind, and cowards.
Shak.
To dam out, to keep out by means of a dam.

DAMAGE Dam"age, n. Etym: [OF. damage, domage, F. dommage, fr. assumed LL. damnaticum, from L. damnum damage. See Damn.]

1. Injury or harm to person, property, or reputation; an inflicted loss of value; detriment; hurt; mischief. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage. Prov. xxvi. 6. Great errors and absurdities many commit for want of a friend to tell them of them, to the great damage both of their fame and fortune. Bacon.

2. pl. (Law)

Defn: The estimated reparation in money for detriment or injury sustained; a compensation, recompense, or satisfaction to one party, for a wrong or injury actually done to him by another.

Note: In common-law action, the jury are the proper judges of damages. Consequential damage. See under Consequential. — Exemplary damages (Law), damages imposed by way of example to others. — Nominal damages (Law), those given for a violation of a right where no actual loss has accrued. — Vindictive damages, those given specially for the punishment of the wrongdoer.

Syn.
— Mischief; injury; harm; hurt; detriment; evil; ill. See Mischief.

DAMAGE
Dam"age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Damages; p. pr. & vb. n. Damaging.]
Etym: [Cf. OF. damagier, domagier. See Damage, n.]

Defn: To ocassion damage to the soudness, goodness, or value of; to hurt; to injure; to impair. He . . . came up to the English admiral and gave him a broadside, with which he killed many of his men and damaged the ship. Clarendon.

DAMAGE
Dam"age, v. i.

Defn: To receive damage or harm; to be injured or impaired in soudness or value; as. some colors in damage in sunlight.

DAMAGEABLE
Dam"age*a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. dammageable, for sense 2.]

1. Capable of being injured or impaired; liable to, or susceptible of, damage; as, a damageable cargo.

2. Hurtful; pernicious. [R.] That it be not demageable unto your royal majesty. Hakluit.

DAMAGE FEASANT
Dam"age fea`sant. Etym: [OF. damage + F. faisant doing, p. pr. See
Feasible.] (Law)

Defn: Doing injury; trespassing, as cattle. Blackstone.

DAMAN
Da"man, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small herbivorous mammal of the genus Hyrax. The species
found in Palestine and Syria is Hyrax Syriacus; that of Northern
Africa is H. Brucei; — called also ashkoko, dassy, and rock rabbit.
See Cony, and Hyrax.

DAMAR
Dam"ar, n.

Defn: See Dammar.

DAMARA Da*ma"ra, n. [The name is supposed to be from Hottentot dama vanquished.]

Defn: A native of Damaraland, German Southwest Africa. The Damaras include an important and warlike Bantu tribe, and the Hill Damaras, who are Hottentots and mixed breeds hostile to the Bantus.

DAMASCENE Dam"as*cene, a. Etym: [L. Damascenus of Damascus, fr. Damascus the city, Gr. . See Damask, and cf. Damaskeen, Damaskin, Damson.]

Defn: Of or relating to Damascus.

DAMASCENE
Dam"as*cene, n.

Defn: A kind of plume, now called damson. See Damson.

DAMASCENE
Dam"as*cene, v. t.

Defn: Same as Damask, or Damaskeen, v. t. "Damascened armor."
Beaconsfield. "Cast and damascened steel." Ure.

DAMASCUS
Da*mas"cus, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A city of Syria. Damascus blade, a sword or scimiter, made chiefly at Damascus, having a variegated appearance of watering, and proverbial for excellence. — Damascus iron, or Damascus twist, metal formed of thin bars or wires of iron and steel elaborately twisted and welded together; used for making gun barrels, etc., of high quality, in which the surface, when polished and acted upon by acid, has a damasc appearance. — Damascus steel. See Damask steel, under Damask, a.

DAMASCUS STEEL
Da*mas"cus steel.

Defn: See Damask steel, under Damask.

DAMASK
Dam"ask, n. Etym: [From the city Damascus, L. Damascus, Gr. , Heb.
Dammesq, Ar. Daemeshq; cf. Heb. d'meseq damask; cf. It. damasco, Sp.
damasco, F. damas. Cf. Damascene, DamassÉ.]

1. Damask silk; silk woven with an elaborate pattern of flowers and the like. "A bed of ancient damask." W. Irving.

2. Linen so woven that a pattern in produced by the different directions of the thread, without contrast of color.

3. A heavy woolen or worsted stuff with a pattern woven in the same way as the linen damask; — made for furniture covering and hangings.

4. Damask or Damascus steel; also, the peculiar markings or "water" of such steel.

5. A deep pink or rose color. Fairfax.

DAMASK
Dam"ask, a.

1. Pertaining to, or originating at, the city of Damascus; resembling the products or manufactures of Damascus.

2. Having the color of the damask rose. But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud, Feed on her damask cheek. Shak. Damask color, a deep rose-color like that of the damask rose. — Damask plum, a small dark-colored plum, generally called damson. — Damask rose (Bot.), a large, pink, hardy, and very fragrant variety of rose (Rosa damascena) from Damascus. "Damask roses have not been known in England above one hundred years." Bacon. — Damask steel, or Damascus steel, steel of the kind originally made at Damascus, famous for its hardness, and its beautiful texture, ornamented with waving lines; especially, that which is inlaid with damaskeening; — formerly much valued for sword blades, from its great flexibility and tenacity.

DAMASK
Dam"ask, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Damasked; p. pr. & vb. n. Damasking.]

Defn: To decorate in a way peculiar to Damascus or attributed to Damascus; particularly: (a) with flowers and rich designs, as silk; (b) with inlaid lines of gold, etc., or with a peculiar marking or "water," as metal. See Damaskeen. Mingled metal damasked o'er with gold. Dryde On the soft, downy bank, damasked with flowers. Milton.

DAMASKEEN; DAMASKEN
Dam"as*keen`, Dam"as*ken, v. t. Etym: [F. damaschinare. See
Damascene, v.]

Defn: To decorate, as iron, steel, etc., with a peculiar marking or "water" produced in the process of manufacture, or with designs produced by inlaying or incrusting with another metal, as silver or gold, or by etching, etc., to damask. Damaskeening is is partly mosaic work, partly engraving, and partly carving. Ure.

DAMASKIN Dam"as*kin, n. Etym: [Cf. F. damasquin, adj., It. damaschino, Sp. damasquino. See Damaskeen.]

Defn: A sword of Damask steel.
No old Toledo blades or damaskins. Howell

DAMASSE
Da*mas*sé", a. Etym: [F. damassé, fr. damas. See Damask.]

Defn: Woven like damask.
— n.

Defn: A damassé fabric, esp. one of linen.

DAMASSIN
Dam"as*sin, n. Etym: [F., fr. damas. See Damask.]

Defn: A kind of modified damask or blocade.

DAMBONITE
Dambo*nite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. dambonite.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white crystalline, sugary substance obtained from an African caotchouc.

DAMBOSE
Dam"bose, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A crystalline vari ety of fruit sugar obtained from dambonite.

DAME
Dame, n. Etym: [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady,
fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue.
See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger, Dangeon, Dungeon, Dominie,
Don, n., Duenna.]

1. A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. Then shall these lords do vex me half so much, As that proud dame, the lord protector's wife. Shak.

2. The mistress of a family in common life, or the mistress of a common school; as, a dame's school. In the dame's classes at the village school. Emerson.

3. A woman in general, esp. an elderly woman.

4. A mother; — applied to human beings and quadrupeds. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DAMEWORT
Dame"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A cruciferrous plant (Hesperis matronalis), remarkable for its fragrance, especially toward the close of the day; — called also rocket and dame's violet. Loudon.

DAMIANA
Da`mi*a"na, n. Etym: [NL.; of uncertain origin.] (Med.)

Defn: A Mexican drug, used as an aphrodisiac.

Note: There are several varieties derived from different plants, esp. from a species of Turnera and from Bigelovia veneta. Wood & Bache.

DAMIANIST
Da"mi*an*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: A follower of Damian, patriarch of Alexandria in the 6th century, who held heretical opinions on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

DAMMAR; DAMMARA
Dam"mar, Dam"ma*ra, n. Etym: [Jav. & Malay. damar.]

Defn: An oleoresin used in making varnishes; dammar gum; dammara resin. It is obtained from certain resin trees indigenous to the East Indies, esp. Shorea robusta and the dammar pine. Dammar pine, (Bot.), a tree of the Moluccas (Agathis, or Dammara, orientalis), yielding dammar.

DAMMARA
Dam"ma*ra, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A large tree of the order Coniferæ, indigenous to the East Indies and Australasia; — called also Agathis. There are several species.

DAMN
Damn, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Damned; p. pr. & vb. n. Damning.] Etym:
[OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare,
damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf.
Condemn, Damage.]

1. To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him. Shak.

2. (Theol.)

Defn: To doom to punishment in the future world; to consign to perdition; to curse.

3. To condemn as bad or displeasing, by open expression, as by denuciation, hissing, hooting, etc. You are not so arrant a critic as to damn them [the works of modern poets] . . . without hearing. Pope. Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer. Pope.

Note: Damn is sometimes used interjectionally, imperatively, and intensively.

DAMN
Damn, v. i.

Defn: To invoke damnation; to curse. "While I inwardly damn."
Goldsmith.

DAMNABILITY
Dam`na*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being damnable; damnableness. Sir T. More.

DAMNABLE
Dam"na*ble, a. Etym: [L. damnabilis, fr. damnare: cf. F. damnable.
See Damn.]

1. Liable to damnation; deserving, or for which one deserves, to be damned; of a damning nature. A creature unprepared unmeet for dealth, And to transport him in the mind hi is, Were damnable. Shak.

2. Odious; pernicious; detestable. Begin, murderer; . . . leave thy damnable faces. Shak.

DAMNABLENESS
Dam"na*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of deserving damnation; execrableness.
The damnableness of this most execrable impiety. Prynne.

DAMNABLY
Dam"na*bly, adv.

1. In a manner to incur sever

2. Odiously; detestably; excessively. [Low]

DAMNATION
Dam*na"tion, n. Etym: [F. damnation, L. damnatio, fr. damnare. See
Damn.]

1. The state of being damned; condemnation; openly expressed disapprobation.

2. (Theol.)

Defn: Condemnation to everlasting punishment in the future state, or
the punishment itself.
How can ye escape the damnation of hell Matt. xxiii. 33.
Wickedness is sin, and sin is damnation. Shak.

3. A sin daserving of everlasting punishment. [R.] The deep damnation of his taking-off. Shak.

DAMNATORY
Dam"na*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. damnatorius, fr. damnator a condemner.]

Defn: Doo "Damnatory invectives." Hallam.

DAMNED
Damned, a.

1. Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.

2. Hateful; detestable; abominable. But, O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who doats, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves. Shak.

DAMNIFIC Dam*nif"ic, a. Etym: [L. damnificus; damnum damage, loss + facere to make. See Damn.]

Defn: Procuring or causing loss; mischievous; injurious.

DAMNIFICATION
Dam`ni*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [LL. damnificatio.]

Defn: That which causes damage or loss.

DAMNIFY Dam"ni*fy, v. t. Etym: [LL. damnificare, fr. L. damnificus: cf. OF. damnefier. See Damnific.]

Defn: To cause loss or damage to; to injure; to imparir. [R.]
This work will ask as many more officials to make expurgations and
expunctions, that the commonwealth of learning be not damnified.
Milton.

DAMNING
Damn"ing, a.

Defn: That damns; damnable; as, damning evidence of guilt.

DAMNINGNESS
Damn"ing*ness, n.

Defn: Tendency to bring damnation. "The damningness of them [sins]."
Hammond.

DAMNUM dam"num, n. Etym: [L.] (law)

Defn: Harm; detriment, either to character or property.

DAMOSEL; DAMOSELLA; DAMOISELLE
Dam"o*sel, Dam`o*sel"la, Da`moi`selle", n.

Defn: See Damsel. [Archaic]

DAMOURITE
Dam"our*ite, n. Etym: [Ater the French chemist Damour.] (Min.)

Defn: A kind of Muscovite, or potash mica, containing water.

DAMP Damp, n. Etym: [Akin to LG., D., & Dan. damp vapor, steam, fog, G. dampf, Icel. dampi, Sw. damb dust, and to MNG. dimpfen to smoke, imp. dampf.]

1. Moisture; humidity; fog; fogginess; vapor. Night . . . with black air Accompanied, with damps and dreadful gloom. Milton.

2. Dejection; depression; cloud of the mind. Even now, while thus I stand blest in thy presence, A secret damp of grief comes o'er my soul. Addison. It must have thrown a damp over your autumn excursion. J. D. Forbes.

3. (Mining)

Defn: A gaseous prodact, formed in coal mines, old wells, pints, etc. Choke damp, a damp consisting principally of carboniCarbonic acid, under Carbonic. — Damp sheet, a curtain in a mine gallery to direct air currents and prevent accumulation of gas. — Fire damp, a damp consisting chiefly of light carbureted hydrogen; — so called from its tendence to explode when mixed with atmospheric air and brought into contact with flame.

DAMP
Damp, a. [Compar. Damper; superl. Dampest.]

1. Being in a state between dry and wet; moderately wet; moist; humid. O'erspread with a damp sweat and holy fear. Dryden.

2. Dejected; depressed; sunk. [R.] All these and more came flocking, but with looks Downcast and damp. Milton.

DAMP
Damp, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Damped; p. pr. & vb. n. Damping.] Etym:
[OE. dampen to choke, suffocate. See Damp, n.]

1. To render damp; to moisten; to make humid, or moderately wet; to dampen; as, to damp cloth.

2. To put out, as fire; to depress or deject; to deaden; to cloud; to check or restrain, as action or vigor; to make dull; to weaken; to discourage. "To damp your tender hopes." Akenside. Usury dulls and damps all industries, improvements, and new inventions, wherein money would be stirring if it were not for this slug. Bacon. How many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word! Sir J. Lubbock. The failure of his enterprise damped the spirit of the soldiers. Macaulay.

DAMPEN
Damp"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dampened; p. pr. & vb. n. Dampening.]

1. To make damp or moist; to make slightly wet.

2. To depress; to check; to make dull; to lessen. In a way that considerably dampened our enthusiasm. The Century.

DAMPEN
Damp"en, v. i.

Defn: To become damp; to deaden. Byron.

DAMPER
Damp"er, n.

Defn: That which damps or checks; as: (a) A valve or movable plate in the flue or other part of a stove, furnace, etc., used to check or regulate the draught of air. (b) A contrivance, as in a pianoforte, to deaden vibrations; or, as in other pieces of mechanism, to check some action at a particular time. Nor did Sabrina's presence seem to act as any damper at the modest little festivities. W. Black.

DAMPISH
Damp"ish, a.

Defn: Moderately damp or moist.
— Damp"ish*ly, adv.
— Damp"ish*ness, n.

DAMPNE
Damp"ne, v. t.

Defn: To damn. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DAMPNESS
Damp"ness, n.

Defn: Moderate humidity; moisture; fogginess; moistness.

DAMP OFF
Damp" off`.

Defn: To decay and perish through excessive moisture.

DAMPY
Damp"y, a.

1. Somewhat damp. [Obs.] Drayton.

2. Dejected; gloomy; sorrowful. [Obs.] "Dispel dampy throughts." Haywards.

DAMSEL Dam"sel, n. Etym: [OE. damosel, damesel, damisel, damsel, fr. OF. damoisele, damisele, gentlewoman, F. demoiselle young lady; cf. OF. damoisel young nobleman, F. damoiseau; fr. LL. domicella, dominicella, fem., domicellus, dominicellus, masc., dim. fr. L. domina, dominus. See Dame, and cf. Demoiselle, Doncella.]

1. A young person, either male or female, of noble or gentle extraction; as, Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, Prince of Wales. [Obs.]

2. A young unmarried woman; a gerl; a maiden.
With her train of damsels she was gone, In shady walks the scorching
heat to shum. Dryden.
Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, . . . Goes by to towered Cameleot.
Tennyson.

3. (Milling)

Defn: An attachment to a millstone spindle for shaking the hoppe

DAMSON
Dam"son, n. Etym: [OE. damasin the Damascus plum, fr. L. Damascenus.
See Damascene.]

Defn: A small oval plum of a blue color, the fruit of a variety of the Prunus domestica; — called also damask plum.

DAN Dan, n. Etym: [OE. dan, danz, OF. danz (prop. only nom.), dan, master, fr. L. dominus. See Dame.]

Defn: A title of honor equivalent to master, or sir. [Obs.]
Old Dan Geoffry, in gently spright The pure wellhead of poetry did
dwell. Spenser.
What time Dan Abraham left the Chaldee land. Thomson.

DAN
Dan, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.] (Mining)

Defn: A small truck or sledge used in coal mines.

DANAIDE Da"na*ide, n. Etym: [From the mythical Danaides, who were condemned to fill with water a vessel full of holes.] (Mach.)

Defn: A water wheel having a vertical axis, and an inner and outer tapering shell, between which are vanes or floats attached usually to both shells, but sometimes only to one.

DANAITE
Da"na*ite, n. Etym: [Named after J. Freeman Dana.] (Min.)

Defn: A cobaltiferous variety of arsenopyrite.

DANALITE
Da"na*lite, n. Etym: [Named after James Dwight Dana.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral occuring in octahedral crystals, also massive, of a reddish color. It is a silicate of iron, zinc manganese, and glicinum, containing sulphur.

DANBURITE
Dan"bu*rite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A borosilicate of lime, first found at Danbury, Conn. It is near the topaz in form. Dana.

DANCE Dance, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Danced; p. pr. & vb. n. Dancing.] Etym: [F. danser, fr. OHG. dans to draw; akin to dinsan to draw, Goth. apinsan, and prob. from the same root (meaning to stretch) as E. thin. See Thin.]

1. To move with measured steps, or to a musical accompaniment; to go through, either alone or in company with others, with a regulated succession of movements, (commonly) to the sound of music; to trip or leap rhytmically. Jack shall pipe and Gill shall dance. Wiher. Good shepherd, what fair swain is this Which dances with your dauther Shak.

2. To move nimbly or merrily; to express pleasure by motion; to
caper; to frisk; to skip about.
Then, 'tis time to dance off. Thackeray.
More dances my rapt heart Than when I first my wedded mistress saw.
Shak.
Shadows in the glassy waters dance. Byron.
Where rivulets dance their wayward round. Wordsworth.
To dance on a rope, or To dance on nothing, to be hanged.

DANCE
Dance, v. t.

Defn: To cause to dance, or move nimbly or merrily about, or up and
down; to dandle.
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind. Shak.
Thy grandsire loved thee well; Many a time he danced thee on his
knee. Shak.
To dance attendance, to come and go obsequiously; to be or remain in
waiting, at the beck and call of another, with a view to please or
gain favor.
A man of his place, and so near our favor, To dance attendance on
their lordships' pleasure. Shak.

DANCE
Dance, n. Etym: [F. danse, of German origin. See Dance, v. i.]

1. The leaping, tripping, or measured stepping of one who dances; an amusement, in which the movements of the persons are regulated by art, in figures and in accord with music.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: A tune by which dancing is regulated, as the minuet, the waltz, the cotillon, etc.

Note: The word dance was used ironically, by the older writers, of many proceedings besides dancing. Of remedies of love she knew parchance For of that art she couth the olde dance. Chaucer. Dance of Death (Art), an allegorical representation of the power of death over all, — the old, the young, the high, and the low, being led by a dancing skeleton. — Morris dance. See Morris. — To lead one a dance, to cause one to go through a series of movements or experiences as if guided by a partner in a dance not understood.

DANCER
Dan"cer, n.

Defn: One who dances or who practices dancing. The merry dancers, beams of the northern lights when they rise and fall alternately without any considerable change of length. See Aurora borealis, under Aurora.

DANCERESS
Dan"cer*ess, n.

Defn: A female dancer. [Obs.] Wyclif.

DANCETTE
Dan`cet`té", a. Etym: [Cf. F. danché dancetté, dent tooth.] (Her.)

Defn: Deeply indented; having large teeth; thus, a fess dancetté has only three teeth in the whole width of the escutcheon.

DANCING
Dan"cing, p. a. & vb. n.

Defn: from Dance. Dancing girl, one of the women in the East Indies whose profession is to dance in the temples, or for the amusement of spectators. There are various classes of dancing girls. — Dancing master, a teacher of dancing. — Dancing school, a school or place where dancing is taught.

DANCY
Dan"cy, a. (Her.)

Defn: Same as Dancetté.

DANDELION Dan"de*li`on, n. Etym: [F. dent de lion lion's tooth, fr. L. dens tooth + leo lion. See Tooth, n., and Lion.] (Bot.)

Defn: A well-known plant of the genus Taraxacum (T. officinale, formerly called T. Dens-leonis and Leontodos Taraxacum) bearing large, yellow, compound flowers, and deeply notched leaves.

DANDER
Dan"der, n. Etym: [Corrupted from dandruff.]

1. Dandruff or scurf on the head.

2. Anger or vexation; rage [Low] Halliwell.

DANDER
Dan"der, v. i. Etym: [See Dandle.]

Defn: To wander about; to saunter; to talk incoherently. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.

DANDI
Dan"di, n. Etym: [Hind. , fr. an oar.]

Defn: A boatman; an oarsman. [India]

DANDIE
Dan"die, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a breed of small terriers; — called also Dandie
Dinmont.

DANDIE DINMONT; DANDIE
Dan"die Din"mont, or Dan"die, n.

1.

Defn: In Scott's "Guy Mannering", a Border farmer of eccentric but fine character, who owns two terriers claimed to be the progenitors of the Dandie Dinmont terriers.

2. One of a breed of terriers with short legs, long body, and rough coat, originating in the country about the English and Scotch border.

DANDIFIED
Dan"di*fied, a.

Defn: Made up like a dandy; having the dress or manners of a dandy; buckish.

DANDIFY
Dan"di*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dandified; p. pr. & vb. n.
Dandifying.] Etym: [Dandy + -fy.]

Defn: To cause to resemble a dandy; to make dandyish.

DANDIPRAT
Dan"di*prat, n. Etym: [Dandy + brat child.]

1. A little fellow; — in sport or contempt. "A dandiprat hop-thumb." Stanyhurst.

2. A small coin. Henry VII. stamped a small coin called dandiprats. Camden.

DANDLE Dan"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dandled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dandling.] Etym: [Cf. G. dändeln to trifly, dandle, OD. & Prov. G. danten, G. tand trifly, prattle; Scot. dandill, dander, to go about idly, to trifly.]

1. To move up and down on one's knee or in one's arms, in affectionate play, as an infant. Ye shall be dandled . . . upon her knees. Is.

2. To treat with fondness, as if a child; to fondle; to toy with; to pet. They have put me in a silk gown and gaudy fool's cap; I as ashamed to be dandled thus. Addison. The book, thus dandled into popularity by bishops and good ladies, contained many pieces of nursery eloquence. Jeffrey.

3. To play with; to put off or delay by trifles; to wheedle. [Obs.] Captains do so dandle their doings, and dally in the service, as it they would not have the enemy subdued. Spenser.

DANDLER
Dan"dler, n.

Defn: One who dandles or fondles.

DANDRIFF
Dan"driff, n.

Defn: See Dandruff. Swift.

DANDRUFF Dandruff, n. Etym: [Prob. from W. toncrust, peel, skin + AS. dr dirty, draffy, or W. drwg bad: cf. AS. tan a letter, an eruption. sq. root240.]

Defn: A scurf which forms on the head, and comes off in small or particles. [Written also dandriff.]

DANDY
Dan"dy, n.; pl. Dandies. Etym: [Cf. F. dandin, ninny, silly fellow,
dandiner to waddle, to play the fool; prob. allied to E. dandle.
Senses 2&3 are of uncertain etymol.]

1. One who affects special finery or gives undue attention to dress; a fop; a coxcomb.

2. (Naut.) (a) A sloop or cutter with a jigger on which a lugsail is set. (b) A small sail carried at or near the stern of small boats; — called also jigger, and mizzen.

3. A dandy roller. See below. Dandy brush, a yard whalebone brush.
— Dandy fever. See Dengue.
— Dandy line, a kind of fishing line to which are attached several
crosspieces of whalebone which carry a hook at each end.
— Dandy roller, a roller sieve used in machines for making paper,
to press out water from the pulp, and set the paper.

DANDY-COCK; DANDY-HEN
Dan"dy-cock` (, n. masc., Dan"dy-hen` (, n. fem. Etym: [See Dandy.]

Defn: A bantam fowl.

DANDYISE; DANDYIZE
Dan"dy*ise, v. t. & i.

Defn: To make, or to act, like a dandy; to dandify.

DANDYISH
Dan"dy*ish, a.

Defn: Like a dandy.

DANDYISM
Dan"dy*ism, n.

Defn: The manners and dress of a dandy; foppishness. Byron.

DANDYLING
Dan"dy*ling, n. Etym: [Dandy + .]

Defn: A little or insignificant dandy; a contemptible fop.

DANE
Dane, n. Etym: [LL. Dani: cf. AS. Dene.]

Defn: A native, or a naturalized inhabitant, of Denmark. Great Dane.
(Zoöl.) See Danish dog, under Danish.

DANEGELD; DANEGELT Dane"geld`, Dane"gelt`, n. Etym: [AS. danegeld. See Dane, and Geld, n.] (Eng. Hist.)

Defn: An annual tax formerly laid on the English nation to buy off the ravages of Danish invaders, or to maintain forces to oppose them. It afterward became a permanent tax, raised by an assessment, at first of one shilling, afterward of two shillings, upon every hide of land throughout the realm. Wharton's Law Dict. Tomlins.

DANEWORT
Dane"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A fetid European species of elder (Sambucus Ebulus); dwarf elder; wallwort; elderwort; — called also Daneweed, Dane's weed, and Dane's-blood.

Note: [Said to grow on spots where battles were fought against the
Danes.]

DANG
Dang,

Defn: imp. of Ding. [Obs.]

DANG
Dang, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Ding.]

Defn: To dash. [Obs.] Till she, o'ercome with anguish, shame, and rage, Danged down to hell her loathsome carriage. Marlowe.

DANGER Dan"ger, n. Etym: [OE. danger, daunger, power, arrogance, refusal, difficulty, fr. OF. dagier, dongier (with same meaning), F. danger danger, fr. an assumed LL. dominiarium power, authority, from L. dominium power, property. See Dungeon, Domain, Dame.]

1. Authority; jurisdiction; control. [Obs.] In dangerhad he . . . the young girls. Chaucer.

2. Power to harm; subjection or liability to penalty. [Obs.] See In
one's danger, below.
You stand within his danger, do you not Shak.
Covetousness of gains hath brought [them] in dangerof this statute.
Robynson (More's Utopia).

3. Exposure to injury, loss, pain, or other evil; peril; risk; insecurity.

4. Difficulty; sparingness. [Obs.] Chaucer.

5. Coyness; disdainful behavior. [Obs.] Chaucer. In one's danger, in one's power; liable to a penalty to be inflicted by him. [Obs.] This sense is retained in the proverb, "Out of debt out of danger." Those rich man in whose debt and danger they be not. Robynson (More's Utopia). — To do danger, to cause danger. [Obs.] Shak.

Syn. — Peril; hazard; risk; jeopardy. — Danger, Peril, Hazard, Risk, Jeopardy. Danger is the generic term, and implies some contingent evil in prospect. Peril is instant or impending danger; as, in peril of one's life. Hazard arises from something fortuitous or beyond our control; as, the hazard of the seas. Risk is doubtful or uncertain danger, often incurred voluntarily; as, to risk an engagement. Jeopardy is extreme danger. Danger of a contagious disease; the perils of shipwreck; the hazards of speculation; the risk of daring enterprises; a life brought into jeopardy.

DANGER
Dan"ger, v. t.

Defn: To endanger. [Obs.] Shak.

DANGERFUL
Dan"ger*ful, a.

Defn: Full of danger; dangerous. [Obs.] — Dan"ger*ful*ly, adv.
[Obs.] Udall.

DANGERLESS
Dan"ger*less, a.

Defn: Free from danger. [R.]

DANGEROUS Dan"ger*ous, a. Etym: [OE., haughty, difficult, dangerous, fr. OF. dangereus, F. dangereux. See Danger.]

1. Attended or beset with danger; full of risk; perilous; hazardous;
unsafe.
Our troops set forth to-morrow; stay with us; The ways are dangerous.
Shak.
It is dangerous to assert a negative. Macaulay.

2. Causing danger; ready to do harm or injury. If they incline to think you dangerous To less than gods. Milton.

3. In a condition of danger, as from illness; threatened with death. [Colloq.] Forby. Bartlett.

4. Hard to suit; difficult to please. [Obs.] My wages ben full strait, and eke full small; My lord to me is hard and dangerous. Chaucer.

5. Reserved; not affable. [Obs.] "Of his speech dangerous." Chaucer.
— Dan"ger*ous*ly, adv.
— Dan"ger*ous*ness, n.

DANGLE
Dan"gle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dangled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dangling.]
Etym: [Akin to Dan. dangle, dial. Sw. dangla, Dan. dingle, Sw.
dingla, Icel. dingla; perh. from E. ding.]

Defn: To hang loosely, or with a swinging or jerking motion.
he'd rather on a gibbet dangle Than miss his dear delight, to
wrangle. Hudibras.
From her lifted hand Dangled a length of ribbon. Tennyson.
To dangle about or after, to hang upon importunately; to court the
favor of; to beset.
The Presbyterians, and other fanatics that dangle after them, are
well inclined to pull down the present establishment. Swift.

DANGLE
Dan"gle, v. t.

Defn: To cause to dangle; to swing, as something suspended loosely; as, to dangle the feet. And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume. Sir W. Scott.

DANGLEBERRY
Dan"gle*ber`ry, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A dark blue, edible berry with a white bloom, and its shrub
(Gaylussacia frondosa) closely allied to the common huckleberry. The
bush is also called blue tangle, and is found from New England to
Kentucky, and southward.

DANGLER
Dan"gler, n.

Defn: One who dangles about or after others, especially after women; a trifler. " Danglers at toilets." Burke.

DANIEL
Dan"i*el, n.

Defn: A Hebrew prophet distinguished for sagacity and ripeness of judgment in youth; hence, a sagacious and upright judge. A Daniel come to judgment. Shak.

DANISH
Dan"ish, a. Etym: [See Dane.]

Defn: Belonging to the Danes, or to their language or country.
— n.

