The Project Gutenberg Etext of The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary Version 0.50 Letters D & E: #662 in our series, by MICRA, Inc. Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! Please take a look at the important information in this header. We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. **Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** **Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** *These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and further information is included below. We need your donations. The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary: Letters D & E February, 1999 [Etext #662] The Project Gutenberg Etext of The 1913 Webster Unabridged Dictionary ******This file should be named pgw050de.txt or pgw050de.zip****** Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, pgw051de.txt This etext was prepared by MICRA, INc. of Plainfield, NJ. See below for contact information. Portions of the text have been proof-read and supplemented by volunteers, who have helped greatly to improve the accuracy of this electronic version. Project Gutenberg Etexts are usually created from multiple editions, all of which are in the Public Domain in the United States, unless a copyright notice is included. Therefore, we do usually do NOT! keep these books in compliance with any particular paper edition. We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. Please note: neither this list nor its contents are final till midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. A preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment and editing by those who wish to do so. To be sure you have an up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes in the first week of the next month. Since our ftp program has a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a new copy has at least one byte more or less. Information about Project Gutenberg (one page) We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work. The time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc. This projected audience is one hundred million readers. If our value per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2 million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-six text files per month, or 432 more Etexts in 1999 for a total of 2000+ If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the total should reach over 200 billion Etexts given away this year. The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext Files by December 31, 2001. [10,000 x 100,000,000 = 1 Trillion] This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers, which is only ~5% of the present number of computer users. At our revised rates of production, we will reach only one-third of that goal by the end of 2001, or about 3,333 Etexts unless we manage to get some real funding; currently our funding is mostly from Michael Hart's salary at Carnegie-Mellon University, and an assortment of sporadic gifts; this salary is only good for a few more years, so we are looking for something to replace it, as we don't want Project Gutenberg to be so dependent on one person. We need your donations more than ever! All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg/CMU": and are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. (CMU = Carnegie- Mellon University). For these and other matters, please mail to: Project Gutenberg P. O. Box 2782 Champaign, IL 61825 When all other email fails. . .try our Executive Director: Michael S. Hart hart@pobox.com forwards to hart@prairienet.org and archive.org if your mail bounces from archive.org, I will still see it, if it bounces from prairienet.org, better resend later on. . . . We would prefer to send you this information by email. ****** To access Project Gutenberg etexts, use any Web browser to view http://promo.net/pg. This site lists Etexts by author and by title, and includes information about how to get involved with Project Gutenberg. You could also download our past Newsletters, or subscribe here. This is one of our major sites, please email hart@pobox.com, for a more complete list of our various sites. To go directly to the etext collections, use FTP or any Web browser to visit a Project Gutenberg mirror (mirror sites are available on 7 continents; mirrors are listed at http://promo.net/pg). Mac users, do NOT point and click, typing works better. Example FTP session: ftp sunsite.unc.edu login: anonymous password: your@login cd pub/docs/books/gutenberg cd etext90 through etext99 dir [to see files] get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files] GET GUTINDEX.?? [to get a year's listing of books, e.g., GUTINDEX.99] GET GUTINDEX.ALL [to get a listing of ALL books] *** **Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor** (Three Pages) ***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START*** Why is this "Small Print!" statement here? You know: lawyers. They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our fault. So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement disclaims most of our liability to you. It also tells you how you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to. *BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept this "Small Print!" statement. If you do not, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person you got it from. If you received this etext on a physical medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request. ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG- tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie-Mellon University (the "Project"). Among other things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark. To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain works. Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any medium they may be on may contain "Defects". Among other things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below, [1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that time to the person you received it from. If you received it on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement copy. If you received it electronically, such person may choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to receive it electronically. THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS". NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you may have other legal rights. INDEMNITY You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors, officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause: [1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification, or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect. DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm" You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this "Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg, or: [1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the etext or this "small print!" statement. You may however, if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form, including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as *EITHER*: [*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and does *not* contain characters other than those intended by the author of the work, although tilde (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may be used to convey punctuation intended by the author, and additional characters may be used to indicate hypertext links; OR [*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent form by the program that displays the etext (as is the case, for instance, with most word processors); OR [*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC or other equivalent proprietary form). [2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this "Small Print!" statement. [3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the net profits you derive calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return. WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association / Carnegie-Mellon University". *END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

D.

D (dē) 1. The fourth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonant. The English letter is from Latin, which is from Greek, which took it from Phœnician, 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. qyga`thr, Skr. duhitr. See Guide to Pronunciation, √178, 179, 229.

2. (Mus.) 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 &?; (or &?; ) the original Tuscan numeral for 1000.

Dab (dăb), n. [Perh. corrupted fr. adept.] 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 third is a dab at an index.
Goldsmith.

Dab, n. [Perh. so named from its quickness in diving beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick.] (Zoöl.) A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.

Dab (dăb), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dabbed (dăbd); p. pr. & vb. n. Dabbing.] [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 (?), n. 1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.

A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak.
Hawthorne.

2. A small mass of anything soft or moist.

Dabb (d&adot;b), n. (Zoöl.) A large, spine-tailed lizard (Uromastix spinipes), found in Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine; -- called also dhobb, and dhubb.

Dab"ber (dăb"b&etilde;r), n. 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.

Dab"ble (dăb"b'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dabbled (-b'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Dabbling (-b'l&ibreve;ng).] [Freq. of dab: cf. OD. dabbelen.] To wet by little dips or strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet. "Bright hair dabbled in blood." Shak.

Dab"ble, v. i. 1. To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water.

Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling sedge.
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 first year at Dumfries, Burns for the first time began to dabble in politics.
J. C. Shairp.

Dab"bler (dăb"bl&etilde;r), n. 1. One who dabbles.

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

Dab"bling*ly (?), adv. In a dabbling manner.

Dab"chick` (dăb"ch&ibreve;k`), n. [For dabchick. See Dap, Dip, cf. Dipchick.] (Zoöl.) 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.

||Da*boi"a (?), n. (Zoöl.) A large and highly venomous Asiatic viper (Daboia xanthica).

Dab"ster, n. [Cf. Dab an expert.] One who is skilled; a master of his business; a proficient; an adept. [Colloq.]

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

||Da`ca"po (?). [It., from [the] head or beginning.] (Mus.) 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 (?), n. [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.) A small European cyprinoid fish (Squalius leuciscus or Leuciscus vulgaris); -- called also dare.

&fist; 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.

||Dachs"hund` (?), n. [G., from dachs badger + hund dog.] (Zoöl.) 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.

Da"cian (?), a. Of or pertaining to Dacia or the Dacians. -- n. A native of ancient Dacia.

Da*coit" (d&adot;*koit"), n. [Hind. &dsdot;akait, &dsdot;ākāyat.] One of a class of robbers, in India, who act in gangs.

Da*coit"y (?), n. The practice of gang robbery in India; robbery committed by dacoits.

Da*co"tahs (?), n. pl.; sing. Dacotan (&?;). (Ethnol.) Same as Dacotas. Longfellow.

Dac"tyl (?), n. [L. dactylus, Gr. da`ktylos a finger, a dactyl. Cf. Digit.] 1. (Pros.) A poetical foot of three sylables (— ⌣ ⌣), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. tëgm&ibreve;n&ebreve;, E. mer\b6ciful; -- 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.

Dac"tyl*ar (?), a. 1. Pertaining to dactyl; dactylic.

2. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to a finger or toe, or to the claw of an insect crustacean.

Dac"tyl*et (?), n. [Dactyl + &?;et.] A dactyl. [Obs.]

Dac*tyl"ic (?), a. [L. dactylicus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?;.] Pertaining to, consisting chiefly or wholly of, dactyls; as, dactylic verses.

Dac*tyl"ic, n. 1. A line consisting chiefly or wholly of dactyls; as, these lines are dactylics.

2. pl. Dactylic meters.

Dac*tyl"i*o*glyph (dăk*t&ibreve;l"&ibreve;*&osl;*gl&ibreve;f), n. [Gr. daktyliogly`fos an engraver of gems; dakty`lios finger ring (fr. da`ktylos finger) + gly`fein 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.

Dac*tyl`i*og"ly*phy (?), n. The art or process of gem engraving.

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

Dac*tyl`i*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. dakty`lios finger ring + -logy.] (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.

Dac*tyl"i*o*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. dakty`lios + -mancy.] Divination by means of finger rings.

Dac"tyl*ist (?), n. A writer of dactylic verse.

||Dac`tyl*i"tis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. da`ktylos finger + -itis.] (Med.) An inflammatory affection of the fingers. Gross.

Dac`tyl*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. da`ktylos finger + -logy.] The art of communicating ideas by certain movements and positions of the fingers; -- a method of conversing practiced by the deaf and dumb.

&fist; 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.

Dac*tyl"o*man`cy (?), n. Dactyliomancy. [R.] Am. Cyc.

Dac`tyl*on"o*my (?), n. [Gr. da`ktylos finger + no`mos law, distribution.] The art of numbering or counting by the fingers.

Dac`tyl*op"ter*ous (?), a. [Gr. da`ktylos finger + &?; wing, fin.] (Zoöl.) Having the inferior rays of the pectoral fins partially or entirely free, as in the gurnards.

||Dac`ty*lo*the"ca (dăk`t&ibreve;*l&osl;*thē"k&adot;), n. [NL., fr. Gr. da`ktylos finger, toe + qh`kh case, box.] (Zoöl.) The scaly covering of the toes, as in birds.

Dac`tyl*o*zo"oid (dăk`t&ibreve;*l&osl;*zō"oid), n. [Gr. da`ktylos finger + E. zooid.] (Zoöl.) A kind of zooid of Siphonophora which has an elongated or even vermiform body, with one tentacle, but no mouth. See Siphonophora.

Dad (dăd), n. [Prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. daid, Gael. daidein, W. tad, OL. tata, Gr. ta`ta, te`tta, Skr. tāta.] Father; -- a word sometimes used by children.

I was never so bethumped with words,
Since I first called my brother's father dad.
Shak.

Dad"dle (dăd"d'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Daddled (?), p. pr. & vb. n. Daddling.] [Prob. freq. of dade.] To toddle; to walk unsteadily, like a child or an old man; hence, to do anything slowly or feebly.

Dad"dock (?), n. [Cf. Prov. E. dad a large piece.] The rotten body of a tree. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Dad"dy (?), n. Diminutive of Dad. Dryden.

Dad"dy long"legs` (?). 1. (Zoöl.) 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.) 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 (?), v. t. [Of. uncertain origin. Cf. Dandle, Daddle.] 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, v. i. 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.

Da"do (?), n.; pl. Dadoes (#). [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.

{ Dæ"dal (?), Dæ*dal"ian (?) }, a. [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.

Dæd"a*lous (?), a. (Bot.) Having a variously cut or incised margin; -- said of leaves.

Dæ"mon (?), n., Dæ*mon"ic (&?;), a. See Demon, Demonic.

Daff (?), v. t. [Cf. Doff.] To cast aside; to put off; to doff. [Obs.]

Canst thou so daff me? Thou hast killed my child.
Shak.

Daff, n. [See Daft.] A stupid, blockish fellow; a numskull. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Daff (d&adot;f), v. i. To act foolishly; to be foolish or sportive; to toy. [Scot.] Jamieson.

Daff, v. t. To daunt. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

Daf"fo*dil (dăf"f&osl;*d&ibreve;l), n. [OE. affodylle, prop., the asphodel, fr. LL. affodillus (cf. D. affodille or OF. asphodile, aphodille, F. asphodèle), L. asphodelus, fr. Gr. 'asfo`delos. 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 damask roses and daffadillies 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 (d&adot;ft), a. [OE. daft, deft, deft, stupid; prob. the same word as E. deft. See Deft.] 1. Stupid; foolish; idiotic; also, delirious; insane; as, he has gone daft.

Let us think no more of this daft business
Sir W. Scott.

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

Daft"ness, n. The quality of being daft.

Dag (dăg), n. [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.) The unbranched antler of a young deer.

Dag, n. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. dagg, Icel. dögg. √71. See Dew.] A misty shower; dew. [Obs.]

Dag, n. [OE. dagge (cf. Dagger); or cf. AS. dāg what is dangling.] A loose end; a dangling shred.

Daglocks, clotted locks hanging in dags or jags at a sheep's tail.
Wedgwood.

Dag, v. t. [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, v. i. To be misty; to drizzle. [Prov. Eng.]

Dag"ger (-g&etilde;r), n. [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.) 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.

Dag"ger, v. t. To pierce with a dagger; to stab. [Obs.]

Dag"ger, n. [Perh. from diagonal.] A timber placed diagonally in a ship's frame. Knight.

Dagges (dăgz), n. pl. [OE. See Dag a loose end.] An ornamental cutting of the edges of garments, introduced about a. d. 1346, according to the Chronicles of St Albans. [Obs.] Halliwell.

Dag"gle (dăg"g'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daggled (-g'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Daggling (-gl&ibreve;ng).] [Freq. of dag, v. t., 1.] 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.

Dag"gle, v. i. 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.

{ Dag"gle-tail` (dăg"g'l-tāl`), Dag"gle- tailed` (-tāld`), } a. Having the lower ends of garments defiled by trailing in mire or filth; draggle- tailed.

Dag"gle-tail` (-tāl`), n. A slovenly woman; a slattern; a draggle-tail.

Dag"lock` (-l&obreve;k`), n. [Dag a loose end + lock.] A dirty or clotted lock of wool on a sheep; a taglock.

Da"go (dā"g&osl;), n.; pl. Dagos (-gōz). [Cf. Sp. Diego, E. James.] A nickname given to a person of Spanish (or, by extension, Portuguese or Italian) descent. [U. S.]

||Da*go"ba (d&adot;*gō"b&adot;), n. [Singhalese dāgoba.] A dome- shaped structure built over relics of Buddha or some Buddhist saint. [East Indies]

Da"gon (dā"g&obreve;n), [Heb. Dāgon, fr. dag a fish: cf. Gr. Dagw`n.] 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.

Dag"on (dăg"&obreve;n), n. [See Dag a loose end.] A slip or piece. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dag"swain` (?), n. [From Dag a loose end?] A coarse woolen fabric made of daglocks, or the refuse of wool. "Under coverlets made of dagswain." Holinshed.

Dag"-tailed` (?), a. [Dag a loose end + tail.] Daggle-tailed; having the tail clogged with daglocks. "Dag-tailed sheep." Bp. Hall.

{ Da*guer"re*an (d&adot;*g&ebreve;r"&ibreve;*an), Da*guerre"i*an (?), } a. Pertaining to Daguerre, or to his invention of the daguerreotype.

Da*guerre"o*type (d&adot;*g&ebreve;r"&osl;*tīp), n. [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.

Da*guerre"o*type (d&adot;*g&ebreve;r"&osl;*tīp), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daguerreotyped (-tīpt); p. pr. & vb. n. Daguerreotyping (-tī`p&ibreve;ng).] 1. To produce or represent by the daguerreotype process, as a picture.

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

{ Da*guerre"o*ty`per (?), Da*guerre"o*ty`pist (?), } n. One who takes daguerreotypes.

Da*guerre"o*ty`py (?), n. The art or process of producing pictures by method of Daguerre.

||Da`ha*be"ah (dä`h&adot;*bē"&adot;), n. [Ar.] A Nile boat constructed on the model of a floating house, having large lateen sails.

Dah"lia (däl"y&adot; or dāl"y&adot;; 277, 106), n.; pl. Dahlias (#). [Named after Andrew Dahl a Swedish botanist.] (Bot.) 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.

Dah"lin (dä"l&ibreve;n), n. [From Dahlia.] (Chem.) A variety of starch extracted from the dahlia; -- called also inulin. See Inulin.

Dai"li*ness (?), n. Daily occurence. [R.]

Dai"ly (dā"l&ybreve;), a. [AS. dæglīc; dæg day + -līc like. See Day.] 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.

Dai"ly, n.; pl. Dailies (&?;). A publication which appears regularly every day; as, the morning dailies.

Dai"ly, adv. Every day; day by day; as, a thing happens daily.

Dai"mi*o (?), n.; pl. Daimios (#). [Jap., fr. Chin. tai ming great name.] The title of the feudal nobles of Japan.