Defn: The language of the Danes. Danish dog (Zoöl.), one of a large and powerful breed of dogs reared in Denmark; — called also great Dane. See Illustration in Appendix.

DANITE
Dan"ite, n.

1. A descendant of Dan; an Israelite of the tribe of Dan. Judges xiii. 2.

2. Etym: [So called in remembrance of the prophecy in Gen. xlix. 17, "Dan shall be a serpent by the way," etc.]

Defn: One of a secret association of Mormons, bound by an oath to obey the heads of the church in all things. [U. S.]

DANK Dank, a. Etym: [Cf. dial, Sw. dank a moist place in a field, Icel. dökk pit, pool; possibly akin to E. damp or to daggle dew.]

Defn: Damp; moist; humid; wet.
Now that the fields are dank and ways are mire. Milton.
Cheerless watches on the cold, dank ground. Trench.

DANK
Dank, n.

Defn: Moisture; humidity; water. [Obs.]

DANK
Dank, n.

Defn: A small silver coin current in Persia.

DANKISH
Dank"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat dank.
— Dank"ish*ness, n.
In a dark and dankish vault at home. Shak.

DANNEBROG
Dan"ne*brog, n.

Defn: The ancient battle standard of Denmark, bearing figures of cross and crown. Order of Dannebrog, an ancient Danish order of knighthood.

DANSEUSE
Dan`seuse", n. Etym: [F., fr. danser to dance.]

Defn: a professional female dancer; a woman who dances at a public exhibition as in a ballet.

DANSK
Dansk, a. Etym: [Dan.]

Defn: Danish. [Obs.]

DANSKER
Dansk"er, n.

Defn: A Dane. [Obs.]
Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris. Shak.

DANTEAN
Dan*te"an, a.

Defn: Relatingto, emanating from or resembling, the poet Dante or his writings.

DANTESQUE
Dan*tesque", a. Etym: [Cf. It. Dantesco.]

Defn: Dantelike; Dantean. Earle.

DANUBIAN
Da*nu"bi*an, a.

Defn: Pertainingto, or bordering on, the river Danube.

DAP
Dap, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Dip.] (Angling)

Defn: To drop the bait gently on the surface of the water.
To catch a club by dapping with a grasshoper. Walton.

DAPATICAL
Da*pat"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. dapaticus, fr. daps feast.]

Defn: Sumptuous in cheer. [Obs.] Bailey.

DAPHNE
Daph"ne, n. Etym: [L., a laurel tree, from Gr. .]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of diminutive Shrubs, mostly evergreen, and with fragrant blossoms.

2. (Myth.)

Defn: A nymph of Diana, fabled to have been changed into a laurel tree.

DAPHNETIN
Daph"ne*tin, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A colorless crystalline substance, C9H6O4, extracted from daphnin.

DAPHNIA
Daph"ni*a, n. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of the genus Daphnia.

DAPHNIN Daph"nin, n. Etym: [Cf. F. daphnine.] (Chem.) (a) A dark green bitter resin extracted from the mezereon (Daphne mezereum) and regarded as the essential principle of the plant. [R.] (b) A white, crystalline, bitter substance, regarded as a glucoside, and extracted from Daphne mezereum and D. alpina.

DAPHNOMANCY
Daph"no*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. da`fnh the laurel + -mancy.]

Defn: Divination by means of the laurel.

DAPIFER
Dap"i*fer, n. Etym: [L., daps a feast + ferre to bear.]

Defn: One who brings meat to the table; hence, in some countries, the official title of the grand master or steward of the king's or a nobleman's household.

DAPPER Dap"per, a. Etym: [OE. daper; prob. fr. D. dapper brave, valiant; akin to G. tapfer brave, OHG. taphar heavy, weighty, OSlav. dobrû good, Russ. dobrui. Cf. Deft.]

Defn: Little and active; spruce; trim; smart; neat in dress or
appearance; lively.
He wondered how so many provinces could be held in subjection by such
a dapper little man. Milton.
The dapper ditties that I wont devise. Spenser.
Sharp-nosed, dapper steam yachts. Julian Hawthorne.

DAPPERLING
Dap"per*ling, n.

Defn: A dwarf; a dandiprat. [r.]

DAPPLE Dap"ple, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. depill a spot, a dot, a dog with spots over the eyes, dapi a pool, and E. dimple.]

Defn: One of the spots on a dappled animal.
He has . . . as many eyes on his body as my gray mare hath dapples.
Sir P. Sidney.

DAPPLE; DAPPLED
Dap"ple, Dap"pled, a.

Defn: Marked with spots of different shades of color; spotted; variegated; as, a dapple horse. Some dapple mists still floated along the peaks. Sir W. Scott.

Note: The word is used in composition to denote that some color is
variegated or marked with spots; as, dapple-bay; dapple-gray.
His steed was all dapple-gray. Chaucer.
O, swiftly can speed my dapple-gray steed. Sir W. Scott.

DAPPLE
Dap"ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dappled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dappling.]

Defn: To variegate with spots; to spot.
The gentle day, . . . Dapples the drowsy east with spots of gray.
Shak.
The dappled pink and blushing rose. Prior.

DARBIES
Dar"bies, n. pl.

Defn: Manacles; handcuffs. [Cant]
Jem Clink will fetch you the darbies. Sir W. Scott.

Note: In "The Steel Glass" by Gascoigne, printed in 1576, occurs the line "To binde such babes in father Derbies bands."

DARBY
Dar"by, n.

Defn: A plasterer's float, having two handles; — used in smoothing ceilings, etc.

DARBYITE
Dar"by*ite, n.

Defn: One of the Plymouth Brethren, or of a sect among them; — so called from John N. Darby, one of the leaders of the Brethren.

DARDANIAN
Dar*da"ni*an, a. & n.Etym: [From L. Dardania, poetic name of Troy.]

Defn: Trojan.

DARE Dare, v. i. [imp. Durst or Dared (; p. p. Dared; p. pr. & vb. n. Daring.] Etym: [OE. I dar, dear, I dare, imp. dorste, durste, AS. ic dear I dare, imp. dorste. inf. durran; akin to OS. gidar, gidorsta, gidurran, OHG. tar, torsta, turran, Goth. gadar, gadaúrsta, Gr. tharsei^n, tharrei^n, to be bold, tharsy`s bold, Skr. Dhrsh to be bold. sq. root70.]

Defn: To have adequate or sufficient courage for any purpose; to be bold or venturesome; not to be afraid; to venture. I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none. Shak. Why then did not the ministers use their new law Bacause they durst not, because they could not. Macaulay. Who dared to sully her sweet love with suspicion. Thackeray. The tie of party was stronger than the tie of blood, because a partisan was more ready to dare without asking why. Jowett (Thu

Note: The present tense, I dare, is really an old past tense, so that the third person is he dare, but the form he dares is now often used, and will probably displace the obsolescent he dare, through grammatically as incorrect as he shalls or he cans. Skeat. The pore dar plede (the poor man dare plead). P. Plowman. You know one dare not discover you. Dryden. The fellow dares nopt deceide me. Shak. Here boldly spread thy hands, no venom'd weed Dares blister them, no slimly snail dare creep. Beau. & Fl.

Note: Formerly durst was also used as the present. Sometimes the old form dare is found for durst or dared.

DARE
Dare, v. y. [imp. & p. p. Dared; p. pr. & vb. n. Daring.]

1. To have courage for; to attempt courageously; to venture to do or to undertake. What high concentration of steady feeling makes men dare every thing and do anything Bagehot. To wrest it from barbarism, to dare its solitudes. The Century.

2. To challenge; to provoke; to defy. Time, I dare thee to discover Such a youth and such a lover. Dryden.

DARE
Dare, n.

1. The quality of daring; venturesomeness; boldness; dash. [R.] It lends a luster . . . A large dare to our great enterprise. Shak.

2. Defiance; challenge. Childish, unworthy dares Are not enought to part our powers. Chapman. Sextus Pompeius Hath given the dare to Cæsar. Shak.

DARE
Dare, v. i. Etym: [OE. darien, to lie hidden, be timid.]

Defn: To lurk; to lie hid. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DARE
Dare, v. t.

Defn: To terrify; to daunt. [Obs.] For I have done those follies, those mad mischiefs, Would dare a woman. Beau. & Fl. To dare larks, to catch them by producing terror through to use of mirrors, scarlet cloth, a hawk, etc., so that they lie still till a net is thrown over them. Nares.

DARE
Dare, n. Etym: [See Dace.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small fish; the dace.

DARE-DEVIL
Dare"-dev`il, n.

Defn: A reckless fellow. Also used adjectively; as, dare-devil
excitement.
A humorous dare-devil — the very man To suit my prpose. Ld. Lytton.

DARE-DEVILTRY
Dare"-dev`il*try, n; pl. Dare-deviltries (.

Defn: Reckless mischief; the action of a dare-devil.

DAREFUL
Dare"ful, a.

Defn: Full af daring or of defiance; adveturous. [R.] Shak.

DARER
Dar"er, n.

Defn: One who dares or defies.

DARG; DARGUE
Darg, Dargue, n. Etym: [Scot., contr. fr. day work.]

Defn: A day's work; also, a fixed amount of work, whether more or less than that of a day. [Local, Eng. & Scott]

DARIC
Dar"ic, n. Etym: [Gr.

1. (Antiq.) (a) A gold coin of ancient Persia, weighing usually a little more than 128 grains, and bearing on one side of the figure of an archer. (b) A silver coin of about 86 grains, having the figure of an archer, and hence, in modern times, called a daric.

2. Any very pure gold coin.

DARING
Dar"ing, n.

Defn: Boldness; fearlessness; adventurousness; also, a daring act.

DARING
Dar"ing, a.

Defn: Bold; fearless; adventurous; as, daring spirits.
— Dar"ing*ly, adv.
— Dar"ing*ness, n.

DARIOLE
Da`ri*ole", n. [F.]

1. A crustade. [Obs.]

2. A shell or cup of pastry filled with custard, whipped cream, crushed macaroons, etc.

DARK
Dark, a. Etym: [OE. dark, derk, deork, AS. dearc, deorc; cf. Gael. &
Ir. dorch, dorcha, dark, black, dusky.]

1. Destitute, or partially destitute, of light; not receiving, reflecting, or radiating light; wholly or partially black, or of some deep shade of color; not light-colored; as, a dark room; a dark day; dark cloth; dark paint; a dark complexion. O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, Irrecoverable dark, total eclipse Without all hope of day! milton. In the dark and silent grave. Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Not clear to the understanding; not easily
The dark problems of existence. Shairp.
What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be found more plain.
Hooker.
What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word Shak.

3. Destitute of knowledge and culture; in moral or intellectual darkness; unrefined; ignorant. The age wherin he lived was dark, but he Cobld not want light who taught the world oto see. Denhan. The tenth century used to be reckoned by mediæval historians as the darkest part of this intellectual night. Hallam.

4. Evincing blaxk or foul traits of character; vile; wicked; atrocious; as, a dark villain; a dark deed. Left him at large to his own dark designs. Milton.

5. Foreboding evil; gloomy; jealous; suspicious. More dark and dark our woes. Shak. A deep melancholy took possesion of him, and gave a dark tinge to all his views of human nature. Macaulay. There is, in every true woman-s heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity. W. Irving.

6. Deprived of sight; blind. [Obs.] He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years. Evelyn.

Note: Dark is sometimes used to qualify another adjective; as, dark blue, dark green, and sometimes it forms the first part of a compound; as, dark-haired, dark-eyed, dark-colored, dark-seated, dark-working. A dark horse, in racing or politics, a horse or a candidate whose chances of success are not known, and whose capabilities have not been made the subject of general comment or of wagers. [Colloq.] — Dark house, Dark room, a house or room in which madmen were confined. [Obs.] Shak. — Dark lantern. See Lantern. — The Dark Ages, a period of stagnation and obscurity in literature and art, lasting, according to Hallam, nearly 1000 years, from about 500 to about 1500 A. D.. See Middle Ages, under Middle. — The Dark and Bloody Ground, a phrase applied to the State of Kentucky, and said to be the significance of its name, in allusion to the frequent wars that were waged there between Indians. — The dark day, a day (May 19, 1780) when a remarkable and unexplained darkness extended over all New England. — To keep dark, to reveal nothing. [Low]

DARK
Dark, n.

1. Absence of light; darkness; obscurity; a place where there is little or no light. Here stood he in the dark, his sharp sword out. Shak.

2. The condition of ignorance; gloom; secrecy. Look, what you do, you do it still i' th' dark. Shak. Till we perceive by our own understandings, we are as mucdark, and as void of knowledge, as before. Locke.

3. (Fine Arts)

Defn: A dark shade or dark passage in a painting, engraving, or the like; as, the light and darks are well contrasted. The lights may serve for a repose to the darks, and the darks to the lights. Dryden.

DARK
Dark, v. t.

Defn: To darken to obscure. [Obs.] Milton.

DARKEN
Dark"en, v. t. [Imp. & p. p. Darkened; p. pr. & vb. n. Darkening.]
Etym: [AS. deorcian. See Dark, a.]

1. To make dark or black; to deprite of light; to obscure; as, a darkened room. They [locusts] covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened. Ex. x. 15. So spake the Sovran Voice; and clouds began To darken all the hill. Milton.

2. To render dim; to deprive of vision. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Rom. xi. 10.

3. To cloud, obscure, or perplex; to render less clear or intelligible. Such was his wisdom that his confidence did seldom darkenhis foresight. Bacon. Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge Job. xxxviii. 2.

4. To cast a gloom upon. With these forced thoughts, I prithee, darken not The mirth of the feast. Shak.

5. To make foul; to sully; to tarnish. I must not think there are Evils enough to darken all his goodness. Shak.

DARKEN
Dark"en, v. i.

Defn: To grow or darker.

DARKENER
Dark"en*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, darkens.

DARKENING
Dark"en*ing, n.

Defn: Twilight; gloaming. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Wright.

DARKFUL
Dark"ful, a.

Defn: Full of darkness. [Obs.]

DARKISH
Dark"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat dark; dusky.

DARKLE
Dar"kle, v. i. Etym: [Freq. of dark.]

Defn: To grow dark; to show indistinctly. Thackeray.

DARKLING
Dark"ling, adv. Etym: [Dark + the adverbial suffix -ling.]

Defn: In the dark. [Poetic]
So, out went the candle, and we were left darkling. Shak.
As the wakeful bird Sings darkling. Milton.

DARKLING
Dark"ling, p. pr. & a.

1. Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing. His honest brows darkling as he looked towards me. Thackeray.

2. Dark; gloomy. "The darkling precipice." Moore.

DARKLY
Dark"ly, adv.

1. With imperfect light, clearness, or knowledge; obscurely; dimly; blindly; uncertainly. What fame to future times conveys but darkly down. Dryden. so softly dark and darkly pure. Byron.

2. With a dark, gloomy, cruel, or menacing look. Looking darkly at the clerguman. Hawthorne.

DARKNESS
Dark"ness, n.

1. The absence of light; blackness; obscurity; gloom. And darkness was upon the face of the deep. Gen. i. 2.

2. A state of privacy; secrecy. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light. Matt. x. 27.

3. A state of ignorance or error, especially on moral or religious subjects; hence, wickedness; impurity. Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John. iii. 19. Pursue these sons of darkness: drive them out From all heaven's bounds. Milton.

4. Want of clearness or perspicuity; obscurity; as, the darkness of a subject, or of a discussion.

5. A state of distress or trouble. A day of clouds and of thick darkness. Joel. ii. 2. Prince of darkness, the Devil; Satan. "In the power of the Prince of darkness." Locke.

Syn. — Darkness, Dimness, Obscurity, Gloom. Darkness arises from a total, and dimness from a partial, want of light. A thing is obscure when so overclouded or covered as not to be easily perceived. As tha shade or obscurity increases, it deepens into gloom. What is dark is hidden from view; what is obscure is difficult to perceive or penetrate; the eye becomes dim with age; an impending storm fills the atmosphere with gloom. When taken figuratively, these words have a like use; as, the darkness of ignorance; dimness of discernment; obscurity of reasoning; gloom of superstition.

DARKSOME
Dark"some, a.

Defn: Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless. [Poetic] He brought him through a darksome narrow pass To a broad gate, all built of beaten gold. Spenser.

DARKY
Dark"y, n.

Defn: A negro. [Sleng]

DARLING Dar"ling, n. Etym: [OE. derling, deorling, AS. deórling; deóre dear + -ling. See Dear, and -ling.]

Defn: One dearly beloved; a favorite.
And can do naught but wail her darling's loss. Shak.

DARLING
Dar"ling, a.

Defn: Dearly beloved; regarded with especial kindness and tenderness; favorite. "Some darling science." I. Watts. "Darling sin." Macaulay.

DARLINGTONIA Dar`ling*to"ni*a, n. Etym: [NL. Named after Dr. William Darlington, a botanist of West Chester, Penn.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of California pitcher plants consisting of a single species. The long tubular leaves are hooded at the top, and frequently contain many insects drowned in the secretion of the leaves.

DARN
Darn, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Darned; p. pr. & vb. n. Darning.] Etym:
[OE. derne, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. darnio to piece, break in
pieces, W. & Arm. to E. tear. Cf. Tear, v. t.]

Defn: To mend as a rent or hole, with interlacing stitches of yarn or thread by means of a needle; to sew together with yarn or thread. He spent every day ten hours in his closet, in darning his stockins. Swift. Darning last. See under Last. — Darning needle. (a) A long, strong needle for mending holes or rents, especially in stockings. (b) (Zoöl.) Any species of dragon fly, having a long, cylindrical body, resembling a needle. These flies are harmless and without stings.

Note: [In this sense, usually written with a hyphen.] Called also devil's darning-needle.

DARN
Darn, n.

Defn: A place mended by darning.

DARN
Darn, v. t.

Defn: A colloquial euphemism for Damn.

DARNEL Dar"nel, n. Etym: [OE. darnel, dernel, of uncertain origin; cf. dial. F. darnelle, Sw. dår-repe; perh. named from a supposed intoxicating quality of the plant, and akin to Sw. dåra to infatuate, OD. door foolish, G. thor fool, and Ee. dizzy.] (Bot.)

Defn: Any grass of the genus Lolium, esp. the Lolium temulentum (bearded darnel), the grains of which have been reputed poisonous. Other species, as Lolium perenne (rye grass or ray grass), and its variety L. Italicum (Italian rye grass), are highly esteemed for pasture and for making hay.

Note: Under darnel our early herbalists comprehended all kinds of cornfield weeds. Dr. Prior.

DARNER
Darn"er, n.

Defn: One who mends by darning.

DARNEX; DARNIC
Dar"nex, Dar"nic, n.

Defn: Same as Dornick.

DAROO
Da*roo", n. (Bot.)

Defn: The Egyptian sycamore (Ficus Sycamorus). See Sycamore.

DARR
Darr, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European black tern.

DARRAIGN; DARRAIN Dar"raign, Dar"rain,, v. t. Etym: [OF. deraisnier to explain, defend, to maintain in legal action by proof and reasonings, LL. derationare; de- + rationare to discourse, contend in law, fr. L. ratio reason, in LL., legal cause. Cf. Arraign, and see Reason.]

1. To make ready to fight; to array. [Obs.] Darrain your battle, for they are at hand. Shak.

2. To fight out; to contest; to decide by combat. [Obs.] "To darrain the battle." Chaucer .

DARREIN Dar"rein, a. Etym: [OF. darrein, darrain, fr. an assumed LL. deretranus; L. de + retro back, backward.] (Law)

Defn: Last; as, darrein continuance, the last continuance.

DART Dart, n. Etym: [OF. dart, of German origin; cf. OHG. tart javelin, dart, AS. dara, daro, Sw. dart dagger, Icel. darra dart.]

1. A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; a short lance; a javelin; hence, any sharp-pointed missile weapon, as an arrow. And he [Joab] took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom. 2 Sa. xviii. 14.

2. Anything resembling a dart; anything that pierces or wounds like a dart. The artful inquiry, whose venomed dart Scarce wounds the hearing while it stabs the heart. Hannan More.

3. A spear set as a prize in running. [Obs.] Chaucer.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A fish; the dace. See Dace. Dart sac (Zoöl.), a sac connected with the reproductive organs of land snails, which contains a dart, or arrowlike structure.

DART
Dart, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Darted; p. pr. & vb. n. Darting.]

1. To throw with a sudden effort or thrust, as a dart or other missile weapon; to hurl or launch.

2. To throw suddenly or rapidly; to send forth; to emit; to shoot; as, the sun darts forth his beams. Or what ill eyes malignant glances dart Pope.

DART
Dart, v. i.

1. To fly or pass swiftly, as a dart.

2. To start and run with velocity; to shoot rapidly along; as, the deer darted from the thicket.

DARTARS
Dar"tars, n. Etym: [F. dartre eruption, dandruff.

Defn: A kind of scab or ulceration on the skin of lambs.

DARTER
Dart"er, n.

1. One who darts, or who throw darts; that which darts.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The snakebird, a water bird of the genus Plotus; — so called because it darts out its long, snakelike neck at its prey. See Snakebird.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small fresh-water etheostomoid fish. The group includes numerous genera and species, all of them American. See Etheostomoid.

DARTINGLY
Dart"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: Like a dart; rapidly.

DARTLE
Dar"tle, v. t. & i.

Defn: To pierce or shoot through; to dart repeatedly: — frequentative of dart. My star that dartles the red and the blue. R. Browning.

DARTOIC
Dar*to"ic, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the dartos.

DARTOID
Dar"toid, a. Etym: [Dartos + -oid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Like the dartos; dartoic; as, dartoid tissue.

DARTOS
Dar"tos, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. flayed.] (Anat.)

Defn: A thin layer of peculiar contractile tissue directly beneath the skin of the scrotum.

DARTROUS
Dar"trous, a. Etym: [F. dartreux. See Dartars.] (Med.)

Defn: Relating to, or partaking of the nature of, the disease called tetter; herpetic. Dartroud diathesis, A morbid condition of the system predisposing to the development of certain skin deseases, such as eczema, psoriasis, and pityriasis. Also called rheumic diathesis, and hipretism. Piffard.

DARWINIAN Dar*win"i*an, a. Etym: [From the name of Charles Darwin, an English scientist.]

Defn: Pertaining to Darwin; as, the Darwinian theory, a theory of the manner and cause of the supposed development of living things from certain original forms or elements.

Note: This theory was put forth by Darwin in 1859 in a work entitled "The Origin of species by Means of Natural Selection." The author argues that, in the struggle for existence, those plants and creatures best fitted to the requirements of the situation in which they are placed are the ones that will live; in other words, that Nature selects those which are survive. This is the theory of natural selection or the survival of the fillest. He also argues that natural selection is capable of modifying and producing organisms fit for their circumstances. See Development theory, under Development.

DARWINIAN
Dar*win"i*an, n.

Defn: An advocate of Darwinism.

DARWINIANISM
Dar*win"i*an*ism, n.

Defn: Darwinism.

DARWINISM
Dar"win*ism, n. (Biol.)

Defn: The theory or doctrines put forth by Darwin. See above. Huxley.

DASE
Dase, v. t.

Defn: See Daze. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DASEWE Dase"we, v. i. Etym: [OE. dasewen, daswen; cf. AS. dysegian to be foolish.]

Defn: To become dim-sighted; to become dazed or dazzled. [Obs.]
Chauscer.

DASH
Dash, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dashing.] Etym:
[Of. Scand. origin; cf. Dan daske to beat, strike, Sw. & Icel. daska,
Dan. & Sw. dask blow.]

1. To throw with violence or haste; to cause to strike violently or hastily; — often used with against. If you dash a stone against a stone in the botton of the water, it maketh a sound. Bacon.

2. To break, as by throwing or by collision; to shatter; to crust; to
frustrate; to ruin.
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Ps. ii. 9.
A brave vessel, . . . Dashed all to pieces. Shak.
To perplex and dash Maturest counsels. Milton.

3. To put to shame; to confound; to confuse; to abash; to depress. South. Dash the proud gamesPope.

4. To throw in or on in a rapid, careless manner; to mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality; to overspread partially; to bespatter; to touch here and there; as, to dash wine with water; to dash paint upon a picture. I take care to dash the character with such particular circumstance as may prevent ill-natured applications. Addison. The very source and fount of day Is dashed with wandering isles of night. Tennyson.

5. To form or sketch rapidly or carelessly; to execute rapidly, or with careless haste; — with off; as, to dash off a review or sermon.

6. To erase by a stroke; to strike out; knock out; — with out; as, to dash out a word.

DASH
Dash, v. i.

Defn: To rust with violence; to move impetuously; to strike violently; as, the waves dash upon rocks. [He] dashed through thick and thin. Dryden. On each hand the gushing waters play, And down the rough cascade all dashing fall. Thomson.

DASH
Dash, n.

1. Violent striking together of two bodies; collision; crash.

2. A sudden check; abashment; frustration; ruin; as, his hopes received a dash.

3. A slight admixture, infusion, or adulteration; a partial overspreading; as, wine with a dash of water; red with a dash of purple. Innocence when it has in it a dash of folly. Addison.

4. A rapid movement, esp. one of short duration; a quick stroke or blow; a sudden onset or rush; as, a bold dash at the enemy; a dash of rain. She takes upon her bravely at first dash. Shak.

5. Energy in style or action; animation; spirit.

6. A vain show; a blustering parade; a flourish; as, to make or cut a great dash. [Low]

7. (Punctuation)

Defn: A mark or line [—], in writing or printing, denoting a sudden break, stop, or transition in a sentence, or an abrupt change in its construction, a long or significant pause, or an unexpected or epigrammatic turn of sentiment. Dashes are also sometimes used instead of marks or parenthesis. John Wilson.

8. (Mus.) (a) The sign of staccato, a small mark [. (b) The line drawn through a figure in the thorough bass, as a direction to raise the interval a semitone.

9. (Racing)

Defn: A short, spirited effort or trial of speed upon a race course; — used in horse racing, when a single trial constitutes the race.

DASHBOARD
Dash"board`, n.

1. A board placed on the fore part of a carriage, sleigh, or other vechicle, to intercept water, mud, or snow, thrown up by the heels of the horses; — in England commonly called splashboard.

2. (Naut.) (a) The float of a paddle wheel. (b) A screen at the bow af a steam launch to keep off the spray; — called also sprayboard.

DASHEEN
Dash`een", n.

Defn: A tropical aroid (of the genus Caladium, syn. Colocasia) having an edible farinaceous root. It is related to the taro and to the tanier, but is much superior to it in quality and is as easily cooked as the potato. It is a staple food plant of the tropics, being prepared like potatoes, and has been introduced into the Southern United States.

DASHER
Dash"er, n.

1. That which dashes or agitates; as, the dasher of a churn.

2. A dashboard or splashboard. [U. S.]

3. One who makes an ostentatious parade. [Low]

DASHING
Dash"ing, a.

Defn: Bold; spirited; showy.
The dashing and daring spirit is preferable to the listless. T.
Campbell.

DASHINGLY
Dash"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: Conspicuously; showily. [Colloq.]
A dashingly dressed gentleman. Hawthorne.

DASHISM
Dash"ism, n.

Defn: The character of making ostentatious or blustering parade or
show. [R. & Colloq.]
He must fight a duel before his claim to . . . dashism can be
universally allowed. V. Knox.

DASHPOT
Dash"pot`, n. (Mach.)

Defn: A pneumatic or hydraulic cushion for a falling weight, as in the valve gear of a steam engine, to prevent shock.

Note: It consists of a chamber, containing air or a liquid, in which a piston (a), attached to the weight, falls freely until it enters a space (as below the openings, b) from which the air or liquid can escape but slowly (as through cock c), when its fall is gradually checked.

Note: A cataract of an engine is sometimes called a dashpot.

DASHY
Dash"y, a. Etym: [From Dash.]

Defn: Calculated to arrest attention; ostentatiously fashionable; showy. [Colloq.]

DASTARD Das"tard, n. Etym: [Prob. from Icel. dæstr exhausted. breathless, p. p. of dæsa to groan, lose one's breath; cf. dasask to become exhausted, and E. daze.]

Defn: One who meanly shrinks from danger; an arrant coward; a
poltroon.
You are all recreants and dashtards, and delight to live in slavery
to the nobility. Shak.

DASTARD
Das"tard, a.

Defn: Meanly shrinking from danger; cowardly; dastardly. "Their dastard souls." Addison.

DASTARD
Das"tard, v. t.

Defn: To dastardize. [R.] Dryden.

DASTARDIZE
Das"tard*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dastardized; p. pr. & vb. n.
Dastardizing.]

Defn: To make cowardly; to intimidate; to dispirit; as, to dastardize my courage. Dryden.

DASTARDLINESS
Das"tard*li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being dastardly; cowardice; base fear.

DASTARDLY
Das"tard*ly, a.

Defn: Meanly timid; cowardly; base; as, a dastardly outrage.

DASTARDNESS
Das"tard*ness, n.

Defn: Dastardliness.

DASTARDY
Das"tard*y, n.

Defn: Base timidity; cowardliness.

DASWE
Das"we, v. i.

Defn: See Dasewe [Obs.] Chaucer.

DASYMETER
Da*sym"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. rough, thick + -meter.] (Physics)

Defn: An instrument for testing the density of gases, consisting of a thin glass globe, which is weighed in the gas or gases, and then in an atmosphere of known density.

DASYPAEDAL
Das`y*pæ"dal, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Dasypædic.

DASYPAEDES Das`y*pæ"des, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. hairy, shaggy + , , a child.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Those birds whose young are covered with down when hatched.

DASYPAEDIC
Das`y*pæ"dic, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to the Dasypædes; ptilopædic.

DASYURE
Das"y*ure, n. Etym: [Gr. thick, shaggy + tail: cf. F. dasyure.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: A carnivorous marsupial quadruped of Australia, belonging to the genus Dasyurus. There are several species.

DASYURINE
Das`y*u"rine, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or like, the dasyures.

DATA
Da"ta, n. pl. Etym: [L. pl. of datum.]

Defn: See Datum.

DATABLE
Dat"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be dated; having a known or ascertainable date.
"Datable almost to a year." The Century.

DATARIA
Da*ta"ri*a, n. Etym: [LL., fr. L. datum given.] (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: Formerly, a part of the Roman chancery; now, a separate office from which are sent graces or favors, cognizable in foro externo, such as appointments to benefices. The name is derived from the word datum, given or dated (with the indications of the time and place of granting the gift or favor).