The daimios, or territorial nobles, resided in Yedo and were divided into four classes.
Am. Cyc.

Daint (?), n. [See Dainty, n.] Something of exquisite taste; a dainty. [Obs.] -- a. Dainty. [Obs.]

To cherish him with diets daint.
Spenser.

Dain"ti*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daintified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Daintifying.] [Dainty + -fy.] To render dainty, delicate, or fastidious. "Daintified emotion." Sat. rev.

Dain"ti*ly, adv. In a dainty manner; nicely; scrupulously; fastidiously; deliciously; prettily.

Dain"ti*ness, n. 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.

Dain"trel (?), n. [From daint or dainty; cf. OF. daintier.] Adelicacy. [Obs.] Halliwell.

Dain"ty (?), n.; pl. Dainties (#). [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.

Dain"ty, a. [Compar. Daintier (?); superl. Daintiest.] 1. Rare; valuable; costly. [Obs.]

Full many a deynté horse had he in stable.
Chaucer.

&fist; 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.

I would be the girdle.
About her dainty, dainty waist.
Tennyson.

4. Requiring dainties. Hence: Overnice; hard to please; fastidious; squeamish; scrupulous; 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.

Dai"ry (dā"r&ybreve;), n.; pl. Dairies (-r&ibreve;z). [OE. deierie, from deie, daie, maid; of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. deigja maid, dairymaid, Sw. deja, orig., a baking maid, fr. Icel. deig. √66. See 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.]

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

Dai"ry*ing, n. The business of conducting a dairy.

Dai"ry*maid` (?), n. A female servant whose business is the care of the dairy.

Dai"ry*man (?), n.; pl. Dairymen (&?;). A man who keeps or takes care of a dairy.

Dai"ry*wom`an (?), n.; pl. Dairywomen (&?;). A woman who attends to a dairy.

Da"is (dā"&ibreve;s), n. [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.

Dai"sied (?), a. Full of daisies; adorned with daisies. "The daisied green." Langhorne.

The grass all deep and daisied.
G. Eliot.

Dai"sy (-z&ybreve;), n.; pl. Daisies (-z&ibreve;z). [OE. dayesye, AS. dæges-eáge 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. perennis, 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.

&fist; 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 (d&add;k or däk), n. [Hind. &dsdot;āk.] 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 end of a dak stage. -- To travel by dak, to travel by relays of palanquins or other carriage, as fast as the post along a road.

{ Da"ker (?), Da"kir (?), } n. [See Dicker.] (O. Eng. & Scots Law) 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.

Da"ker hen` (?). [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.) The corncrake or land rail.

Da*koit", n., Da*koit"y, n. See Dacoit, Dacoity.

Da*ko"ta group` (?). (Geol.) A subdivision at the base of the cretaceous formation in Western North America; -- so named from the region where the strata were first studied.

Da*ko"tas (?), n. pl.; sing. Dacota (&?;). (Ethnol.) 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 (?), n. [Hind.] Split pulse, esp. of Cajanus Indicus. [East Indies]

Dale (?), n. [AS. dæl; akin to LG., D., Sw., Dan., OS., & Goth. dal, Icel. dalr, OHG. tal, G. thal, and perh. to Gr. qo`los a rotunda, Skr. dhāra depth. Cf. Dell.] 1. A low place between hills; a vale or valley.

Where mountaines rise, umbrageous dales descend.
Thomson.

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

Dales"man (?), n.; pl. Dalesmen (&?;). One living in a dale; -- a term applied particularly to the inhabitants of the valleys in the north of England, Norway, etc. Macaulay.

Dalf (?), imp. of Delve. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dal"li*ance (?), n. [From Dally.] 1. The act of dallying, trifling, or fondling; interchange of caresses; wanton play.

Look thou be true, do not give dalliance
Too much the rein.
Shak.

O, the dalliance and the wit,
The flattery and the strife!
Tennyson.

2. Delay or procrastination. Shak.

3. Entertaining discourse. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dal"li*er (?), n. One who fondles; a trifler; as, dalliers with pleasant words. Asham.

Dal"lop (dăl"l&obreve;p), n. [Etymol. unknown.] A tuft or clump. [Obs.] Tusser.

Dal"ly (-l&ybreve;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dallied (-l&ibreve;d); p. pr. & vb. n. Dallying.] [OE. dalien, 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.

Dal"ly, v. t. To delay unnecessarily; to while away.

Dallying off the time with often skirmishes.
Knolles.

||Dal*ma"ni*a (?), n. [From Dalman, the geologist.] (Paleon.) A genus of trilobites, of many species, common in the Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks.

||Dal`ma*ni"tes (?), n. Same as Dalmania.

Dal*ma"tian (?), a. 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.

Dal*mat"i*ca (?), n., Dal*mat"ic (&?;), n. [LL. dalmatica: cf. F. dalmatique.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) 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` se"gno (?). [It., from the sign.] (Mus.) A direction to go back to the sign &?; and repeat from thence to the close. See Segno.

Dal*to"ni*an (?), n. One afflicted with color blindness.

Dal"ton*ism (?), n. 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 (dăm), n. [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 and down,
Looking the way her harmless young one went.
Shak.

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

Dam, n. [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.) 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dammed (dămd); 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.

Dam"age (dăm"&asl;j; 48), n. [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) 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.

&fist; In common-law actions, 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.

Dam"age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Damaged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Damaging (?).] [Cf. OF. damagier, domagier. See Damage, n.] To occasion damage to the soundness, 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.

Dam"age (dăm"&asl;j), v. i. To receive damage or harm; to be injured or impaired in soundness or value; as, some colors in cloth damage in sunlight.

Dam"age*a*ble (?), a. [Cf. OF. damageable, F. dommageable 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 damageable unto your royal majesty.
Hakluyt.

Dam"age fea`sant (?). [OF. damage + F. faisant doing, p. pr. See Feasible.] (Law) Doing injury; trespassing, as cattle. Blackstone.

Da"man (dä"m&adot;n), n. (Zoöl.) 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.

Dam"ar (?), n. See Dammar.

Dam"as*cene (dăm"as*sēn), a. [L. Damascenus of Damascus, fr. Damascus the city, Gr. Damasko`s. See Damask, and cf. Damaskeen, Damaskin, Damson.] Of or relating to Damascus.

Dam"as*cene (dăm"as*sēn), n. A kind of plum, now called damson. See Damson.

Dam`as*cene" (dăm`as*sēn"), v. t. Same as Damask, or Damaskeen, v. t. "Damascened armor." Beaconsfield. "Cast and damascened steel." Ure.

Da*mas"cus (?), n. [L.] 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 damask appearance. -- Damascus steel. See Damask steel, under Damask, a.

Dam"ask (dăm"ask), n. [From the city Damascus, L. Damascus, Gr. Damasko`s, 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.

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.

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

{ Dam"as*keen` (?), Dam"as*ken (?), } v. t. [F. damaschinare. See Damascene, v.] 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.

Dam"as*kin (?), n. [Cf. F. damasquin, adj., It. damaschino, Sp. damasquino. See Damaskeen.] A sword of Damask steel.

No old Toledo blades or damaskins.
Howell (1641).

Da*mas*sé" (?), a. [F. damassé, fr. damas. See Damask.] Woven like damask. -- n. A damassé fabric, esp. one of linen.

Dam"as*sin (dăm"as*s&ibreve;n), n. [F., fr. damas. See Damask.] A kind of modified damask or brocade.

Dam"bo*nite (-b&osl;*nīt), n. [Cf. F. dambonite.] (Chem.) A white, crystalline, sugary substance obtained from an African caoutchouc.

Dam"bose (dăm"bōs), n. (Chem.) A crystalline variety of fruit sugar obtained from dambonite.

Dame (dām), n. [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 a mother, Dan, Danger, Dungeon, Dominie, Don, n., Duenna.] 1. A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a woman 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.

Dame"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A cruciferrous plant (Hesperis matronalis), remarkable for its fragrance, especially toward the close of the day; -- called also rocket and dame's violet. Loudon.

Da`mi*a"na (?), n. [NL.; of uncertain origin.] (Med.) A Mexican drug, used as an aphrodisiac.

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

Da"mi*an*ist (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Damian, patriarch of Alexandria in the 6th century, who held heretical opinions on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

{ Dam"mar (?), Dam"ma*ra (?), } n. [Jav. & Malay. damar.] 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 orientalis, or Dammara orientalis), yielding dammar.

Dam"ma*ra, n. (Bot.) A large tree of the order Coniferæ, indigenous to the East Indies and Australasia; -- called also Agathis. There are several species.

Damn (dăm), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Damned (dămd or dăm"n&ebreve;d); p. pr. & vb. n. Damning (dăm"&ibreve;ng or dăm"n&ibreve;ng).] [OE. damnen dampnen (with excrescent p), 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 censure.

He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him.
Shak.

2. (Theol.) 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.

&fist; Damn is sometimes used interjectionally, imperatively, and intensively.

Damn, v. i. To invoke damnation; to curse. "While I inwardly damn." Goldsmith.

Dam`na*bil"i*ty (?), n. The quality of being damnable; damnableness. Sir T. More.

Dam"na*ble (?), a. [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 death,
And to transport him in the mind he is,
Were damnable.
Shak.

2. Odious; pernicious; detestable.

Begin, murderer; . . . leave thy damnable faces.
Shak.

Dam"na*ble*ness, n. The state or quality of deserving damnation; execrableness.

The damnableness of this most execrable impiety.
Prynne.

Dam"na*bly, adv. 1. In a manner to incur severe censure, condemnation, or punishment.

2. Odiously; detestably; excessively. [Low]

Dam*na"tion (?), n. [F. damnation, L. damnatio, fr. damnare. See Damn.] 1. The state of being damned; condemnation; openly expressed disapprobation.

2. (Theol.) 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 deserving of everlasting punishment. [R.]

The deep damnation of his taking- off.
Shak.

Dam"na*to*ry (dăm"n&adot;*t&osl;*r&ybreve;), a. [L. damnatorius, fr. damnator a condemner.] Dooming to damnation; condemnatory. "Damnatory invectives." Hallam.

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.

Dam*nif"ic (?), a. [L. damnificus; damnum damage, loss + facere to make. See Damn.] Procuring or causing loss; mischievous; injurious.

Dam`ni*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [LL. damnificatio.] That which causes damage or loss.

Dam"ni*fy (dăm"n&ibreve;*fī), v. t. [LL. damnificare, fr. L. damnificus: cf. OF. damnefier. See Damnific.] To cause loss or damage to; to injure; to impair. [R.]

This work will ask as many more officials to make expurgations and expunctions, that the commonwealth of learning be not damnified.
Milton.

Damn"ing (?), a. That damns; damnable; as, damning evidence of guilt.

Damn"ing*ness, n. Tendency to bring damnation. "The damningness of them [sins]." Hammond.

||dam"num (?), n. [L.] (law) Harm; detriment, either to character or property.

{ Dam"o*sel (dăm"&osl;*z&ebreve;l), Dam`o*sel"la (-z&ebreve;l"l&adot;), ||Da`moi`selle" (d&adot;`mwä`z&ebreve;l") }, n. See Damsel. [Archaic]

Dam"our*ite (dăm"&oocr;*īt), n. [Ater the French chemist Damour.] (Min.) A kind of Muscovite, or potash mica, containing water.

Damp (dămp), n. [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) A gaseous product, formed in coal mines, old wells, pints, etc.

Choke damp, a damp consisting principally of carbonic acid gas; -- so called from its extinguishing flame and animal life. See Carbonic 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 (?), 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, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Damped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Damping.] [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.

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.

Damp"en, v. i. To become damp; to deaden. Byron.

Damp"er (?), n. 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.

Damp"ish (?), a. Moderately damp or moist.

-- Damp"ish*ly, adv. -- Damp"ish*ness, n.

Damp"ne (?), v. t. To damn. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Damp"ness, n. Moderate humidity; moisture; fogginess; moistness.

Damp" off` (?). To decay and perish through excessive moisture.

Damp"y (?), a. 1. Somewhat damp. [Obs.] Drayton.

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

Dam"sel (?), n. [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 girl; a maiden.

With her train of damsels she was gone,
In shady walks the scorching heat to shun.
Dryden.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, . . .
Goes by to towered Camelot.
Tennyson.

3. (Milling) An attachment to a millstone spindle for shaking the hopper.

Dam"son (dăm"z'n), n. [OE. damasin the Damascus plum, fr. L. Damascenus. See Damascene.] A small oval plum of a blue color, the fruit of a variety of the Prunus domestica; -- called also damask plum.

Dan (?), n. [OE. dan, danz, OF. danz (prop. only nom.), dan, master, fr. L. dominus. See Dame.] 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, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Mining) A small truck or sledge used in coal mines.

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

Da"na*ite (?), n. [Named after J. Freeman Dana.] (Min.) A cobaltiferous variety of arsenopyrite.

Da"na*lite (?), n. [Named after James Dwight Dana.] (Min.) A mineral occuring in octahedral crystals, also massive, of a reddish color. It is a silicate of iron, zinc manganese, and glucinum, containing sulphur.

Dan"bu*rite (?), n. (Min.) A borosilicate of lime, first found at Danbury, Conn. It is near the topaz in form. Dana.

Dance (d&adot;ns), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Danced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dancing.] [F. danser, fr. OHG. dansōn 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 rhythmically.

Jack shall pipe and Gill shall dance.
Wither.

Good shepherd, what fair swain is this
Which dances with your daughter?
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 (?), v. t. 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, n. [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.) A tune by which dancing is regulated, as the minuet, the waltz, the cotillon, etc.

&fist; 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.

Dan"cer (?), n. 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.

Dan"cer*ess, n. A female dancer. [Obs.] Wyclif.

Dan`cet`té" (?), a. [Cf. F. danché dancetté, dent tooth.] (Her.) Deeply indented; having large teeth; thus, a fess dancetté has only three teeth in the whole width of the escutcheon.

Dan"cing (?), p. a. & vb. n. 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.

Dan"cy (?), a. (Her.) Same as Dancetté.

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

Dan"der (?), n. [Corrupted from dandruff.] 1. Dandruff or scurf on the head.

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

Dan"der, v. i. [See Dandle.] To wander about; to saunter; to talk incoherently. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

||Dan"di (?), n. [Hind. &dsdot;ān&dsdot;i, fr. &dsdot;ān&dsdot; an oar.] A boatman; an oarsman. [India]

Dan"die (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of a breed of small terriers; -- called also Dandie Dinmont.

Dan"di*fied (?), a. Made up like a dandy; having the dress or manners of a dandy; buckish.

Dan"di*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dandified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dandifying.] [Dandy + -fy.] To cause to resemble a dandy; to make dandyish.

Dan"di*prat (?), n. [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.

Dan"dle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dandled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dandling (?).] [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.

Dan"dler (dăn"dl&etilde;r), n. One who dandles or fondles.

Dan"driff (dăn"dr&ibreve;f), n. See Dandruff. Swift.

Dandruff (dăn"drŭf), n. [Prob. from W. toncrust, peel, skin + AS. drōf dirty, draffy, or W. drwg bad: cf. AS. tan a letter, an eruption. √240.] A scurf which forms on the head, and comes off in small scales or particles. [Written also dandriff.]

Dan"dy (dăn"d&ybreve;), n.; pl. Dandies (-d&ibreve;z). [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.

Dan"dy-cock` (&?;), n. masc., Dan"dy-hen` (&?;), n. fem. [See Dandy.] A bantam fowl.

Dan"dy*ish, a. Like a dandy.

Dan"dy*ism (?), n. The manners and dress of a dandy; foppishness. Byron.

Dan"dy*ize (?), v. t. & i. To make, or to act, like a dandy; to dandify.

Dan"dy*ling (?), n. [Dandy + -ling.] A little or insignificant dandy; a contemptible fop.

Dane (?), n. [LL. Dani: cf. AS. Dene.] A native, or a naturalized inhabitant, of Denmark.

Great Dane. (Zoöl.) See Danish dog, under Danish.

{ Dane"geld` (?), Dane"gelt` (?) }, n. [AS. danegeld. See Dane, and Geld, n.] (Eng. Hist.) 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.

Dane"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A fetid European species of elder (Sambucus Ebulus); dwarf elder; wallwort; elderwort; -- called also Daneweed, Dane's weed, and Dane's-blood. [Said to grow on spots where battles were fought against the Danes.]

Dang (?), imp. of Ding. [Obs.]

Dang, v. t. [Cf. Ding.] To dash. [Obs.]

Till she, o'ercome with anguish, shame, and rage,
Danged down to hell her loathsome carriage.
Marlowe.

Dan"ger (?), n. [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.

Dan"ger, v. t. To endanger. [Obs.] Shak.

Dan"ger*ful (?), a. Full of danger; dangerous. [Obs.] -- Dan"ger*ful*ly, adv. [Obs.] Udall.

Dan"ger*less, a. Free from danger. [R.]

Dan"ger*ous (?), a. [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.

Dan"gle (dă&nsm;"g'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dangled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dangling (?).] [Akin to Dan. dangle, dial. Sw. dangla, Dan. dingle, Sw. dingla, Icel. dingla; perh. from E. ding.] 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.

Dan"gle (?), v. t. 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.

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

Dan"gler (?), n. One who dangles about or after others, especially after women; a trifler. " Danglers at toilets." Burke.

Dan"i*el (?), n. A Hebrew prophet distinguished for sagacity and ripeness of judgment in youth; hence, a sagacious and upright judge.

A Daniel come to judgment.
Shak.

Dan"ish (?), a. [See Dane.] Belonging to the Danes, or to their language or country. - - n. 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.

Dan"ite (?), n. 1. A descendant of Dan; an Israelite of the tribe of Dan. Judges xiii. 2.

2. [So called in remembrance of the prophecy in Gen. xlix. 17, "Dan shall be a serpent by the way," etc.] One of a secret association of Mormons, bound by an oath to obey the heads of the church in all things. [U. S.]

Dank (?), a. [Cf. dial, Sw. dank a moist place in a field, Icel. dökk pit, pool; possibly akin to E. damp or to daggle dew.] Damp; moist; humid; wet.

Now that the fields are dank and ways are mire.
Milton.

Cheerless watches on the cold, dank ground.
Trench.

Dank, n. Moisture; humidity; water. [Obs.]

Dank, n. A small silver coin current in Persia.

Dank"ish, a. Somewhat dank. -- Dank"ish*ness, n.

In a dark and dankish vault at home.
Shak.

Dan"ne*brog (?), n. The ancient battle standard of Denmark, bearing figures of cross and crown.

Order of Dannebrog, an ancient Danish order of knighthood.

||Dan`seuse" (?), n. [F., fr. danser to dance.] A professional female dancer; a woman who dances at a public exhibition as in a ballet.

Dansk (?), a. [Dan.] Danish. [Obs.]

Dansk"er (?), n. A Dane. [Obs.]

Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris.
Shak.

Dan*te"an (?), a. Relating to, emanating from or resembling, the poet Dante or his writings.

Dan*tesque" (?), a. [Cf. It. Dantesco.] Dantelike; Dantean. Earle.

Da*nu"bi*an (?), a. Pertaining to, or bordering on, the river Danube.

Dap (dăp), v. i. [Cf. Dip.] (Angling) To drop the bait gently on the surface of the water.

To catch a club by dapping with a grasshoper.
Walton.

Da*pat"ic*al (?), a. [L. dapaticus, fr. daps feast.] Sumptuous in cheer. [Obs.] Bailey.

Daph"ne (?), n. [L., a laurel tree, from Gr. da`fnh.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of diminutive Shrubs, mostly evergreen, and with fragrant blossoms.

2. (Myth.) A nymph of Diana, fabled to have been changed into a laurel tree.

Daph"ne*tin (?), n. (Chem.) A colorless crystalline substance, C9H6O4, extracted from daphnin.

||Daph"ni*a (?), n. [NL.] (Zoöl.) A genus of the genus Daphnia.

Daph"nin (?), n. [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.

Daph"no*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. da`fnh the laurel + -mancy.] Divination by means of the laurel.

||Dap"i*fer (?), n. [L., daps a feast + ferre to bear.] 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.

Dap"per (?), a. [OE. daper; prob. fr. D. dapper brave, valiant; akin to G. tapfer brave, OHG. taphar heavy, weighty, OSlav. dobrŭ good, Russ. dobrui. Cf. Deft.] 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.

Dap"per*ling (?), n. A dwarf; a dandiprat. [r.]

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

{ Dap"ple (?), Dap"pled (?) }, a. 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.

&fist; 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.

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

Dar"bies (?), n. pl. Manacles; handcuffs. [Cant]

Jem Clink will fetch you the darbies.
Sir W. Scott.

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

Dar"by (?), n. A plasterer's float, having two handles; -- used in smoothing ceilings, etc.

Dar"by*ite (?), n. One of the Plymouth Brethren, or of a sect among them; -- so called from John N. Darby, one of the leaders of the Brethren.

Dar*da"ni*an (?), a. & n.[From L. Dardania, poetic name of Troy.] Trojan.

Dare (?), v. i. [imp. Durst (?) or Dared (&?;); p. p. Dared; p. pr. & vb. n. Daring.] [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. √70.] 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&?;yd.).

&fist; 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 not deceive me.
Shak.

Here boldly spread thy hands, no venom'd weed
Dares blister them, no slimy snail dare creep.
Beau. & Fl.

&fist; Formerly durst was also used as the present. Sometimes the old form dare is found for durst or dared.

Dare, v. t. [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, 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, v. i. [OE. darien, to lie hidden, be timid.] To lurk; to lie hid. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dare, v. t. 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, n. [See Dace.] (Zoöl.) A small fish; the dace.

Dare"-dev`il (?), n. A reckless fellow. Also used adjectively; as, dare-devil excitement.

A humorous dare-devil -- the very man
To suit my prpose.
Ld. Lytton.

Dare"-dev`il*try (?), n; pl. Dare-deviltries (&?;). Reckless mischief; the action of a dare-devil.

Dare"ful (?), a. Full of daring or of defiance; adventurous. [R.] Shak.

Dar"er (?), n. One who dares or defies.

{ Darg, Dargue (?) }, n. [Scot., contr. fr. day work.] A day's work; also, a fixed amount of work, whether more or less than that of a day. [Local, Eng. & Scot.]

Dar"ic (dăr"&ibreve;k), n. [Gr. dareiko`s, of Persian origin.] 1. (Antiq.) (a) A gold coin of ancient Persia, weighing usually a little more than 128 grains, and bearing on one side 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.

Dar"ing (?), n. Boldness; fearlessness; adventurousness; also, a daring act.

Dar"ing, a. Bold; fearless; adventurous; as, daring spirits. -- Dar"ing*ly, adv. -- Dar"ing*ness, n.

Dark (därk), a. [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,
Irrecoverably 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 seen through; obscure; mysterious; hidden.

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 wherein he lived was dark, but he
Could not want light who taught the world to see.
Denhan.

The tenth century used to be reckoned by mediæval historians as the darkest part of this intellectual night.
Hallam.

4. Evincing black 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.

&fist; 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 (?), 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 much in the dark, and as void of knowledge, as before.
Locke.

3. (Fine Arts) 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, v. t. To darken; to obscure. [Obs.] Milton.

Dark"en (därk"'n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Darkened (-'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Darkening (-n*&ibreve;ng).] [AS. deorcian. See Dark, a.] 1. To make dark or black; to deprive 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.

Dark"en, v. i. To grow or darker.

Dark"en*er (?), n. One who, or that which, darkens.

Dark"en*ing, n. Twilight; gloaming. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Wright.

Dark"ful (?), a. Full of darkness. [Obs.]

Dark"ish (?), a. Somewhat dark; dusky.

Dar"kle (?), v. i. [Freq. of dark.] To grow dark; to show indistinctly. Thackeray.

Dark"ling (?), adv. [Dark + the adverbial suffix -ling.] In the dark. [Poetic]

So, out went the candle, and we were left darkling.
Shak.

As the wakeful bird
Sings darkling.
Milton.

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.

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.

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.

Dark"some (?), a. Dark; gloomy; obscure; shaded; cheerless. [Poetic]

He brought him through a darksome narrow pass
To a broad gate, all built of beaten gold.
Spenser.

Dark"y (?), n. A negro. [Sleng]

Dar"ling (?), n. [OE. derling, deorling, AS. deórling; deóre dear + -ling. See Dear, and -ling.] One dearly beloved; a favorite.

And can do naught but wail her darling's loss.
Shak.

Dar"ling, a. Dearly beloved; regarded with especial kindness and tenderness; favorite. "Some darling science." I. Watts. "Darling sin." Macaulay.

||Dar`ling*to"ni*a (?), n. [NL. Named after Dr. William Darlington, a botanist of West Chester, Penn.] (Bot.) 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 (därn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Darned (därnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Darning.] [OE. derne, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. darnio to piece, break in pieces, W. & Arm. to E. tear. Cf. Tear, v. t.] 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 stockings.
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. [In this sense, usually written with a hyphen.] Called also devil's darning- needle.

Darn, n. A place mended by darning.

Darn, v. t. A colloquial euphemism for Damn.

Dar"nel (?), n. [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.) 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.

&fist; Under darnel our early herbalists comprehended all kinds of cornfield weeds. Dr. Prior.

Darn"er (?), n. One who mends by darning.

{ Dar"nex (?), Dar"nic (?), } n. Same as Dornick.

||Da*roo" (d&adot;*r&oomac;"), n. (Bot.) The Egyptian sycamore (Ficus Sycamorus). See Sycamore.

Darr (dăr), n. (Zoöl.) The European black tern.

{ Dar"raign, Dar"rain, } (?), v. t. [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 .

Dar"rein, a. [OF. darrein, darrain, fr. an assumed LL. deretranus; L. de + retro back, backward.] (Law) Last; as, darrein continuance, the last continuance.

Dart (?), n. [OF. dart, of German origin; cf. OHG. tart javelin, dart, AS. dara&?;, daro&?;, Sw. dart dagger, Icel. darra&?;r 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.) 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, 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, 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.

Dar"tars (?), n. [F. dartre eruption, dandruff. √240.] A kind of scab or ulceration on the skin of lambs.

Dart"er (?), n. 1. One who darts, or who throw darts; that which darts.

2. (Zoöl.) 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.) A small fresh-water etheostomoid fish. The group includes numerous genera and species, all of them American. See Etheostomoid.

Dart"ing*ly (?), adv. Like a dart; rapidly.

Dar"tle (?), v. t. & i. To pierce or shoot through; to dart repeatedly: -- frequentative of dart.

My star that dartles the red and the blue.
R. Browning.

Dar*to"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the dartos.

Dar"toid (?), a. [Dartos + - oid.] (Anat.) Like the dartos; dartoic; as, dartoid tissue.

||Dar"tos (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; flayed.] (Anat.) A thin layer of peculiar contractile tissue directly beneath the skin of the scrotum.

Dar"trous (?), a. [F. dartreux. See Dartars.] (Med.) Relating to, or partaking of the nature of, the disease called tetter; herpetic.

Dartrous diathesis, A morbid condition of the system predisposing to the development of certain skin diseases, such as eczema, psoriasis, and pityriasis. Also called rheumic diathesis, and herpetism. Piffard.

Dar*win"i*an (?), a. [From the name of Charles Darwin, an English scientist.] 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.

&fist; 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 to survive. This is the theory of natural selection or the survival of the fittest. He also argues that natural selection is capable of modifying and producing organisms fit for their circumstances. See Development theory, under Development.

Dar*win"i*an, n. An advocate of Darwinism.

Dar*win"i*an*ism (?), n. Darwinism.

Dar"win*ism (?), n. (Biol.) The theory or doctrines put forth by Darwin. See above. Huxley.

Dase (dāz), v. t. See Daze. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dase"we (?), v. i. [OE. dasewen, daswen; cf. AS. dysegian to be foolish.] To become dim-sighted; to become dazed or dazzled. [Obs.] Chauscer.

Dash (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dashed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dashing.] [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 gamester in his gilded car.
Pope.

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, v. i. To rush 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, 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) 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 [&?;] denoting that the note over which it is placed is to be performed in a short, distinct manner. (b) The line drawn through a figure in the thorough bass, as a direction to raise the interval a semitone.

9. (Racing) A short, spirited effort or trial of speed upon a race course; -- used in horse racing, when a single trial constitutes the race.

Dash"board` (dăsh"bōrd`), n. 1. A board placed on the fore part of a carriage, sleigh, or other vehicle, 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.

Dash"er (dăsh"&etilde;r), 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]

Dash"ing, a. Bold; spirited; showy.

The dashing and daring spirit is preferable to the listless.
T. Campbell.

Dash"ing*ly, adv. Conspicuously; showily. [Colloq.]

A dashingly dressed gentleman.
Hawthorne.

Dash"ism (-&ibreve;z'm), n. 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.

Dash"pot` (?), n. (Mach.) A pneumatic or hydraulic cushion for a falling weight, as in the valve gear of a steam engine, to prevent shock.

&fist; 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.

A cataract of an engine is sometimes called a dashpot.

Dash"y (?), a. [From Dash.] Calculated to arrest attention; ostentatiously fashionable; showy. [Colloq.]

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

Das"tard, a. Meanly shrinking from danger; cowardly; dastardly. "Their dastard souls." Addison.

Das"tard, v. t. To dastardize. [R.] Dryden.

Das"tard*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dastardized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dastardizing.] To make cowardly; to intimidate; to dispirit; as, to dastardize my courage. Dryden.

Das"tard*li*ness (?), n. The quality of being dastardly; cowardice; base fear.

Das"tard*ly, a. Meanly timid; cowardly; base; as, a dastardly outrage.

Das"tard*ness, n. Dastardliness.

Das"tard*y (?), n. Base timidity; cowardliness.

Das"we (?), v. i. See Dasewe [Obs.] Chaucer.

Da*sym"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. dasy`s rough, thick + -meter.] (Physics) 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.

Das`y*pæ"dal (?), a. (Zoöl.) Dasypædic.

||Das`y*pæ"des (?), n. pl. [NL., from Gr. dasy`s hairy, shaggy + &?;, &?;, a child.] (Zoöl.) Those birds whose young are covered with down when hatched.

Das`y*pæ"dic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the Dasypædes; ptilopædic.

Das"y*ure (dăs"&ibreve;*ūr), n. [Gr. dasy`s thick, shaggy + o'yra` tail: cf. F. dasyure.] (Zoöl.) A carnivorous marsupial quadruped of Australia, belonging to the genus Dasyurus. There are several species.

Das`y*u"rine (?), a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to, or like, the dasyures.

||Da"ta (?), n. pl. [L. pl. of datum.] See Datum.

Dat"a*ble (?), a. That may be dated; having a known or ascertainable date. "Datable almost to a year." The Century.

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

Da"ta*ry (?), n. [LL. datarius. See Dataria.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) An officer in the pope's court, having charge of the Dataria.

2. The office or employment of a datary.

Date, n.[F. datte, L. dactylus, fr. Gr. &?;, prob. not the same word as da`ktylos finger, but of Semitic origin.] (Bot.) The fruit of the date palm; also, the date palm itself.

&fist; 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 Phœnix 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 (?), n. [F. date, LL. data, fr. L. datus given, p. p. of dare to give; akin to Gr. &?;, OSlaw. dati, Skr. dā. 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dated; p. pr. & vb. n. Dating.] [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.

&fist; 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, v. i. 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.

Date"less, a. Without date; having no fixed time.

Dat"er (?), n. One who dates.

Da*tis"cin (?), n. (Chem.) A white crystalline glucoside extracted from the bastard hemp (Datisca cannabina).

Da"tive (?), a. [L. dativus appropriate to giving, fr. dare to give. See 2d Date.] 1. (Gram.) 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.

Da"tive, n. [L. dativus.] The dative case. See Dative, a., 1.

Da"tive*ly, adv. As a gift. [R.]

Dat"o*lite (?), n. [From. Gr. &?; to divide + -lite; in allusion to the granular structure of a massive variety.] (Min.) A borosilicate of lime commonly occuring in glassy,, greenish crystals. [Written also datholite.]

||Da"tum (?), n.; pl. Data (#). [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.) 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.

||Da*tu"ra (?), n. [NL.; cf. Skr. dhattūra, Per. & Ar. tatūra, Tatūla.] (Bot.) A genus of solanaceous plants, with large funnel-shaped flowers and a four-celled, capsular fruit.