DATARY
Da"ta*ry, n. Etym: [LL. datarius. See Dataria.]

1. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: An officer in the pope's court, having charge of the Dataria.

2. The office or employment of a datary.

DATE Date, n.Etym: [F. datte, L. dactylus, fr. Gr. , prob. not the same word as finger, but of Semitic origin.] (Bot.)

Defn: The fruit of the date palm; also, the date palm itself.

Note: This fruit is somewhat in the shape of an olive, containing a soft pulp, sweet, esculent, and wholesome, and inclosing a hard kernel. Date palm, or Date tree (Bot.), the genus of palms which bear dates, of which common species is Phoenix dactylifera. See Illust. — Date plum (Bot.), the fruit of several species of Diospyros, including the American and Japanese persimmons, and the European lotus (D. Lotus). — Date shell, or Date fish (Zoöl.), a bivalve shell, or its inhabitant, of the genus Pholas, and allied genera. See Pholas.

DATE
Date, n. Etym: [F. date, LL. data, fr. L. datus given, p.p. of dare
to give; akin to Gr. , OSlaw. dati, Skr. da. Cf. Datum, Dose, Dato,
Die.]

1. That addition to a writing, inscription, coin, etc., which specifies the time (as day, month, and year) when the writing or inscription was given, or executed, or made; as, the date of a letter, of a will, of a deed, of a coin. etc. And bonds without a date, they say, are void. Dryden.

2. The point of time at which a transaction or event takes place, or is appointed to take place; a given point of time; epoch; as, the date of a battle. He at once, Down the long series of eventful time, So fixed the dates of being, so disposed To every living soul of every kind The field of motion, and the hour of rest. Akenside.

3. Assigned end; conclusion. [R.] What Time would spare, from Steel receives its date. Pope.

4. Given or assigned length of life; dyration. [Obs.] Good luck prolonged hath thy date. Spenser. Through his life's whole date. Chapman. To bear date, to have the date named on the face of it; — said of a writing.

DATE
Date, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dated; p. pr. & vb. n. Dating.] Etym: [Cf.
F. dater. See 2d Date.]

1. To note the time of writing or executing; to express in an instrument the time of its execution; as, to date a letter, a bond, a deed, or a charter.

2. To note or fix the time of, as of an event; to give the date of; as, to date the building of the pyramids.

Note: We may say dated at or from a place. The letter is dated at Philadephia. G. T. Curtis. You will be suprised, I don't question, to find among your correspondencies in foreign parts, a letter dated from Blois. Addison. In the countries of his jornal seems to have been written; parts of it are dated from them. M. Arnold.

DATE
Date, v. i.

Defn: To have beginning; to begin; to be dated or reckoned; — with
from.
The Batavian republic dates from the successes of the French arms. E.
Everett.

DATELESS
Date"less, a.

Defn: Without date; having no fixed time.

DATE LINE
Date line.

Defn: The hypothetical line on the surface of the earth fixed by international or general agreement as a boundary on one side of which the same day shall have a different name and date in the calendar from its name and date on the other side.

Speaking generally, the date line coincides with the meridian 180º from Greenwich. It deflects between north latitudes 80º and 45º, so that all Asia lies to the west, all North America, including the Aleutian Islands, to the east of the line; and between south latitudes 12º and 56º, so that Chatham Island and the Tonga group lie to the west of it. A vessel crossing this line to the westward sets the date forward by one day, as from Sunday to Monday. A vessel crossing the line to the eastward sets the date back by one day, as from Monday to Sunday. Hawaii has the same day name as San Francisco; Manila, the same day name as Australia, and this is one day later than the day of Hawaii. Thus when it is Monday May 1st at San Francisco it is Tuesday may 2d at Manila.

DATER
Dat"er, n.

Defn: One who dates.

DATISCIN
Da*tis"cin, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A white crystalline glucoside extracted from the bastard hemp
(Datisca cannabina).

DATIVE Da"tive, a. Etym: [L. dativus appropriate to giving, fr. dare to give. See 2d Date.]

1. (Gram.)

Defn: Noting the case of a noun which expresses the remoter object, and is generally indicated in English by to or for with the objective.

2. (Law) (a) In one's gift; capable of being disposed of at will and pleasure, as an office. (b) Removable, as distinguished from perpetual; — said of an officer. (c) Given by a magistrate, as distinguished from being cast upon a party by the law. Burril. Bouvier. Dative executor, one appointed by the judge of probate, his office answering to that of an administrator.

DATIVE
Da"tive, n. Etym: [L. dativus.]

Defn: The dative case. See Dative, a.,

1.

DATIVELY
Da"tive*ly, adv.

Defn: As a gift. [R.]

DATOLITE Dat"o*lite, n. Etym: [From. Gr. to divide + -lite; in allusion to the granular structure of a massive variety.] (Min.)

Defn: A borosilicate of lime commonly occuring in glassy,, greenish crystals. [Written also datholite.]

DATUM
Da"tum, n.; pl. Data. Etym: [L. See 2d Date.]

1. Something given or admitted; a fact or principle granted; that upon which an inference or an argument is based; — used chiefly in the plural. Any writer, therefore, who . . . furnishes us with data sufficient to determine the time in which he wrote. Priestley.

2. pl. (Math.)

Defn: The quantities or relations which are assumed to be given in any problem. Datum line (Surv.), the horizontal or base line, from which the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the plan of a railway, etc.

DATURA
Da*tu"ra, n. Etym: [NL.; cf. Skr. dhatt, Per. & Ar. tat, Tat.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of solanaceous plants, with large funnel-shaped flowers and a four-celled, capsular fruit.

Note: The commonest species are the thorn apple (D. stramonium), with a prickly capsule (see Illust. of capsule), white flowers and green stem, and D. tatula, with a purplish tinge of the stem and flowers. Both are narcotic and dangerously poisonous.

DATURINE
Da*tu"rine, n. Etym: [From Datura.] (Chem.)

Defn: Atropine; — called also daturia and daturina.

DAUB Daub, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daubed; p. pr. & vb. n. Daubing.] Etym: [OE. dauben to smear, OF. dauber to plaster, fr. L. dealbare to whitewash, plaster; de- + albare to whiten, fr. albus white, perh. also confused with W. dwb plaster, dwbio to plaster, Ir. & OGael. dob plaster. See Alb, and cf. Dealbate.]

1. To smear with soft, adhesive matter, as pitch, slime, mud, etc.; to plaster; to bedaub; to besmear. She took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch. Ex. ii. 3.

2. To paint in a coarse or unskillful manner. If a picture is daubed with many bright and glaring colors, the vulgar admire it is an excellent piece. I. Watts. A lame, imperfect piece, rudely daubed over. Dryden.

3. To cover with a specious or deceitful exterior; to disguise; to conceal. So smooth he daubed his vice with show of virtue. Shak.

4. To flatter excessively or glossy. [R.] I can safely say, however, that, without any daubing at all, I am very sincerely your very affectionate, humble servant. Smollett.

5. To put on without taste; to deck gaudily. [R.] Let him be daubed with lace. Dryden.

DAUB
Daub, v. i.

Defn: To smear; to play the flatterer.
His conscience . . . will not daub nor flatter. South.

DAUB
Daub, n.

1. A viscous, sticky application; a spot smeared or dabed; a smear.

2. (Paint.)

Defn: A picture coarsely executed. Did you . . . take a look at the grand picture . . . 'T is a melancholy daub, my lord. Sterne.

DAUBER
Daub"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, daubs; especially, a coarse, unskillful painter.

2. (Copperplate Print.)

Defn: A pad or ball of rags, covered over with canvas, for inking plates; a dabber.

3. A low and gross flattere.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The mud wasp; the mud dauber.

DAUBERY; DAUBRY
Daub"er*y, or Daub"ry, n.

Defn: A daubing; specious coloring; false pretenses. She works by charms, by spells, by the figure, and such daubery as this is. Shak.

DAUBING
Daub"ing, n.

1. The act of one who daubs; that which is daubed.

2. A rough coat of mortar put upon a wall to give it the appearance of stone; rough-cast.

3. In currying, a mixture of fish oil and tallow worked into leather; — called also dubbing. Knight.

DAUBREELITE
Dau"bree*lite, n. Etym: [From Daubrée, a French mineralogist.] (Min.)

Defn: A sulphide of chromium observed in some meteoric irons.

DAUBY
Daub"y, a.

Defn: Smeary; viscous; glutinous; adhesive. "Dauby wax."

DAUGHTER Daugh"ter, n.; pl. Daughters; obs. pl. Daughtren. Etym: [OE. doughter, doghter, dohter, AS. dohtor, dohter; akin to OS. dohtar, D. dochter, G. tochter, Icel. d, Sw. dotter, Dan. dotter, datter, Goth. daúhtar,, OSlav. d, Russ. doche, Lith. dukt, Gr. , Zendughdhar, Skr. duhit; possibly originally, the milker, cf. Skr. duh to milk. sq. root68, 245.]

1. The female offspring of the human species; a female child of any age; — applied also to the lower animals.

2. A female descendant; a woman. This woman, being a daughter of Abraham. Luke xiii. 16. Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughter of the land. Gen. xxxiv. 1.

3. A son's wife; a daughter-in-law. And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters. Ruth. i. 11.

4. A term of adress indicating parental interest.
Daughter, be of good comfort. Matt. ix. 22.
Daughter cell (Biol.), one of the cells formed by cell division. See
Cell division, under Division.

DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
Daugh"ter-in-law`, n.; pl. Daughters-in-law.

Defn: The wife of one's son.

DAUGHTERLINESS
Daugh"ter*li*ness, n.

Defn: The state of a daughter, or the conduct becoming a daughter.

DAUGHTERLY
Daugh"ter*ly, a.

Defn: Becoming a daughter; filial. Sir Thomas liked her natural and dear daughterly affection towards him. Cavendish.

DAUK
Dauk, v. t.

Defn: See Dawk, v. t., to cut or gush.

DAUN
Daun, n.

Defn: A variant of Dan, a title of honor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DAUNT
Daunt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daunted; p. pr. & vb. n. Daunting.] Etym:
[OF. danter, F. dompter to tame, subdue, fr. L. domitare, v. intens.
of domare to tame. See Tame.]

1. To overcome; to conquer. [Obs.]

2. To repress or subdue the courage of; to check by fear of danger; to cow; to intimidate; to dishearten. Some presences daunt and discourage us. Glanvill.

Syn.
— To dismay; appall. See Dismay.

DAUNTER
Daunt"er, n.

Defn: One who daunts.

DAUNTLESS
Daunt"less, a.

Defn: Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless;
intrepid.
Dauntless he rose, and to the fight returned. Dryden.
— Daunt"less*ly, adv.
— Daunt"less*ness, n.

DAUPHIN Dau"phin, n. Etym: [F. dauphin, prop., a dolphin, from L. delphinus. See Dolphin. The name was given, for some reason unexplained, to Guigo, count of Vienne, in the 12th century, and was borne by succeeding counts of Vienne. In 1349, Dauphiny was bequeathed to Philippe de Valois, king of France, on condition that the heir of the crown should always hold the title of Dauphin de Viennois.]

Defn: The title of the eldest son of the king of France, and heir to the crown. Since the revolution of 1830, the title has been discontinued.

DAUPHINESS; DAUPHINE
Dau"phin*ess, or Dau"phine, n.

Defn: The title of the wife of the dauphin.

DAUW
Dauw, n. Etym: [D.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The striped quagga, or Burchell's zebra, of South Africa
(Asinus Burchellii); — called also peechi, or peetsi.

DAVENPORT
Dav"en*port, n. Etym: [From the name of the original maker. Encyc.
Dict.]

Defn: A kind of small writing table, generally somewhat ornamental, and forming a piece of furniture for the parlor or boudoir. A much battered davenport in one of the windows, at which sat a lady writing. A. B. Edwards.

DAVIDIC
Da*vid"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to David, the king and psalmist of Israel, or to his family.

DAVIT Dav"it, n. Etym: [Cf. F. davier forceps, davit, cooper's instrument, G. david davit; all probably from the proper name David.] (Naut.) (a) A spar formerly used on board of ships, as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow, without injuring the sides of the ship; — called also the fish davit. (b) pl.

Defn: Curved arms of timber or iron, projecting over a ship's side of stern, having tackle to raise or lower a boat, swing it in on deck, rig it out for lowering, etc.; — called also boat davits. Totten.

DAVY JONES
Da"vy Jones".

Defn: The spirit of the sea; sea devil; — a term used by sailors. This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is seen in various shapes warning the devoted wretch of death and woe. Smollett. Davy Jones's Locker, the ocean, or bottom of the ocean. — Gone to Davy Jones's Locker, dead, and buried in the sea; thrown overboard.

DAVY LAMP
Da"vy lamp`.

Defn: See Safety lamp, under Lamp.

DAVYNE
Da"vyne, n. Etym: [See Davyum.] (Min.)

Defn: A variety of nephelite from Vesuvius.

DAVYUM Da"vy*um, n. Etym: [Named after Sir Humphry Davy, the English chemist.] (Chem.)

Defn: A rare metallic element found in platinum ore. It is a white malleable substance. Symbol Da. Atomic weight 154.

DAW Daw, n. Etym: [OE. dawe; akin to OHG. taha, MHG. tahe, tahele, G. dohle. Cf. Caddow.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A European bird of the Crow family (Corvus monedula), often nesting in church towers and ruins; a jackdaw. The loud daw, his throat displaying, draw The whole assembly of his fellow daws. Waller.

Note: The daw was reckoned as a silly bird, and a daw meant a simpleton. See in Shakespeare: — "Then thou dwellest with daws too." (Coriolanus iv. 5, 1. 47.) Skeat.

DAW
Daw, v. i. Etym: [OE. dawen. See Dawn.]

Defn: To dawn. [Obs.] See Dawn.

DAW
Daw, v. t. Etym: [Contr. fr. Adaw.]

1. To rouse. [Obs.]

2. To daunt; to terrify. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

DAWDLE
Daw"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dawdled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dawdling.]
Etym: [Cf. Daddle.]

Defn: To waste time in trifling employment; to trifle; to saunter.
Come some evening and dawdle over a dish of tea with me. Johnson.
We . . . dawdle up and down Pall Mall. Thackeray.

DAWDLE
Daw"dle, v. t.

Defn: To waste by trifling; as, to dawdle away a whole morning.

DAWDLE
Daw"dle, n.

Defn: A dawdler. Colman & Carrick.

DAWDLER
Daw"dler, n.

Defn: One who wastes time in trifling employments; an idler; a trifler.

DAWE
Dawe, n. Etym: [See Day.]

Defn: Day. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DAWISH
Daw"ish, a.

Defn: Like a daw.

DAWK
Dawk, n.

Defn: See Dak.

DAWK
Dawk, v. t. Etym: [Prov. E. dauk to cut or pierce with a jerk; cf.
OE. dalk a dimple. Cf. Ir. tolch, tollachd, tolladh, a hole, crevice,
toll to bore, pierce, W. tyllu.]

Defn: To cut or mark with an incision; to gash. Moxon.

DAWK
Dawk, n.

Defn: A hollow, crack, or cut, in timber. Moxon.

DAWN Dawn, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dawned; p. pr. & vb. n. Dawning.] Etym: [OE. dawnen, dawen, dagen, daien, AS. dagian to become day, to dawn, fr. dæg day; akin to D. dagen, G. tagen, Icel. daga, Dan. dages, Sw. dagas. See Day.

1. To begin to grow light in the morning; to grow light; to break, or begin to appear; as, the day dawns; the morning dawns. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene . . . to see the sepulcher. Matt. xxviii. 1.

2. To began to give promise; to begin to appear or to expand. "In dawning youth." Dryden. When life awakes, and dawns at every line. Pope. Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid. Heber,

DAWN
Dawn, n.

1. The break of day; the first appeareance of light in the morning; show of approaching sunrise. And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve. Thomson. No sun, no moon, no morn, no noon, No dawn, no dusk, no proper time of day. Hood.

2. First opening or expansion; first appearance; beginning; rise.
"The dawn of time." Thomson.
These tender circumstances diffuse a dawn of serenity over the soul.
Pope.

DAWSONITE
Daw"son*ite, n. Etym: [Named after J. W. Dawson of Montreal.] (Min.)

Defn: A hydrous carbonate of alumina and soda, occuring in white, bladed crustals.

DAY
Day, n. Etym: [OE. day, dai,, dei, AS. dæg; akin to OS., D., Dan., &
Sw. dag, G, tag, Icel. dagr, Goth. dags; cf. Skr. dah (for dhagh ) to
burn. *69. Cf. Dawn.]

1. The time of light, or interval between one night and the next; the time between sunrise and sunset, or from dawn to darkness; hence, the light; sunshine.

2. The period of the earth's revolution on its axis. — ordinarily divided into twenty-four hours. It is measured by the interval between two successive transits of a celestial body over the same meridian, and takes a specific name from that of the body. Thus, if this is the sun, the day (the interval between two successive transits of the sun's center over the same meridian) is called a solar day; if it is a star, a sidereal day; if it is the moon, a lunar day. See Civil day, Sidereal day, below.

3. Those hours, or the daily recurring period, allotted by usage or law for work.

4. A specified time or period; time, considered with reference to the existence or prominence of a person or thing; age; time. A man who was great among the Hellenes of his day. Jowett (Thucyd. ) If my debtors do not keep their day, . . . I must with patience all the terms attend. Dryden.

5. (Preceded by the) Some day in particular, as some day of contest, some anniversary, etc. The field of Agincourt, Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus. Shak. His name struck fear, his conduct won the day. Roscommon.

Note: Day is much used in self-explaining compounds; as, daybreak, daylight, workday, etc.

Anniversary day. See Anniversary, n. — Astronomical day, a period equal to the mean solar day, but beginning at noon instead of at midnight, its twenty-four hours being numbered from 1 to 24; also, the sidereal day, as that most used by astronomers. — Born days. See under Born. — Canicular days. See Dog day. — Civil day, the mean solar day, used in the ordinary reckoning of time, and among most modern nations beginning at mean midnight; its hours are usually numbered in two series, each from 1 to 12. This is the period recognized by courts as constituting a day. The Babylonians and Hindoos began their day at sunrise, the Athenians and Jews at sunset, the ancient Egyptians and Romans at midnight. — Day blindness. (Med.) See Nyctalopia. — Day by day, or Day after day, daily; every day; continually; without intermission of a day. See under By. "Day by day we magnify thee." Book of Common Prayer. — Days in bank (Eng. Law), certain stated days for the return of writs and the appearance of parties; — so called because originally peculiar to the Court of Common Bench, or Bench (bank) as it was formerly termed. Burrill. — Day in court, a day for the appearance of parties in a suit. — Days of devotion (R. C. Ch.), certain festivals on which devotion leads the faithful to attend mass. Shipley. — Days of grace. See Grace. — Days of obligation (R. C. Ch.), festival days when it is obligatory on the faithful to attend Mass. Shipley. — Day owl, (Zoöl.), an owl that flies by day. See Hawk owl. — Day rule (Eng. Law), an order of court (now abolished) allowing a prisoner, under certain circumstances, to go beyond the prison limits for a single day. — Day school, one which the pupils attend only in daytime, in distinction from a boarding school. — Day sight. (Med.) See Hemeralopia. — Day's work (Naut.), the account or reckoning of a ship's course for twenty-four hours, from noon to noon. — From day to day, as time passes; in the course of time; as, he improves from day to day. — Jewish day, the time between sunset and sunset. — Mean solar day (Astron.), the mean or average of all the apparent solar days of the year. — One day, One of these days, at an uncertain time, usually of the future, rarely of the past; sooner or later. "Well, niece, I hope to see you one day fitted with a husband." Shak. — Only from day to day, without certainty of continuance; temporarily. Bacon. — Sidereal day, the interval between two successive transits of the first point of Aries over the same meridian. The Sidereal day is 23 h. 56 m. 4.09 s. of mean solar time. — To win the day, to gain the victory, to be successful. S. Butler. — Week day, any day of the week except Sunday; a working day. — Working day. (a) A day when work may be legally done, in distinction from Sundays and legal holidays. (b) The number of hours, determined by law or custom, during which a workman, hired at a stated price per day, must work to be entitled to a day's pay.

DAYAKS
Day"aks, n. pl. (Ethnol.)

Defn: See Dyaks.

DAYBOOK
Day"book, n.

Defn: A journal of accounts; a primary record book in which are recorded the debts and credits, or accounts of the day, in their order, and from which they are transferred to the journal.

DAYBREAK
Day"break`, n.

Defn: The time of the first appearance of light in the morning.

DAY-COAL
Day"-coal`, n. (Mining)

Defn: The upper stratum of coal, as nearest the light or surface.

DAYDREAM
Day"dream`, n.

Defn: A vain fancy speculation; a reverie; a castle in the air;
unfounded hope.
Mrs. Lambert's little daydream was over. Thackeray.

DAYDREAMER
Day"dream`er, n.

Defn: One given to draydreams.

DAYFLOWER
Day"flow`er, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus consisting mostly of tropical perennial herbs
(Commelina), having ephemeral flowers.

DAYFLY
Day"fly`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A neuropterous insect of the genus Ephemera and related genera, of many species, and inhabiting fresh water in the larval state; the ephemeral fly; — so called because it commonly lives but one day in the winged or adult state. See Ephemeral fly, under Ephemeral.

DAY-LABOR
Day"-la`bor, n.

Defn: Labor hired or performed by the day. Milton.

DAY-LABORER
Day"-la`bor*er, n.

Defn: One who works by the day; — usually applied to a farm laborer, or to a workman who does not work at any particular trade. Goldsmith.

DAYLIGHT
Day"light`, n.

1. The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.

2. pl.

Defn: The eyes. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

DAY LILY Day" lil`y. (Bot.) (a) A genus of plants (Hemerocallis) closely resembling true lilies, but having tuberous rootstocks instead of bulbs. The common species have long narrow leaves and either yellow or tawny-orange flowers. (b) A genus of plants (Funkia) differing from the last in having ovate veiny leaves, and large white or blue flowers.

DAYMAID
Day"maid`, n.

Defn: A dairymaid. [Obs.]

DAYMARE
Day"mare`, n. Etym: [Day + mare incubus.] (Med.)

Defn: A kind of incubus which occurs during wakefulness, attended by the peculiar pressure on the chest which characterizes nightmare. Dunglison.

DAY-NET
Day"-net`, n.

Defn: A net for catching small birds.

DAY-PEEP
Day"-peep`, n.

Defn: The dawn. [Poetic] Milton.

DAYSMAN
Days"man, n. Etym: [From day in the sense of day fixed for trial.]

Defn: An umpire or arbiter; a mediator.
Neither is there any daysman betwixt us. Job ix. 33.

DAYSPRING
Day"spring, n.

Defn: The beginning of the day, or first appearance of light; the dawn; hence, the beginning. Milton. The tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us. Luke i. 78.

DAY-STAR
Day"-star`, n.

1. The morning star; the star which ushers in the day. A dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter i. 19.

2. The sun, as the orb of day. [Poetic] So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed, And yet anon repairs his drooping head, And tricks his beams, and with new-spangled ore Flames in the forehead of the morning sky. Milton.

DAYTIME
Day"time`, n.

Defn: The time during which there is daylight, as distinguished from the night.

DAYWOMAN
Day"wom`an, n.

Defn: A dairymaid. [Obs.]

DAZE Daze, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dazed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dazing.] Etym: [OE. dasen, prob. from Icel. dasask to become weary, a reflexive verb; cf. Sw. dasa to lie idle, and OD. daesen to be foolish, insane, daes, dwaes, D. dwaas, foolish, insane, AS. dw, dysig, stupid. Dizzy, Doze.]

Defn: To stupefy with excess of light; with a blow, with cold, or with fear; to confuse; to benumb. While flashing beams do daze his feeble eyen. Spenser. Such souls, Whose sudden visitations daze the world. Sir H. Taylor. He comes out of the room in a dazed state, that is an odd though a sufficient substitute for interest. Dickens.

DAZE
Daze, n.

1. The state of being dazed; as, he was in a daze. [Colloq.]

2. (Mining)

Defn: A glittering stone.

DAZZLE
Daz"zle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dazzled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dazzling.]
Etym: [Freq. of daze.]

1. To overpower with light; to confuse the sight of by brilliance of
light.
Those heavenly shapes Will dazzle now the earthly, with their blaze
Insufferably bright. Milton.
An unreflected light did never yet Dazzle the vision feminine. Sir H.
Taylor.

2. To bewilder or surprise with brilliancy or display of any kind. "Dazzled and drove back his enemies." Shak.

DAZZLE
Daz"zle, v. i.

1. To be overpoweringly or intensely bright; to excite admiration by brilliancy. Ah, friend! to dazzle, let the vain design. Pope.

2. To be overpowered by light; to be confused by excess of brightness. An overlight maketh the eyes dazzle. Bacon. I dare not trust these eyes; They dance in mists, and dazzle with surprise. Dryden.

DAZZLE
Daz"zle, n.

Defn: A light of dazzling brilliancy.

DAZZLEMENT
Daz"zle*ment, n.

Defn: Dazzling flash, glare, or burst of light. Donne.

DAZZLINGLY
Daz"zling*ly, adv.

Defn: In a dazzling manner.

DE-
De-.

Defn: A prefix from Latin de down, from, away; as in debark, decline, decease, deduct, decamp. In words from the French it is equivalent to Latin dis- apart, away; or sometimes to de. Cf. Dis-. It is negative and opposite in derange, deform, destroy, etc. It is intensive in deprave, despoil, declare, desolate, etc.

DEACON Dea"con, n. Etym: [OE. diakne, deakne, deken, AS. diacon, deacon, L. diaconus, fr. Gr. dean.]

1. (Eccl.)

Defn: An officer in Christian churches appointed to perform certain subordinate duties varying in different communions. In the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, a person admitted to the lowest order in the ministry, subordinate to the bishops and priests. In Presbyterian churches, he is subordinate to the minister and elders, and has charge of certain duties connected with the communion service and the care of the poor. In Congregational churches, he is subordinate to the pastor, and has duties as in the Presbyterian church.

2. The chairman of an incorporated company. [Scot.]

DEACON
Dea"con, v. t.

Defn: To read aloud each line of (a psalm or hymn) before singing it, — usually with off. [Colloq. New. Eng.] See Line, v. t.

Note: The expression is derived from a former custom in the Congregational churches of New England. It was part of the office of a deacon to read aloud the psalm given out, one line at a time, the congregation singing each line as soon as read; — called, also, lining out the psalm.

DEACONESS
Dea"con*ess, n. (Eccl.)

Defn: A female deacon; as: (a) (Primitive Ch.) One of an order of women whose duties resembled those of deacons. (b) (Ch. of Eng. and Prot. Epis. Ch.)

Defn: A woman set apart for church work by a bishop. (c) A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.

DEACONHOOD
Dea"con*hood, n.

Defn: The state of being a deacon; office of a deacon; deaconship.

DEACONRY
Dea"con*ry, n.

Defn: See Deaconship.

DEACONSHIP
Dea"con*ship, n.

Defn: The office or ministry of a deacon or deaconess.

DEAD Dead, a. Etym: [OE. ded, dead, deed, AS. deád; akin to OS. d, D. dood, G. todt, tot, Icel. dau, Sw. & Dan. död, Goth. daubs; prop. p. p. of an old verb meaning to die. See Die, and cf. Death.]

1. Deprived of life; — opposed to alive and living; reduced to that state of a being in which the organs of motion and life have irrevocably ceased to perform their functions; as, a dead tree; a dead man. "The queen, my lord, is dead." Shak. The crew, all except himself, were dead of hunger. Arbuthnot. Seek him with candle, bring him dead or living. Shak.

2. Destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter.

3. Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep.

4. Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead calm; a dead load or weight.

5. So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a dead floor.

6. Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead capital; dead stock in trade.

7. Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye; dead fire; dead color, etc.

8. Monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead wall. "The ground is a dead flat." C. Reade.

9. Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot; a dead certainty. I had them a dead bargain. Goldsmith.

10. Bringing death; deadly. Shak.

11. Wanting in religious spirit and vitality; as, dead faith; dead works. "Dead in trespasses." Eph. ii. 1.

12. (Paint.) (a) Flat; without gloss; — said of painting which has been applied purposely to have this effect. (b) Not brilliant; not rich; thus, brown is a dead color, as compared with crimson.

13. (Law)

Defn: Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of the power of enjoying the rights of property; as, one banished or becoming a monk is civilly dead.

14. (Mach.)