&fist; 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.

Da*tu"rine (?), n. [From Datura.] (Chem.) Atropine; -- called also daturia and daturina.

Daub (d&add;b), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daubed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Daubing.] [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 (?), v. i. To smear; to play the flatterer.

His conscience . . . will not daub nor flatter.
South.

Daub, n. 1. A viscous, sticky application; a spot smeared or daubed; a smear.

2. (Paint.) A picture coarsely executed.

Did you . . . take a look at the grand picture? . . . 'T is a melancholy daub, my lord.
Sterne.

Daub"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, daubs; especially, a coarse, unskillful painter.

2. (Copperplate Print.) A pad or ball of rags, covered over with canvas, for inking plates; a dabber.

3. A low and gross flatterer.

4. (Zoöl.) The mud wasp; the mud dauber.

{ Daub"er*y (?), or Daub"ry (?) }, n. A daubing; specious coloring; false pretenses.

She works by charms, by spells, by the figure, and such daubery as this is.
Shak.

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.

Dau"bree*lite (?), n. [From Daubrée, a French mineralogist.] (Min.) A sulphide of chromium observed in some meteoric irons.

Daub"y (?), a. Smeary; viscous; glutinous; adhesive. "Dauby wax."

Daugh"ter (?), n.; pl. Daughters (#); obs. pl. Daughtren (#). [OE. doughter, doghter, dohter, AS. dohtor, dohter; akin to OS. dohtar, D. dochter, G. tochter, Icel. dōttir, Sw. dotter, Dan. dotter, datter, Goth. daúhtar,, OSlav. dŭshti, Russ. doche, Lith. duktē, Gr. qyga`thr, Zend. dughdhar, Skr. duhit&rsdot;; possibly originally, the milker, cf. Skr. duh to milk. √68, 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 address 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.

Daugh"ter-in-law` (?), n.; pl. Daughters-in-law. The wife of one's son.

Daugh"ter*li*ness (?), n. The state of a daughter, or the conduct becoming a daughter.

Daugh"ter*ly, a. Becoming a daughter; filial.

Sir Thomas liked her natural and dear daughterly affection towards him.
Cavendish.

Dauk (?), v. t. See Dawk, v. t., to cut or gush.

Daun (?), n. A variant of Dan, a title of honor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Daunt (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daunted; p. pr. & vb. n. Daunting.] [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.

Daunt"er (?), n. One who daunts.

Daunt"less, a. 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.

Dau"phin (?), n. [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.] 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.

{ Dau"phin*ess (?), or Dau"phine (?) }, n. The title of the wife of the dauphin.

||Dauw (?), n. [D.] (Zoöl.) The striped quagga, or Burchell's zebra, of South Africa (Asinus Burchellii); -- called also peechi, or peetsi.

Dav"en*port (?), n. [From the name of the original maker. Encyc. Dict.] 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.

Da*vid"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to David, the king and psalmist of Israel, or to his family.

Dav"it (?), n. [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. 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.

Da"vy Jones" (?). 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.

Da"vy lamp` (?). See Safety lamp, under Lamp.

Da"vyne (?), n. [See Davyum.] (Min.) A variety of nephelite from Vesuvius.

Da"vy*um (?), n. [Named after Sir Humphry Davy, the English chemist.] (Chem.) A rare metallic element found in platinum ore. It is a white malleable substance. Symbol Da. Atomic weight 154.

Daw (d&add;), n. [OE. dawe; akin to OHG. tāha, MHG. tāhe, tāhele, G. dohle. Cf. Caddow.] (Zoöl.) A European bird of the Crow family (Corvus monedula), often nesting in church towers and ruins; a jackdaw.

The loud daw, his throat
displaying, draws
The whole assembly of his fellow daws.
Waller.

&fist; 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, v. i. [OE. dawen. See Dawn.] To dawn. [Obs.] See Dawn. Drayton.

Daw, v. t. [Contr. fr. Adaw.] 1. To rouse. [Obs.]

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

Daw"dle (d&add;"d'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dawdled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dawdling (?).] [Cf. Daddle.] 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.

Daw"dle, v. t. To waste by trifling; as, to dawdle away a whole morning.

Daw"dle, n. A dawdler. Colman & Carrick.

Daw"dler (?), n. One who wastes time in trifling employments; an idler; a trifler.

Dawe (?), n. [See Day.] Day. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Daw"ish (?), a. Like a daw.

||Dawk (?), n. See Dak.

Dawk, v. t. [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.] To cut or mark with an incision; to gash. Moxon.

Dawk, n. A hollow, crack, or cut, in timber. Moxon.

Dawn (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dawned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dawning.] [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. √71.] 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, n. 1. The break of day; the first appearance 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.

Daw"son*ite (?), n. [Named after J. W. Dawson of Montreal.] (Min.) A hydrous carbonate of alumina and soda, occuring in white, bladed crustals.

Day (?), n. [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.

&fist; 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.

Day"aks (dī"ăks), n. pl. (Ethnol.) See Dyaks.

Day"book` (dā"b&oocr;k`), n. 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.

Day"break` (dā"brāk`), n. The time of the first appearance of light in the morning.

Day"-coal` (dā"kōl`), n. (Mining) The upper stratum of coal, as nearest the light or surface.

Day"dream` (-drēm`), n. A vain fancy speculation; a reverie; a castle in the air; unfounded hope.

Mrs. Lambert's little daydream was over.
Thackeray.

Day"dream`er (?), n. One given to daydreams.

Day"flow`er (-flou`&etilde;r), n. (Bot.) A genus consisting mostly of tropical perennial herbs (Commelina), having ephemeral flowers.

Day"fly` (dā"flī`), n. (Zoöl.) 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"-la`bor (?), n. Labor hired or performed by the day. Milton.

Day"-la`bor*er (?), n. 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.

Day"light` (-līt), 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. The eyes. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Day" lil`y (l&ibreve;l`&ybreve;). (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.

Day"maid` (-m&amc;d`), n. A dairymaid. [Obs.]

Day"mare` (dā"mâr`), n. [Day + mare incubus.] (Med.) A kind of incubus which occurs during wakefulness, attended by the peculiar pressure on the chest which characterizes nightmare. Dunglison.

Day"-net` (-n&ebreve;t`), n. A net for catching small birds.

Day"-peep` (-pēp`), n. The dawn. [Poetic] Milton.

Days"man (dāz"măn), n. [From day in the sense of day fixed for trial.] An umpire or arbiter; a mediator.

Neither is there any daysman betwixt us.
Job ix. 33.

Day"spring` (dā"spr&ibreve;ng`), n. 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` (-stär`), 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.

Day"time` (-tīm`), n. The time during which there is daylight, as distinguished from the night.

Day"wom`an (-w&oocr;m`an), n. A dairymaid. [Obs.]

Daze (dāz), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dazed (dāzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Dazing.] [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&aemacr;s, dysig, stupid. √71. Cf. Dizzy, Doze.] 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, n. 1. The state of being dazed; as, he was in a daze. [Colloq.]

2. (Mining) A glittering stone.

Daz"zle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dazzled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dazzling (?).] [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.

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.

Daz"zle, n. A light of dazzling brilliancy.

Daz"zle*ment (?), n. Dazzling flash, glare, or burst of light. Donne.

Daz"zling*ly (?), adv. In a dazzling manner.

De- (?). 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.

Dea"con (dē"k'n), n. [OE. diakne, deakne, deken, AS. diacon, deacon, L. diaconus, fr. Gr. &?; a servant or minister, a minister of the church; of uncertain origin. In sense 2 prob. confused with dean.] 1. (Eccl.) 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.]

Dea"con (?), v. t. To read aloud each line of (a psalm or hymn) before singing it, -- usually with off. [Colloq. New. Eng.] See Line, v. t.

&fist; 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.

Dea"con*ess (?), n. (Eccl.) 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.) A woman set apart for church work by a bishop. (c) A woman chosen as a helper in church work, as among the Congregationalists.

Dea"con*hood (?), n. The state of being a deacon; office of a deacon; deaconship.

Dea"con*ry (?), n. See Deaconship.

Dea"con*ship, n. The office or ministry of a deacon or deaconess.

Dead (d&ebreve;d), a. [OE. ded, dead, deed, AS. deád; akin to OS. dōd, D. dood, G. todt, tot, Icel. dauðr, 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) 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.) 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 (?), adv. 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 (d&ebreve;d), 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, v. t. 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, v. i. To die; to lose life or force. [Obs.]

So iron, as soon as it is out of the fire, deadeth straightway.
Bacon.

Dead` beat" (?). See Beat, n., 7. [Low, U.S.]

Dead"beat` (?), a. (Physics) 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.

Dead"born` (?), a. Stillborn. Pope.

Dead"en (d&ebreve;d"'n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deadened (-'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Deadening.] [From Dead; cf. AS. d&?;dan 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.

Dead"en*er (d&ebreve;d"'n*&etilde;r), n. One who, or that which, deadens or checks.

Dead"-eye` (d&ebreve;d"ī`), n. (Naut.) 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.

Dead"head` (?), n. 1. One who receives free tickets for theaters, public conveyances, etc. [Colloq. U. S.]

2. (Naut.) A buoy. See under Dead, a.

Dead"-heart`ed (?), a. Having a dull, faint heart; spiritless; listless. -- Dead"- heart`ed*ness, n. Bp. Hall.

Dead"house` (?), n. A morgue; a place for the temporary reception and exposure of dead bodies.

Dead"ish, a. Somewhat dead, dull, or lifeless; deathlike.

The lips put on a deadish paleness.
A. Stafford.

Dead"latch` (?), n. 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.

Dead"light` (?), n. (Naut.) A strong shutter, made to fit open ports and keep out water in a storm.

Dead"li*hood (?), n. State of the dead. [Obs.]

Dead"li*ness, n. The quality of being deadly.

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.

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.

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.

Dead"ness, n. 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` (?), n. 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"-reck`on*ing (?), n. (Naut.) See under Dead, a.

Deads (?), n. pl. (Mining) The substances which inclose the ore on every side.

Dead"-stroke` (?), a. (Mech.) 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.

Dead"wood` (?), n. 1. (Naut.) A mass of timbers built into the bow and stern of a vessel to give solidity.

2. Dead trees or branches; useless material.

Dead"works` (?), n. pl. (Naut.) The parts of a ship above the water when she is laden.

Deaf (?; 277), a. [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. &?; (for &?;) blind, &?; smoke, vapor, folly, and to G. 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 (?; 277), v. t. To deafen. [Obs.] Dryden.

Deaf"en (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deafened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deafening.] [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.) To render impervious to sound, as a partition or floor, by filling the space within with mortar, by lining with paper, etc.

Deaf"en*ing, n. 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.

Deaf"ly, adv. Without sense of sounds; obscurely.

Deaf"ly, a. Lonely; solitary. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Deaf"-mute` (?), n. 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"-mut`ism (?), n. The condition of being a deaf-mute.

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 (dēl), n. [OE. del, deel, part, AS. d&aemacr;l; akin to OS. dēl, D. & Dan. deel, G. theil, teil, Icel. deild, Sw. del, Goth. dails. √65. Cf. 3d 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.

&fist; 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. [Prob. from D. deel a plank, threshing floor. See Thill.] 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.

&fist; 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dealt (d&ebreve;lt); p. pr. & vb. n. Dealing.] [OE. delen, AS. d&aemacr;lan, fr. d&aemacr;l share; akin to OS. dēlian, 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 it 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, 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.

De*al"bate (?), v. t. [L. dealbatus, p. p. of dealbare. See Daub.] To whiten. [Obs.] Cockeram.

De`al*ba"tion (?), n. [L. dealbatio: cf. F. déalbation.] Act of bleaching; a whitening. [Obs.]

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.

Deal"fish` (?), n. [From deal a long, narrow plank.] (Zoöl.) A long, thin fish of the arctic seas (Trachypterus arcticus).

Deal"ing, n. 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 (?), n. Share dealt. [Obs.]

De*am"bu*late (?), v. i. [L. deambulare, deambulatum; de- + ambulare to walk.] To walk abroad. [Obs.] Cockeram.

De*am`bu*la"tion (?), n. [L. deambulatio.] A walking abroad; a promenading. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.

De*am"bu*la*to*ry (?), a. [Cf. LL. deambulator a traveler.] Going about from place to place; wandering; of or pertaining to a deambulatory. [Obs.] "Deambulatory actors." Bp. Morton.

De*am"bu*la*to*ry, n. [L. deambulatorium.] A covered place in which to walk; an ambulatory.

Dean (?), n. [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.

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.

Dean"ship, n. The office of a dean.

I dont't value your deanship a straw.
Swift.

Dear (dēr), a. [Compar. Dearer (-&etilde;r); superl. Dearest (-&ebreve;st).] [OE. dere, deore, AS. deóre; akin to OS. diuri, D. duur, OHG. tiuri, G. theuer, teuer, Icel. d&ymacr;rr, 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, n. A dear one; lover; sweetheart.

That kiss I carried from thee, dear.
Shak.

Dear, adv. Dearly; at a high price.

If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear.
Shak.

Dear, v. t. To endear. [Obs.] Shelton.

Dear"born (?), n. A four-wheeled carriage, with curtained sides.

Dear"-bought` (?), a. Bought at a high price; as, dear-bought experience.

Deare (?), variant of Dere, v. t. & n. [Obs.]

Dear"ie (?), n. Same as Deary. Dickens.

Dear"ling (?), n. A darling. [Obs.] Spenser.

Dear"-loved` (?), a. Greatly beloved. Shak.

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 (?), a. [AS. derne, dyrne, dierne, hidden, secret. Cf. Derne.] Secret; lonely; solitary; dreadful. [Obs.] Shak. -- Dearn"ly, adv. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dearn, v. t. Same as Darn. [Obs.]

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 (?), n. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.] 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.

De`ar*tic"u*late (?), v. t. To disjoint.

Dear"worth` (?), a. [See Derworth.] Precious. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Dear"y (?), n. A dear; a darling. [Familiar]

De"as (?), n. See Dais. [Scot.]

Death (d&ebreve;th), n. [OE. deth, deað, AS. deáð; akin to OS. dōð, D. dood, G. tod, Icel. dauði, Sw. & Dan. död, Goth. dauþus; 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.

&fist; Local death is going on at all 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 sat 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.) Loss of spiritual life.

To be carnally minded is 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.

&fist; 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, Decease, Demise, 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.

Death"bed (?), n. 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.

Death"bird` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Tengmalm's or Richardson's owl (Nyctale Tengmalmi); -- so called from a superstition of the North American Indians that its note presages death.

Death"blow` (?), n. A mortal or crushing blow; a stroke or event which kills or destroys.

The deathblow of my hope.
Byron.

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.

Death"ful*ness, n. Appearance of death. Jer. Taylor.

Death"less, a. Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.

Death"like` (?), a. 1. Resembling death.

A deathlike slumber, and a dead repose.
Pope.

2. Deadly. [Obs.] "Deathlike dragons." Shak.

Death"li*ness (?), n. The quality of being deathly; deadliness. Southey.

Death"ly, a. Deadly; fatal; mortal; destructive.

Death"ly, adv. Deadly; as, deathly pale or sick.

Death's"-head` (?), n. 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` (?), n. The deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). Dr. Prior.

Deaths"man (?), n. An executioner; a headsman or hangman. [Obs.] Shak.

Death"ward (?), adv. Toward death.

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.

De*au"rate (?), a. [L. deauratus, p. p. of deaurare to gild; de- + aurum gold.] Gilded. [Obs.]

De*au"rate (?), v. t. To gild. [Obs.] Bailey.

De`au*ra"tion (?), n. Act of gilding. [Obs.]

Deave (?), v. t. [See Deafen.] To stun or stupefy with noise; to deafen. [Scot.]

De*bac"chate (?), v. i. [L. debacchatus, p. p. of debacchari to rage; de- + bacchari to rage like a bacchant.] To rave as a bacchanal. [R.] Cockeram.

De`bac*cha"tion (?), n. [L. debacchatio.] Wild raving or debauchery. [R.] Prynne.