Defn: Not imparting motion or power; as, the dead spindle of a lathe, etc. See Spindle. Dead ahead (Naut.), directly ahead; — said of a ship or any object, esp. of the wind when blowing from that point toward which a vessel would go. — Dead angle (Mil.), an angle or space which can not be seen or defended from behind the parapet. — Dead block, either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car. — Dead calm (Naut.), no wind at all. — Dead center, or Dead point (Mach.), either of two points in the orbit of a crank, at which the crank and connecting rod lie a straight line. It corresponds to the end of a stroke; as, A and B are dead centers of the crank mechanism in which the crank C drives, or is driven by, the lever L. — Dead color (Paint.), a color which has no gloss upon it. — Dead coloring (Oil paint.), the layer of colors, the preparation for what is to follow. In modern painting this is usually in monochrome. — Dead door (Shipbuilding), a storm shutter fitted to the outside of the quarter-gallery door. — Dead flat (Naut.), the widest or midship frame. — Dead freight (Mar. Law), a sum of money paid by a person who charters a whole vessel but fails to make out a full cargo. The payment is made for the unoccupied capacity. Abbott. — Dead ground (Mining), the portion of a vein in which there is no ore. — Dead hand, a hand that can not alienate, as of a person civilly dead. "Serfs held in dead hand." Morley. See Mortmain. — Dead head (Naut.), a rough block of wood used as an anchor buoy. — Dead heat, a heat or course between two or more race horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal, so that neither wins. — Dead horse, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid in advance. [Law] — Dead language, a language which is no longer spoken or in common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. — Dead letter. (a) A letter which, after lying for a certain fixed time uncalled for at the post office to which it was directed, is then sent to the general post office to be opened. (b) That which has lost its force or authority; as, the law has become a dead letter. — Dead-letter office, a department of the general post office where dead letters are examined and disposed of. — Dead level, a term applied to a flat country. — Dead lift, a direct lift, without assistance from mechanical advantage, as from levers, pulleys, etc.; hence, an extreme emergency. "(As we say) at a dead lift." Robynson (More's Utopia). — Dead line (Mil.), a line drawn within or around a military prison, to cross which involves for a prisoner the penalty of being instantly shot. — Dead load (Civil Engin.), a constant, motionless load, as the weight of a structure, in distinction from a moving load, as a train of cars, or a variable pressure, as of wind. — Dead march (Mus.), a piece of solemn music intended to be played as an accompaniment to a funeral procession. — Dead nettle (Bot.), a harmless plant with leaves like a nettle (Lamium album). — Dead oil (Chem.), the heavy oil obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and containing phenol, naphthalus, etc. — Dead plate (Mach.), a solid covering over a part of a fire grate, to prevent the entrance of air through that part. — Dead pledge, a mortgage. See Mortgage. — Dead point. (Mach.) See Dead center. — Dead reckoning (Naut.), the method of determining the place of a ship from a record kept of the courses sailed as given by compass, and the distance made on each course as found by log, with allowance for leeway, etc., without the aid of celestial observations. — Dead rise, the transverse upward curvature of a vessel's floor. — Dead rising, an elliptical line drawn on the sheer plan to determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the ship's length. — Dead-Sea apple. See under Apple. — Dead set. See under Set. — Dead shot. (a) An unerring marksman. (b) A shot certain to be made. — Dead smooth, the finest cut made; — said of files. — Dead wall (Arch.), a blank wall unbroken by windows or other openings. — Dead water (Naut.), the eddy water closing in under a ship's stern when sailing. — Dead weight. (a) A heavy or oppressive burden. Dryden. (b) (Shipping) A ship's lading, when it consists of heavy goods; or, the heaviest part of a ship's cargo. (c) (Railroad) The weight of rolling stock, the live weight being the load. Knight. — Dead wind (Naut.), a wind directly ahead, or opposed to the ship's course. — To be dead, to die. [Obs.] I deme thee, thou must algate be dead. Chaucer.

Syn.
— Inanimate; deceased; extinct. See Lifeless.

DEAD
Dead, adv.

Defn: To a degree resembling death; to the last degree; completely;
wholly. [Colloq.]
I was tired of reading, and dead sleepy. Dickens.
Dead drunk, so drunk as to be unconscious.

DEAD
Dead, n.

1. The most quiet or deathlike time; the period of profoundest repose, inertness, or gloom; as, the dead of winter. When the drum beat at dead of night. Campbell.

2. One who is dead; — commonly used collectively. And Abraham stood up from before his dead. Gen. xxiii. 3.

DEAD
Dead, v. t.

Defn: To make dead; to deaden; to deprive of life, force, or vigor.
[Obs.]
Heaven's stern decree, With many an ill, hath numbed and deaded me.
Chapman.

DEAD
Dead, v. i.

Defn: To die; to lose life or force. [Obs.]
So iron, as soon as it is out of the fire, deadeth straightway.
Bacon.

DEAD BEAT
Dead` beat".

Defn: See Beat, n., 7. [Low, U.S.]

DEADBEAT
Dead"beat`, a. (Physics)

Defn: Making a beat without recoil; giving indications by a single beat or excursion; — said of galvanometers and other instruments in which the needle or index moves to the extent of its deflection and stops with little or no further oscillation. Deadbeat escapement. See under Escapement.

DEADBORN
Dead"born`, a.

Defn: Stillborn. Pope.

DEADEN
Dead"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deadened; p. pr. & vb. n. Deadening.]
Etym: [From Dead; cf. AS. d to kill, put to death. See Dead, a.]

1. To make as dead; to impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; to lessen the force or acuteness of; to blunt; as, to deaden the natural powers or feelings; to deaden a sound.

As harper lays his open palm Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations.
Longfellow.

2. To lessen the velocity or momentum of; to retard; as, to deaden a ship's headway.

3. To make vapid or spiritless; as, to deaden wine.

4. To deprive of gloss or brilliancy; to obscure; as, to deaden gilding by a coat of size.

DEADENER
Dead"en*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, deadens or checks.

DEAD-EYE
Dead"-eye`, n. (Naut.)

Defn: A round, flattish, wooden block, encircled by a rope, or an iron band, and pierced with three holes to receive the lanyard; — used to extend the shrouds and stays, and for other purposes. Called also deadman's eye. Totten.

DEADHEAD
Dead"head`, n.

1. One who receives free tickets for theaters, public conveyances, etc. [Colloq. U. S.]

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A buoy. See under Dead, a.

DEADHEARTED; DEAD-HEARTED
Dead"*heart`ed, a.

Defn: Having a dull, faint heart; spiritless; listless.
— Dead"*heart`ed*ness, n. Bp. Hall.

DEADHOUSE
Dead"house`, n.

Defn: A morgue; a place for the temporary reception and exposure of dead bodies.

DEADISH
Dead"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat dead, dull, or lifeless; deathlike.
The lips put on a deadish paleness. A. Stafford.

DEADLATCH
Dead"latch`, n.

Defn: A kind of latch whose bolt may be so locked by a detent that it can not be opened from the inside by the handle, or from the outside by the latch key. Knight.

DEADLIGHT
Dead"light`, n. (Naut.)

Defn: A strong shutter, made to fit open ports and keep out water in a storm.

DEADLIHOOD
Dead"li*hood, n.

Defn: State of the dead. [Obs.]

DEADLINESS
Dead"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being deadly.

DEADLOCK
Dead"lock`, n.

1. A lock which is not self-latching, but requires a key to throw the bolt forward.

2. A counteraction of things, which produces an entire stoppage; a complete obstruction of action. Things are at a deadlock. London Times. The Board is much more likely to be at a deadlock of two to two. The Century.

DEADLY
Dead"ly, a.

1. Capable of causing death; mortal; fatal; destructive; certain or likely to cause death; as, a deadly blow or wound.

2. Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile; flagitious; as, deadly enemies. Thy assailant is quick, skillful, and deadly. Shak.

3. Subject to death; mortal. [Obs.]
The image of a deadly man. Wyclif (Rom. i. 23).
Deadly nightshade (Bot.), a poisonous plant; belladonna. See under
Nightshade.

DEADLY
Dead"ly, adv.

1. In a manner resembling, or as if produced by, death. "Deadly pale." Shak.

2. In a manner to occasion death; mortally. The groanings of a deadly wounded man. Ezek. xxx. 24.

3. In an implacable manner; destructively.

4. Extremely. [Obs.] "Deadly weary." Orrery. "So deadly cunning a man." Arbuthnot.

DEADNESS
Dead"ness, n.

Defn: The state of being destitute of life, vigor, spirit, activity, etc.; dullness; inertness; languor; coldness; vapidness; indifference; as, the deadness of a limb, a body, or a tree; the deadness of an eye; deadness of the affections; the deadness of beer or cider; deadness to the world, and the like.

DEAD-PAY
Dead"-pay`, n.

Defn: Pay drawn for soldiers, or others, really dead, whose names are
kept on the rolls.
O you commanders, That, like me, have no dead-pays. Massinger.

DEAD-RECKONING
Dead"-reck`on*ing, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See under Dead, a.

DEADS
Deads, n. pl. (Mining)

Defn: The substances which inclose the ore on every side.

DEAD-STROKE
Dead"-stroke`, a. (Mech.)

Defn: Making a stroke without recoil; deadbeat. Dead-stroke hammer (Mach.), a power hammer having a spring interposed between the driving mechanism and the hammer head, or helve, to lessen the recoil of the hammer and reduce the shock upon the mechanism.

DEADWOOD
Dead"wood`, n.

1. (Naut.)

Defn: A mass of timbers built into the bow and stern of a vessel to give solidity.

2. Dead trees or branches; useless material.

DEADWORKS
Dead"works`, n. pl. (Naut.)

Defn: The parts of a ship above the water when she is laden.

DEAF Deaf, a. Etym: [OE. def, deaf, deef, AS. deáf; akin to D. doof, G. taub, Icel. daufr, Dan. döv, Sw. döf, Goth. daubs, and prob. to E. dumb (the original sense being, dull as applied to one of the senses), and perh. to Gr. toben to rage. Cf. Dumb.]

1. Wanting the sense of hearing, either wholly or in part; unable to perceive sounds; hard of hearing; as, a deaf man. Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf. Shak.

2. Unwilling to hear or listen; determinedly inattentive; regardless; not to be persuaded as to facts, argument, or exhortation; — with to; as, deaf to reason. O, that men's ears should be To counsel deaf, but not to flattery! Shak.

3. Deprived of the power of hearing; deafened. Deaf with the noise, I took my hasty flight. Dryden.

4. Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened. [R.] A deaf murmur through the squadron went. Dryden.

5. Decayed; tasteless; dead; as, a deaf nut; deaf corn. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. If the season be unkindly and intemperate, they [peppers] will catch a blast; and then the seeds will be deaf, void, light, and naught. Holland. Deaf and dumb, without the sense of hearing or the faculty of speech. See Deaf-mute.

DEAF
Deaf, v. t.

Defn: To deafen. [Obs.] Dryden.

DEAFEN
Deaf"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deafened; p. pr. & vb. n. Deafening.]
Etym: [From Deaf.]

1. To make deaf; to deprive of the power of hearing; to render incapable of perceiving sounds distinctly. Deafened and stunned with their promiscuous cries. Addison.

2. (Arch.)

Defn: To render impervious to sound, as a partition or floor, by filling the space within with mortar, by lining with paper, etc.

DEAFENING
Deaf"en*ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of rendering impervious to sound, as a floor or wall; also, the material with which the spaces are filled in this process; pugging.

DEAFLY
Deaf"ly, adv.

Defn: Without sense of sounds; obscurely.

DEAFLY
Deaf"ly, a.

Defn: Lonely; solitary. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

DEAF-MUTE
Deaf"-mute`, n.

Defn: A person who is deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it. [See Illust. of Dactylology.] Deaf-mutes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly.

DEAF-MUTISM
Deaf"-mut`ism, n.

Defn: The condition of being a deaf-mute.

DEAFNESS
Deaf"ness, n.

1. Incapacity of perceiving sounds; the state of the organs which prevents the impression which constitute hearing; want of the sense of hearing.

2. Unwillingness to hear; voluntary rejection of what is addressed to the understanding. Nervous deafness, a variety of deafness dependent upon morbid change in some portion of the nervous system, especially the auditory nerve.

DEAL Deal, n. Etym: [OE. del, deel, part, AS. d; akin to OS. d, D. & Dan. deel, G. theil, teil, Icel. deild, Sw. del, Goth. dails. Dole.]

1. A part or portion; a share; hence, an indefinite quantity, degree, or extent, degree, or extent; as, a deal of time and trouble; a deal of cold. Three tenth deals [parts of an ephah] of flour. Num. xv. 9. As an object of science it [the Celtic genius] may count for a good deal . . . as a spiritual power. M. Arnold. She was resolved to be a good deal more circumspect. W. Black.

Note: It was formerly limited by some, every, never a, a thousand, etc.; as, some deal; but these are now obsolete or vulgar. In general, we now qualify the word with great or good, and often use it adverbially, by being understood; as, a great deal of time and pains; a great (or good) deal better or worse; that is, better by a great deal, or by a great part or difference.

2. The process of dealing cards to the players; also, the portion disturbed. The deal, the shuffle, and the cut. Swift.

3. Distribution; apportionment. [Colloq.]

4. An arrangement to attain a desired result by a combination of interested parties; — applied to stock speculations and political bargains. [Slang]

5. Etym: [Prob. from D. deel a plank, threshing floor. See Thill.]

Defn: The division of a piece of timber made by sawing; a board or plank; particularly, a board or plank of fir or pine above seven inches in width, and exceeding six feet in length. If narrower than this, it is called a batten; if shorter, a deal end.

Note: Whole deal is a general term for planking one and one half inches thick.

6. Wood of the pine or fir; as, a floor of deal. Deal tree, a fir tree. Dr. Prior.

DEAL Deal, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dealt; p. pr. & vb. n. Dealing.] Etym: [OE. delen, AS. d, fr. d share; akin to OS. d, D. deelen, G. theilen, teilen, Icel. deila, Sw. dela, Dan. dele, Goth. dailjan. See Deal, n.]

1. To divide; to separate in portions; hence, to give in portions; to distribute; to bestow successively; — sometimes with out. Is not to deal thy bread to the hungry Is. lviii. 7. And Rome deals out her blessings and her gold. Tickell. The nightly mallet deals resounding blows. Gay. Hissing through the skies, the feathery deaths were dealt. Dryden.

2. Specifically: To distribute, as cards, to the players at the commencement of a game; as, to deal the cards; to deal one a jack.

DEAL
Deal, v. i.

1. To make distribution; to share out in portions, as cards to the players.

2. To do a distributing or retailing business, as distinguished from that of a manufacturer or producer; to traffic; to trade; to do business; as, he deals in flour. They buy and sell, they deal and traffic. South. This is to drive to wholesale trade, when all other petty merchants deal but for parcels. Dr. H. More.

3. To act as an intermediary in business or any affairs; to manage; to make arrangements; — followed by between or with. Sometimes he that deals between man and man, raiseth his own credit with both, by pretending greater interest than he hath in either. Bacon.

4. To conduct one's self; to behave or act in any affair or towards any one; to treat. If he will deal clearly and impartially, . . . he will acknowledge all this to be true. Tillotson.

5. To contend (with); to treat (with), by way of opposition, check, or correction; as, he has turbulent passions to deal with. To deal by, to treat, either well or ill; as, to deal well by servants. "Such an one deals not fairly by his own mind." Locke. — To deal in. (a) To have to do with; to be engaged in; to practice; as, they deal in political matters. (b) To buy and sell; to furnish, as a retailer or wholesaler; as, they deal in fish. — To deal with. (a) To treat in any manner; to use, whether well or ill; to have to do with; specifically, to trade with. "Dealing with witches." Shak. (b) To reprove solemnly; to expostulate with. The deacons of his church, who, to use their own phrase, "dealt with him" on the sin of rejecting the aid which Providence so manifestly held out. Hawthorne. Return . . . and I will deal well with thee. Gen. xxxii. 9.

DEALBATE
De*al"bate, v. t. Etym: [L. dealbatus, p. p. of dealbare. See Daub.]

Defn: To whiten. [Obs.] Cockeram.

DEALBATION
De`al*ba"tion, n. Etym: [L. dealbatio: cf. F. déalbation.]

Defn: Act of bleaching; a whitening. [Obs.]

DEALER
Deal"er, n.

1. One who deals; one who has to do, or has concern, with others; esp., a trader, a trafficker, a shopkeeper, a broker, or a merchant; as, a dealer in dry goods; a dealer in stocks; a retail dealer.

2. One who distributes cards to the players.

DEALFISH
Deal"fish`, n. Etym: [From deal a long, narrow plank.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A long, thin fish of the arctic seas (Trachypterus arcticus).

DEALING
Deal"ing, n.

Defn: The act of one who deals; distribution of anything, as of cards to the players; method of business; traffic; intercourse; transaction; as, to have dealings with a person. Double dealing, insincere, treacherous dealing; duplicity. — Plain dealing, fair, sincere, honorable dealing; honest, outspoken expression of opinion.

DEALTH
Dealth, n.

Defn: Share dealt. [Obs.]

DEAMBULATE De*am"bu*late, v. i. Etym: [L. deambulare, deambulatum; de- + ambulare to walk.]

Defn: To walk abroad. [Obs.] Cockeram.

DEAMBULATION
De*am`bu*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. deambulatio.]

Defn: A walking abroad; a promenading. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.

DEAMBULATORY
De*am"bu*la*to*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. LL. deambulator a traveler.]

Defn: Going about from place to place; wandering; of or pertaining to a deambulatory. [Obs.] "Deambulatory actors." Bp. Morton.

DEAMBULATORY
De*am"bu*la*to*ry, n. Etym: [L. deambulatorium.]

Defn: A covered place in which to walk; an ambulatory.

DEAN Dean, n. Etym: [OE. dene, deene, OF. deien, dien, F. doyen, eldest of a corporation, a dean, L. decanus the chief of ten, one set over ten persons, e. g., over soldiers or over monks, from decem ten. See Ten, and cf. Decemvir.]

1. A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop. Dean of cathedral church, the chief officer of a chapter; he is an ecclesiastical magistrate next in degree to bishop, and has immediate charge of the cathedral and its estates. — Dean of peculiars, a dean holding a preferment which has some peculiarity relative to spiritual superiors and the jurisdiction exercised in it. [Eng.] — Rural dean, one having, under the bishop, the especial care and inspection of the clergy within certain parishes or districts of the diocese.

2. The collegiate officer in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England, who, besides other duties, has regard to the moral condition of the college. Shipley.

3. The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some colleges or universities.

4. A registrar or secretary of the faculty in a department of a college, as in a medical, or theological, or scientific department. [U.S.]

5. The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony; as, the dean of the diplomatic corps; — so called by courtesy. Cardinal dean, the senior cardinal bishop of the college of cardinals at Rome. Shipley. — Dean and chapter, the legal corporation and governing body of a cathedral. It consists of the dean, who is chief, and his canons or prebendaries. — Dean of arches, the lay judge of the court of arches. — Dean of faculty, the president of an incorporation or barristers; specifically, the president of the incorporation of advocates in Edinburgh. — Dean of guild, a magistrate of Scotch burghs, formerly, and still, in some burghs, chosen by the Guildry, whose duty is to superintend the erection of new buildings and see that they conform to the law. — Dean of a monastery, Monastic dean, a monastic superior over ten monks. — Dean's stall. See Decanal stall, under Decanal.

DEANERY
Dean"er*y, n.; pl. Deaneries (.

1. The office or the revenue of a dean. See the Note under Benefice, n., 3.

2. The residence of a dean. Shak.

3. The territorial jurisdiction of a dean. Each archdeaconry is divided into rural deaneries, and each deanery is divided into parishes. Blackstone.

DEANSHIP
Dean"ship, n.

Defn: The office of a dean.
I dont't value your deanship a straw. Swift.

DEAR
Dear, a. [Compar. Dearer; superl. Dearest.] Etym: [OE. dere, deore,
AS. deóre; akin to OS. diuri, D. duur, OHG. tiuri, G. theuer, teuer,
Icel. d, Dan. & Sw. dyr. Cf. Darling, Dearth.]

1. Bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive. The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear. Shak.

2. Marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price; as, a dear year.

3. Highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious. "Hear me,
dear lady." Shak.
Neither count I my life dear unto myself. Acts xx. 24.
And the last joy was dearer than the rest. Pope.
Dear as remember'd kisses after death. Tennyson.

4. Hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind; engaging the attention. (a) Of agreeable things and interests. [I'll] leave you to attend him: some dear cause Will in concealment wrap me up awhile. Shak. His dearest wish was to escape from the bustle and glitter of Whitehall. Macaulay. (b) Of disagreeable things and antipathies. In our dear peril. Shak. Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven Or ever I had seen that day. Shak.

DEAR
Dear, n.

Defn: A dear one; lover; sweetheart.
That kiss I carried from thee, dear. Shak.

DEAR
Dear, adv.

Defn: Dearly; at a high price.
If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear. Shak.

DEAR
Dear, v. t.

Defn: To endear. [Obs.] Shelton.

DEARBORN
Dear"born, n.

Defn: A four-wheeled carriage, with curtained sides.

DEAR-BOUGHT
Dear"-bought`, a.

Defn: Bought at a high price; as, dear-bought experience.

DEARE
Deare,

Defn: variant of Dere, v. t. & n. [Obs.]

DEARIE
Dear"ie, n.

Defn: Same as Deary. Dickens.

DEARLING
Dear"ling, n.

Defn: A darling. [Obs.] Spenser.

DEAR-LOVED
Dear"-loved`, a.

Defn: Greatly beloved. Shak.

DEARLY
Dear"ly, adv.

1. In a dear manner; with affection; heartily; earnestly; as, to love one dearly.

2. At a high rate or price; grievously. He buys his mistress dearly with his throne. Dryden.

3. Exquisitely. [Obs.] Shak.

DEARN
Dearn, a. Etym: [AS. derne, dyrne, dierne, hidden, secret. Cf.
Derne.]

Defn: Secret; lonely; solitary; dreadful. [Obs.] Shak.
— Dearn"ly, adv. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEARN
Dearn, v. t.

Defn: Same as Darn. [Obs.]

DEARNESS
Dear"ness, n.

1. The quality or state of being dear; costliness; excess of price. The dearness of corn. Swift.

2. Fondness; preciousness; love; tenderness. The dearness of friendship. Bacon.

DEARTH
Dearth, n. Etym: [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.]

Defn: Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of
food on account of failure of crops; famine.
There came a dearth over all the land of Egypt. Acts vii. 11.
He with her press'd, she faint with dearth. Shak.
Dearth of plot, and narrowness of imagination. Dryden.

DEARTICULATE
De`ar*tic"u*late, v. t.

Defn: To disjoint.

DEARWORTH
Dear"worth`, a. Etym: [See Derworth.]

Defn: Precious. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

DEARY
Dear"y, n.

Defn: A dear; a darling. [Familiar]

DEAS
De"as, n.

Defn: See Dais. [Scot.]

DEATH Death, n. Etym: [OE. deth, dea, AS. deá; akin to OS. d, D. dood, G. tod, Icel. dau, Sw. & Dan. död, Goth. daupus; from a verb meaning to die. See Die, v. i., and cf. Dead.]

1. The cessation of all vital phenomena without capability of resuscitation, either in animals or plants.

Note: Local death is going on at times and in all parts of the living body, in which individual cells and elements are being cast off and replaced by new; a process essential to life. General death is of two kinds; death of the body as a whole (somatic or systemic death), and death of the tissues. By the former is implied the absolute cessation of the functions of the brain, the circulatory and the respiratory organs; by the latter the entire disappearance of the vital actions of the ultimate structural constituents of the body. When death takes place, the body as a whole dies first, the death of the tissues sometimes not occurring until after a considerable interval. Huxley.

2. Total privation or loss; extinction; cessation; as, the death of memory. The death of a language can not be exactly compared with the death of a plant. J. Peile.

3. Manner of dying; act or state of passing from life. A death that I abhor. Shak. Let me die the death of the righteous. Num. xxiii. 10.

4. Cause of loss of life. Swiftly flies the feathered death. Dryden. He caught his death the last county sessions. Addison.

5. Personified: The destroyer of life, — conventionally represented as a skeleton with a scythe. Death! great proprietor of all. Young. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that at on him was Death. Rev. vi. 8.

6. Danger of death. "In deaths oft." 2 Cor. xi. 23.

7. Murder; murderous character. Not to suffer a man of death to live. Bacon.

8. (Theol.)

Defn: Loss of spiritual life.
To be death. Rom. viii. 6.

9. Anything so dreadful as to be like death.
It was death to them to think of entertaining such doctrines.
Atterbury.
And urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death. Judg. xvi. 16.

Note: Death is much used adjectively and as the first part of a compound, meaning, in general, of or pertaining to death, causing or presaging death; as, deathbed or death bed; deathblow or death blow, etc. Black death. See Black death, in the Vocabulary. — Civil death, the separation of a man from civil society, or the debarring him from the enjoyment of civil rights, as by banishment, attainder, abjuration of the realm, entering a monastery, etc. Blackstone. — Death adder. (Zoöl.) (a) A kind of viper found in South Africa (Acanthophis tortor); — so called from the virulence of its venom. (b) A venomous Australian snake of the family Elapidæ, of several species, as the Hoplocephalus superbus and Acanthopis antarctica. — Death bell, a bell that announces a death. The death bell thrice was heard to ring. Mickle. — Death candle, a light like that of a candle, viewed by the superstitious as presaging death. — Death damp, a cold sweat at the coming on of death. — Death fire, a kind of ignis fatuus supposed to forebode death. And round about in reel and rout, The death fires danced at night. Coleridge. — Death grapple, a grapple or struggle for life. — Death in life, a condition but little removed from death; a living death. [Poetic] "Lay lingering out a five years' death in life." Tennyson. — Death knell, a stroke or tolling of a bell, announcing a death. — Death rate, the relation or ratio of the number of deaths to the population. At all ages the death rate is higher in towns than in rural districts. Darwin. — Death rattle, a rattling or gurgling in the throat of a dying person. — Death's door, the boundary of life; the partition dividing life from death. — Death stroke, a stroke causing death. — Death throe, the spasm of death. — Death token, the signal of approaching death. — Death warrant. (a) (Law) An order from the proper authority for the execution of a criminal. (b) That which puts an end to expectation, hope, or joy. — Death wound. (a) A fatal wound or injury. (b) (Naut.) The springing of a fatal leak. — Spiritual death (Scripture), the corruption and perversion of the soul by sin, with the loss of the favor of God. — The gates of death, the grave. Have the gates of death been opened unto thee Job xxxviii. 17. — The second death, condemnation to eternal separation from God. Rev. ii. 11. — To be the death of, to be the cause of death to; to make die. "It was one who should be the death of both his parents." Milton.

Syn. — Death, Decrase, Departure, Release. Death applies to the termination of every form of existence, both animal and vegetable; the other words only to the human race. Decease is the term used in law for the removal of a human being out of life in the ordinary course of nature. Demise was formerly confined to decease of princes, but is now sometimes used of distinguished men in general; as, the demise of Mr. Pitt. Departure and release are peculiarly terms of Christian affection and hope. A violent death is not usually called a decease. Departure implies a friendly taking leave of life. Release implies a deliverance from a life of suffering or sorrow.

DEATHBED
Death"bed, n.

Defn: The bed in which a person dies; hence, the closing hours of life of one who dies by sickness or the like; the last sickness. That often-quoted passage from Lord Hervey in which the Queen's deathbed is described. Thackeray.

DEATHBIRD
Death"bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Tengmalm's or Richardson's owl (Nyctale Tengmalmi); — so called from a superstition of the North American Indians that its note presages death.

DEATHBLOW
Death"blow`, n.

Defn: A mortal or crushing blow; a stroke or event which kills or
destroys.
The deathblow of my hope. Byron.

DEATHFUL
Death"ful, a.

1. Full of death or slaughter; murderous; destructive; bloody. These eyes behold The deathful scene. Pope.

2. Liable to undergo death; mortal. The deathless gods and deathful earth. Chapman.

DEATHFULNESS
Death"ful*ness, n.

Defn: Appearance of death. Jer. Taylor.

DEATHLESS
Death"less, a.

Defn: Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.

DEATHLIKE
Death"like`, a.

1. Resembling death. A deathlike slumber, and a dead repose. Pope.

2. Deadly. [Obs.] "Deathlike dragons." Shak.

DEATHLINESS
Death"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being deathly; deadliness. Southey.

DEATHLY
Death"ly, a.

Defn: Deadly; fatal; mortal; destructive.

DEATHLY
Death"ly, adv.

Defn: Deadly; as, deathly pale or sick.

DEATH'S-HEAD
Death's"-head`, n.

Defn: A naked human skull as the emblem of death; the head of the conventional personification of death. I had rather be married to a death's-head with a bone in his mouth. Shak. Death's-head moth (Zoöl.), a very large European moth (Acherontia atropos), so called from a figure resembling a human skull on the back of the thorax; — called also death's-head sphinx.

DEATH'S-HERB
Death's"-herb`, n.

Defn: The deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). Dr. Prior.

DEATHSMAN
Deaths"man, n.

Defn: An executioner; a headsman or hangman. [Obs.] Shak.

DEATHWARD
Death"ward, adv.

Defn: Toward death.

DEATHWATCH
Death"watch` (; 224), n.

1. (Zoöl.) (a) A small beetle (Anobium tessellatum and other allied species). By forcibly striking its head against woodwork it makes a ticking sound, which is a call of the sexes to each other, but has been imagined by superstitious people to presage death. (b) A small wingless insect, of the family Psocidæ, which makes a similar but fainter sound; — called also deathtick. She is always seeing apparitions and hearing deathwatches. Addison. I did not hear the dog howl, mother, or the deathwatch beat. Tennyson.

2. The guard set over a criminal before his execution.

DEAURATE De*au"rate, a. Etym: [L. deauratus, p. p. of deaurare to gild; de- + aurum gold.]

Defn: Gilded. [Obs.]

DEAURATE
De*au"rate, v. t.

Defn: To gild. [Obs.] Bailey.

DEAURATION
De`au*ra"tion, n.

Defn: Act of gilding. [Obs.]

DEAVE
Deave, v. t. Etym: [See Deafen.]

Defn: To stun or stupefy with noise; to deafen. [Scot.]

DEBACCHATE De*bac"chate, v. i. Etym: [L. debacchatus, p. p. of debacchari to rage; de- + bacchari to rage like a bacchant.]

Defn: To rave as a bacchanal. [R.] Cockeram.

DEBACCHATION
De`bac*cha"tion, n. Etym: [L. debacchatio.]

Defn: Wild raving or debauchery. [R.] Prynne.

DEBACLE
De*ba"cle, n. Etym: [F. débâcle, fr. débâcler to unbar, break loose;
pref. dé- (prob. = L. dis) + bâcler to bolt, fr. L. baculum a stick.]
(Geol.)

Defn: A breaking or bursting forth; a violent rush or flood of waters which breaks down opposing barriers, and hurls forward and disperses blocks of stone and other débris.

DEBAR
De*bar", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debarred; p. pr. & vb. n. Debarring.]
Etym: [Pref. de- + bar.]

Defn: To cut off from entrance, as if by a bar or barrier; to preclude; to hinder from approach, entry, or enjoyment; to shut out or exclude; to deny or refuse; — with from, and sometimes with of. Yet not so strictly hath our Lord imposed Labor, as to debar us when we need Refreshment. Milton. Their wages were so low as to debar them, not only from the comforts but from the common decencies of civilized life. Buckle.

DEBARB
De*barb", v. t. Etym: [Pref. de- + L. barba beard.]

Defn: To deprive of the beard. [Obs.] Bailey.

DEBARK
De"bark", v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Debarked; p. pr. & vb. n.
Debarking.] Etym: [F. débarquer; pref. dé- (L. dis-) + barque. See
Bark the vessel, and cf. Disbark.]

Defn: To go ashore from a ship or boat; to disembark; to put ashore.

DEBARKATION
De`bar*ka"tion, n.

Defn: Disembarkation.
The debarkation, therefore, had to take place by small steamers. U.
S. Grant.

DEBARMENT
De*bar"ment, n.

Defn: Hindrance from approach; exclusion.

DEBARRASS
De*bar"rass, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. débarrasser. See Embarrass.]

Defn: To disembarrass; to relieve. [R.]

DEBASE
De*base", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debased; p. pr. & vb. n. Debasing.]
Etym: [Pref. de- + base. See Base, a., and cf. Abase.]

Defn: To reduce from a higher to a lower state or grade of worth, dignity, purity, station, etc.; to degrade; to lower; to deteriorate; to abase; as, to debase the character by crime; to debase the mind by frivolity; to debase style by vulgar words. The coin which was adulterated and debased. Hale. It is a kind of taking God's name in vain to debase religion with such frivolous disputes. Hooker. And to debase the sons, exalts the sires. Pope.

Syn.
— To abase; degrade. See Abase.

DEBASED
De*based", a. (Her.)

Defn: Turned upside down from its proper position; inverted; reversed.

DEBASEMENT
De*base"ment, n.

Defn: The act of debasing or the state of being debased. Milton.

DEBASER
De*bas"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, debases.

DEBASINGLY
De*bas"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a manner to debase.

DEBATABLE
De*bat"a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. debatable. See Debate.]

Defn: Liable to be debated; disputable; subject to controversy or
contention; open to question or dispute; as, a debatable question.
The Debatable Land or Ground, a tract of land between the Esk and the
Sark, claimed by both England and Scotland; the Batable Ground.

DEBATE
De*bate", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debated; p. pr. & vb. n. Debating.]
Etym: [OF. debatre, F. débattre; L. de + batuere to beat. See Batter,
v. t., and cf. Abate.]

1. To engage in combat for; to strive for. Volunteers . . . thronged to serve under his banner, and the cause of religion was debated with the same ardor in Spain as on the plains of Palestine. Prescott.

2. To contend for in words or arguments; to strive to maintain by reasoning; to dispute; to contest; to discuss; to argue for and against. A wise council . . . that did debate this business. Shak. Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself. Prov. xxv. 9.

Syn.
— To argue; discuss; dispute; controvert. See Argue, and Discuss.

DEBATE
De*bate", v. i.

1. To engage in strife or combat; to fight. [Obs.] Chaucer. Well could he tourney and in lists debate. Spenser.

2. To contend in words; to dispute; hence, to deliberate; to consider; to discuss or examine different arguments in the mind; — often followed by on or upon. He presents that great soul debating upon the subject of life and death with his intimate friends. Tatler.

DEBATE
De*bate", n. Etym: [F. débat, fr. débattre. See Debate, v. t.]

1. A fight or fighting; contest; strife. [Archaic] On the day of the Trinity next ensuing was a great debate . . . and in that murder there were slain . . . fourscore. R. of Gloucester. But question fierce and proud reply Gave signal soon of dire debate. Sir W. Scott.

2. Contention in words or arguments; discussion for the purpose of elucidating truth or influencing action; strife in argument; controversy; as, the debates in Parliament or in Congress. Heard, noted, answer'd, as in full debate. Pope.

3. Subject of discussion. [R.] Statutes and edicts concerning this debate. Milton.

DEBATEFUL
De*bate"ful, a.

Defn: Full of contention; contentious; quarrelsome. [Obs.] Spenser.

DEBATEFULLY
De*bate"ful*ly, adv.

Defn: With contention. [Obs.]

DEBATEMENT
De*bate"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. debatement a beating.]

Defn: Controversy; deliberation; debate. [R.]
A serious question and debatement with myself. Milton.

DEBATER
De*bat"er, n.

Defn: One who debates; one given to argument; a disputant; a
controvertist.
Debate where leisure serves with dull debaters. Shak.

DEBATING
De*bat"ing, n.

Defn: The act of discussing or arguing; discussion. Debating society or club, a society or club for the purpose of debate and improvement in extemporaneous speaking.

DEBATINGLY
De*bat"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In the manner of a debate.

DEBAUCH De*bauch", v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Debauched; p. pr. & vb. n. Debauching.] Etym: [F. débaucher, prob. originally, to entice away from the workshop; pref. dé- (L. dis- or de) + OF. bauche, bauge, hut, cf. F. bauge lair of a wild boar; prob. from G. or Icel., cf. Icel. balkr. See Balk, n.]

Defn: To lead away from purity or excellence; to corrupt in character or principles; to mar; to vitiate; to pollute; to seduce; as, to debauch one's self by intemperance; to debauch a woman; to debauch an army. Learning not debauched by ambition. Burke. A man must have got his conscience thoroughly debauched and hardened before he can arrive to the height of sin. South. Her pride debauched her judgment and her eyes. Cowley.

DEBAUCH
De*bauch", n. Etym: [Cf. F. débauche.]

1. Excess in eating or drinking; intemperance; drunkenness; lewdness; debauchery. The first physicians by debauch were made. Dryden.

2. An act or occasion of debauchery. Silenus, from his night's debauch, Fatigued and sick. Cowley.

DEBAUCHED
De*bauched", a.

Defn: Dissolute; dissipated. "A coarse and debauched look." Ld.
Lytton.

DEBAUCHEDLY
De*bauch"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In a profligate manner.

DEBAUCHEDNESS
De*bauch"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being debauched; intemperance. Bp. Hall.

DEBAUCHEE
Deb`au*chee", n. Etym: [F. dé, n., properly p. p. of débaucher. See
Debauch, v. t.]

Defn: One who is given to intemperance or bacchanalian excesses; a man habitually lewd; a libertine.

DEBAUCHER
De*bauch"er, n.

Defn: One who debauches or corrupts others; especially, a seducer to lewdness.

DEBAUCHERY
De*bauch"er*y, n.; pl. Debaucheries (.

1. Corruption of fidelity; seduction from virtue, duty, or allegiance. The republic of Paris will endeavor to complete the debauchery of the army. Burke.

2. Excessive indulgence of the appetites; especially, excessive indulgence of lust; intemperance; sensuality; habitual lewdness. Oppose . . . debauchery by temperance. Sprat.

DEBAUCHMENT
De*bauch"ment, n.

Defn: The act of corrupting; the act of seducing from virtue or duty.

DEBAUCHNESS
De*bauch"ness, n.

Defn: Debauchedness. [Obs.]

DEBEIGE
De*beige", n. Etym: [F. de of + beige the natural color of wool.]

Defn: A kind of woolen or mixed dress goods. [Written also debage.]

DEBEL
De*bel", v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. débeller. See Debellate.]

Defn: To conquer. [Obs.] Milton.

DEBELLATE De*bel"late, v. t. Etym: [L. debellatus, p. p. of debellare to subdue; de- + bellum war.]

Defn: To subdue; to conquer in war. [Obs.] Speed.

DEBELLATION
Deb`el*la"tion, n. Etym: [LL. debellatio.]

Defn: The act of conquering or subduing. [Obs.]

DE BENE ESSE
De be"ne es"se. Etym: [L.] (Law)

Defn: Of well being; of formal sufficiency for the time; conditionally; provisionally. Abbott.

DEBENTURE De*ben"ture, n. Etym: [L. debentur they are due, fr. debere to owe; cf. F. debentur. So called because these receipts began with the words Debentur mihi.]

1. A writing acknowledging a debt; a writing or certificate signed by a public officer, as evidence of a debt due to some person; the sum thus due.

2. A customhouse certificate entitling an exporter of imported goods to a drawback of duties paid on their importation. Burrill.

Note: It is applied in England to deeds of mortgage given by railway companies for borrowed money; also to municipal and other bonds and securities for money loaned.

DEBENTURED
De*ben"tured, a.

Defn: Entitled to drawback or debenture; as, debentured goods.

DEBENTURE STOCK
Debenture stock. (Finance)

Defn: The debt or series of debts, collectively, represented by a series of debentures; a debt secured by a trust deed of property for the benefit of the holders of shares in the debt or of a series of debentures. By the terms of much debenture stock the holders are not entitled to demand payment until the winding up of the company or default in payment; in the winding up of the company or default in payment; in the case of railway debentures, they cannot demand payment of the principal, and the debtor company cannot redeem the stock, except by authority of an act of Parliament. [Eng.]

DEBILE
Deb"ile, a. Etym: [L. debilis: cf. F. débile. See Debility.]

Defn: Weak. [Obs.] Shak.

DEBILITANT
De*bil"i*tant, a. Etym: [L. debilitants, p. pr.] (Med.)

Defn: Diminishing the energy of organs; reducing excitement; as, a debilitant drug.

DEBILITATE
De*bil"i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debilitated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Debilitating.] Etym: [L. debilitatus, p. p. of debilitare to
debilitate, fr. debilis. See Debility.]

Defn: To impair the strength of; to weaken; to enfeeble; as, to debilitate the body by intemperance. Various ails debilitate the mind. Jenyns. The debilitated frame of Mr. Bertram was exhausted by this last effort. Sir W. Scott.

DEBILITATION
De*bil`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. debilitatio: cf. F. débilitation.]

Defn: The act or process of debilitating, or the condition of one who is debilitated; weakness.

DEBILITY De*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. debilitas, fr. debilis weak, prob. fr. de- + habilis able: cf. F. débilité. See Able, a.]

Defn: The state of being weak; weakness; feebleness; languor. The inconveniences of too strong a perspiration, which are debility, faintness, and sometimes sudden death. Arbuthnot.

Syn. — Debility, Infirmity, Imbecility. An infirmity belongs, for the most part, to particular members, and is often temporary, as of the eyes, etc. Debility is more general, and while it lasts impairs the ordinary functions of nature. Imbecility attaches to the whole frame, and renders it more or less powerless. Debility may be constitutional or may be the result or superinduced causes; Imbecility is always constitutional; infirmity is accidental, and results from sickness or a decay of the frame. These words, in their figurative uses, have the same distinctions; we speak of infirmity of will, debility of body, and an Imbecility which affects the whole man; but Imbecility is often used with specific reference to feebleness of mind.

DEBIT Deb"it, n. Etym: [L. debitum what is due, debt, from debere to owe: cf. F. débit. See Debt.]

Defn: A debt; an entry on the debtor (Dr.) side of an account; — mostly used adjectively; as, the debit side of an account.

DEBIT
Deb"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debited; p. pr. & vb. n. Debiting.]

1. To charge with debt; — the opposite of, and correlative to, credit; as, to debit a purchaser for the goods sold.

2. (Bookkeeping)

Defn: To enter on the debtor (Dr.) side of an account; as, to debit the amount of goods sold.

DEBITOR
Deb"it*or, n. Etym: [L. See Debtor.]

Defn: A debtor. [Obs.] Shak.

DEBITUMINIZATION
De`bi*tu`mi*ni*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act of depriving of bitumen.

DEBITUMINIZE
De`bi*tu"mi*nize, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of bitumen.

DEBLAI
Dé`blai", n. Etym: [F.] (Fort.)

Defn: The cavity from which the earth for parapets, etc. (remblai), is taken.

DEBONAIR Deb`o*nair", a. Etym: [OE. debonere, OF. de bon aire, debonaire, of good descent or lineage, excellent, debonair, F. débonnaire debonair; de of (L. de) + bon good (L. bonus) + aire. See Air, and Bounty, and cf. Bonair.]

Defn: Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant. Was never prince so meek and debonair. Spenser.

DEBONAIRITY
Deb`o*nair"i*ty, n. Etym: [OF. debonaireté, F. débonnaireté.]

Defn: Debonairness. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEBONAIRLY
Deb`o*nair"ly, adv.

Defn: Courteously; elegantly.

DEBONAIRNESS
Deb`o*nair"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being debonair; good humor; gentleness; courtesy. Sterne.

DEBOSH
De*bosh", v. t. Etym: [Old form of debauch.]

Defn: To debauch. [Obs.] "A deboshed lady." Beau. & Fl.

DEBOSHMENT
De*bosh"ment, n.

Defn: Debauchment. [Obs.]

DEBOUCH
De*bouch", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Debouched; p. pr. & vb. n.
Debouching.] Etym: [F. déboucher; pref. dé- (L. dis- or de) + boucher
to stop up, fr. bouche mouth, fr. L. bucca the cheek. Cf.
Disembogue.]

Defn: To march out from a wood, defile, or other confined spot, into
open ground; to issue.
Battalions debouching on the plain. Prescott.

DEBOUCHE
Dé`bou`ché", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A place for exit; an outlet; hence, a market for goods.
The débouchés were ordered widened to afford easy egress. The
Century.

DEBOUCHURE
Dé`bou`chure", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: The outward opening of a river, of a valley, or of a strait.

DEBRIS Dé`bris", n. Etym: [F., fr. pref. dé- (L. dis) + briser to break, shatter; perh. of Celtic origin.]

1. (Geol.)

Defn: Broken and detached fragments, taken collectively; especially, fragments detached from a rock or mountain, and piled up at the base.

2. Rubbish, especially such as results from the destruction of anything; remains; ruins.

DEBRUISED
De*bruised", a. Etym: [Cf. OF. debruisier to shatter, break. Cf.
Bruise.] (Her.)

Defn: Surmounted by an ordinary; as, a lion is debruised when a bend or other ordinary is placed over it, as in the cut. The lion of England and the lilies of France without the baton sinister, under which, according to the laws of heraldry, they where debruised in token of his illegitimate birth. Macaulay.

DEBT
Debt, n. Etym: [OE. dette, F. dette, LL. debita, fr. L. debitus owed,
p. p. of debere to owe, prop., to have on loan; de- + habere to have.
See Habit, and cf. Debit, Due.]

1. That which is due from one person to another, whether money, goods, or services; that which one person is bound to pay to another, or to perform for his benefit; thing owed; obligation; liability. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt. Shak. When you run in debt, you give to another power over your liberty. Franklin.

2. A duty neglected or violated; a fault; a sin; a trespass. "Forgive us our debts." Matt. vi. 12.

3. (Law)

Defn: An action at law to recover a certain specified sum of money
alleged to be due. Burrill. Bond debt, Book debt, etc. See under
Bond, Book, etc.
— Debt of nature, death.

DEBTED
Debt"ed, p. a.

Defn: Indebted; obliged to. [R.]
I stand debted to this gentleman. Shak.

DEBTEE
Debt*ee", n. (Law)

Defn: One to whom a debt is due; creditor; — correlative to debtor.
Blackstone.

DEBTLESS
Debt"less, a.

Defn: Free from debt. Chaucer.

DEBTOR Debt"or, n. Etym: [OE. dettur, dettour, OF. detor, detur, detour, F. débiteur, fr. L. debitor, fr. debere to owe. See Debt.]

Defn: One who owes a debt; one who is indebted; — correlative to
creditor.
[I 'll] bring your latter hazard back again, And thankfully rest
debtor for the first. Shak.
In Athens an insolvent debtor became slave to his creditor. Mitford.
Debtors for our lives to you. Tennyson.

DEBULLIATE
De*bul"li*ate, v. i. Etym: [Pref. dé- + L. bullire to boil.]

Defn: To boil over. [Obs.]

DEBULLITION
Deb`ul*li"tion, n. Etym: [See Debulliate.]

Defn: A bubbling or boiling over. [Obs.] Bailey.

DEBURSE
De*burse", v. t. & i. Etym: [Pref. de + L. bursa purse.]

Defn: To disburse. [Obs.] Ludlow.

DEBUSCOPE De"bu*scope, n. Etym: [From the inventor, Debus, a French optician + -scope.] (Opt.)

Defn: A modification of the kaleidoscope; — used to reflect images so as to form beautiful designs.

DEBUT Dé`but", n. Etym: [F. début, prop., the first cast or throw at play, fr. but aim, mark. See Butt an end.]

Defn: A beginning or first attempt; hence, a first appearance before the public, as of an actor or public speaker.

DEBUTANT; DEBUTANTE De`bu`tant", n.; fem. De`bu`tante" (. Etym: [F., p. pr. of débuter to have the first throw, to make one's début. See Début.]

Defn: A person who makes his (or her) first appearance before the public.

DECA-
Dec"a-. Etym: [Cf. Ten.]

Defn: A prefix, from Gr. de`ka, signifying ten; specifically (Metric System), a prefix signifying the weight or measure that is ten times the principal unit.

DECACERATA De*cac`e*ra"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. de`ka ten + ke`ras a horn.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The division of Cephalopoda which includes the squids, cuttlefishes, and others having ten arms or tentacles; — called also Decapoda. [Written also Decacera.] See Dibranchiata.

DECACHORD; DECACHORDON Dec"a*chord, Dec`a*chor"don, n. Etym: [Gr. deka`chordos tenstringed; de`ka ten + chordj` a string.]

1. An ancient Greek musical instrument of ten strings, resembling the harp.

2. Something consisting of ten parts. W. Watson.

DECACUMINATED
Dec`a*cu"mi*na`ted, a. Etym: [L. decacuminare to cut off the top. See
Cacuminate.]

Defn: Having the point or top cut off. [Obs.] Bailey.

DECAD
Dec"ad, n.

Defn: A decade.
Averill was a decad and a half his elder. Tennyson.

DECADAL
Dec"a*dal, a.

Defn: Pertaining to ten; consisting of tens.

DECADE
Dec"ade, n. Etym: [F. décade, L. decas, -adis, fr. Gr. Ten.]

Defn: A group or division of ten; esp., a period of ten years; a decennium; as, a decade of years or days; a decade of soldiers; the second decade of Livy. [Written also decad.] During this notable decade of years. Gladstone.

DECADENCE; DECADENCY De*ca"dence, De*ca"den*cy, n. Etym: [LL. decadentia; L. de- + cadere to fall: cf. F. décadence. See Decay.]

Defn: A falling away; decay; deterioration; declension. "The old castle, where the family lived in their decadence.' Sir W. Scott.

DECADENT
De*ca"dent, a.

Defn: Decaying; deteriorating.

DECADIST
Dec"a*dist, n.

Defn: A writer of a book divided into decades; as, Livy was a decadist. [R.]

DECAGON
Dec"a*gon, n. Etym: [Pref. deca- + Gr. décagone.] (Geom.)

Defn: A plane figure having ten sides and ten angles; any figure having ten angles. A regular decagon is one that has all its sides and angles equal.

DECAGONAL
De*cag"o*nal, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a decagon; having ten sides.

DECAGRAM; DECAGRAMME
Dec"a*gram, Dec"a*gramme, n. Etym: [F. décagramme; Gr. gramme. See
Gram.]

Defn: A weight of the metric system; ten grams, equal to about 154.32 grains avoirdupois.

DECAGYNIA
Dec`a*gyn"i*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A Linnæan order of plants characterized by having ten styles.

DECAGYNIAN; DECCAGYNOUS
Dec`a*gyn"i*an, Dec*cag"y*nous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décagyne.] (Bot.)

Defn: Belonging to the Decagynia; having ten styles.

DECAHEDRAL
Dec`a*he"dral, a.

Defn: Having ten sides.

DECAHEDRON Dec`a*he"dron, n.; pl. E. Decahedrons, L. Decahedra. Etym: [Pref. deca- + Gr. 'e`dra a seat, a base, fr. 'e`zesthai to sit: cf. F. décaèdre.] (Geom.)

Defn: A solid figure or body inclosed by ten plane surfaces. [Written also, less correctly, decaedron.]

DECALCIFICATION
De*cal`ci*fi*ca"tion, n.

Defn: The removal of calcareous matter.

DECALCIFY
De*cal"ci*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decalcified; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decalcifying.]

Defn: To deprive of calcareous matter; thus, to decalcify bones is to remove the stony part, and leave only the gelatin.

DECALCOMANIA; DECALCOMANIE
De*cal`co*ma"ni*a, De*cal`co*ma"nie, n. Etym: [F. décalcomanie.]

Defn: The art or process of transferring pictures and designs to china, glass, marble, etc., and permanently fixing them thereto.

DECALITER; DECALITRE
Dec"a*li`ter, Dec"a*li`tre, n. Etym: [F. décalitre; Gr. litre. See
Liter.]

Defn: A measure of capacity in the metric system; a cubic volume of ten liters, equal to about 610.24 cubic inches, that is, 2.642 wine gallons.

DECALOG
Dec"a*log, n.

Defn: Decalogue.

DECALOGIST
De*cal"o*gist, n.

Defn: One who explains the decalogue. J. Gregory.

DECALOGUE
Dec"a*logue, n. Etym: [F. décalogue, L. decalogus, fr. Gr. Ten.]

Defn: The Ten Commandments or precepts given by God to Moses on Mount
Sinai, and originally written on two tables of stone.

DECAMERON
De*cam"e*ron, n. Etym: [It. decamerone, fr. Gr. décaméron.]

Defn: A celebrated collection of tales, supposed to be related in ten days; — written in the 14th century, by Boccaccio, an Italian.

DECAMETER; DECAMETRE
Dec"a*me`ter, Dec"a*me`tre, n. Etym: [F. décamètre; Gr. mètre. See
Meter.]

Defn: A measure of length in the metric system; ten meters, equal to about 393.7 inches.

DECAMP
De*camp", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Decamped; p. pr. & vb. n. Decamping.]
Etym: [F. décamper; pref. dé- (L. dis) + camp camp. See Camp.]

1. To break up a camp; to move away from a camping ground, usually by night or secretly. Macaulay.

2. Hence, to depart suddenly; to run away; — generally used disparagingly. The fathers were ordered to decamp, and the house was once again converted into a tavern. Goldsmith.

DECAMPMENT
De*camp"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décampement.]

Defn: Departure from a camp; a marching off.

DECANAL
Dec"a*nal, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décanal. See Dean.]

Defn: Pertaining to a dean or deanery.
His rectorial as well as decanal residence. Churton.
Decanal side, the side of the choir on which the dean's tall is
placed.
— Decanal stall, the stall allotted to the dean in the choir, on
the right or south side of the chancel. Shipley.

DECANDRIA
De*can"dri*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A Linnæan class of plants characterized by having ten stamens.

DECANDRIAN; DECANDROUS
De*can"dri*an, De*can"drous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décandre.] (Bot.)

Defn: Belonging to the Decandria; having ten stamens.

DECANE
Dec"ane, n. Etym: [See Deca-.] (Chem.)

Defn: A liquid hydrocarbon, C10H22, of the paraffin series, including several isomeric modifications.

DECANGULAR
Dec*an"gu*lar, a. Etym: [Pref. deca- + angular.]

Defn: Having ten angles.

DECANI
De*ca"ni, a. Etym: [L., lit., of the dean.]

Defn: Used of the side of the choir on which the dean's stall is placed; decanal; — correlative to cantoris; as, the decanal, or decani, side.

DECANT De*cant", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Decanting.] Etym: [F. décanter (cf. It. decantare), prop., to pour off from the edge of a vessel; pref. dé- (L. de) + OF. cant (It. canto) edge, border, end. See Cant an edge.]

Defn: To pour off gently, as liquor, so as not to disturb the sediment; or to pour from one vessel into another; as, to decant wine.

DECANTATE
De*can"tate, v. t.

Defn: To decant. [Obs.]

DECANTATION
De`can*ta"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décantation.]

Defn: The act of pouring off a clear liquor gently from its lees or sediment, or from one vessel into another.

DECANTER
De*cant"er, n.

1. A vessel used to decant liquors, or for receiving decanted liquors; a kind of glass bottle used for holding wine or other liquors, from which drinking glasses are filled.

2. One who decants liquors.

DECAPHYLLOUS
De*caph"yl*lous, a. Etym: [Pref. deca- + Gr. décaphylle.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having ten leaves.

DECAPITATE
De*cap"i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decapitated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decapitating.] Etym: [LL. decapitatus, p. p. of decapitare; L. de- +
caput head. See Chief.]

1. To cut off the head of; to behead.

2. To remove summarily from office. [Colloq. U. S.]

DECAPITATION
De*cap`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [LL. decapitatio: cf. F. décapitation.]

Defn: The act of beheading; beheading.

DECAPOD
Dec"a*pod, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décapode.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A crustacean with ten feet or legs, as a crab; one of the
Decapoda. Also used adjectively.

DECAPODA
De*cap"o*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The order of Crustacea which includes the shrimps, lobsters, crabs, etc.

Note: They have a carapace, covering and uniting the somites of the head and thorax and inclosing a gill chamber on each side, and usually have five (rarely six) pairs of legs. They are divided into two principal groups: Brachyura and Macrura. Some writers recognize a third (Anomura) intermediate between the others.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of the dibranchiate cephalopods including the cuttlefishes and squids. See Decacera.

DECAPODAL; DECAPODOUS
Dec*ap"o*dal, Dec*ap"o*dous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Belonging to the decapods; having ten feet; ten-footed.

DECARBONATE
De*car"bon*ate, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of carbonic acid.

DECARBONIZATION
De*car`bon*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The action or process of depriving a substance of carbon.

DECARBONIZE
De*car"bon*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decarbonized; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decarbonizing.]

Defn: To deprive of carbon; as, to decarbonize steel; to decarbonize the blood. Decarbonized iron. See Malleable iron. — Decarbonized steel, homogenous wrought iron made by a steel process, as that of Bessemer; ingot iron.

DECARBONIZER
De*car"bon*i`zer, n.

Defn: He who, or that which, decarbonizes a substance.

DECARBURIZATION
De*car`bu*ri*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act, process, or result of decarburizing.

DECARBURIZE
De*car"bu*rize, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of carbon; to remove the carbon from.

DECARD
De*card", v. t.

Defn: To discard. [Obs.]
You have cast those by, decarded them. J. Fletcher.

DECARDINALIZE
De*car"di*nal*ize, v. t.

Defn: To depose from the rank of cardinal.

DECASTERE
Dec"a*stere, n. Etym: [L. décastère; Gr. stère a stere.] (Metric
System)

Defn: A measure of capacity, equal to ten steres, or ten cubic meters.

DECASTICH
Dec"a*stich, n. Etym: [Pref. deca- + Gr.

Defn: A poem consisting of ten lines.

DECASTYLE
Dec"a*style, a. Etym: [Gr. (Arch.)

Defn: Having ten columns in front; — said of a portico, temple, etc.
— n.

Defn: A portico having ten pillars or columns in front.

DECASYLLABIC Dec`a*syl*lab"ic, a. Etym: [Pref. deca- + syllabic: cf. F. décasyllabique, décasyllable.]

Defn: Having, or consisting of, ten syllables.

DECATHLON
De*cath"lon, n. [See Deca-; Pentathlon.]

Defn: In the modern Olympic Games, a composite contest consisting of a 100-meter run, a broad jump, putting the shot, a running high-jump, a 400-meter run, throwing the discus, a 100-meter hurdle race, pole vaulting, throwing the javelin, and a 1500-meter run.

DECATOIC
Dec`a*to"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, decane.

DECAY
De*cay", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Decayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Decaying.]
Etym: [OF. decaeir, dechaer, decheoir, F. déchoir, to decline, fall,
become less; L. de- + cadere to fall. See Chance.]

Defn: To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay. Goldsmith.

DECAY
De*cay", v. t.

1. To cause to decay; to impair. [R.] Infirmity, that decays the wise. Shak.

2. To destroy. [Obs.] Shak.

DECAY
De*cay", n.

1. Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay. Perhaps my God, though he be far before, May turn, and take me by the hand, and more -May strengthen my decays. Herbert. His [Johnson's] failure was not to be ascribed to intellectual decay. Macaulay. Which has caused the decay of the consonants to follow somewhat different laws. James Byrne.

2. Destruction; death. [Obs.] Spenser.

3. Cause of decay. [R.] He that plots to be the only figure among ciphers, is the decay of the whole age. Bacon.

Syn.
— Decline; consumption. See Decline.

DECAYED
De*cayed", a.

Defn: Fallen, as to physical or social condition; affected with
decay; rotten; as, decayed vegetation or vegetables; a decayed
fortune or gentleman.
— De*cay"ed*ness, n.

DECAYER
De*cay"er, n.

Defn: A causer of decay. [R.]

DECEASE De*cease", n. Etym: [OE. deses, deces, F. décès, fr. L. decessus departure, death, fr. decedere to depart, die; de- + cedere to withdraw. See Cease, Cede.]

Defn: Departure, especially departure from this life; death.
His decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Luke ix. 31.
And I, the whilst you mourn for his decease, Will with my mourning
plaints your plaint increase. Spenser.

Syn.
— Death; departure; dissolution; demise; release. See Death.

DECEASE
De*cease", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Deceased; p. pr. & vb. n. Deceasing.]

Defn: To depart from this life; to die; to pass away.
She's dead, deceased, she's dead. Shak.
When our summers have deceased. Tennyson.
Inasmuch as he carries the malignity and the lie with him, he so far
deceases from nature. Emerson.

DECEASED
De*ceased", a.

Defn: Passed away; dead; gone. The deceased, the dead person.

DECEDE
De*cede", v. i. Etym: [L. decedere. See Decease, n.]

Defn: To withdraw. [Obs.] Fuller.

DECEDENT
De*ce"dent, a. Etym: [L. decedens, p. pr. of decedere.]

Defn: Removing; departing. Ash.

DECEDENT
De*ce"dent, n.

Defn: A deceased person. Bouvier.

DECEIT De*ceit", n. Etym: [OF. deceit, des, decept (cf. deceite, de), fr. L. deceptus deception, fr. decipere. See Deceive.]

1. An attempt or disposition to deceive or lead into error; any declaration, artifice, or practice, which misleads another, or causes him to believe what is false; a contrivance to entrap; deception; a wily device; fraud. Making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit. Amos viii. 5. Friendly to man, far from deceit or guile. Milton. Yet still we hug the dear deceit. N. Cotton.

2. (Law)

Defn: Any trick, collusion, contrivance, false representation, or underhand practice, used to defraud another. When injury is thereby effected, an action of deceit, as it called, lies for compensation.

Syn. — Deception; fraud; imposition; duplicity; trickery; guile; falsifying; double-dealing; stratagem. See Deception.

DECEITFUL
De*ceit"ful, a.

Defn: Full of, or characterized by, deceit; serving to mislead or insnare; trickish; fraudulent; cheating; insincere. Harboring foul deceitful thoughts. Shak.

DECEITFULLY
De*ceit"ful*ly, adv.

Defn: With intent to deceive.

DECEITFULNESS
De*ceit"ful*ness, n.

1. The disposition to deceive; as, a man's deceitfulness may be habitual.

2. The quality of being deceitful; as, the deceitfulness of a man's practices.

3. Tendency to mislead or deceive. "The deceitfulness of riches." Matt. xiii. 22.

DECEITLESS
De*ceit"less, a.

Defn: Free from deceit. Bp. Hall.