De*ba"cle (?), n. [F. débâcle, fr. débâcler to unbar, break loose; pref. dé- (prob. = L. dis) + bâcler to bolt, fr. L. baculum a stick.] (Geol.) 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.

De*bar" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debarred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Debarring.] [Pref. de- + bar.] 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.

De*barb" (?), v. t. [Pref. de- + L. barba beard.] To deprive of the beard. [Obs.] Bailey.

De"bark" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Debarked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Debarking.] [F. débarquer; pref. dé- (L. dis-) + barque. See Bark the vessel, and cf. Disbark.] To go ashore from a ship or boat; to disembark; to put ashore.

De`bar*ka"tion (?), n. Disembarkation.

The debarkation, therefore, had to take place by small steamers.
U. S. Grant.

De*bar"ment (?), n. Hindrance from approach; exclusion.

De*bar"rass (?), v. t. [Cf. F. débarrasser. See Embarrass.] To disembarrass; to relieve. [R.]

De*base" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debased (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Debasing.] [Pref. de- + base. See Base, a., and cf. Abase.] 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.

De*based" (?), a. (Her.) Turned upside down from its proper position; inverted; reversed.

De*base"ment (?), n. The act of debasing or the state of being debased. Milton.

De*bas"er (?), n. One who, or that which, debases.

De*bas"ing*ly, adv. In a manner to debase.

De*bat"a*ble (?), a. [Cf. OF. debatable. See Debate.] 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.

De*bate" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debated; p. pr. & vb. n. Debating.] [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.

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.

De*bate", n. [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.

De*bate"ful (?), a. Full of contention; contentious; quarrelsome. [Obs.] Spenser.

De*bate"ful*ly, adv. With contention. [Obs.]

De*bate"ment (?), n. [Cf. OF. debatement a beating.] Controversy; deliberation; debate. [R.]

A serious question and debatement with myself.
Milton.

De*bat"er (?), n. One who debates; one given to argument; a disputant; a controvertist.

Debate where leisure serves with dull debaters.
Shak.

De*bat"ing, n. 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.

De*bat"ing*ly, adv. In the manner of a debate.

De*bauch" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Debauched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Debauching.] [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. bālkr. See Balk, n.] 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.

De*bauch", n. [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.

De*bauched" (?), a. Dissolute; dissipated. "A coarse and debauched look." Ld. Lytton.

De*bauch"ed*ly (?), adv. In a profligate manner.

De*bauch"ed*ness, n. The state of being debauched; intemperance. Bp. Hall.

Deb`au*chee" (?), n. [F. débauché, n., properly p. p. of débaucher. See Debauch, v. t.] One who is given to intemperance or bacchanalian excesses; a man habitually lewd; a libertine.

De*bauch"er (?), n. One who debauches or corrupts others; especially, a seducer to lewdness.

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.

De*bauch"ment (?), n. The act of corrupting; the act of seducing from virtue or duty.

De*bauch"ness, n. Debauchedness. [Obs.]

De*beige" (?), n. [F. de of + beige the natural color of wool.] A kind of woolen or mixed dress goods. [Written also debage.]

De*bel" (?), v. t. [Cf. F. débeller. See Debellate.] To conquer. [Obs.] Milton.

De*bel"late (?), v. t. [L. debellatus, p. p. of debellare to subdue; de- + bellum war.] To subdue; to conquer in war. [Obs.] Speed.

Deb`el*la"tion (?), n. [LL. debellatio.] The act of conquering or subduing. [Obs.]

||De be"ne es"se (?). [L.] (Law) Of well being; of formal sufficiency for the time; conditionally; provisionally. Abbott.

De*ben"ture (?; 135), n. [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.

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.

De*ben"tured (?; 135), a. Entitled to drawback or debenture; as, debentured goods.

Deb"ile (?), a. [L. debilis: cf. F. débile. See Debility.] Weak. [Obs.] Shak.

De*bil"i*tant (?), a. [L. debilitants, p. pr.] (Med.) Diminishing the energy of organs; reducing excitement; as, a debilitant drug.

De*bil"i*tate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Debilitated; p. pr. & vb. n. Debilitating.] [L. debilitatus, p. p. of debilitare to debilitate, fr. debilis. See Debility.] 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.

De*bil`i*ta"tion (?), n. [L. debilitatio: cf. F. débilitation.] The act or process of debilitating, or the condition of one who is debilitated; weakness.

De*bil"i*ty (?), n. [L. debilitas, fr. debilis weak, prob. fr. de- + habilis able: cf. F. débilité. See Able, a.] 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.

Deb"it (?), n. [L. debitum what is due, debt, from debere to owe: cf. F. débit. See Debt.] A debt; an entry on the debtor (Dr.) side of an account; -- mostly used adjectively; as, the debit side of an account.

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) To enter on the debtor (Dr.) side of an account; as, to debit the amount of goods sold.

Deb"it*or (?), n. [L. See Debtor.] A debtor. [Obs.] Shak.

De`bi*tu`mi*ni*za"tion (?), n. The act of depriving of bitumen.

De`bi*tu"mi*nize (?), v. t. To deprive of bitumen.

||Dé`blai" (?), n. [F.] (Fort.) The cavity from which the earth for parapets, etc. (remblai), is taken.

Deb`o*nair" (?), a. [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.] Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant.

Was never prince so meek and debonair.
Spenser.

Deb`o*nair"i*ty (?), n. [OF. debonaireté, F. débonnaireté.] Debonairness. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Deb`o*nair"ly, adv. Courteously; elegantly.

Deb`o*nair"ness, n. The quality of being debonair; good humor; gentleness; courtesy. Sterne.

De*bosh" (?), v. t. [Old form of debauch.] To debauch. [Obs.] "A deboshed lady." Beau. & Fl.

De*bosh"ment (?), n. Debauchment. [Obs.]

De*bouch" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Debouched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Debouching.] [F. déboucher; pref. dé- (L. dis- or de) + boucher to stop up, fr. bouche mouth, fr. L. bucca the cheek. Cf. Disembogue.] To march out from a wood, defile, or other confined spot, into open ground; to issue.

Battalions debouching on the plain.
Prescott.

||Dé`bou`ché" (?), n. [F.] A place for exit; an outlet; hence, a market for goods.

The débouchés were ordered widened to afford easy egress.
The Century.

||Dé`bou`chure" (?), n. [F.] The outward opening of a river, of a valley, or of a strait.

||Dé`bris" (?), n. [F., fr. pref. dé- (L. dis) + briser to break, shatter; perh. of Celtic origin.] 1. (Geol.) 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.

De*bruised" (?), a. [Cf. OF. debruisier to shatter, break. Cf. Bruise.] (Her.) 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 (?), n. [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) 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.

Debt"ed, p. a. Indebted; obliged to. [R.]

I stand debted to this gentleman.
Shak.

Debt*ee" (?), n. (Law) One to whom a debt is due; creditor; -- correlative to debtor. Blackstone.

Debt"less (?), a. Free from debt. Chaucer.

Debt"or (?), n. [OE. dettur, dettour, OF. detor, detur, detour, F. débiteur, fr. L. debitor, fr. debere to owe. See Debt.] 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.

De*bul"li*ate (?), v. i. [Pref. dé- + L. bullire to boil.] To boil over. [Obs.]

Deb`ul*li"tion (?), n. [See Debulliate.] A bubbling or boiling over. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*burse" (?), v. t. & i. [Pref. de + L. bursa purse.] To disburse. [Obs.] Ludlow.

De"bu*scope (?), n. [From the inventor, Debus, a French optician + -scope.] (Opt.) A modification of the kaleidoscope; -- used to reflect images so as to form beautiful designs.

||Dé`but" (?), n. [F. début, prop., the first cast or throw at play, fr. but aim, mark. See Butt an end.] A beginning or first attempt; hence, a first appearance before the public, as of an actor or public speaker.

||Dé`bu`tant" (?), n.; fem. Dé`bu`tante" (&?;). [F., p. pr. of débuter to have the first throw, to make one's début. See Début.] A person who makes his (or her) first appearance before the public.

Dec"a- (?). [Cf. Ten.] 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.

||De*cac`e*ra"ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. de`ka ten + ke`ras a horn.] (Zoöl.) The division of Cephalopoda which includes the squids, cuttlefishes, and others having ten arms or tentacles; -- called also Decapoda. [Written also Decacera.] See Dibranchiata.

{ Dec"a*chord (?), Dec`a*chor"don (?), } n. [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.

Dec`a*cu"mi*na`ted (?), a. [L. decacuminare to cut off the top. See Cacuminate.] Having the point or top cut off. [Obs.] Bailey.

Dec"ad (?), n. A decade.

Averill was a decad and a half his elder.
Tennyson.

Dec"a*dal (?), a. Pertaining to ten; consisting of tens.

Dec"ade (?), n. [F. décade, L. decas, -adis, fr. Gr. &?;, fr. de`ka ten. See Ten.] 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.

{ De*ca"dence (?), De*ca"den*cy (?), } n. [LL. decadentia; L. de- + cadere to fall: cf. F. décadence. See Decay.] A falling away; decay; deterioration; declension. "The old castle, where the family lived in their decadence." Sir W. Scott.

De*ca"dent (?), a. Decaying; deteriorating.

Dec"a*dist (?), n. A writer of a book divided into decades; as, Livy was a decadist. [R.]

Dec"a*gon (?), n. [Pref. deca- + Gr. &?; a corner or angle: cf. F. décagone.] (Geom.) 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.

De*cag"o*nal (?), a. Pertaining to a decagon; having ten sides.

{ Dec"a*gram, Dec"a*gramme } (?), n. [F. décagramme; Gr. de`ka ten + F. gramme. See Gram.] A weight of the metric system; ten grams, equal to about 154.32 grains avoirdupois.

||Dec`a*gyn"i*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. de`ka ten + &?; a woman, a female.] (Bot.) A Linnæan order of plants characterized by having ten styles.

{ Dec`a*gyn"i*an (?), Dec*cag"y*nous (?), } a. [Cf. F. décagyne.] (Bot.) Belonging to the Decagynia; having ten styles.

Dec`a*he"dral (?), a. Having ten sides.

Dec`a*he"dron (?), n.; pl. E. Decahedrons (#), L. Decahedra (#). [Pref. deca- + Gr. 'e`dra a seat, a base, fr. 'e`zesthai to sit: cf. F. décaèdre.] (Geom.) A solid figure or body inclosed by ten plane surfaces. [Written also, less correctly, decaedron.]

De*cal`ci*fi*ca"tion (?), n. The removal of calcareous matter.

De*cal"ci*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decalcified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decalcifying.] To deprive of calcareous matter; thus, to decalcify bones is to remove the stony part, and leave only the gelatin.

{ De*cal`co*ma"ni*a (?), De*cal`co*ma"nie (?), } n. [F. décalcomanie.] The art or process of transferring pictures and designs to china, glass, marble, etc., and permanently fixing them thereto.

{ Dec"a*li`ter, Dec"a*li`tre } (?), n. [F. décalitre; Gr. de`ka ten + F. litre. See Liter.] 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.

Dec"a*log (?; 115), n. Decalogue.

De*cal"o*gist (?), n. One who explains the decalogue. J. Gregory.

Dec"a*logue (?; 115), n. [F. décalogue, L. decalogus, fr. Gr. &?;; de`ka ten + &?; speech, &?; to speak, to say. See Ten.] The Ten Commandments or precepts given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, and originally written on two tables of stone.

De*cam"e*ron (?), n. [It. decamerone, fr. Gr. de`ka ten + &?; part; though quite generally supposed to be derived from &?; day: cf. F. décaméron.] A celebrated collection of tales, supposed to be related in ten days; -- written in the 14th century, by Boccaccio, an Italian.

{ Dec"a*me`ter, Dec"a*me`tre } (?), n. [F. décamètre; Gr. de`ka ten + mètre. See Meter.] A measure of length in the metric system; ten meters, equal to about 393.7 inches.

De*camp" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Decamped (?; 215); p. pr. & vb. n. Decamping.] [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.

De*camp"ment (?), n. [Cf. F. décampement.] Departure from a camp; a marching off.

Dec"a*nal (?; 277), a. [Cf. F. décanal. See Dean.] 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.

||De*can"dri*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. de`ka ten + &?;, &?;, a man.] (Bot.) A Linnæan class of plants characterized by having ten stamens.

{ De*can"dri*an (?), De*can"drous (?), } a. [Cf. F. décandre.] (Bot.) Belonging to the Decandria; having ten stamens.

Dec"ane (?), n. [See Deca-.] (Chem.) A liquid hydrocarbon, C10H22, of the paraffin series, including several isomeric modifications.

Dec*an"gu*lar (?), a. [Pref. deca- + angular.] Having ten angles.

||De*ca"ni (?), a. [L., lit., of the dean.] 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.

De*cant" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Decanting.] [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.] 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.

De*can"tate (?), v. t. To decant. [Obs.]

De`can*ta"tion (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. décantation.] The act of pouring off a clear liquor gently from its lees or sediment, or from one vessel into another.

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.

De*caph"yl*lous (?), a. [Pref. deca- + Gr. &?; leaf: cf. F. décaphylle.] (Bot.) Having ten leaves.

De*cap"i*tate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decapitated; p. pr. & vb. n. Decapitating.] [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.]

De*cap`i*ta"tion (?), n. [LL. decapitatio: cf. F. décapitation.] The act of beheading; beheading.

Dec"a*pod (d&ebreve;k"&adot;*p&obreve;d), n. [Cf. F. décapode.] (Zoöl.) A crustacean with ten feet or legs, as a crab; one of the Decapoda. Also used adjectively.

||De*cap"o*da (d&esl;*kăp"&osl;*d&adot;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. de`ka ten + poy`s, podo`s, foot.] 1. (Zoöl.) The order of Crustacea which includes the shrimps, lobsters, crabs, etc.

&fist; 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.) A division of the dibranchiate cephalopods including the cuttlefishes and squids. See Decacera.

{ De*cap"o*dal (?), De*cap"o*dous (?), } a. (Zoöl.) Belonging to the decapods; having ten feet; ten-footed.

De*car"bon*ate (?), v. t. To deprive of carbonic acid.

De*car`bon*i*za"tion (?), n. The action or process of depriving a substance of carbon.

De*car"bon*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decarbonized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decarbonizing.] 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.

De*car"bon*i`zer (?), n. He who, or that which, decarbonizes a substance.

De*car`bu*ri*za"tion (?), n. The act, process, or result of decarburizing.

De*car"bu*rize (?), v. t. To deprive of carbon; to remove the carbon from.

De*card" (?), v. t. To discard. [Obs.]

You have cast those by, decarded them.
J. Fletcher.

De*car"di*nal*ize (?), v. t. To depose from the rank of cardinal.

Dec"a*stere (?), n. [L. décastère; Gr. de`ka ten + F. stère a stere.] (Metric System) A measure of capacity, equal to ten steres, or ten cubic meters.

Dec"a*stich (?), n. [Pref. deca- + Gr. sti`chos a row, a line of writing, a verse.] A poem consisting of ten lines.

Dec"a*style (?), a. [Gr. &?;; de`ka ten + sty`los a column.] (Arch.) Having ten columns in front; -- said of a portico, temple, etc. -- n. A portico having ten pillars or columns in front.

Dec`a*syl*lab"ic (?), a. [Pref. deca- + syllabic: cf. F. décasyllabique, décasyllable.] Having, or consisting of, ten syllables.

Dec`a*to"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, decane.

De*cay" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Decayed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decaying.] [OF. decaeir, dechaer, decheoir, F. déchoir, to decline, fall, become less; L. de- + cadere to fall. See Chance.] 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.

De*cay", v. t. 1. To cause to decay; to impair. [R.]

Infirmity, that decays the wise.
Shak.

2. To destroy. [Obs.] Shak.

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.

De*cayed" (?), a. 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.

De*cay"er (?), n. A causer of decay. [R.]

De*cease" (?), n. [OE. deses, deces, F. décès, fr. L. decessus departure, death, fr. decedere to depart, die; de- + cedere to withdraw. See Cease, Cede.] 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.

De*cease", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Deceased (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deceasing.] 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.

De*ceased" (?), a. Passed away; dead; gone.

The deceased, the dead person.

De*cede" (?), v. i. [L. decedere. See Decease, n.] To withdraw. [Obs.] Fuller.

De*ce"dent (?), a. [L. decedens, p. pr. of decedere.] Removing; departing. Ash.

De*ce"dent, n. A deceased person. Bouvier.

De*ceit" (?), n. [OF. deceit, desçait, decept (cf. deceite, deçoite), 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) 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.

De*ceit"ful (?), a. Full of, or characterized by, deceit; serving to mislead or insnare; trickish; fraudulent; cheating; insincere.

Harboring foul deceitful thoughts.
Shak.

De*ceit"ful*ly, adv. With intent to deceive.

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.

De*ceit"less, a. Free from deceit. Bp. Hall.

De*ceiv"a*ble (?), a. [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.

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.

De*ceiv"a*bly, adv. In a deceivable manner.

De*ceive" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deceived (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deceiving.] [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.

De*ceiv"er (?), n. 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.

De*cem"ber (d&esl;*s&ebreve;m"b&etilde;r), n. [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.

De`cem*den"tate (?), a. [L. decem ten + E. dentate.] Having ten points or teeth.

De*cem"fid (d&esl;*s&ebreve;m"f&ibreve;d), a. [L. decem ten + root of findere to cleave.] (Bot.) Cleft into ten parts.

De`cem*loc"u*lar (?), a. [L. decem ten + E. locular.] (Bot.) Having ten cells for seeds.

De*cem"pe*dal (d&esl;*s&ebreve;m"p&esl;*dal), a. [L. decem ten + E. pedal.] 1. Ten feet in length.

2. (Zoöl.) Having ten feet; decapodal. [R.] Bailey.

De*cem"vir (?), n.; pl. E. Decemvirs (#), L. Decemviri (#). [L., fr. decem ten + vir a man.] 1. One of a body of ten magistrates in ancient Rome.

&fist; 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.

De*cem"vi*ral (?), a. [L. decemviralis.] Pertaining to the decemvirs in Rome.

De*cem"vi*rate (?), n. [L. decemviratus.] 1. The office or term of office of the decemvirs in Rome.

2. A body of ten men in authority.

De*cem"vir*ship (?), n. The office of a decemvir. Holland.

De"cence (?), n. Decency. [Obs.] Dryden.

De"cen*cy (?), n.; pl. Decencies (#). [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.

De"cene (?), n. [L. decem ten.] (Chem.) One of the higher hydrocarbons, C10H20, of the ethylene series.

De*cen"na*ry (?), n.; pl. Decennaries (#). [L. decennium a period of ten years; decem ten + annus a year.] 1. A period of ten years.

2. (O. Eng. Law) A tithing consisting of ten neighboring families. Burrill.

De*cen"ni*al (?), a. [See Decennary.] Consisting of ten years; happening every ten years; as, a decennial period; decennial games. Hallam.

De*cen"ni*al, n. A tenth year or tenth anniversary.

||De*cen"ni*um (?), n.; pl. Decenniums (#), L. Decennia (#). [L.] A period of ten years. "The present decennium." Hallam. "The last decennium of Chaucer's life." A. W. Ward.

{ De*cen"no*val (?), De*cen"no*va*ry (?), } a. [L. decem ten + novem nine.] Pertaining to the number nineteen; of nineteen years. [R.] Holder.

De"cent (dē"sent), a. [L. decens, decentis, p. pr. of decere to be fitting or becoming; akin to decus glory, honor, ornament, Gr. dokei^n to seem good, to seem, think; cf. Skr. dāç to grant, to give; and perh. akin to E. attire, tire: cf. F. décent. Cf. Decorate, Decorum, Deign.] 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.

De*cen`tral*i*za"tion (?), n. The action of decentralizing, or the state of being decentralized. "The decentralization of France." J. P. Peters.

De*cen"tral*ize (?), v. t. 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.

De*cep"ti*ble (?), a. Capable of being deceived; deceivable. Sir T. Browne. -- De*cep`ti*bil"i*ty (&?;), n.

De*cep"tion (?), n. [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.

De*cep"tious (?), a. [LL. deceptiosus.] Tending deceive; delusive. [R.]

As if those organs had deceptious functions.
Shak.

De*cep"tive (?), a. [Cf. F. déceptif. See Deceive.] 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.

De*cep"tive*ly, adv. In a manner to deceive.

De*cep"tive*ness, n. The power or habit of deceiving; tendency or aptness to deceive.

De`cep*tiv"i*ty (?), n. Deceptiveness; a deception; a sham. [R.] Carlyle.

De*cep"to*ry (?), a. [L. deceptorius, from decipere.] Deceptive. [R.]

De*cern" (?), v. t. [L. decernere. See Decree.] 1. To perceive, discern, or decide. [Obs.] Granmer.

2. (Scots Law) To decree; to adjudge.

De*cern"i*ture (?; 135), n. (Scots Law) A decree or sentence of a court. Stormonth.

De*cerp" (?), v. t. [L. decerpere; de- + carpere to pluck.] To pluck off; to crop; to gather. [Obs.]

De*cerpt" (?), a. [L. decerptus, p. p. of decerpere.] Plucked off or away. [Obs.]

De*cerp"ti*ble (?), a. That may be plucked off, cropped, or torn away. [Obs.] Bailey.

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.

De`cer*ta"tion (?), n. [L. decertatio, fr. decertare, decertatum; de- + certare to contend.] Contest for mastery; contention; strife. [R.] Arnway.

De*ces"sion (?), n. [L. decessio, fr. decedere to depart. See Decease, n.] Departure; decrease; -- opposed to accesion. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.

De*charm" (?), v. t. [Cf. F. décharmer. See Charm.] To free from a charm; to disenchant.

De*chris"tian*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dechristianized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dechristianizing.] To turn from, or divest of, Christianity.

De*cid"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being decided; determinable.

De*cide" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decided; p. pr. & vb. n. Deciding.] [L. decīdere; 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.

De*cide", v. i. 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.

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.

De*cid"ed*ly, adv. In a decided manner; indisputably; clearly; thoroughly.

De*cide"ment (?), n. Means of forming a decision. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Dec"i*dence (?), n. [L. decidens falling off.] A falling off. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

De*cid"er (?), n. One who decides.

||De*cid"u*a (?; 135), n. [NL., fr. L. deciduus. See Deciduous.] (Anat.) The inner layer of the wall of the uterus, which envelops the embryo, forms a part of the placenta, and is discharged with it.

||De*cid`u*a"ta (?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoöl.) A group of Mammalia in which a decidua is thrown off with, or after, the fetus, as in the human species.

De*cid"u*ate (?; 135), a. (Anat.) Possessed of, or characterized by, a decidua.

Dec`i*du"i*ty (?), n. Deciduousness. [R.]

De*cid"u*ous (?; 135), a. [L. deciduus, fr. dec&?;dere to fall off; de- + cadere to fall. See Chance.] (Biol.) 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.

De*cid"u*ous*ness, n. The quality or state of being deciduous.

{ Dec"i*gram, Dec"i*gramme } (?), n. [F. décigramme; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + gramme.] A weight in the metric system; one tenth of a gram, equal to 1.5432 grains avoirdupois.

{ Dec"il, Dec"ile } (?), n. [F. décil, fr. L. decem ten&?; cf. It. decile.] (Astrol.) An aspect or position of two planets, when they are distant from each other a tenth part of the zodiac, or 36°.

{ Dec"i*li`ter, Dec"i*li`tre } (?), n. [F. décilitre; pref. déci- tenth (L. decimus) + litre. See Liter.] 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.

De*cil"lion (?), n. [L. decem ten + the ending of million.] 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.]

De*cil"lionth (?), a. Pertaining to a decillion, or to the quotient of unity divided by a decillion.

De*cil"lionth (?), n. (a) The quotient of unity divided by a decillion. (b) One of a decillion equal parts.

Dec"i*mal (?), a. [F. décimal (cf. LL. decimalis), fr. L. decimus tenth, fr. decem ten. See Ten, and cf. Dime.] 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 &frac2x10;, &fract25x100;, and is usually not expressed, but is signified by a point placed at the left hand of the numerator, as .2, .25. -- 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.

Dec"i*mal, n. 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.

Dec"i*mal*ism (?), n. The system of a decimal currency, decimal weights, measures, etc.

Dec"i*mal*ize (?), v. t. To reduce to a decimal system; as, to decimalize the currency. -- Dec`i*mal*i*za"tion (#), n.

Dec"i*mal*ly, adv. By tens; by means of decimals.

Dec"i*mate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decimated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decimating (?).] [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.

Dec`i*ma"tion (?), n. [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.

Dec"i*ma`tor (?), n. [Cf. LL. decimator.] One who decimates. South.

||Dé`cime" (?), n. [F.] A French coin, the tenth part of a franc, equal to about two cents.

{ Dec"i*me`ter, Dec"i*me`tre } (?), n. [F. décimètre; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + mètre. See Meter.] A measure of length in the metric system; one tenth of a meter, equal to 3.937 inches.

Dec`i*mo*sex"to (?), n. [Prop., in sixteenth; fr. L. decimus tenth + sextus sixth.] 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 16°.

Dec`i*mo*sex"to, a. Having sixteen leaves to a sheet; as, a decimosexto form, book, leaf, size.

De"cine (?; 104), n. [From L. decem ten.] (Chem.) One of the higher hydrocarbons, C10H15, of the acetylene series; -- called also decenylene.

De*ci"pher (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deciphered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deciphering.] [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.

De*ci"pher*a*ble (?), a. Capable of being deciphered; as, old writings not decipherable.

De*ci"pher*er (?), n. One who deciphers.

De*ci"pher*ess (?), n. A woman who deciphers.

De*ci"pher*ment (?), n. The act of deciphering.

De*cip"i*en*cy (?), n. [L. decipiens, p. pr. of decipere. See Deceive.] State of being deceived; hallucination. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

De*cip"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. L. decipere to deceive.] (Chem.) 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.

De*ci"sion (?), n. [L. decisio, fr. decīdere, 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.

De*ci*sive (?), a. [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.

De*ci"so*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. décisoire. See Decision.] Able to decide or determine; having a tendency to decide. [R.]

Dec"i*stere (?), n. [F. décistère; pref. déci- tenth (fr. L. decimus) + stère a stere.] (Metric System) The tenth part of the stere or cubic meter, equal to 3.531 cubic feet. See Stere.

De*cit"i*zen*ize (?), v. t. To deprive of the rights of citizenship. [R.]

We have no law -- as the French have -- to decitizenize a citizen.
Edw. Bates.

De*civ"i*lize (?), v. t. To reduce from civilization to a savage state. [R.] Blackwood's Mag.

Deck (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decking.] [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, n. [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.

&fist; 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.) The upper part or top of a mansard roof or curb roof when made nearly flat.

3. (Railroad) 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.

Deck"el (?), n. (Paper Making) Same as Deckle.

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.

Dec"kle (d&ebreve;k"k'l), n. [Cf. G. deckel cover, lid.] (Paper Making) 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 dekle.]

De*claim" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declaimed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Declaiming.] [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.

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.

De*claim"ant (?), n. A declaimer. [R.]

De*claim"er (?), n. One who declaims; an haranguer.

Dec`la*ma"tion (?), n. [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.

Dec"la*ma`tor (?), n. [L.] A declaimer. [R.] Sir T. Elyot.

De*clam"a*to*ry (?), a. [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.

De*clar"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being declared. Sir T. Browne.

De*clar"ant (?), n. [Cf. F. déclarant, p. pr. of déclarer.] (Law) One who declares. Abbott.

Dec`la*ra"tion (?), n. [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) That part of the process or pleadings 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.

De*clar"a*tive (?), a. [L. declarativus, fr. declarare: cf. F. déclaratif.] Making declaration, proclamation, or publication; explanatory; assertive; declaratory. "Declarative laws." Baker.

The "vox populi," so declarative on the same side.
Swift.

De*clar"a*tive*ly, adv. By distinct assertion; not impliedly; in the form of a declaration.

The priest shall expiate it, that is, declaratively.
Bates.

Dec"la*ra`tor (?), n. [L., an announcer.] (Scots Law) A form of action by which some right or interest is sought to be judicially declared.

De*clar"a*to*ri*ly (?), adv. In a declaratory manner.

De*clar"a*to*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. déclaratoire.] 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.

De*clare" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Declared (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Declaring.] [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.) 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.

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) To state the plaintiff's cause of action at law in a legal form; as, the plaintiff declares in trespass.

De*clar"ed*ly (?), adv. Avowedly; explicitly.

De*clar"ed*ness, n. The state of being declared.

De*clare"ment (?), n. Declaration. [Obs.]

De*clar"er (?), n. One who makes known or proclaims; that which exhibits. Udall.

De*clen"sion (?), n. [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.

&fist; 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.

De*clen"sion*al (?), a. Belonging to declension.

Declensional and syntactical forms.
M. Arnold.

De*clin"a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. déclinable. See Decline.] Capable of being declined; admitting of declension or inflection; as, declinable parts of speech.

De*clin"al (?), a. Declining; sloping.

Dec"li*nate (?), a. [L. declinatus, p. p. of declinare. See Decline.] Bent downward or aside; (Bot.) bending downward in a curve; declined.

Dec`li*na"tion (?), n. [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.) The angular distance of any object from the celestial equator, either northward or southward.

6. (Dialing) 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.) 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.

Dec"li*na`tor (?), n. [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.

De*clin"a*to*ry (?; 277), a. [LL. declinatorius, fr. L. declinare: cf. F. déclinatoire.] 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.

De*clin"a*ture (?; 135), n. The act of declining or refusing; as, the declinature of an office.

De*cline" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Declined (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Declining.] [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.

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.) To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective.

&fist; 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.

De*cline" (?), n. [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.) 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.

De*clined" (?), a. Declinate.

De*clin"er (?), n. He who declines or rejects.

A studious decliner of honors.
Evelyn.

Dec`li*nom"e*ter (?), n. [Decline + -meter.] (Physics) An instrument for measuring the declination of the magnetic needle.

De*clin"ous (?), a. Declinate.

{ De*cliv"i*tous (?), De*cli"vous (?), } a. Descending gradually; moderately steep; sloping; downhill.

De*cliv"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Declivities (#). [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.

De*coct" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decocted; p. pr. & vb. n. Decocting.] [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.

De*coct"i*ble (?), a. Capable of being boiled or digested.

De*coc"tion (?), n. [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.

De*coc"ture (?; 135), n. A decoction. [R.]

De*col"late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decollated; p. pr. & vb. n. Decollating.] [L. decollatus, p. p. of decollare to behead; de- + collum neck.] To sever from the neck; to behead; to decapitate.

The decollated head of St. John the Baptist.
Burke.

De*col"la*ted (?), a. (Zoöl.) Decapitated; worn or cast off in the process of growth, as the apex of certain univalve shells.

De`col*la"tion (?), n. [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.

||Dé`col`le*té" (?), a. [F., p. p. of décolleter to bare the neck and shoulders; dé- + collet collar, fr. L. collum neck.] Leaving the neck and shoulders uncovered; cut low in the neck, or low-necked, as a dress.

De*col"ling (?), n. Beheading. [R.]

By a speedy dethroning and decolling of the king.
Parliamentary History (1648).

De*col"or (?), v. t. [Cf. F. décolorer, L. decolorare. Cf. Discolor.] To deprive of color; to bleach.

De*col"or*ant (?), n. [Cf. F. décolorant, p. pr.] A substance which removes color, or bleaches.

De*col"or*ate (?), a. [L. decoloratus, p. p. of decolorare.] Deprived of color.

De*col"or*ate (?), v. t. To decolor.

De*col`or*a"tion (?), n. [L. decoloratio: cf. F. décoloration.] The removal or absence of color. Ferrand.

De*col"or*ize (?), v. t. To deprive of color; to whiten. Turner. -- De*col`or*i*za"tion (#), n.

De"com*plex` (?), a. [Pref. de- (intens.) + complex.] Repeatedly compound; made up of complex constituents.

De`com*pos"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being resolved into constituent elements.

De`com*pose" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decomposed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decomposing.] [Cf. F. décomposer. Cf. Discompose.] 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.