DECEIVABLE
De*ceiv"a*ble, a. Etym: [F. décevable.]

1. Fitted to deceive; deceitful. [Obs.] The fraud of deceivable traditions. Milton.

2. Subject to deceit; capable of being misled. Blind, and thereby deceivable. Milton.

DECEIVABLENESS
De*ceiv"a*ble*ness, n.

1. Capability of deceiving. With all deceivableness of unrighteousness. 2 Thess. ii. 10.

2. Liability to be deceived or misled; as, the deceivableness of a child.

DECEIVABLY
De*ceiv"a*bly, adv.

Defn: In a deceivable manner.

DECEIVE
De*ceive", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deceived; p. pr. & vb. n. Deceiving.]
Etym: [OE. deceveir, F. décevoir, fr. L. decipere to catch, insnare,
deceive; de- + capere to take, catch. See Capable, and cf. Deceit,
Deception.]

1. To lead into error; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose upon; to mislead; to cheat; to disappoint; to delude; to insnare. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2 Tim. iii. 13. Nimble jugglers that deceive the eye. Shak. What can 'scape the eye Of God all-seeing, or deceive his heart Milton.

2. To beguile; to amuse, so as to divert the attention; to while away; to take away as if by deception. These occupations oftentimes deceived The listless hour. Wordsworth.

3. To deprive by fraud or stealth; to defraud. [Obs.] Plant fruit trees in large borders, and set therein fine flowers, but thin and sparingly, lest they deceive the trees. Bacon.

Syn. — Deceive, Delude, Mislead. Deceive is a general word applicable to any kind of misrepresentation affecting faith or life. To delude, primarily, is to make sport of, by deceiving, and is accomplished by playing upon one's imagination or credulity, as by exciting false hopes, causing him to undertake or expect what is impracticable, and making his failure ridiculous. It implies some infirmity of judgment in the victim, and intention to deceive in the deluder. But it is often used reflexively, indicating that a person's own weakness has made him the sport of others or of fortune; as, he deluded himself with a belief that luck would always favor him. To mislead is to lead, guide, or direct in a wrong way, either willfully or ignorantly.

DECEIVER
De*ceiv"er, n.

Defn: One who deceives; one who leads into error; a cheat; an
impostor.
The deceived and the deceiver are his. Job xii. 16.

Syn. — Deceiver, Impostor. A deceiver operates by stealth and in private upon individuals; an impostor practices his arts on the community at large. The one succeeds by artful falsehoods, the other by bold assumption. The faithless friend and the fickle lover are deceivers; the false prophet and the pretended prince are impostors.

DECEMBER De*cem"ber, n. Etym: [F. décembre, from L. December, fr. decem ten; this being the tenth month among the early Romans, who began the year in March. See Ten.]

1. The twelfth and last month of the year, containing thirty-one days. During this month occurs the winter solstice.

2. Fig.: With reference to the end of the year and to the winter season; as, the December of his life.

DECEMBRIST
De*cem"brist, n. (Russian Hist.)

Defn: One of those who conspired for constitutional government against the Emperor Nicholas on his accession to the throne at the death of Alexander I., in December, 1825; — called also Dekabrist.

He recalls the history of the decembrists . . . that gallant band of
revolutionists.
G. Kennan.

DECEMDENTATE
De`cem*den"tate, a. Etym: [L. decem ten + E. dentate.]

Defn: Having ten points or teeth.

DECEMFID
De*cem"fid, a. Etym: [L. decem ten + root of findere to cleave.]
(Bot.)

Defn: Cleft into ten parts.

DECEMLOCULAR
De`cem*loc"u*lar, a. Etym: [L. decem ten + E. locular.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having ten cells for seeds.

DECEMPEDAL
De*cem"pe*dal, a. Etym: [L. decem ten + E. pedal.]

1. Ten feet in length.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having ten feet; decapodal. [R.] Bailey.

DECEMVIR De*cem"vir, n.; pl. E. Decemvirs, L. Decemviri. Etym: [L., fr. decem ten + vir a man.]

1. One of a body of ten magistrates in ancient Rome.

Note: The title of decemvirs was given to various bodies of Roman magistrates. The most celebrated decemvirs framed "the laws of the Twelve Tables," about 450 B. C., and had absolute authority for three years.

2. A member of any body of ten men in authority.

DECEMVIRAL
De*cem"vi*ral, a. Etym: [L. decemviralis.]

Defn: Pertaining to the decemvirs in Rome.

DECEMVIRATE
De*cem"vi*rate, n. Etym: [L. decemviratus.]

1. The office or term of office of the decemvirs in Rome.

2. A body of ten men in authority.

DECEMVIRSHIP
De*cem"vir*ship, n.

Defn: The office of a decemvir. Holland.

DECENCE
De"cence, n.

Defn: Decency. [Obs.] Dryden.

DECENCY De"cen*cy, n.; pl. Decencies. Etym: [L. decentia, fr. decens: cf. F. décence. See Decent.]

1. The quality or state of being decent, suitable, or becoming, in words or behavior; propriety of form in social intercourse, in actions, or in discourse; proper formality; becoming ceremony; seemliness; hence, freedom from obscenity or indecorum; modesty. Observances of time, place, and of decency in general. Burke. Immodest words admit of no defense, For want of decency is want of sense. Roscommon.

2. That which is proper or becoming. The external decencies of worship. Atterbury. Those thousand decencies, that daily flow From all her words and actions. Milton.

DECENE
De"cene, n. Etym: [L. decem ten.] (Chem.)

Defn: One of the higher hydrocarbons, C10H20, of the ethylene series.

DECENNARY De*cen"na*ry, n.; pl. Decennaries. Etym: [L. decennium a period of ten years; decem ten + annus a year.]

1. A period of ten years.

2. (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: A tithing consisting of ten neighboring families. Burrill.

DECENNIAL
De*cen"ni*al, a. Etym: [See Decennary.]

Defn: Consisting of ten years; happening every ten years; as, a decennial period; decennial games. Hallam.

DECENNIAL
De*cen"ni*al, n.

Defn: A tenth year or tenth anniversary.

DECENNIUM
De*cen"ni*um, n.; pl. Decenniums, L. Decennia. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A period of ten years. "The present decennium." Hallam. "The last decennium of Chaucer's life." A. W. Ward.

DECENNOVAL; DECENNOVARY
De*cen"no*val, De*cen"no*va*ry, a. Etym: [L. decem ten + novem nine.]

Defn: Pertaining to the number nineteen; of nineteen years. [R.]
Holder.

DECENT De"cent, a. Etym: [L. decens, decentis, p. pr. of decere to be fitting or becoming; akin to decus glory, honor, ornament, Gr. d to grant, to give; and perh. akin to E. attire, tire: cf. F. décent. Cf. Decorate, Decorum, Deig.]

1. Suitable in words, behavior, dress, or ceremony; becoming; fit; decorous; proper; seemly; as, decent conduct; decent language. Shak. Before his decent steps. Milton.

2. Free from immodesty or obscenity; modest.

3. Comely; shapely; well-formed. [Archaic] A sable stole of cyprus lawn Over thy decent shoulders drawn. Milton. By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed. Pope.

4. Moderate, but competent; sufficient; hence, respectable; fairly good; reasonably comfortable or satisfying; as, a decent fortune; a decent person. A decent retreat in the mutability of human affairs. Burke. — De"cent*ly, adv. — De"cent*ness, n.

DECENTRALIZATION
De*cen`tral*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The action of decentralizing, or the state of being decentralized. "The decentralization of France." J. P. Peters.

DECENTRALIZE
De*cen"tral*ize, v. t.

Defn: To prevent from centralizing; to cause to withdraw from the center or place of concentration; to divide and distribute (what has been united or concentrated); — esp. said of authority, or the administration of public affairs.

DECEPTIBLE
De*cep"ti*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being deceived; deceivable. Sir T. Browne.
— De*cep`ti*bil"i*ty (, n.

DECEPTION De*cep"tion, n. Etym: [F. déception, L. deceptio, fr. decipere, deceptum. See Deceive.]

1. The act of deceiving or misleading. South.

2. The state of being deceived or misled. There is one thing relating either to the action or enjoyments of man in which he is not liable to deception. South.

3. That which deceives or is intended to deceive; false representation; artifice; cheat; fraud. There was of course room for vast deception. Motley.

Syn. — Deception, Deceit, Fraud, Imposition. Deception usually refers to the act, and deceit to the habit of the mind; hence we speak of a person as skilled in deception and addicted to deceit. The practice of deceit springs altogether from design, and that of the worst kind; but a deception does not always imply aim and intention. It may be undesigned or accidental. An imposition is an act of deception practiced upon some one to his annoyance or injury; a fraud implies the use of stratagem, with a view to some unlawful gain or advantage.

DECEPTIOUS
De*cep"tious, a. Etym: [LL. deceptiosus.]

Defn: Tending deceive; delusive. [R.]
As if those organs had deceptious functions. Shak.

DECEPTIVE
De*cep"tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. déceptif. See Deceive.]

Defn: Tending to deceive; having power to mislead, or impress with false opinions; as, a deceptive countenance or appearance. Language altogether deceptive, and hiding the deeper reality from our eyes. Trench. Deceptive cadence (Mus.), a cadence on the subdominant, or in some foreign key, postponing the final close.

DECEPTIVELY
De*cep"tive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a manner to deceive.

DECEPTIVENESS
De*cep"tive*ness, n.

Defn: The power or habit of deceiving; tendency or aptness to deceive.

DECEPTIVITY
De`cep*tiv"i*ty, n.

Defn: Deceptiveness; a deception; a sham. [R.] Carlyle.

DECEPTORY
De*cep"to*ry, a. Etym: [L. deceptorius, from decipere.]

Defn: Deceptive. [R.]

DECERN
De*cern", v. t. Etym: [L. decernere. See Decree.]

1. To perceive, discern, or decide. [Obs.] Granmer.

2. (Scots Law)

Defn: To decree; to adjudge.

DECERNITURE
De*cern"i*ture, n. (Scots Law)

Defn: A decree or sentence of a court. Stormonth.

DECERP
De*cerp", v. t. Etym: [L. decerpere; de- + carpere to pluck.]

Defn: To pluck off; to crop; to gather. [Obs.]

DECERPT
De*cerpt", a. Etym: [L. decerptus, p. p. of decerpere.]

Defn: Plucked off or away. [Obs.]

DECERPTIBLE
De*cerp"ti*ble, a.

Defn: That may be plucked off, cropped, or torn away. [Obs.] Bailey.

DECERPTION
De*cerp"tion, n.

1. The act of plucking off; a cropping.

2. That which is plucked off or rent away; a fragment; a piece. Glanvill.

DECERTATION De`cer*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. decertatio, fr. decertare, decertatum; de- + certare to contend.]

Defn: Contest for mastery; contention; strife. [R.] Arnway.

DECESSION
De*ces"sion, n. Etym: [L. decessio, fr. decedere to depart. See
Decease, n.]

Defn: Departure; decrease; — opposed to accesion. [Obs.] Jer.
Taylor.

DECHARM
De*charm", v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. décharmer. See Charm.]

Defn: To free from a charm; to disenchant.

DECHRISTIANIZE De*chris"tian*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dechristianized; p. pr. & vb. n. Dechristianizing.]

Defn: To turn from, or divest of, Christianity.

DECIARE
Dec"i*are`, n. [F. déciare; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + are.
See 2d Are.] (Metric System)

Defn: A measure of area, the tenth part of an are; ten square meters.

DECIDABLE
De*cid"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being decided; determinable.

DECIDE
De*cide", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decided; p. pr. & vb. n. Deciding.]
Etym: [L. decidere; de- + caedere to cut, cut off; prob. akin to E.
shed, v.: cf. F. décider. Cf. Decision.]

1. To cut off; to separate. [Obs.] Our seat denies us traffic here; The sea, too near, decides us from the rest. Fuller.

2. To bring to a termination, as a question, controversy, struggle, by giving the victory to one side or party; to render judgment concerning; to determine; to settle. So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. 1 Kings xx. 40. The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then. Shak.

DECIDE
De*cide", v. i.

Defn: To determine; to form a definite opinion; to come to a
conclusion; to give decision; as, the court decided in favor of the
defendant.
Who shall decide, when doctors disagree Pope.

DECIDED
De*cid"ed, a.

1. Free from ambiguity; unequivocal; unmistakable; unquestionable; clear; evident; as, a decided advantage. "A more decided taste for science." Prescott.

2. Free from doubt or wavering; determined; of fixed purpose; fully settled; positive; resolute; as, a decided opinion or purpose.

Syn. — Decided, Decisive. We call a thing decisive when it has the power or quality of deciding; as, a decisive battle; we speak of it as decided when it is so fully settled as to leave no room for doubt; as, a decided preference, a decided aversion. Hence, a decided victory is one about which there is no question; a decisive victory is one which ends the contest. Decisive is applied only to things; as, a decisive sentence, a decisive decree, a decisive judgment. Decided is applied equally to persons and things. Thus we speak of a man as decided in his whole of conduct; and as having a decided disgust, or a decided reluctance, to certain measures. "A politic caution, a guarded circumspection, were among the ruling principles of our forefathers in their most decided conduct." Burke. "The sentences of superior judges are final, decisive, and irrevocable. Blackstone.

DECIDEDLY
De*cid"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In a decided manner; indisputably; clearly; thoroughly.

DECIDEMENT
De*cide"ment, n.

Defn: Means of forming a decision. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

DECIDENCE
Dec"i*dence, n. Etym: [L. decidens falling off.]

Defn: A falling off. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

DECIDER
De*cid"er, n.

Defn: One who decides.

DECIDUA
De*cid"u*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. deciduus. See Deciduous.] (Anat.)

Defn: The inner layer of the wall of the uterus, which envelops the embryo, forms a part of the placenta, and is discharged with it.

DECIDUATA
De*cid`u*a"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of Mammalia in which a decidua is thrown off with, or after, the fetus, as in the human species.

DECIDUATE
De*cid"u*ate, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Possessed of, or characterized by, a decidua.

DECIDUITY
Dec`i*du"i*ty, n.

Defn: Deciduousness. [R.]

DECIDUOUS De*cid"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. deciduus, fr. dec to fall off; de- + cadere to fall. See Chance.] (Biol.)

Defn: Falling off, or subject to fall or be shed, at a certain season, or a certain stage or interval of growth, as leaves (except of evergreens) in autumn, or as parts of animals, such as hair, teeth, antlers, etc.; also, shedding leaves or parts at certain seasons, stages, or intervals; as, deciduous trees; the deciduous membrane.

DECIDUOUSNESS
De*cid"u*ous*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being deciduous.

DECIGRAM; DECIGRAMME Dec"i*gram, Dec"i*gramme, n. Etym: [F. décigramme; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + gramme.]

Defn: A weight in the metric system; one tenth of a gram, equal to 1.5432 grains avoirdupois.

DECIL; DECILE
Dec"il, Dec"ile, n. Etym: [F. décil, fr. L. decem tendecile.]
(Astrol.)

Defn: An aspect or position of two planets, when they are distant from each other a tenth part of the zodiac, or 36º.

DECILITER; DECILITRE
Dec"i*li`ter, Dec"i*li`tre, n. Etym: [F. décilitre; pref. déci- tenth
(L. decimus) + litre. See Liter.]

Defn: A measure of capacity or volume in the metric system; one tenth of a liter, equal to 6.1022 cubic inches, or 3.38 fluid ounces.

DECILLION
De*cil"lion, n. Etym: [L. decem ten + the ending of million.]

Defn: According to the English notation, a million involved to the tenth power, or a unit with sixty ciphers annexed; according to the French and American notation, a thousand involved to the eleventh power, or a unit with thirty-three ciphers annexed. [See the Note under Numeration.]

DECILLIONTH
De*cil"lionth, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a decillion, or to the quotient of unity divided by a decillion.

DECILLIONTH De*cil"lionth, n. (a) The quotient of unity divided by a decillion. (b) One of a decillion equal parts.

DECIMAL Dec"i*mal, a. Etym: [F. décimal (cf. LL. decimalis), fr. L. decimus tenth, fr. decem ten. See Ten, and cf. Dime.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to decimals; numbered or proceeding by tens; having a tenfold increase or decrease, each unit being ten times the unit next smaller; as, decimal notation; a decimal coinage. Decimal arithmetic, the common arithmetic, in which numeration proceeds by tens. — Decimal fraction, a fraction in which the denominator is some power of 10, as — Decimal point, a dot or full stop at the left of a decimal fraction. The figures at the left of the point represent units or whole numbers, as 1.05.

DECIMAL
Dec"i*mal, n.

Defn: A number expressed in the scale of tens; specifically, and almost exclusively, used as synonymous with a decimal fraction. Circulating, or Circulatory, decimal, a decimal fraction in which the same figure, or set of figures, is constantly repeated; as, 0.354354354; — called also recurring decimal, repeating decimal, and repetend.

DECIMALISM
Dec"i*mal*ism, n.

Defn: The system of a decimal currency, decimal weights, measures, etc.

DECIMALIZE
Dec"i*mal*ize, v. t.

Defn: To reduce to a decimal system; as, to decimalize the currency.
— Dec`i*mal*i*za"tion, n.

DECIMALLY
Dec"i*mal*ly, adv.

Defn: By tens; by means of decimals.

DECIMATE
Dec"i*mate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decimated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decimating.] Etym: [L. decimatus, p. p. of decimare to decimate (in
senses 1 & 2), fr. decimus tenth. See Decimal.]

1. To take the tenth part of; to tithe. Johnson.

2. To select by lot and punish with death every tenth man of; as, to decimate a regiment as a punishment for mutiny. Macaulay.

3. To destroy a considerable part of; as, to decimate an army in battle; to decimate a people by disease.

DECIMATION
Dec`i*ma"tion, n. Etym: [L. decimatio: cf. F. décimation.]

1. A tithing. [Obs.] State Trials (1630).

2. A selection of every tenth person by lot, as for punishment. Shak.

3. The destruction of any large proportion, as of people by pestilence or war. Milman.

DECIMATOR
Dec"i*ma`tor, n. Etym: [Cf. LL. decimator.]

Defn: One who decimates. South.

DECIME
Dé`cime", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A French coin, the tenth part of a franc, equal to about two cents.

DECIMETER; DECIMETRE Dec"i*me`ter, Dec"i*me`tre, n. Etym: [F. décimètre; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + mètre. See Meter.]

Defn: A measure of length in the metric system; one tenth of a meter, equal to 3.937 inches.

DECIMOSEXTO Dec`i*mo*sex"to, n. Etym: [Prop., in sixteenth; fr. L. decimus tenth + sextus sixth.]

Defn: A book consisting of sheets, each of which is folded into sixteen leaves; hence, indicating, more or less definitely, a size of book; — usually written 16mo or 16º.

DECIMOSEXTO
Dec`i*mo*sex"to, a.

Defn: Having sixteen leaves to a sheet; as, a decimosexto form, book, leaf, size.

DECINE
De"cine (; 104), n. Etym: [From L. decem ten.] (Chem.)

Defn: One of the higher hydrocarbons, C10H15, of the acetylene series; — called also decenylene.

DECIPHER
De*ci"pher, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deciphered; p. pr. & vb. n.
Deciphering.] Etym: [Pref. de- + cipher. Formed in imitation of F.
déchiffrer. See Cipher.]

1. To translate from secret characters or ciphers into intelligible terms; as, to decipher a letter written in secret characters.

2. To find out, so as to be able to make known the meaning of; to make out or read, as words badly written or partly obliterated; to detect; to reveal; to unfold.

3. To stamp; to detect; to discover. [R.] You are both deciphered, . . . For villains. Shak.

DECIPHERABLE
De*ci"pher*a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being deciphered; as, old writings not decipherable.

DECIPHERER
De*ci"pher*er, n.

Defn: One who deciphers.

DECIPHERESS
De*ci"pher*ess, n.

Defn: A woman who deciphers.

DECIPHERMENT
De*ci"pher*ment, n.

Defn: The act of deciphering.

DECIPIENCY
De*cip"i*en*cy, n. Etym: [L. decipiens, p. pr. of decipere. See
Deceive.]

Defn: State of being deceived; hallucination. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

DECIPIUM
De*cip"i*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. decipere to deceive.] (Chem.)

Defn: A supposed rare element, said to be associated with cerium, yttrium, etc., in the mineral samarskite, and more recently called samarium. Symbol Dp. See Samarium.

DECISION De*ci"sion, n. Etym: [L. decisio, fr. decidere, decisum: cf. F. décision. See Decide.]

1. Cutting off; division; detachment of a part. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

2. The act of deciding; act of settling or terminating, as a controversy, by giving judgment on the matter at issue; determination, as of a question or doubt; settlement; conclusion. The decision of some dispute. Atterbury.

3. An account or report of a conclusion, especially of a legal adjudication or judicial determination of a question or cause; as, a decision of arbitrators; a decision of the Supreme Court.

4. The quality of being decided; prompt and fixed determination; unwavering firmness; as, to manifest great decision.

Syn. — Decision, Determination, Resolution. Each of these words has two meanings, one implying the act of deciding, determining, or resolving; and the other a habit of mind as to doing. It is in the last sense that the words are here compared. Decision is a cutting short. It implies that several courses of action have been presented to the mind, and that the choice is now finally made. It supposes, therefore, a union of promptitude and energy. Determination is the natural consequence of decision. It is the settling of a thing with a fixed purpose to adhere. Resolution is the necessary result in a mind which is characterized by firmness. It is a spirit which scatters (resolves) all doubt, and is ready to face danger or suffering in carrying out one's determinations. Martin Luther was equally distinguished for his prompt decision, his steadfast determination, and his inflexible resolution.

DECISIVE
De*ci*sive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décisif. See Decision.]

1. Having the power or quality of deciding a question or controversy; putting an end to contest or controversy; final; conclusive. "A decisive, irrevocable doom." Bates. "Decisive campaign." Macaulay. "Decisive proof." Hallam.

2. Marked by promptness and decision. A noble instance of this attribute of the decisive character. J. Foster.

Syn.
— Decided; positive; conclusive. See Decided.
— De*ci"sive*ly, adv.
— De*ci"sive*ness, n.

DECISORY
De*ci"so*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décisoire. See Decision.]

Defn: Able to decide or determine; having a tendency to decide. [R.]

DECISTERE Dec"i*stere, n. Etym: [F. décistère; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + stère a stere.] (Metric System)

Defn: The tenth part of the stere or cubic meter, equal to 3.531 cubic feet. See Stere.

DECITIZENIZE
De*cit"i*zen*ize, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of the rights of citizenship. [R.]
We have no law — as the French have — to decitizenize a citizen.
Edw. Bates.

DECIVILIZE
De*civ"i*lize, v. t.

Defn: To reduce from civilization to a savage state. [R.] Blackwood's
Mag.

DECK Deck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decked; p. pr. & vb. n. Decking.] Etym: [D. dekken to cover; akin to E. thatch. See Thatch.]

1. To cover; to overspread. To deck with clouds the uncolored sky. Milton.

2. To dress, as the person; to clothe; especially, to clothe with more than ordinary elegance; to array; to adorn; to embellish. Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency. Job xl. 10. And deck my body in gay ornaments. Shak. The dew with spangles decked the ground. Dryden.

3. To furnish with a deck, as a vessel.

DECK
Deck, n. Etym: [D. dek. See Deck, v.]

1. The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks.

Note: The following are the more common names of the decks of vessels having more than one. Berth deck (Navy), a deck next below the gun deck, where the hammocks of the crew are swung. — Boiler deck (River Steamers), the deck on which the boilers are placed. — Flush deck, any continuous, unbroken deck from stem to stern. — Gun deck (Navy), a deck below the spar deck, on which the ship's guns are carried. If there are two gun decks, the upper one is called the main deck, the lower, the lower gun deck; if there are three, one is called the middle gun deck. — Half-deck, that portion of the deck next below the spar deck which is between the mainmast and the cabin. — Hurricane deck (River Steamers, etc.), the upper deck, usually a light deck, erected above the frame of the hull. — Orlop deck, the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line. — Poop deck, the deck forming the roof of a poop or poop cabin, built on the upper deck and extending from the mizzenmast aft. — Quarter-deck, the part of the upper deck abaft the mainmast, including the poop deck when there is one. — Spar deck. (a) Same as the upper deck. (b) Sometimes a light deck fitted over the upper deck. — Upper deck, the highest deck of the hull, extending from stem to stern.

2. (arch.)

Defn: The upper part or top of a mansard roof or curb roof when made nearly flat.

3. (Railroad)

Defn: The roof of a passenger car.

4. A pack or set of playing cards. The king was slyly fingered from the deck. Shak.

5. A heap or store. [Obs.] Who . . . hath such trinkets Ready in the deck. Massinger. Between decks. See under Between. — Deck bridge (Railroad Engineering), a bridge which carries the track upon the upper chords; — distinguished from a through bridge, which carries the track upon the lower chords, between the girders. — Deck curb (Arch.), a curb supporting a deck in roof construction. — Deck floor (Arch.), a floor which serves also as a roof, as of a belfry or balcony. — Deck hand, a sailor hired to help on the vessel's deck, but not expected to go aloft. — Deck molding (Arch.), the molded finish of the edge of a deck, making the junction with the lower slope of the roof. — Deck roof (Arch.), a nearly flat roof which is not surmounted by parapet walls. — Deck transom (Shipbuilding), the transom into which the deck is framed. — To clear the decks (Naut.), to remove every unnecessary incumbrance in preparation for battle; to prepare for action. — To sweep the deck (Card Playing), to clear off all the stakes on the table by winning them.

DECKEL
Deck"el, n. (Paper Making)

Defn: Same as Deckle.

DECKER
Deck"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, decks or adorns; a coverer; as, a table decker.

2. A vessel which has a deck or decks; — used esp. in composition; as, a single-decker; a three-decker.

DECKLE
Dec"kle, n. Etym: [Cf. G. deckel cover, lid.] (Paper Making)

Defn: A separate thin wooden frame used to form the border of a hand mold, or a curb of India rubber or other material which rests on, and forms the edge of, the mold in a paper machine and determines the width of the paper. [Spelt also deckel, and deckle.]

DECKLE EDGE
Dec"kle edge`.

Defn: The rough, untrimmed edge of paper left by the deckle; also, a rough edge in imitation of this.

DECKLE-EDGED
Dec"kle-edged`, a.

Defn: Having a deckle edge; as, deckle-edged paper; a deckle-edged book.

DECLAIM
De*claim", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declaimed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Declaiming.] Etym: [L. declamare; de- + clamare to cry out: cf. F.
déclamer. See Claim.]

1. To speak rhetorically; to make a formal speech or oration; to harangue; specifically, to recite a speech, poem, etc., in public as a rhetorical exercise; to practice public speaking; as, the students declaim twice a week.

2. To speak for rhetorical display; to speak pompously, noisily, or theatrically; to make an empty speech; to rehearse trite arguments in debate; to rant. Grenville seized the opportunity to declaim on the repeal of the stamp act. Bancroft.

DECLAIM
De*claim", v. t.

1. To utter in public; to deliver in a rhetorical or set manner.

2. To defend by declamation; to advocate loudly. [Obs.] "Declaims his cause." South.

DECLAIMANT
De*claim"ant, n.

Defn: A declaimer. [R.]

DECLAIMER
De*claim"er, n.

Defn: One who declaims; an haranguer.

DECLAMATION Dec`la*ma"tion, n. Etym: [L. declamatio, from declamare: cf. F. déclamation. See Declaim.]

1. The act or art of declaiming; rhetorical delivery; haranguing; loud speaking in public; especially, the public recitation of speeches as an exercise in schools and colleges; as, the practice declamation by students. The public listened with little emotion, but with much civility, to five acts of monotonous declamation. Macaulay.

2. A set or harangue; declamatory discourse.

3. Pretentious rhetorical display, with more sound than sense; as, mere declamation.

DECLAMATOR
Dec"la*ma`tor, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A declaimer. [R.] Sir T. Elyot.

DECLAMATORY
De*clam"a*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. declamatorius: cf. F. déclamatoire.]

1. Pertaining to declamation; treated in the manner of a rhetorician; as, a declamatory theme.

2. Characterized by rhetorical display; pretentiously rhetorical; without solid sense or argument; bombastic; noisy; as, a declamatory way or style.

DECLARABLE
De*clar"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being declared. Sir T. Browne.

DECLARANT
De*clar"ant, n. Etym: [Cf. F. déclarant, p. pr. of déclarer.] (Law)

Defn: One who declares. Abbott.

DECLARATION Dec`la*ra"tion, n. Etym: [F. déclaration, fr. L. declaratio, fr. declarare. See Declare.]

1. The act of declaring, or publicly announcing; explicit asserting; undisguised token of a ground or side taken on any subject; proclamation; exposition; as, the declaration of an opinion; a declaration of war, etc.

2. That which is declared or proclaimed; announcement; distinct statement; formal expression; avowal. Declarations of mercy and love . . . in the Gospel. Tillotson.

3. The document or instrument containing such statement or proclamation; as, the Declaration of Independence (now preserved in Washington). In 1776 the Americans laid before Europe that noble Declaration, which ought to be hung up in the nursery of every king, and blazoned on the porch of every royal palace. Buckle.

4. (Law)

Defn: That part of the process in which the plaintiff sets forth in order and at large his cause of complaint; the narration of the plaintiff's case containing the count, or counts. See Count, n., 3. Declaration of Independence. (Amer. Hist.) See under Independence. — Declaration of rights. (Eng. Hist) See Bill of rights, under Bill. — Declaration of trust (Law), a paper subscribed by a grantee of property, acknowledging that he holds it in trust for the purposes and upon the terms set forth. Abbott.

DECLARATIVE De*clar"a*tive, a. Etym: [L. declarativus, fr. declarare: cf. F. déclaratif.]

Defn: Making declaration, proclamation, or publication; explanatory; assertive; declaratory. "Declarative laws." Baker. The "vox populi," so declarative on the same side. Swift.

DECLARATIVELY
De*clar"a*tive*ly, adv.

Defn: By distinct assertion; not impliedly; in the form of a
declaration.
The priest shall expiate it, that is, declaratively. Bates.

DECLARATOR
Dec"la*ra`tor, n. Etym: [L., an announcer.] (Scots Law)

Defn: A form of action by which some right or interest is sought to be judicially declared.

DECLARATORILY
De*clar"a*to*ri*ly, adv.

Defn: In a declaratory manner.