De`com*pose", v. i. To become resolved or returned from existing combinations; to undergo dissolution; to decay; to rot.

De`com*posed" (?), a. (Zoöl.) Separated or broken up; -- said of the crest of birds when the feathers are divergent.

De`com*pos"ite (?), a. [Pref. de- (intens.) + composite.] 1. Compounded more than once; compounded with things already composite.

2. (Bot.) See Decompound, a., 2.

De`com*pos"ite, n. Anything decompounded.

Decomposites of three metals or more.
Bacon.

De*com`po*si"tion (?), n. [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.

De`com*pound" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decompounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Decompounding.] [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.

De`com*pound", a. [Pref. de- (intens.) + compound, a.] 1. Compound of what is already compounded; compounded a second time.

2. (Bot.) Several times compounded or divided, as a leaf or stem; decomposite.

De`com*pound", n. A decomposite.

De`com*pound"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being decompounded.

De`con*cen"trate (?), v. t. To withdraw from concentration; to decentralize. [R.]

De*con`cen*tra"tion (?), n. Act of deconcentrating. [R.]

De`con*coct" (?), v. t. To decompose. [R.] Fuller.

De*con"se*crate (?), v. t. To deprive of sacredness; to secularize. -- De*con`se*cra"tion (#), n.

Dec"o*ra*ment (?), n. [L. decoramentum. See Decorate, v. t.] Ornament. [Obs.] Bailey.

Dec"o*rate (d&cr;k"&osl;*rāt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decorated (d&cr;k"&osl;*rā`t&ebreve;d); p. pr. & vb. n. Decorating (-rā`t&ibreve;ng).] [L. decoratus, p. p. of decorare, fr. decus ornament; akin to decere to be becoming. See Decent.] 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.

Dec`o*ra"tion (d&ebreve;k`&osl;*rā"shŭn), n. [LL. decoratio: cf. F. décoration.] 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.]

Dec"o*ra*tive (d&ebreve;k"&osl;*r&adot;*t&ibreve;v or -r&asl;*t&ibreve;v), a. [Cf. F. décoratif.] 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.

Dec"o*ra`tor (-rā"t&etilde;r), n. [Cf. F. décorateur.] One who decorates, adorns, or embellishes; specifically, an artisan whose business is the decoration of houses, esp. their interior decoration.

De*core" (?), v. t. [Cf. F. décorer. See Decorate.] To decorate; to beautify. [Obs.]

To decore and beautify the house of God.
E. Hall.

De*core"ment (?), n. Ornament. [Obs.]

De*co"rous (?; 277), a. [L. decōrus, fr. decor comeliness, beauty; akin to decere. See Decent, and cf. Decorum.] 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.

De*cor"ti*cate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decorticated; p. pr. & vb. n. Decorticating.] [L. decorticatus, p. p. of decorticare to bark; de- + cortex bark.] To divest of the bark, husk, or exterior coating; to husk; to peel; to hull. "Great barley dried and decorticated." Arbuthnot.

De*cor`ti*ca"tion (?), n. [L. decorticatio: cf. F. décortication.] The act of stripping off the bark, rind, hull, or outer coat.

De*cor"ti*ca`tor (?), n. A machine for decorticating wood, hulling grain, etc.; also, an instrument for removing surplus bark or moss from fruit trees.

De*cor"um (?), n. [L. decōrum, fr. decōrus. See Decorous.] 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.

De*coy" (d&esl;*koi"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decoyed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decoying.] [Pref. de- + coy; orig., to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See Coy.] 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.

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.

De*coy"-duck` (?), n. A duck used to lure wild ducks into a decoy; hence, a person employed to lure others into danger. Beau. & Fl.

De*coy"er (?), n. One who decoys another.

De*coy"-man` (?), n.; pl. Decoy-men (&?;). A man employed in decoying wild fowl.

De*crease" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Decreased (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decreasing.] [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.] 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.

De*crease", v. t. To cause to grow less; to diminish gradually; as, extravagance decreases one's means.

That might decrease their present store.
Prior.

De*crease", n. [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.

De*crease"less, a. Suffering no decrease. [R.]

It [the river] flows and flows, and yet will flow,
Volume decreaseless to the final hour.
A. Seward.

De*creas"ing, a. 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.

De`cre*a"tion (?), n. Destruction; -- opposed to creation. [R.] Cudworth.

De*cree" (?), n. [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&?;&?; decision. "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.) 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.

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.

De*cree", v. i. To make decrees; - - used absolutely.

Father eternal! thine is to decree;
Mine, both in heaven and earth to do thy will.
Milton.

De*cree"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being decreed.

De*cre"er (?), n. One who decrees. J. Goodwin.

De*creet" (?), n. [Cf. Decree.] (Scots Law) The final judgment of the Court of Session, or of an inferior court, by which the question at issue is decided.

Dec"re*ment (?), n. [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 increment.

3. (Crystallog.) 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.) 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.

De*crep"it (?), a. [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.] 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.

&fist; Sometimes incorrectly written decrepid.

De*crep"i*tate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decrepitated; p. pr. & vb. n. Decrepitating.] [Cf. F. décrépiter.] To roast or calcine so as to cause a crackling noise; as, to decrepitate salt.

De*crep"i*tate, v. i. To crackle, as salt in roasting.

De*crep`i*ta"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. décrépitation.] The act of decrepitating; a crackling noise, such as salt makes when roasting.

De*crep"it*ness (?), n. Decrepitude. [R.] Barrow.

De*crep"i*tude (?), n. [Cf. F. décrépitude.] The broken state produced by decay and the infirmities of age; infirm old age.

||De`cres*cen"do (?), a. & adv. [It.] (Mus.) With decreasing volume of sound; -- a direction to performers, either written upon the staff (abbreviated Dec., or Decresc.), or indicated by the sign.

De*cres"cent (?), a. [L. decrescens, p. pr. of decrescere. See Decrease.] Becoming less by gradual diminution; decreasing; as, a decrescent moon.

De*cres"cent, n. (Her.) A crescent with the horns directed towards the sinister. Cussans.

De*cre"tal (?), a. [L. decretalis, fr. decretum. See Decree.] Appertaining to a decree; containing a decree; as, a decretal epistle. Ayliffe.

De*cre"tal, n. [LL. decretale, neut. of L. decretalis. See Decretal, a.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) 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) The collection of ecclesiastical decrees and decisions made, by order of Gregory IX., in 1234, by St. Raymond of Pennafort.

De*crete" (?), n. [L. decretum. See Decree.] A decree. [Obs.] Chaucer.

De*cre"tion (?), n. [From L. decrescere, decretum. See Decrease.] A decrease. [Obs.] Pearson.

De*cre"tist (?), n. [LL. decretista, fr. decretum: cf. F. décrétiste. See Decree, n.] One who studies, or professes the knowledge of, the decretals.

De*cre"tive (?), a. [From L. decretum. See Decree, n.] Having the force of a decree; determining.

The will of God is either decretive or perceptive.
Bates.

Dec`re*to"ri*al (?), a. Decretory; authoritative. Sir T. Browne.

Dec"re*to*ri*ly (?), adv. In a decretory or definitive manner; by decree.

Dec"re*to*ry (?), a. [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.

De*crew" (?), v. i. [F. décrue, n., decrease, and décru, p. p. of décroître. See Decrease, and cf. Accrue.] To decrease. [Obs.] Spenser.

De*cri"al (?), n. [See Decry.] A crying down; a clamorous censure; condemnation by censure.

De*cri"er (?), n. One who decries.

De*crown" (?), v. t. To deprive of a crown; to discrown. [R.] Hakewill.

De`crus*ta"tion (?), n. [Cf. OF. décrustation.] The removal of a crust.

De*cry" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decried (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decrying.] [F. décrier, OF. descrier; pref. des- (L. dis-) + crier to cry. See Cry, and cf. Descry.] 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.

Dec`u*ba"tion (?), n. [From L. decubare; de- + cubare. See Decumbent.] Act of lying down; decumbence. [Obs.] Evelyn.

||De*cu"bi*tus (?), n. [NL., fr. L. de- + cubare, to lie down: cf. F. décubitus.] (Med.) An attitude assumed in lying down; as, the dorsal decubitus.

Dec"u*man (?), a. [L. decumanus of the tenth, and by metonymy, large, fr. decem ten.] 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.

{ De*cum"bence (?), De*cum"ben*cy (?), } n. The act or posture of lying down.

The ancient manner of decumbency.
Sir T. Browne.

De*cum"bent (?), a. [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.) Reclining on the ground, as if too weak to stand, and tending to rise at the summit or apex; as, a decumbent stem. Gray.

De*cum"bent*ly, adv. In a decumbent posture.

De*cum"bi*ture (?; 135), n. 1. Confinement to a sick bed, or time of taking to one's bed from sickness. Boyle.

2. (Astrol.) Aspect of the heavens at the time of taking to one's sick bed, by which the prognostics of recovery or death were made.

Dec"u*ple (?), a. [F. décuple, L. decuplus, fr. decem ten.] Tenfold. [R.]

Dec"u*ple, n. A number ten times repeated. [R.]

Dec"u*ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decupled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Decupling (?).] To make tenfold; to multiply by ten. [R.]

De*cu"ri*on (?), n. [L. decurio, decurionis, fr. decuria a squad of ten, fr. decem ten.] (Rom. Antiq.) A head or chief over ten; especially, an officer who commanded a division of ten soldiers.

De*cu"ri*on*ate (?), n. [L. decurionatus, fr. decurio.] The office of a decurion.

De*cur"rence (?), n. The act of running down; a lapse. [R.] Gauden.

De*cur"rent (?), a. [L. decurrens, -entis, p. pr. of decurrere to run down; de- + currere to run: cf. F. décurrent.] (Bot.) Extending downward; -- said of a leaf whose base extends downward and forms a wing along the stem. -- De*cur"rent*ly, adv.

De*cur"sion (?), n. [L. decursio, fr. decurrere. See Decurrent.] A flowing; also, a hostile incursion. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

De*cur"sive (?), a. [Cf. F. décursif. See Decurrent.] Running down; decurrent.

De*cur"sive*ly, adv. In a decursive manner.

Decursively pinnate (Bot.), having the leaflets decurrent, or running along the petiole; -- said of a leaf.

De*curt" (?), v. t. [L. decurtare; de- + curtare.] To cut short; to curtail. [Obs.] Bale.

De`cur*ta"tion (?), n. [L. decurtatio.] Act of cutting short. [Obs.]

Dec"u*ry (?), n.; pl. Decuries (#). [L. decuria, fr. decem ten.] A set or squad of ten men under a decurion. Sir W. Raleigh.

De*cus"sate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Decussated; p. pr. & vb. n. Decussating.] [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.] 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.

{ De*cus"sate (?), De*cus"sa*ted (?), } a. 1. Crossed; intersected.

2. (Bot.) Growing in pairs, each of which is at right angles to the next pair above or below; as, decussated leaves or branches.

3. (Rhet.) Consisting of two rising and two falling clauses, placed in alternate opposition to each other; as, a decussated period.

De*cus"sate*ly (?), adv. In a decussate manner.

De`cus*sa"tion (?), n. [L. decussatio.] 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.

De*cus"sa*tive (?), a. Intersecting at acute angles. Sir T. Browne.

De*cus"sa*tive*ly, adv. Crosswise; in the form of an X. "Anointed decussatively." Sir T. Browne.

De"cyl (?), n. [L. decem ten + -yl.] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon radical, C10H21, never existing alone, but regarded as the characteristic constituent of a number of compounds of the paraffin series.

De*cyl"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Allied to, or containing, the radical decyl.

De*dal"ian (?), a. See Dædalian.

Ded"a*lous (?), a. See Dædalous.

||De*dans" (?), n. [F.] (Court Tennis) A division, at one end of a tennis court, for spectators.

Dede (?), a. Dead. [Obs.] Chaucer.

De*dec"o*rate (?), v. t. [L. dedecoratus, p. p. of dedecorare to disgrace. See Decorate.] To bring to shame; to disgrace. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*dec`o*ra"tion (?), n. [L. dedecoratio.] Disgrace; dishonor. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*dec"o*rous (?), a. [L. dedecorus. See Decorous.] Disgraceful; unbecoming. [R.] Bailey.

De`den*ti"tion (?), n. The shedding of teeth. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Ded"i*cate (?), p. a. [L. dedicatus, p. p. of dedicare to affirm, to dedicate; de- + dicare to declare, dedicate; akin to dicere to say. See Diction.] Dedicated; set apart; devoted; consecrated. "Dedicate to nothing temporal." Shak.

Syn. -- Devoted; consecrated; addicted.

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.

Ded`i*ca*tee" (?), n. One to whom a thing is dedicated; -- correlative to dedicator.

Ded`i*ca"tion (?), n. [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.

Ded"i*ca`tor (?), n. [L.: cf. F. dédicateur.] One who dedicates; more especially, one who inscribes a book to the favor of a patron, or to one whom he desires to compliment.

Ded`i*ca*to"ri*al (?), a. Dedicatory.

Ded"i*ca*to*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. dédicatoire.] Constituting or serving as a dedication; complimental. "An epistle dedicatory." Dryden.

Ded"i*ca*to*ry, n. Dedication. [R.] Milton.

||Ded"i*mus (?), n. [L. dedimus we have given, fr. dare to give. So called because the writ began, Dedimus potestatem, etc.] (Law) A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, as to examine a witness, etc. Bouvier.

De*di"tion (?), n. [L. deditio, fr. dedere to give away, surrender; de- + dare to give.] The act of yielding; surrender. [R.] Sir M. Hale.

Ded"o*lent (?), a. [L. dedolens, p. pr. of dedolere to give over grieving; de- + dolere to grieve.] Feeling no compunction; apathetic. [R.] Hallywell.

De*duce" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deduced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deducing.] [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.

De*duce"ment (?), n. Inference; deduction; thing deduced. [R.] Dryden.

De*du`ci*bil"i*ty (?), n. Deducibleness.

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).

De*du"ci*ble*ness, n. The quality of being deducible; deducibility.

De*du"ci*bly (?), adv. By deduction.

De*du"cive (?), a. That deduces; inferential.

De*duct" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deducted; p. pr. & vb. n. Deducting.] [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.

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.

De*duc"tion (?), n. [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.

De*duct"ive (?), a. [Cf. L. deductivus derivative.] 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.

De*duct"ive*ly, adv. By deduction; by way of inference; by consequence. Sir T. Browne.

||De*duc"tor (?), n. [L., a guide. See Deduce.] (Zoöl.) The pilot whale or blackfish.

De*duit" (?), n. [F. déduit. Cf. Deduct.] Delight; pleasure. [Obs.] Chaucer.

De*du`pli*ca"tion (?), n. [Pref. de- + duplication.] (Biol.) 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 (?), a. Dead. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Deed, n. [AS. d&?;d; akin to OS. dād, D. & Dan. daad, G. thai, Sw. dåd, Goth. d&?;ds; 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) A sealed instrument in writing, on paper or parchment, duly executed and delivered, containing some transfer, bargain, or contract.

&fist; 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, v. t. To convey or transfer by deed; as, he deeded all his estate to his eldest son. [Colloq. U. S.]

Deed"ful (?), a. Full of deeds or exploits; active; stirring. [R.] "A deedful life." Tennyson.

Deed"less, a. Not performing, or not having performed, deeds or exploits; inactive.

Deedless in his tongue.
Shak.

Deed" poll` (?). (Law) 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.

Deed"y (?), a. Industrious; active. [R.] Cowper.

Deem (dēm), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deemed (dēmd); p. pr. & vb. n. Deeming.] [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. dēman, fr. dōm doom; akin to OFries. dēma, OS. adōmian, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. dōmjan. 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, 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, n. Opinion; judgment. [Obs.] Shak.

Deem"ster (dēm"st&etilde;r), n. [Deem + -ster; i. e., doomster. Cf. Dempster.] A judge in the Isle of Man who decides controversies without process. Cowell.

Deep (dēp), a. [Compar. Deeper (?); superl. Deepest (?).] [OE. dep, deop, AS. deóp; akin to D. diep, G. tief, Icel. djūpr, 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 thoughts 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, adv. 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.

&fist; 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, 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 deep.
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.

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.