DECLARATORY
De*clar"a*to*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. déclaratoire.]

Defn: Making declaration, explanation, or exhibition; making clear or manifest; affirmative; expressive; as, a clause declaratory of the will of the legislature. Declaratory act (Law), an act or statute which sets forth more clearly, and declares what is, the existing law.

DECLARE
De*clare", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Declared; p. pr. & vb. n. Declaring.]
Etym: [F. déclarer, from L. declarare; de + clarare to make clear,
clarus, clear, bright. See Clear.]

1. To make clear; to free from obscurity. [Obs.] "To declare this a little." Boyle.

2. To make known by language; to communicate or manifest explicitly and plainly in any way; to exhibit; to publish; to proclaim; to announce. This day I have begot whom I declare My only Son. Milton. The heavens declare the glory of God. Ps. xix. 1.

3. To make declaration of; to assert; to affirm; to set forth; to avow; as, he declares the story to be false. I the Lord . . . declare things that are right. Isa. xlv. 19.

4. (Com.)

Defn: To make full statement of, as goods, etc., for the purpose of paying taxes, duties, etc. To declare off, to recede from an agreement, undertaking, contract, etc.; to renounce. — To declare one's self, to avow one's opinion; to show openly what one thinks, or which side he espouses.

DECLARE
De*clare", v. i.

1. To make a declaration, or an open and explicit avowal; to proclaim one's self; — often with for or against; as, victory declares against the allies. Like fawning courtiers, for success they wait, And then come smiling, and declare for fate. Dryden.

2. (Law)

Defn: To state the plaintiff's cause of action at law in a legal form; as, the plaintiff declares in trespass.

DECLAREDLY
De*clar"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: Avowedly; explicitly.

DECLAREDNESS
De*clar"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being declared.

DECLAREMENT
De*clare"ment, n.

Defn: Declaration. [Obs.]

DECLARER
De*clar"er, n.

Defn: One who makes known or proclaims; that which exhibits. Udall.

DECLASS
De*class", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Declassed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Declassing.] [Cf. F. déclasser.]

Defn: To remove from a class; to separate or degrade from one's class. North Am. Rev.

DECLENSION
De*clen"sion, n. Etym: [Apparently corrupted fr. F. déclinaison, fr.
L. declinatio, fr. declinare. See Decline, and cf. Declination.]

1. The act or the state of declining; declination; descent; slope. The declension of the land from that place to the sea. T. Burnet.

2. A falling off towards a worse state; a downward tendency; deterioration; decay; as, the declension of virtue, of science, of a state, etc. Seduced the pitch and height of all his thoughts To base declension. Shak.

3. Act of courteously refusing; act of declining; a declinature; refusal; as, the declension of a nomination.

4. (Gram.) (a) Inflection of nouns, adjectives, etc., according to the grammatical cases. (b) The form of the inflection of a word declined by cases; as, the first or the second declension of nouns, adjectives, etc. (c) Rehearsing a word as declined.

Note: The nominative was held to be the primary and original form, and was likened to a perpendicular line; the variations, or oblique cases, were regarded as fallings (hence called casus, cases, or fallings) from the nominative or perpendicular; and an enumerating of the various forms, being a sort of progressive descent from the noun's upright form, was called a declension. Harris. Declension of the needle, declination of the needle.

DECLENSIONAL
De*clen"sion*al, a.

Defn: Belonging to declension.
Declensional and syntactical forms. M. Arnold.

DECLINABLE
De*clin"a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. déclinable. See Decline.]

Defn: Capable of being declined; admitting of declension or inflection; as, declinable parts of speech.

DECLINAL
De*clin"al, a.

Defn: Declining; sloping.

DECLINATE
Dec"li*nate, a. Etym: [L. declinatus, p. p. of declinare. See
Decline.]

Defn: Bent downward or aside; (Bot.) bending downward in a curve; declined.

DECLINATION Dec`li*na"tion, n. Etym: [L. declinatio a bending aside, an avoiding: cf. F. déclination a decadence. See Declension.]

1. The act or state of bending downward; inclination; as, declination of the head.

2. The act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline. "The declination of monarchy." Bacon. Summer . . . is not looked on as a time Of declination or decay. Waller.

3. The act of deviating or turning aside; oblique motion; obliquity;
withdrawal.
The declination of atoms in their descent. Bentley.
Every declination and violation of the rules. South.

4. The act or state of declining or refusing; withdrawal; refusal; averseness. The queen's declination from marriage. Stow.

5. (Astron.)

Defn: The angular distance of any object from the celestial equator, either northward or southward.

6. (Dialing)

Defn: The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south.

7. (Gram.)

Defn: The act of inflecting a word; declension. See Decline, v. t., 4. Angle of declination, the angle made by a descending line, or plane, with a horizontal plane. — Circle of declination, a circle parallel to the celestial equator. — Declination compass (Physics), a compass arranged for finding the declination of the magnetic needle. — Declination of the compass or needle, the horizontal angle which the magnetic needle makes with the true north-and-south line.

DECLINATOR
Dec"li*na`tor, n. Etym: [Cf. F. déclinateur. See Decline.]

1. An instrument for taking the declination or angle which a plane makes with the horizontal plane.

2. A dissentient. [R.] Bp. Hacket.

DECLINATORY
De*clin"a*to*ry, a. Etym: [LL. declinatorius, fr. L. declinare: cf.
F. déclinatoire.]

Defn: Containing or involving a declination or refusal, as of submission to a charge or sentence. Blackstone. Declinatory plea (O. Eng. Law), the plea of sanctuary or of benefit of clergy, before trial or conviction; — now abolished.

DECLINATURE
De*clin"a*ture, n.

Defn: The act of declining or refusing; as, the declinature of an office.

DECLINE De*cline", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declined; p. pr. & vb. n. Declining.] Etym: [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink, decline (a noun), F. décliner to decline, refuse, fr. L. declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid; de- + clinare to incline; akin to E. lean. See Lean, v. i.]

1. To bend, or lean downward; to take a downward direction; to bend over or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend. "With declining head." Shak. He . . . would decline even to the lowest of his family. Lady Hutchinson. Disdaining to decline, Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries. Byron. The ground at length became broken and declined rapidly. Sir W. Scott.

2. To tend or draw towards a close, decay, or extinction; to tend to a less perfect state; to become diminished or impaired; to fail; to sink; to diminish; to lessen; as, the day declines; virtue declines; religion declines; business declines. That empire must decline Whose chief support and sinews are of coin. Waller. And presume to know . . . Who thrives, and who declines. Shak.

3. To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw; as, a line that declines from straightness; conduct that declines from sound morals. Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. Ps. cxix. 157.

4. To turn away; to shun; to refuse; — the opposite of accept or consent; as, he declined, upon principle.

DECLINE
De*cline", v. t.

1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall. In melancholy deep, with head declined. Thomson. And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary wagon to the western vale. Spenser.

2. To cause to decrease or diminish. [Obs.] "You have declined his means." Beau. & Fl. He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline it. Burton.

3. To put or turn aside; to turn off or away from; to refuse to undertake or comply with; reject; to shun; to avoid; as, to decline an offer; to decline a contest; he declined any participation with them. Could I Decline this dreadful hour Massinger.

4. (Gram.)

Defn: To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective.

Note: Now restricted to such words as have case inflections; but formerly it was applied both to declension and conjugation. After the first declining of a noun and a verb. Ascham.

5. To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun. [R.] Shak.

DECLINE
De*cline", n. Etym: [F. déclin. See Decline, v. i.]

1. A falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; also, the period when a thing is tending toward extinction or a less perfect state; as, the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion. Their fathers lived in the decline of literature. Swift.

2. (Med.)

Defn: That period of a disorder or paroxysm when the symptoms begin to abate in violence; as, the decline of a fever.

3. A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline. Dunglison.

Syn. — Decline, Decay, Consumption. Decline marks the first stage in a downward progress; decay indicates the second stage, and denotes a tendency to ultimate destruction; consumption marks a steady decay from an internal exhaustion of strength. The health may experience a decline from various causes at any period of life; it is naturally subject to decay with the advance of old age; consumption may take place at almost any period of life, from disease which wears out the constitution. In popular language decline is often used as synonymous with consumption. By a gradual decline, states and communities lose their strength and vigor; by progressive decay, they are stripped of their honor, stability, and greatness; by a consumption of their resources and vital energy, they are led rapidly on to a completion of their existence.

DECLINED
De*clined", a.

Defn: Declinate.

DECLINER
De*clin"er, n.

Defn: He who declines or rejects.
A studious decliner of honors. Evelyn.

DECLINOMETER
Dec`li*nom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Decline + -meter.] (Physics)

Defn: An instrument for measuring the declination of the magnetic needle.

DECLINOUS
De*clin"ous, a.

Defn: Declinate.

DECLIVITOUS; DECLIVOUS
De*cliv"i*tous, De*cli"vous, a.

Defn: Descending gradually; moderately steep; sloping; downhill.

DECLIVITY De*cliv"i*ty, n.; pl. Declivities. Etym: [L. declivitas, fr. declivis sloping, downhill; de + clivus a slope, a hill; akin to clinare to incline: cf. F. déclivité. See Decline.]

1. Deviation from a horizontal line; gradual descent of surface; inclination downward; slope; — opposed to acclivity, or ascent; the same slope, considered as descending, being a declivity, which, considered as ascending, is an acclivity.

2. A descending surface; a sloping place. Commodious declivities and channels for the passage of the waters. Derham.

DECOCT
De*coct", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decocted; p. pr. & vb. n. Decocting.]
Etym: [L. decoctus, p. p. of decoquere to boil down; de- + coquere to
cook, boil. See Cook to decoct.]

1. To prepare by boiling; to digest in hot or boiling water; to extract the strength or flavor of by boiling; to make an infusion of.

2. To prepare by the heat of the stomach for assimilation; to digest; to concoct.

3. To warm, strengthen, or invigorate, as if by boiling. [R.] "Decoct their cold blood." Shak.

DECOCTIBLE
De*coct"i*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being boiled or digested.

DECOCTION
De*coc"tion, n. Etym: [F. décoction, L. decoctio.]

1. The act or process of boiling anything in a watery fluid to extract its virtues. In decoction . . . it either purgeth at the top or settleth at the bottom. Bacon.

2. An extract got from a body by boiling it in water. If the plant be boiled in water, the strained liquor is called the decoction of the plant. Arbuthnot. In pharmacy decoction is opposed to infusion, where there is merely steeping. Latham.

DECOCTURE
De*coc"ture, n.

Defn: A decoction. [R.]

DECOHERER
De`co*her"er, n. [Pref. de- + coherer.] (Elec.)

Defn: A device for restoring a coherer to its normal condition after it has been affected by an electric wave, a process usually accomplished by some method of tapping or shaking, or by rotation of the coherer.

DECOLLATE
De*col"late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decollated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decollating.] Etym: [L. decollatus, p. p. of decollare to behead; de-
+ collum neck.]

Defn: To sever from the neck; to behead; to decapitate.
The decollated head of St. John the Baptist. Burke.

DECOLLATED
De*col"la*ted, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Decapitated; worn or cast off in the process of growth, as the apex of certain univalve shells.

DECOLLATION
De`col*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. decollatio: cf. F. décollation.]

1. The act of beheading or state of one beheaded; — especially used of the execution of St. John the Baptist.

2. A painting representing the beheading of a saint or martyr, esp. of St. John the Baptist.

DECOLLETAGE
Dé`col`le*tage" (da`ko`l'*tazh), n. [F. See Décolleté.] (Costume)

Defn: The upper border or part of a décolleté corsage.

DECOLLETE Dé`col`le*té", a. Etym: [F., p. p. of décolleter to bare the neck and shoulders; dé- + collet collar, fr. L. collum neck.]

Defn: Leaving the neck and shoulders uncovered; cut low in the neck, or low-necked, as a dress.

DECOLLING
De*col"ling, n.

Defn: Beheading. [R.]
By a speedy dethroning and decolling of the king. Parliamentary
History (1648).

DECOLOR
De*col"or, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. décolorer, L. decolorare. Cf.
Discolor.]

Defn: To deprive of color; to bleach.

DECOLORANT
De*col"or*ant, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décolorant, p. pr.]

Defn: A substance which removes color, or bleaches.

DECOLORATE
De*col"or*ate, a. Etym: [L. decoloratus, p. p. of decolorare.]

Defn: Deprived of color.

DECOLORATE
De*col"or*ate, v. t.

Defn: To decolor.

DECOLORATION
De*col`or*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. decoloratio: cf. F. décoloration.]

Defn: The removal or absence of color. Ferrand.

DECOLORIZE
De*col"or*ize, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of color; to whiten. Turner.
— De*col`or*i*za"tion, n.

DECOMPLEX
De"com*plex`, a. Etym: [Pref. de- (intens.) + complex.]

Defn: Repeatedly compound; made up of complex constituents.

DECOMPOSABLE
De`com*pos"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being resolved into constituent elements.

DECOMPOSE
De`com*pose", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decomposed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decomposing.] Etym: [Cf. F. décomposer. Cf. Discompose.]

Defn: To separate the constituent parts of; to resolve into original elements; to set free from previously existing forms of chemical combination; to bring to dissolution; to rot or decay.

DECOMPOSE
De`com*pose", v. i.

Defn: To become resolved or returned from existing combinations; to undergo dissolution; to decay; to rot.

DECOMPOSED
De`com*posed", a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Separated or broken up; — said of the crest of birds when the feathers are divergent.

DECOMPOSITE
De`com*pos"ite, a. Etym: [Pref. de- (intens.) + composite.]

1. Compounded more than once; compounded with things already composite.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: See Decompound, a., 2.

DECOMPOSITE
De`com*pos"ite, n.

Defn: Anything decompounded.
Decomposites of three metals or more. Bacon.

DECOMPOSITION De*com`po*si"tion, n. Etym: [Pref. de- (in sense 3 intensive) + composition: cf. F. décomposition. Cf. Decomposition.]

1. The act or process of resolving the constituent parts of a compound body or substance into its elementary parts; separation into constituent part; analysis; the decay or dissolution consequent on the removal or alteration of some of the ingredients of a compound; disintegration; as, the decomposition of wood, rocks, etc.

2. The state of being reduced into original elements.

3. Repeated composition; a combination of compounds. [Obs.] Decomposition of forces. Same as Resolution of forces, under Resolution. — Decomposition of light, the division of light into the prismatic colors.

DECOMPOUND
De`com*pound", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decompounded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decompounding.] Etym: [Pref. de- (intens. in sense 1) + compound, v.
t.]

1. To compound or mix with that is already compound; to compound a second time.

2. To reduce to constituent parts; to decompose. It divides and decompounds objects into . . . parts. Hazlitt.

DECOMPOUND
De`com*pound", a. Etym: [Pref. de- (intens.) + compound, a.]

1. Compound of what is already compounded; compounded a second time.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Several times compounded or divided, as a leaf or stem; decomposite.

DECOMPOUND
De`com*pound", n.

Defn: A decomposite.

DECOMPOUNDABLE
De`com*pound"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being decompounded.

DECONCENTRATE
De`con*cen"trate, v. t.

Defn: To withdraw from concentration; to decentralize. [R.]

DECONCENTRATION
De*con`cen*tra"tion, n.

Defn: Act of deconcentrating. [R.]

DECONCOCT
De`con*coct", v. t.

Defn: To decompose. [R.] Fuller.

DECONSECRATE
De*con"se*crate, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of sacredness; to secularize.
— De*con`se*cra"tion, n.

DECORAMENT
Dec"o*ra*ment, n. Etym: [L. decoramentum. See Decorate, v. t.]

Defn: Ornament. [Obs.] Bailey.

DECORATE
Dec"o*rate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decorated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decorating.] Etym: [L. decoratus, p. p. of decorare, fr. decus
ornament; akin to decere to be becoming. See Decent.]

Defn: To deck with that which is becoming, ornamental, or honorary; to adorn; to beautify; to embellish; as, to decorate the person; to decorate an edifice; to decorate a lawn with flowers; to decorate the mind with moral beauties; to decorate a hero with honors. Her fat neck was ornamented with jewels, rich bracelets decorated her arms. Thackeray.

Syn. — To adorn; embellish; ornament; beautify; grace. See Adorn. Decorated style (Arch.), a name given by some writers to the perfected English Gothic architecture; it may be considered as having flourished from about a. d. 1300 to a. d. 1375.

1. The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation.

2. That which adorns, enriches, or beautifies; something added by way of embellishment; ornament. The hall was celebrated for . . . the richness of its decoration. Motley.

3. Specifically, any mark of honor to be worn upon the person, as a medal, cross, or ribbon of an order of knighthood, bestowed for services in war, great achievements in literature, art, etc. Decoration Day, a day, May 30, appointed for decorating with flowers the graves of the Union soldiers and sailors, who fell in the Civil War in the United States; Memorial Day. [U.S.]

Defn: = Memorial Day. [U. S.]

DECORATIVE
Dec"o*ra*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décoratif.]

Defn: Suited to decorate or embellish; adorning. — Dec"o*ra*tive*ness, n. Decorative art, fine art which has for its end ornamentation, rather than the representation of objects or events.

DECORATOR
Dec"o*ra`tor, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décorateur.]

Defn: One who decorates, adorns, or embellishes; specifically, an artisan whose business is the decoration of houses, esp. their interior decoration.

DECORE
De*core", v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. décorer. See Decorate.]

Defn: To decorate; to beautify. [Obs.]
To decore and beautify the house of God. E. Hall.

DECOREMENT
De*core"ment, n.

Defn: Ornament. [Obs.]

DECOROUS De*co"rous, a. Etym: [L. dec, fr. decor comeliness, beauty; akin to decere. See Decent, and cf. Decorum.]

Defn: Suitable to a character, or to the time, place, and occasion; marked with decorum; becoming; proper; seemly; befitting; as, a decorous speech; decorous behavior; a decorous dress for a judge. A decorous pretext the war. Motley. — De*co"rous*ly, adv. — De*co"rous*ness, n.

DECORTICATE
De*cor"ti*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decorticated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decorticating.] Etym: [L. decorticatus, p. p. of decorticare to bark;
de- + cortex bark.]

Defn: To divest of the bark, husk, or exterior coating; to husk; to peel; to hull. "Great barley dried and decorticated." Arbuthnot.

DECORTICATION
De*cor`ti*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. decorticatio: cf. F. décortication.]

Defn: The act of stripping off the bark, rind, hull, or outer coat.

DECORTICATOR
De*cor"ti*ca`tor, n.

Defn: A machine for decorticating wood, hulling grain, etc.; also, an instrument for removing surplus bark or moss from fruit trees.

DECORUM
De*cor"um, n. Etym: [L. dec, fr. dec. See Decorous.]

Defn: Propriety of manner or conduct; grace arising from suitableness of speech and behavior to one's own character, or to the place and occasion; decency of conduct; seemliness; that which is seemly or suitable. Negligent of the duties and decorums of his station. Hallam. If your master Would have a queen his beggar, you must tell him, That majesty, to keep decorum, must No less beg than a kingdom. Shak.

Syn. — Decorum, Dignity. Decorum, in accordance with its etymology, is that which is becoming in outward act or appearance; as, the decorum of a public assembly. Dignity springs from an inward elevation of soul producing a corresponding effect on the manners; as, dignity of personal appearance.

DECOY
De*coy", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decoyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Decoying.]
Etym: [Pref. de- + coy; orig., to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See
Coy.]

Defn: To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap; to insnare; to allure; to entice; as, to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net. Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy. Thomson. E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy. Goldsmith.

Syn.
— To entice; tempt; allure; lure. See Allure.

DECOY
De*coy", n.

1. Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait.

2. A fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to entice other fowl into a net or within shot.

3. A place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in order to take or shoot them.

4. A person employed by officers of justice, or parties exposed to injury, to induce a suspected person to commit an offense under circumstances that will lead to his detection.

DECOY-DUCK
De*coy"-duck`, n.

Defn: A duck used to lure wild ducks into a decoy; hence, a person employed to lure others into danger. Beau. & Fl.

DECOYER
De*coy"er, n.

Defn: One who decoys another.

DECOY-MAN
De*coy"-man`, n.; pl. Decoy-men (.

Defn: A man employed in decoying wild fowl.

DECREASE De*crease", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Decreased; p. pr. & vb. n. Decreasing.] Etym: [OE. decrecen, fr. OF. decreistre, F. décroître, or from the OF. noun (see Decrease, n.), fr. L. decrescere to grow less; de + crescere to grow. See Crescent, and cf. Increase.]

Defn: To grow less, — opposed to increase; to be diminished gradually, in size, degree, number, duration, etc., or in strength, quality, or excellence; as, they days decrease in length from June to December. He must increase, but I must decrease. John iii. 30.

Syn. — To Decrease, Diminish. Things usually decrease or fall off by degrees, and from within, or through some cause which is imperceptible; as, the flood decreases; the cold decreases; their affection has decreased. Things commonly diminish by an influence from without, or one which is apparent; as, the army was diminished by disease; his property is diminishing through extravagance; their affection has diminished since their separation their separation. The turn of thought, however, is often such that these words may be interchanged. The olive leaf, which certainly them told The flood decreased. Drayton. Crete's ample fields diminish to our eye; Before the Boreal blasts the vessels fly. Pope.

DECREASE
De*crease", v. t.

Defn: To cause to grow less; to diminish gradually; as, extravagance
decreases one's means.
That might decrease their present store. Prior.

DECREASE
De*crease", n. Etym: [OE. decrees, OF. decreis, fr. decreistre. See
Decrease, v.]

1. A becoming less; gradual diminution; decay; as, a decrease of revenue or of strength.

2. The wane of the moon. Bacon.

DECREASELESS
De*crease"less, a.

Defn: Suffering no decrease. [R.] It [the river] flows and flows, and yet will flow, Volume decreaseless to the final hour. A. Seward.

DECREASING
De*creas"ing, a.

Defn: Becoming less and less; diminishing. — De*creas"ing*ly, adv. Decreasing series (Math.), a series in which each term is numerically smaller than the preceding term.

DECREATION
De`cre*a"tion, n.

Defn: Destruction; — opposed to creation. [R.] Cudworth.

DECREE
De*cree", n. Etym: [OE. decre, F. décret, fr. L. decretum, neut.
decretus, p. p. of decernere to decide; de- + cernere to decide. See
Certain, and cf. Decreet, Decretal.]

1. An order from one having authority, deciding what is to be done by a subordinate; also, a determination by one having power, deciding what is to be done or to take place; edict, law; authoritative ru "The decrees of Venice." Sh There went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. Luke ii. 1. Poor hand, why quiverest thou at this decree Shak.

2. (Law) (a) A decision, order, or sentence, given in a cause by a court of equity or admiralty. (b) A determination or judgment of an umpire on a case submitted to him. Brande.

3. (Eccl.)

Defn: An edict or law made by a council for regulating any business within their jurisdiction; as, the decrees of ecclesiastical councils.

Syn.
— Law; regulation; edict; ordinance. See Law.

DECREE
De*cree", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decreed; p. pr. & vb. n. Decreeing.]

1. To determine judicially by authority, or by decree; to constitute by edict; to appoint by decree or law; to determine; to order; to ordain; as, a court decrees a restoration of property. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee. Job xxii. 28.

2. To ordain by fate.

DECREE
De*cree", v. i.

Defn: To make decrees; — used absolutely. Father eternal! thine is to decree; Mine, both in heaven and earth to do thy will. Milton.

DECREEABLE
De*cree"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being decreed.

DECREER
De*cre"er, n.

Defn: One who decrees. J. Goodwin.

DECREET
De*creet", n. Etym: [Cf. Decree.] (Scots Law)

Defn: The final judgment of the Court of Session, or of an inferior court, by which the question at issue is decided.

DECREMENT
Dec"re*ment, n. Etym: [L. decrementum, fr. decrescere. See Decrease.]

1. The state of becoming gradually less; decrease; diminution; waste; loss. Twit me with the decrements of my pendants. Ford. Rocks, mountains, and the other elevations of the earth suffer a continual decrement. Woodward.

2. The quantity lost by gradual diminution or waste; — opposed to Ant: increment.

3. (Crystallog.)

Defn: A name given by Haüy to the successive diminution of the layers of molecules, applied to the faces of the primitive form, by which he supposed the secondary forms to be produced.

4. (Math.)

Defn: The quantity by which a variable is diminished. Equal decrement of life. (a) The decrease of life in a group of persons in which the assumed law of mortality is such that of a given large number of persons, all being now of the same age, an equal number shall die each consecutive year. (b) The decrease of life in a group of persons in which the assumed law of mortality is such that the ratio of those dying in a year to those living through the year is constant, being independent of the age of the persons.

DECREPIT De*crep"it, a. Etym: [L. decrepitus, perhaps orig., noised out, noiseless, applied to old people, who creep about quietly; de- + crepare to make a noise, rattle: cf. F. décrépit. See Crepitate.]

Defn: Broken down with age; wasted and enfeebled by the infirmities of old age; feeble; worn out. "Beggary or decrepit age." Milton. Already decrepit with premature old age. Motley.

Note: Sometimes incorrectly written decrepid.

DECREPITATE
De*crep"i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decrepitated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Decrepitating.] Etym: [Cf. F. décrépiter.]

Defn: To roast or calcine so as to cause a crackling noise; as, to decrepitate salt.

DECREPITATE
De*crep"i*tate, v. i.

Defn: To crackle, as salt in roasting.

DECREPITATION
De*crep`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décrépitation.]

Defn: The act of decrepitating; a crackling noise, such as salt makes when roasting.

DECREPITNESS
De*crep"it*ness, n.

Defn: Decrepitude. [R.] Barrow.

DECREPITUDE
De*crep"i*tude, n. Etym: [Cf. F. décrépitude.]

Defn: The broken state produced by decay and the infirmities of age; infirm old age.

DECRESCENDO
De`cres*cen"do, a. & adv. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: With decreasing volume of sound; — a direction to performers, either written upon the staff (abbreviated Dec., or Decresc.), or indicated by the sign.

DECRESCENT
De*cres"cent, a. Etym: [L. decrescens, p. pr. of decrescere. See
Decrease.]

Defn: Becoming less by gradual diminution; decreasing; as, a decrescent moon.

DECRESCENT
De*cres"cent, n. (Her.)

Defn: A crescent with the horns directed towards the sinister.
Cussans.

DECRETAL
De*cre"tal, a. Etym: [L. decretalis, fr. decretum. See Decree.]

Defn: Appertaining to a decree; containing a decree; as, a decretal epistle. Ayliffe.

DECRETAL
De*cre"tal, n. Etym: [LL. decretale, neut. of L. decretalis. See
Decretal, a.]

1. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: An authoritative order or decree; especially, a letter of the pope, determining some point or question in ecclesiastical law. The decretals form the second part of the canon law.

2. (Canon Law)

Defn: The collection of ecclesiastical decrees and decisions made, by order of Gregory IX., in 1234, by St. Raymond of Pennafort.

DECRETE
De*crete", n. Etym: [L. decretum. See Decree.]

Defn: A decree. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DECRETION
De*cre"tion, n. Etym: [From L. decrescere, decretum. See Decrease.]

Defn: A decrease. [Obs.] Pearson.

DECRETIST De*cre"tist, n. Etym: [LL. decretista, fr. decretum: cf. F. décrétiste. See Decree, n.]

Defn: One who studies, or professes the knowledge of, the decretals.

DECRETIVE
De*cre"tive, a. Etym: [From L. decretum. See Decree, n.]

Defn: Having the force of a decree; determining.
The will of God is either decretive or perceptive. Bates.

DECRETORIAL
Dec`re*to"ri*al, a.

Defn: Decretory; authoritative. Sir T. Browne.

DECRETORILY
Dec"re*to*ri*ly, adv.

Defn: In a decretory or definitive manner; by decree.

DECRETORY
Dec"re*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. decretorius, from decretum. See Decree.]

1. Established by a decree; definitive; settled. The decretory rigors of a condemning sentence. South.

2. Serving to determine; critical. "The critical or decretory days." Sir T. Browne.

DECREW De*crew", v. i. Etym: [F. décrue, n., decrease, and décru, p. p. of décroître. See Decrease, and cf. Accrue.]

Defn: To decrease. [Obs.] Spenser.

DECRIAL
De*cri"al, n. Etym: [See Decry.]

Defn: A crying down; a clamorous censure; condemnation by censure.

DECRIER
De*cri"er, n.

Defn: One who decries.

DECROWN
De*crown", v. t.

Defn: To deprive of a crown; to discrown. [R.] Hakewill.

DECRUSTATION
De`crus*ta"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. décrustation.]

Defn: The removal of a crust.

DECRY
De*cry", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decried; p. pr. & vb. n. Decrying.]
Etym: [F. décrier, OF. descrier; pref. des- (L. dis-) + crier to cry.
See Cry, and cf. Descry.]

Defn: To cry down; to censure as faulty, mean, or worthless; to clamor against; to blame clamorously; to discredit; to disparage. For small errors they whole plays decry. Dryden. Measures which are extolled by one half of the kingdom are naturally decried by the other. Addison.

Syn. — To Decry, Depreciate, Detract, Disparage. Decry and depreciate refer to the estimation of a thing, the former seeking to lower its value by clamorous censure, the latter by representing it as of little worth. Detract and disparage also refer to merit or value, which the former assails with caviling, insinuation, etc., while the latter willfully underrates and seeks to degrade it. Men decry their rivals and depreciate their measures. The envious detract from the merit of a good action, and disparage the motives of him who performs it.

DECUBATION
Dec`u*ba"tion, n. Etym: [From L. decubare; de- + cubare. See
Decumbent.]

Defn: Act of lying down; decumbence. [Obs.] Evelyn.

DECUBITUS De*cu"bi*tus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. de- + cubare, to lie down: cf. F. décubitus.] (Med.)

Defn: An attitude assumed in lying down; as, the dorsal decubitus.

DECULASSEMENT; DECULASSMENT
Dé`cu`lasse`ment", n. [F.] Also, sometimes, Anglicized
Dec`u*lass"ment. (Ordnance)

Defn: An accidental blowing off of, or other serious damage to, the breechblock of a gun; also, a removal of the breechblock for the purpose of disabling the gun.

DECUMAN Dec"u*man, a. Etym: [L. decumanus of the tenth, and by metonymy, large, fr. decem ten.]

Defn: Large; chief; — applied to an extraordinary billow, supposed by some to be every tenth in order. [R.] Also used substantively. "Such decuman billows." Gauden. "The baffled decuman." Lowell.

DECUMBENCE; DECUMBENCY
De*cum"bence, De*cum"ben*cy, n.

Defn: The act or posture of lying down.
The ancient manner of decumbency. Sir T. Browne.

DECUMBENT De*cum"bent, a. Etym: [L. decumbens, -entis, p. pr. of decumbere; de- + cumbere (only in comp.), cubare to lie down.]

1. Lying down; prostrate; recumbent. The decumbent portraiture of a woman. Ashmole.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Reclining on the ground, as if too weak to stand, and tending to rise at the summit or apex; as, a decumbent stem. Gray.

DECUMBENTLY
De*cum"bent*ly, adv.

Defn: In a decumbent posture.

DECUMBITURE
De*cum"bi*ture, n.

1. Confinement to a sick bed, or time of taking to one's bed from sickness. Boyle.

2. (Astrol.)

Defn: Aspect of the heavens at the time of taking to one's sick bed, by which the prognostics of recovery or death were made.

DECUPLE
Dec"u*ple, a. Etym: [F. décuple, L. decuplus, fr. decem ten.]

Defn: Tenfold. [R.]

DECUPLE
Dec"u*ple, n.

Defn: A number ten times repeated. [R.]

DECUPLE
Dec"u*ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decupled; p. pr. & vb. n. Decupling.]

Defn: To make tenfold; to multiply by ten. [R.]

DECURION De*cu"ri*on, n. Etym: [L. decurio, decurionis, fr. decuria a squad of ten, fr. decem ten.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: A head or chief over ten; especially, an officer who commanded a division of ten soldiers.

DECURIONATE
De*cu"ri*on*ate, n. Etym: [L. decurionatus, fr. decurio.]

Defn: The office of a decurion.

DECURRENCE
De*cur"rence, n.

Defn: The act of running down; a lapse. [R.] Gauden.

DECURRENT De*cur"rent, a. Etym: [L. decurrens, -entis, p. pr. of decurrere to run down; de- + currere to run: cf. F. décurrent.] (Bot.)

Defn: Extending downward; — said of a leaf whose base extends downward and forms a wing along the stem. — De*cur"rent*ly, adv.

DECURSION
De*cur"sion, n. Etym: [L. decursio, fr. decurrere. See Decurrent.]

Defn: A flowing; also, a hostile incursion. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

DECURSIVE
De*cur"sive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. décursif. See Decurrent.]

Defn: Running down; decurrent.

DECURSIVELY
De*cur"sive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a decursive manner. Decursively pinnate (Bot.), having the leaflets decurrent, or running along the petiole; — said of a leaf.

DECURT
De*curt", v. t. Etym: [L. decurtare; de- + curtare.]

Defn: To cut short; to curtail. [Obs.] Bale.

DECURTATION
De`cur*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. decurtatio.]

Defn: Act of cutting short. [Obs.]

DECURY
Dec"u*ry, n.; pl. Decuries. Etym: [L. decuria, fr. decem ten.]

Defn: A set or squad of ten men under a decurion. Sir W. Raleigh.

DECUSSATE De*cus"sate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decussated; p. pr. & vb. n. Decussating.] Etym: [L. decussatus, p. p. of decussare to cross like an X, fr. decussis (orig. equiv. to decem asses) the number ten, which the Romans represented by X.]

Defn: To cross at an acute angle; to cut or divide in the form of X; to intersect; — said of lines in geometrical figures, rays of light, nerves, etc.

DECUSSATE; DECUSSATED
De*cus"sate, De*cus"sa*ted, a.

1. Crossed; intersected.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Growing in pairs, each of which is at right angles to the next pair above or below; as, decussated leaves or branches.

3. (Rhet.)

Defn: Consisting of two rising and two falling clauses, placed in alternate opposition to each other; as, a decussated period.

DECUSSATELY
De*cus"sate*ly, adv.

Defn: In a decussate manner.

DECUSSATION
De`cus*sa"tion, n. Etym: [L. decussatio.]

Defn: Act of crossing at an acute angle, or state of being thus crossed; an intersection in the form of an X; as, the decussation of lines, nerves, etc.

DECUSSATIVE
De*cus"sa*tive, a.

Defn: Intersecting at acute angles. Sir T. Browne.

DECUSSATIVELY
De*cus"sa*tive*ly, adv.

Defn: Crosswise; in the form of an X. "Anointed decussatively." Sir
T. Browne.

DECYL
De"cyl, n. Etym: [L. decem ten + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: A hydrocarbon radical, C10H21, never existing alone, but regarded as the characteristic constituent of a number of compounds of the paraffin series.

DECYLIC
De*cyl"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Allied to, or containing, the radical decyl.

DEDALIAN
De*dal"ian, a.

Defn: See Dædalian.

DEDALOUS
Ded"a*lous, a.

Defn: See Dædalous.

DEDANS
De*dans", n. Etym: [F.] (Court Tennis)

Defn: A division, at one end of a tennis court, for spectators.

DEDE
Dede, a.

Defn: Dead. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEDECORATE De*dec"o*rate, v. t. Etym: [L. dedecoratus, p. p. of dedecorare to disgrace. See Decorate.]

Defn: To bring to shame; to disgrace. [Obs.] Bailey.

DEDECORATION
De*dec`o*ra"tion, n. Etym: [L. dedecoratio.]

Defn: Disgrace; dishonor. [Obs.] Bailey.

DEDECOROUS
De*dec"o*rous, a. Etym: [L. dedecorus. See Decorous.]

Defn: Disgraceful; unbecoming. [R.] Bailey.

DEDENTITION
De`den*ti"tion, n.

Defn: The shedding of teeth. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

DEDICATE Ded"i*cate, p. a. Etym: [L. dedicatus, p. p. of dedicare to affirm, to dedicate; de- + dicare to declare, dedicate; akin to dicere to say. See Diction.]

Defn: Dedicated; set apart; devoted; consecrated. "Dedicate to nothing temporal." Shak.

Syn.
— Devoted; consecrated; addicted.

DEDICATE
Ded"i*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dedicated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Dedicating.]

1. To set apart and consecrate, as to a divinity, or for sacred uses; to devote formally and solemnly; as, to dedicate vessels, treasures, a temple, or a church, to a religious use. Vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, . . . which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord. 2 Sam. viii. 10, 11. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. . . . But in a larger sense we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. A. Lincoln.

2. To devote, set apart, or give up, as one's self, to a duty or
service.
The profession of a soldier, to which he had dedicated himself.
Clarendon.

3. To inscribe or address, as to a patron. He complied ten elegant books, and dedicated them to the Lord Burghley. Peacham.

Syn.
— See Addict.

DEDICATEE
Ded`i*ca*tee", n.

Defn: One to whom a thing is dedicated; — correlative to dedicator.

DEDICATION
Ded`i*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. dedicatio.]

1. The act of setting apart or consecrating to a divine Being, or to a sacred use, often with religious solemnities; solemn appropriation; as, the dedication of Solomon's temple.

2. A devoting or setting aside for any particular purpose; as, a dedication of lands to public use.

3. An address to a patron or friend, prefixed to a book, testifying respect, and often recommending the work to his special protection and favor.

DEDICATOR
Ded"i*ca`tor, n. Etym: [L.: cf. F. dédicateur.]

Defn: One who dedicates; more especially, one who inscribes a book to the favor of a patron, or to one whom he desires to compliment.

DEDICATORIAL
Ded`i*ca*to"ri*al, a.

Defn: Dedicatory.

DEDICATORY
Ded"i*ca*to*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. dédicatoire.]

Defn: Constituting or serving as a dedication; complimental. "An epistle dedicatory." Dryden.

DEDICATORY
Ded"i*ca*to*ry, n.

Defn: Dedication. [R.] Milton.

DEDIMUS Ded"i*mus, n. Etym: [L. dedimus we have given, fr. dare to give. So called because the writ began, Dedimus potestatem, etc.] (Law)

Defn: A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, as to examine a witness, etc. Bouvier.

DEDITION De*di"tion, n. Etym: [L. deditio, fr. dedere to give away, surrender; de- + dare to give.]

Defn: The act of yielding; surrender. [R.] Sir M. Hale.

DEDOLENT Ded"o*lent, a. Etym: [L. dedolens, p. pr. of dedolere to give over grieving; de- + dolere to grieve.]

Defn: Feeling no compunction; apathetic. [R.] Hallywell.

DEDUCE
De*duce", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deduced; p. pr. & vb. n. Deducing.]
Etym: [L. deducere; de- + ducere to lead, draw. See Duke, and cf.
Deduct.]

1. To lead forth. [A Latinism] He should hither deduce a colony. Selden.

2. To take away; to deduct; to subtract; as, to deduce a part from the whole. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

3. To derive or draw; to derive by logical process; to obtain or arrive at as the result of reasoning; to gather, as a truth or opinion, from what precedes or from premises; to infer; — with from or out of. O goddess, say, shall I deduce my rhymes From the dire nation in its early times Pope. Reasoning is nothing but the faculty of deducing unknown truths from principles already known. Locke. See what regard will be paid to the pedigree which deduces your descent from kings and conquerors. Sir W. Scott.

DEDUCEMENT
De*duce"ment, n.

Defn: Inference; deduction; thing deduced. [R.] Dryden.

DEDUCIBILITY
De*du`ci*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: Deducibleness.

DEDUCIBLE
De*du"ci*ble, a.

1. Capable of being deduced or inferred; derivable by reasoning, as a result or consequence. All properties of a triangle depend on, and are deducible from, the complex idea of three lines including a space. Locke.

2. Capable of being brought down. [Obs.] As if God [were] deducible to human imbecility. State Trials (1649).

DEDUCIBLENESS
De*du"ci*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being deducible; deducibility.

DEDUCIBLY
De*du"ci*bly, adv.

Defn: By deduction.

DEDUCIVE
De*du"cive, a.

Defn: That deduces; inferential.

DEDUCT
De*duct", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deducted; p. pr. & vb. n. Deducting.]
Etym: [L. deductus, p. p. of deducere to deduct. See Deduce.]

1. To lead forth or out. [Obs.] A people deducted out of the city of Philippos. Udall.

2. To take away, separate, or remove, in numbering, estimating, or calculating; to subtract; — often with from or out of. Deduct what is but vanity, or dress. Pope. Two and a half per cent should be deducted out of the pay of the foreign troops. Bp. Burnet. We deduct from the computation of our years that part of our time which is spent in . . . infancy. Norris.

3. To reduce; to diminish. [Obs.] "Do not deduct it to days." Massinger.

DEDUCTIBLE
De*duct"i*ble, a.

1. Capable of being deducted, taken away, or withdrawn. Not one found honestly deductible From any use that pleased him. Mrs. Browning.

2. Deducible; consequential.

DEDUCTION
De*duc"tion, n. Etym: [L. deductio: cf. F. déduction.]

1. Act or process of deducing or inferring. The deduction of one language from another. Johnson. This process, by which from two statements we deduce a third, is called deduction. J. R. Seely.

2. Act of deducting or taking away; subtraction; as, the deduction of the subtrahend from the minuend.

3. That which is deduced or drawn from premises by a process of reasoning; an inference; a conclusion. Make fair deductions; see to what they mount. Pope.

4. That which is deducted; the part taken away; abatement; as, a deduction from the yearly rent.

Syn.
— See Induction.

DEDUCTIVE
De*duct"ive, a. Etym: [Cf. L. deductivus derivative.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to deduction; capable of being deduced from
premises; deducible.
All knowledge of causes is deductive. Glanvill.
Notions and ideas . . . used in a deductive process. Whewell.

DEDUCTIVELY
De*duct"ive*ly, adv.

Defn: By deduction; by way of inference; by consequence. Sir T.
Browne.

DEDUCTOR
De*duc"tor, n. Etym: [L., a guide. See Deduce.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The pilot whale or blackfish.

DEDUIT
De*duit", n. Etym: [F. déduit. Cf. Deduct.]

Defn: Delight; pleasure. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEDUPLICATION
De*du`pli*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Pref. de- + duplication.] (Biol.)

Defn: The division of that which is morphologically one organ into two or more, as the division of an organ of a plant into a pair or cluster.

DEED
Deed, a.

Defn: Dead. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEED Deed, n. Etym: [AS. d; akin to OS. dad, D. & Dan. daad, G. thai, Sw. dåd, Goth. d; fr. the root of do. See Do, v. t.]

1. That which is done or effected by a responsible agent; an act; an action; a thing done; — a word of extensive application, including, whatever is done, good or bad, great or small. And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done Gen. xliv. 15. We receive the due reward of our deeds. Luke xxiii. 41. Would serve his kind in deed and word. Tennyson.

2. Illustrious act; achievement; exploit. "Knightly deeds." Spenser. Whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn. Dryden.

3. Power of action; agency; efficiency. [Obs.] To be, both will and deed, created free. Milton.

4. Fact; reality; — whence we have indeed.

5. (Law)

Defn: A sealed instrument in writing, on paper or parchment, duly executed and delivered, containing some transfer, bargain, or contract.

Note: The term is generally applied to conveyances of real estate, and it is the prevailing doctrine that a deed must be signed as well as sealed, though at common law signing was formerly not necessary. Blank deed, a printed form containing the customary legal phraseology, with blank spaces for writing in names, dates, boundaries, etc.

6. Performance; — followed by of. [Obs.] Shak. In deed, in fact; in truth; verily. See Indeed.

DEED
Deed, v. t.

Defn: To convey or transfer by deed; as, he deeded all his estate to his eldest son. [Colloq. U. S.]

DEEDFUL
Deed"ful, a.

Defn: Full of deeds or exploits; active; stirring. [R.] "A deedful life." Tennyson.

DEEDLESS
Deed"less, a.

Defn: Not performing, or not having performed, deeds or exploits;
inactive.
Deedless in his tongue. Shak.

DEED POLL
Deed" poll`. (Law)

Defn: A deed of one part, or executed by only one party, and distinguished from an indenture by having the edge of the parchment or paper cut even, or polled as it was anciently termed, instead of being indented. Burrill.

DEEDY
Deed"y, a.

Defn: Industrious; active. [R.] Cowper.

DEEM
Deem, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deemed; p. pr. & vb. n. Deeming.] Etym:
[OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d,
OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme,
Goth. d. See Doom, n., and cf. Doom, v.]

1. To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [Obs.] Claudius . . . Was demed for to hang upon a tree. Chaucer.

2. To account; to esteem; to think; to judge; to hold in opinion; to regard. For never can I deem him less him less than god. Dryden.

DEEM
Deem, v. i.

1. To be of opinion; to think; to estimate; to opine; to suppose. And deemest thou as those who pore, With aged eyes, short way before Emerson.

2. To pass judgment. [Obs.] Spenser.

DEEM
Deem, n.

Defn: Opinion; judgment. [Obs.] Shak.

DEEMSTER
Deem"ster, n. Etym: [Deem + -ster; i. e., doomster. Cf. Dempster.]

Defn: A judge in the Isle of Man who decides controversies without process. Cowell.

DEEP Deep, a. [Compar. Deeper; superl. Deepest.] Etym: [OE. dep, deop, AS. deóp; akin to D. diep, G. tief, Icel. dj, Sw. diup, Dan. dyb, Goth. diups; fr. the root of E. dip, dive. See Dip, Dive.]

1. Extending far below the surface; of great perpendicular dimension (measured from the surface downward, and distinguished from high, which is measured upward); far to the bottom; having a certain depth; as, a deep sea. The water where the brook is deep. Shak.

2. Extending far back from the front or outer part; of great horizontal dimension (measured backward from the front or nearer part, mouth, etc.); as, a deep cave or recess or wound; a gallery ten seats deep; a company of soldiers six files deep. Shadowing squadrons deep. Milton. Safely in harbor Is the king's ship in the deep nook. Shak.

3. Low in situation; lying far below the general surface; as, a deep valley.

4. Hard to penetrate or comprehend; profound; — opposed to shallow or superficial; intricate; mysterious; not obvious; obscure; as, a deep subject or plot. Speculations high or deep. Milton. A question deep almost as the mystery of life. De Quincey. O Lord, . . . thy thought are very deep. Ps. xcii. 5.

5. Of penetrating or far-reaching intellect; not superficial; thoroughly skilled; sagacious; cunning. Deep clerks she dumbs. Shak.

6. Profound; thorough; complete; unmixed; intense; heavy; heartfelt; as, deep distress; deep melancholy; deep horror. "Deep despair." Milton. "Deep silence." Milton. "Deep sleep." Gen. ii. 21. "Deeper darkness." Hoole. "Their deep poverty." 2 Cor. viii. 2. An attitude of deep respect. Motley.

7. Strongly colored; dark; intense; not light or thin; as, deep blue or crimson.

8. Of low tone; full-toned; not high or sharp; grave; heavy. "The deep thunder." Byron. The bass of heaven's deep organ. Milton.

9. Muddy; boggy; sandy; — said of roads. Chaucer. The ways in that vale were very deep. Clarendon. A deep line of operations (Military), a long line. — Deep mourning (Costume), mourning complete and strongly marked, the garments being not only all black, but also composed of lusterless materials and of such fashion as is identified with mourning garments.

DEEP
Deep, adv.

Defn: To a great depth; with depth; far down; profoundly; deeply.
Deep-versed in books, and shallow in himself. Milton.
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. Pope.

Note: Deep, in its usual adverbial senses, is often prefixed to an adjective; as, deep-chested, deep-cut, deep-seated, deep-toned, deep- voiced, "deep-uddered kine."

DEEP
Deep, n.

1. That which is deep, especially deep water, as the sea or ocean; an
abyss; a great depth.
Courage from the deeps of knowledge springs. Cowley.
The hollow deep of hell resounded. Milton.
Blue Neptune storms, the bellowing deeps resound. Pope.

2. That which is profound, not easily fathomed, or incomprehensible; a moral or spiritual depth or abyss. Thy judgments are a great. Ps. xxxvi. 6. Deep of night, the most quiet or profound part of night; dead of night. The deep of night is crept upon our talk. Shak.

DEEPEN
Deep"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deepened; p. pr. & vb. n. Deepening.]

1. To make deep or deeper; to increase the depth of; to sink lower; as, to deepen a well or a channel. It would . . . deepen the bed of the Tiber. Addison.

2. To make darker or more intense; to darken; as, the event deepened the prevailing gloom. You must deepen your colors. Peacham.

3. To make more poignant or affecting; to increase in degree; as, to deepen grief or sorrow.

4. To make more grave or low in tone; as, to deepen the tones of an organ. Deepens the murmur of the falling floods. Pope.

DEEPEN
Deep"en, v. i.

Defn: To become deeper; as, the water deepens at every cast of the lead; the plot deepens. His blood-red tresses deepening in the sun. Byron.

DEEP-FET
Deep"-fet`, a.

Defn: Deeply fetched or drawn. [Obs.] "Deep-fet groans." Shak.

DEEP-LAID
Deep"-laid`, a.

Defn: Laid deeply; formed with cunning and sagacity; as, deep-laid plans.

DEEPLY
Deep"ly, adv.

1. At or to a great depth; far below the surface; as, to sink deeply.

2. Profoundly; thoroughly; not superficially; in a high degree; intensely; as, deeply skilled in ethics. He had deeply offended both his nobles and people. Bacon. He sighed deeply in his spirit. Mark viii. 12.

3. Very; with a tendency to darkness of color. The deeply red juice of buckthorn berries. Boyle.

4. Gravely; with low or deep tone; as, a deeply toned instrument.

5. With profound skill; with art or intricacy; as, a deeply laid plot or intrigue.

DEEP-MOUTHED
Deep"-mouthed`, a.

Defn: Having a loud and sonorous voice. "Deep-mouthed dogs." Dryden.

DEEPNESS
Deep"ness, n.

1. The state or quality of being deep, profound, mysterious, secretive, etc.; depth; profundity; — opposed to shallowness. Because they had no deepness of earth. Matt. xiii. 5.

2. Craft; insidiousness. [R.] J. Gregory.

DEEP-READ
Deep"-read`, a.

Defn: Profoundly book-learned. "Great writers and deep-read men."
L'Estrange.

DEEP-SEA
Deep"-sea`, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the deeper parts of the sea; as, a deep-sea line (i. e., a line to take soundings at a great depth); deep-sea lead; deep-sea soundings, explorations, etc.

DEEP-WAISTED
Deep"-waist`ed, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Having a deep waist, as when, in a ship, the poop and forecastle are much elevated above the deck.

DEER Deer, n. sing. & pl. Etym: [OE. der, door, animal, wild animal, AS. deór; akin to D. dier, OFries. diar, G. thier, tier, Icel. d, Dan. dyr, Sw. djur, Goth. dius; of unknown origin.

1. Any animal; especially, a wild animal. [Obs.] Chaucer. Mice and rats, and such small deer. Shak. The camel, that great deer. Lindisfarne MS.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A ruminant of the genus Cervus, of many species, and of related genera of the family Cervidæ. The males, and in some species the females, have solid antlers, often much branched, which are shed annually. Their flesh, for which they are hunted, is called venison.

Note: The deer hunted in England is Cervus elaphus, called also stag
or red deer; the fallow deer is C. dama; the common American deer is
C. Virginianus; the blacktailed deer of Western North America is C.
Columbianus; and the mule deer of the same region is C. macrotis. See
Axis, Fallow deer, Mule deer, Reindeer.

Note: Deer is much used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound; as, deerkiller, deerslayer, deerslaying, deer hunting, deer stealing, deerlike, etc. Deer mouse (Zoöl.), the white-footed mouse (Hesperomys leucopus) of America. — Small deer, petty game, not worth pursuing; — used metaphorically. (See citation from Shakespeare under the first definition, above.) "Minor critics . . . can find leisure for the chase of such small deer." G. P. Marsh.

DEERBERRY
Deer"ber`ry, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A shrub of the blueberry group (Vaccinium stamineum); also, its bitter, greenish white berry; — called also squaw huckleberry.

DEERGRASS
Deer"grass`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An American genus (Rhexia) of perennial herbs, with opposite leaves, and showy flowers (usually bright purple), with four petals and eight stamens, — the only genus of the order Melastomaceæ inhabiting a temperate clime.

DEERHOUND
Deer"hound`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a large and fleet breed of hounds used in hunting deer; a staghound.

DEERLET
Deer"let, n. Etym: [Deer + -let.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A chevrotain. See Kanchil, and Napu.

DEER-NECK
Deer"-neck`, n.

Defn: A deerlike, or thin, ill-formed neck, as of a horse.

DEERSKIN
Deer"skin`, n.

Defn: The skin of a deer, or the leather which is made from it.
Hakluyt. Longfellow.

DEERSTALKER
Deer"stalk`er, n.

Defn: One who practices deerstalking.

DEERSTALKING
Deer"stalk`ing, n.

Defn: The hunting of deer on foot, by stealing upon them unawares.

DEER'S-TONGUE
Deer's"-tongue`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Liatris odoratissima) whose fleshy leaves give out a fragrance compared to vanilla. Wood.

DEES
Dees, n. pl.

Defn: Dice. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEES
Dees, n.

Defn: A dais. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEESIS
De*e"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Rhet.)

Defn: An invocation of, or address to, the Supreme Being.

DEESS
De"ess, n. Etym: [F. déesse, fem. of dieu god.]

Defn: A goddess. [Obs.] Croft.

DEEV
Deev, n. (Hind. & Pers. Myth.)

Defn: See Dev.

DEFACE
De*face", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defaced; p. pr. & vb. n. Defacing.]
Etym: [OE. defacen to disfigure, efface, OF. desfacier; L. dis- +
facies face. See Face, and cf. Efface.]

1. To destroy or mar the face or external appearance of; to disfigure; to injure, spoil, or mar, by effacing or obliterating important features or portions of; as, to deface a monument; to deface an edifice; to deface writing; to deface a note, deed, or bond; to deface a record. "This high face defaced." Emerson. So by false learning is good sense defaced. Pope.

2. Etym: [Cf. F. défaire.]

Defn: To destroy; to make null. [Obs.]
[Profane scoffing] doth . . . deface the reverence of religion.
Bacon.
For all his power was utterly defaste [defaced]. Spenser.

Syn.
— See Efface.

DEFACEMENT
De*face"ment, n.

1. The act of defacing, or the condition of being defaced; injury to the surface or exterior; obliteration.

2. That which mars or disfigures. Bacon.

DEFACER
De*fa"cer, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, defaces or disfigures.

DE FACTO
De` fac"to. Etym: [L.]

Defn: Actually; in fact; in reality; as, a king de facto, — distinguished from a king de jure, or by right.

DEFAIL De*fail", v. t. Etym: [F. défaillir to fail; pref. dé- (L. de) + faillir. See Fail, and cf. Default.]

Defn: To cause fail. [Obs.]

DEFAILANCE
De*fail"ance, n. Etym: [F. défaillance.]

Defn: Failure; miscarriage. [Obs.]
Possibility of defailance in degree or continuance. Comber.

DEFAILURE
De*fail"ure, n.

Defn: Failure. [Obs.] Barrow.

DEFALCATE
De*fal"cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defalcated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Defalcating.] Etym: [LL. defalcatus, p. p. of defalcare to deduct,
orig., to cut off with a sickle; L. de- + falx, a sickle. See
Falchion.]

Defn: To cut off; to take away or deduct a part of; — used chiefly of money, accounts, rents, income, etc. To show what may be practicably and safely defalcated from the [the estimates]. Burke.

DEFALCATE
De*fal"cate, v. i.

Defn: To commit defalcation; to embezzle money held in trust. "Some partner defalcating, or the like." Carlyle.

DEFALCATION
De`fal*ca"tion, n. Etym: [LL. defalcatio: cf. F. défalcation.]

1. A lopping off; a diminution; abatement; deficit. Specifically: Reduction of a claim by deducting a counterclaim; set-off. Abbott.

2. That which is lopped off, diminished, or abated.

3. An abstraction of money, etc., by an officer or agent

DEFALCATOR
Def"al*ca`tor, n.

Defn: A defaulter or embezzler. [Modern]

DEFALK
De*falk", v. t. Etym: [F. défalquer. See Defalcate.]

Defn: To lop off; to bate. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

DEFAMATION
Def`a*ma"tion, n. Etym: [OE. diffamacioun, F. diffamation. See
Defame.]

Defn: Act of injuring another's reputation by any slanderous communication, written or oral; the wrong of maliciously injuring the good name of another; slander; detraction; calumny; aspersion.

Note: In modern usage, written defamation bears the title of libel, and oral defamation that of slander. Burrill.

DEFAMATORY
De*fam"a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Containing defamation; injurious to reputation; calumnious; slanderous; as, defamatory words; defamatory writings.

DEFAME De*fame", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defamed; p. pr. & vb. n. Defaming.] Etym: [OE. defamen, diffamen, from F. diffamer, or OF. perh. defamer, fr. L. diffamare (cf. defamatus infamous); dis- (in this word confused with de) + fama a report. See Fame.]

1. To harm or destroy the good fame or reputation of; to disgrace; especially, to speak evil of maliciously; to dishonor by slanderous reports; to calumniate; to asperse.

2. To render infamous; to bring into disrepute. My guilt thy growing virtues did defame; My blackness blotted thy unblemish'd name. Dryden.

3. To charge; to accuse. [R.] Rebecca is . . . defamed of sorcery practiced on the person of a noble knight. Sir W. Scott.

Syn.
— To asperse; slander; calumniate; vilify. See Asperse.

DEFAME
De*fame", n.

Defn: Dishonor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

DEFAMER
De*fam"er, n.

Defn: One who defames; a slanderer; a detractor; a calumniator.

DEFAMINGLY
De*fam"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a defamatory manner.

DEFAMOUS
Def"a*mous, a.

Defn: Defamatory. [Obs.]

DEFATIGABLE
De*fat"i*ga*ble, a. Etym: [See Defatigate.]

Defn: Capable of being wearied or tired out. [R.] Glanvill.

DEFATIGATE De*fat"i*gate, v. t. Etym: [L. defatigatus, p. p. of defatigare; de- + fatigare to weary. See Fatigue.]

Defn: To weary or tire out; to fatigue. [R.] Sir T. Herbert.

DEFATIGATION
De*fat`i*ga"tion, n. Etym: [L. defatigatio.]

Defn: Weariness; fatigue. [R.] Bacon.

DEFAULT De*fault", n. Etym: [OE. defaute, OF. defaute, defalte, fem., F. défaut, masc., LL. defalta, fr. a verb meaning, to be deficient, to want, fail, fr. L. de- + fallere to deceive. See Fault.]

1. A failing or failure; omission of that which ought to be done; neglect to do whaas, this evil has happened through the governor's default.

2. Fault; offense; ill deed; wrong act; failure in virtue or wisdom. And pardon craved for his so rash default. Spenser. Regardless of our merit or default. Pope.

3. (Law)

Defn: A neglect of, or failure to take, some step necessary to secure the benefit of law, as a failure to appear in court at a day assigned, especially of the defendant in a suit when called to make answer; also of jurors, witnesses, etc. In default of, in case of failure or lack of. Cooks could make artificial birds and fishes in default of the real ones. Arbuthnot. — To suffer a default (Law), to permit an action to be called without appearing to answer.

DEFAULT
De*fault", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Defaulted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Defaulting.]

1. To fail in duty; to offend. That he gainst courtesy so foully did default. Spenser.

2. To fail in fulfilling a contract, agreement, or duty.

3. To fail to appear in court; to let a case go by default.

DEFAULT
De*fault", v. t.

1. To fail to perform or pay; to be guilty of neglect of; to omit; as, to default a dividend. What they have defaulted towards him as no king. Milton.

2. (Law)

Defn: To call a defendant or other party whose duty it is to be present in court, and make entry of his default, if he fails to appear; to enter a default against.

3. To leave out of account; to omit. [Obs.] Defaulting unnecessary and partial discourses. Hales.

DEFAULTER
De*fault"er, n.

1. One who makes default; one who fails to appear in court when court when called.

2. One who fails to perform a duty; a delinquent; particularly, one who fails to account for public money intrusted to his care; a peculator; a defalcator.

DEFEASANCE De*fea"sance, n. Etym: [OF. defesance, fr. defesant, F. défaisant, p. pr. of defaire, F. défaire, to undo. See Defeat.]

1. A defeat; an overthrow. [Obs.] After his foes' defeasance. Spenser.

2. A rendering null or void.

3. (Law)