Deep"en, v. i. 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` (?), a. Deeply fetched or drawn. [Obs.] "Deep-fet groans." Shak.

Deep"-laid` (?), a. Laid deeply; formed with cunning and sagacity; as, deep-laid plans.

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` (?), a. Having a loud and sonorous voice. "Deep-mouthed dogs." Dryden.

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` (?), a. Profoundly book- learned. "Great writers and deep-read men." L'Estrange.

Deep"-sea` (?), a. 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"-waist`ed (?), a. (Naut.) Having a deep waist, as when, in a ship, the poop and forecastle are much elevated above the deck.

Deer (dēr), n. sing. & pl. [OE. der, deor, animal, wild animal, AS. deór; akin to D. dier, OFries. diar, G. thier, tier, Icel. d&ymacr;r, Dan. dyr, Sw. djur, Goth. dius; of unknown origin. √71.] 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.) 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.

&fist; 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.

&fist; 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.

Deer"ber`ry (?), n. (Bot.) A shrub of the blueberry group (Vaccinium stamineum); also, its bitter, greenish white berry; -- called also squaw huckleberry.

Deer"grass` (?), n. (Bot.) 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.

Deer"hound` (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of a large and fleet breed of hounds used in hunting deer; a staghound.

Deer"let (?), n. [Deer + - let.] (Zoöl.) A chevrotain. See Kanchil, and Napu.

Deer"-neck` (?), n. A deerlike, or thin, ill-formed neck, as of a horse.

Deer"skin` (?), n. The skin of a deer, or the leather which is made from it. Hakluyt. Longfellow.

Deer"stalk`er (?), n. One who practices deerstalking.

Deer"stalk`ing, n. The hunting of deer on foot, by stealing upon them unawares.

Deer's"-tongue` (?), n. (Bot.) A plant (Liatris odoratissima) whose fleshy leaves give out a fragrance compared to vanilla. Wood.

Dees (?), n. pl. Dice. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dees, n. A dais. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||De*e"sis (d&esl;*ē"s&ibreve;s), n. [NL., fr. Gr. de`hsis supplication.] (Rhet.) An invocation of, or address to, the Supreme Being.

De"ess (d&esl;"&ebreve;s), n. [F. déesse, fem. of dieu god.] A goddess. [Obs.] Croft.

||Deev (?), n. (Hind. & Pers. Myth.) See Dev.

De*face" (d&esl;*fās"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defaced (-fāst"); p. pr. & vb. n. Defacing.] [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. [Cf. F. défaire.] 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.

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.

De*fa"cer (?), n. One who, or that which, defaces or disfigures.

||De` fac"to (?). [L.] Actually; in fact; in reality; as, a king de facto, -- distinguished from a king de jure, or by right.

De*fail" (?), v. t. [F. défaillir to fail; pref. dé- (L. de) + faillir. See Fail, and cf. Default.] To cause to fail. [Obs.]

De*fail"ance (?), n. [F. défaillance.] Failure; miscarriage. [Obs.]

Possibility of defailance in degree or continuance.
Comber.

De*fail"ure (?), n. Failure. [Obs.] Barrow.

De*fal"cate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defalcated; p. pr. & vb. n. Defalcating.] [LL. defalcatus, p. p. of defalcare to deduct, orig., to cut off with a sickle; L. de- + falx, falcis, a sickle. See Falchion.] 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 them [the estimates].
Burke.

De*fal"cate, v. i. To commit defalcation; to embezzle money held in trust. "Some partner defalcating, or the like." Carlyle.

De`fal*ca"tion (?), n. [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 having it in trust; an embezzlement.

Def"al*ca`tor (?), n. A defaulter or embezzler. [Modern]

De*falk" (?), v. t. [F. défalquer. See Defalcate.] To lop off; to abate. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Def`a*ma"tion (?), n. [OE. diffamacioun, F. diffamation. See Defame.] 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.

&fist; In modern usage, written defamation bears the title of libel, and oral defamation that of slander. Burrill.

De*fam"a*to*ry (?), a. Containing defamation; injurious to reputation; calumnious; slanderous; as, defamatory words; defamatory writings.

De*fame" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defamed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Defaming.] [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.

De*fame", n. Dishonor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

De*fam"er (?), n. One who defames; a slanderer; a detractor; a calumniator.

De*fam"ing*ly, adv. In a defamatory manner.

Def"a*mous (?), a. Defamatory. [Obs.]

De*fat"i*ga*ble (?), a. [See Defatigate.] Capable of being wearied or tired out. [R.] Glanvill.

De*fat"i*gate (?), v. t. [L. defatigatus, p. p. of defatigare; de- + fatigare to weary. See Fatigue.] To weary or tire out; to fatigue. [R.] Sir T. Herbert.

De*fat`i*ga"tion (?), n. [L. defatigatio.] Weariness; fatigue. [R.] Bacon.

De*fault" (?), n. [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 what duty or law requires; as, 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) 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.

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.

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) 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.

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.

De*fea"sance (?), n. [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) A condition, relating to a deed, which being performed, the deed is defeated or rendered void; or a collateral deed, made at the same time with a feoffment, or other conveyance, containing conditions, on the performance of which the estate then created may be defeated.

&fist; Mortgages were usually made in this manner in former times, but the modern practice is to include the conveyance and the defeasance in the same deed.

De*fea"sanced (?), a. (Law) Liable to defeasance; capable of being made void or forfeited.

De*fea"si*ble (?), a. [See Defeasance.] Capable of being annulled or made void; as, a defeasible title. -- De*fea"si*ble*ness, n.

De*feat" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defeated; p. pr. & vb. n. Defeating.] [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.] 1. To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [Obs.]

His unkindness may defeat my life.
Shak.

2. To render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate.

He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes.
Tillotson.

The escheators . . . defeated the right heir of his succession.
Hallam.

In one instance he defeated his own purpose.
A. W. Ward.

3. To overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow.

4. To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault.

Sharp reasons to defeat the law.
Shak.

Syn. -- To baffle; disappoint; frustrate.

De*feat", n. [Cf. F. défaite, fr. défaire. See Defeat, v.] 1. An undoing or annulling; destruction. [Obs.]

Upon whose property and most dear life
A damned defeat was made.
Shak.

2. Frustration by rendering null and void, or by prevention of success; as, the defeat of a plan or design.

3. An overthrow, as of an army in battle; loss of a battle; repulse suffered; discomfiture; -- opposed to victory.

De*fea"ture (?; 135), n. [OF. desfaiture a killing, disguising, prop., an undoing. See Defeat, and cf. Disfeature.] 1. Overthrow; defeat. [Obs.] "Nothing but loss in their defeature." Beau. & Fl.

2. Disfigurement; deformity. [Obs.] "Strange defeatures in my face." Shak.

De*fea"tured (?; 135), p. p. Changed in features; deformed. [R.]

Features when defeatured in the . . . way I have described.
De Quincey.

Def"e*cate (?), a. [L. defaecatus, p. p. of defaecare to defecate; de- + faex, faecis, dregs, lees.] Freed from anything that can pollute, as dregs, lees, etc.; refined; purified.

Till the soul be defecate from the dregs of sense.
Bates.

Def"e*cate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defecated; p. pr. & vb. n. Defecating.] 1. To clear from impurities, as lees, dregs, etc.; to clarify; to purify; to refine.

To defecate the dark and muddy oil of amber.
Boyle.

2. To free from extraneous or polluting matter; to clear; to purify, as from that which materializes.

We defecate the notion from materiality.
Glanvill.

Defecated from all the impurities of sense.
Bp. Warburton.

Def"e*cate (?), v. i. 1. To become clear, pure, or free. Goldsmith.

2. To void excrement.

Def`e*ca"tion (?), n. [L. defaecatio: cf. F. défécation.] 1. The act of separating from impurities, as lees or dregs; purification.

2. (Physiol.) The act or process of voiding excrement.

Def"e*ca`tor (?), n. That which cleanses or purifies; esp., an apparatus for removing the feculencies of juices and sirups. Knight.

De*fect" (?), n. [L. defectus, fr. deficere, defectum, to desert, fail, be wanting; de- + facere to make, do. See Fact, Feat, and cf. Deficit.] 1. Want or absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection; deficiency; -- opposed to superfluity.

Errors have been corrected, and defects supplied.
Davies.

2. Failing; fault; imperfection, whether physical or moral; blemish; as, a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment.

Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know,
Make use of every friend -- and every foe.
Pope.

Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects.
Macaulay.

Syn. -- Deficiency; imperfection; blemish. See Fault.

De*fect", v. i. To fail; to become deficient. [Obs.] "Defected honor." Warner.

De*fect", v. t. To injure; to damage. "None can my life defect." [R.] Troubles of Q. Elizabeth (1639).

De*fect`i*bil"i*ty (?), n. Deficiency; imperfection. [R.] Ld. Digby. Jer. Taylor.

De*fect"i*ble (?), a. Liable to defect; imperfect. [R.] "A defectible understanding." Jer. Taylor.

De*fec"tion (?), n. [L. defectio: cf. F. défection. See Defect.] Act of abandoning a person or cause to which one is bound by allegiance or duty, or to which one has attached himself; desertion; failure in duty; a falling away; apostasy; backsliding. "Defection and falling away from God." Sir W. Raleigh.

The general defection of the whole realm.
Sir J. Davies.

De*fec"tion*ist, n. One who advocates or encourages defection.

De*fec"tious (?), a. Having defects; imperfect. [Obs.] "Some one defectious piece." Sir P. Sidney.

De*fect"ive (?), a. [L. defectivus: cf. F. défectif. See Defect.] 1. Wanting in something; incomplete; lacking a part; deficient; imperfect; faulty; -- applied either to natural or moral qualities; as, a defective limb; defective timber; a defective copy or account; a defective character; defective rules.

2. (Gram.) Lacking some of the usual forms of declension or conjugation; as, a defective noun or verb. -- De*fect"ive*ly, adv. -- De*fect"ive*ness, n.

De*fec`tu*os"i*ty (?; 135), n. [Cf. F. défectuosité.] Great imperfection. [Obs.] W. Montagu.

De*fec"tu*ous (?), a. [Cf. F. défectueux.] Full of defects; imperfect. [Obs.] Barrow.

Def`e*da"tion (?), n. [L. defoedare, defoedatum, to defile; de- + foedare to foul, foedus foul.] The act of making foul; pollution. [Obs.]

De*fence" (d&esl;*f&ebreve;ns"), n. & v. t. See Defense.

De*fend" (d&esl;*f&ebreve;nd"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defended; p. pr. & vb. n. Defending.] [F. défendre, L. defendere; de- + fendere (only in comp.) to strike; perh. akin to Gr. qei`nein to strike, and E. dint. Cf. Dint, Defense, Fend.] 1. To ward or fend off; to drive back or away; to repel. [A Latinism & Obs.]

Th' other strove for to defend
The force of Vulcan with his might and main.
Spenser.

2. To prohibit; to forbid. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Which God defend that I should wring from him.
Shak.

3. To repel danger or harm from; to protect; to secure against attack; to maintain against force or argument; to uphold; to guard; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies.

The lord mayor craves aid . . . to defend the city.
Shak.

God defend the right!
Shak.

A village near it was defended by the river.
Clarendon.

4. (Law.) To deny the right of the plaintiff in regard to (the suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to contest, as a suit. Burrill.

Syn. -- To Defend, Protect. To defend is literally to ward off; to protect is to cover so as to secure against approaching danger. We defend those who are attacked; we protect those who are liable to injury or invasion. A fortress is defended by its guns, and protected by its wall.

As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it.
Is. xxxi. 5.

Leave not the faithful side
That gave thee being, still shades thee and protects.
Milton.

De*fend"a*ble (d&esl;*f&ebreve;nd"&adot;*b'l), a. [Cf. F. défendable.] Capable of being defended; defensible. [R.]

De*fend"ant (aant), a. [F. défendant, p. pr. of défendre. See Defend.] 1. Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive. [Obs.]

With men of courage and with means defendant.
Shak.

2. Making defense.

De*fend"ant, n. 1. One who defends; a defender.

The rampiers and ditches which the defendants had cast up.
Spotswood.

2. (Law) A person required to make answer in an action or suit; -- opposed to plaintiff. Abbott.

&fist; The term is applied to any party of whom a demand is made in court, whether the party denies and defends the claim, or admits it, and suffers a default; also to a party charged with a criminal offense.

De`fen*dee" (d&esl;`f&ebreve;n*dē" or d&esl;*f&ebreve;nd"ē`), n. One who is defended. [R. & Ludicrous]

De*fend"er (d&esl;*f&ebreve;nd"&etilde;r), n. [Cf. Fender.] One who defends; one who maintains, supports, protects, or vindicates; a champion; an advocate; a vindicator.

Provinces . . . left without their ancient and puissant defenders.
Motley.

De*fend"ress (?), n. A female defender. [R.]

Defendress of the faith.
Stow.

De*fen"sa*tive (?), n. [L. defensare, defensatum, to defend diligently, intens. of defendere. See Defend.] That which serves to protect or defend.

{ De*fense", De*fence" } (?), n. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. LL. defensum), from defendere. See Defend, and cf. Fence.] 1. The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger.

In cases of defense 't is best to weigh
The enemy more mighty than he seems.
Shak.

2. That which defends or protects; anything employed to oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain security; a guard; a protection.

War would arise in defense of the right.
Tennyson.

God, the widow's champion and defense.
Shak.

3. Protecting plea; vindication; justification.

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense.
Acts xxii. 1.

4. (Law) The defendant's answer or plea; an opposing or denial of the truth or validity of the plaintiff's or prosecutor's case; the method of proceeding adopted by the defendant to protect himself against the plaintiff's action.

5. Act or skill in making defense; defensive plan or policy; practice in self defense, as in fencing, boxing, etc.

A man of great defense.
Spenser.

By how much defense is better than no skill.
Shak.

6. Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance. [Obs.]

Severe defenses . . . against wearing any linen under a certain breadth.
Sir W. Temple.

De*fense", v. t. To furnish with defenses; to fortify. [Obs.] [Written also defence.]

Better manned and more strongly defensed.
Hales.

De*fense"less, a. Destitute of defense; unprepared to resist attack; unable to oppose; unprotected. -- De*fense"less*ly, adv. -- De*fense"less*ness, n.

De*fens"er (?), n. [Cf. F. défenseur, L. defensor. Cf. Defensor.] Defender. [Obs.] Foxe.

De*fen`si*bil"i*ty (?), n. Capability of being defended.

De*fen"si*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. défensable, LL. defensabilis, defensibilis. See Defense, and cf. Defendable.] 1. Capable of being defended; as, a defensible city, or a defensible cause.

2. Capable of offering defense. [Obs.] Shak.

De*fen"si*ble*ness (?), n. Capability of being defended; defensibility. Priestley.

De*fen"sive (?), a. [Cf. F. défensif.] 1. Serving to defend or protect; proper for defense; opposed to offensive; as, defensive armor.

A moat defensive to a house.
Shak.

2. Carried on by resisting attack or aggression; -- opposed to offensive; as, defensive war.

3. In a state or posture of defense. Milton.

De*fen"sive, n. That which defends; a safeguard.

Wars preventive, upon just fears, are true defensives.
Bacon.

To be on the defensive, To stand on the defensive, to be or stand in a state or posture of defense or resistance, in opposition to aggression or attack.

De*fen"sive*ly, adv. On the defensive.

De*fen"sor (?), n. [L. See Defenser.] 1. A defender. Fabyan.

2. (Law) A defender or an advocate in court; a guardian or protector.

3. (Eccl.) The patron of a church; an officer having charge of the temporal affairs of a church.

De*fen"so*ry (?), a. [L. defensorius.] Tending to defend; defensive; as, defensory preparations.

De*fer" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deferred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deferring.] [OE. differren, F. différer, fr. L. differre to delay, bear different ways; dis- + ferre to bear. See Bear to support, and cf. Differ, Defer to offer.] To put off; to postpone to a future time; to delay the execution of; to delay; to withhold.

Defer the spoil of the city until night.
Shak.

God . . . will not long defer
To vindicate the glory of his name.
Milton.

De*fer", v. i. To put off; to delay to act; to wait.

Pius was able to defer and temporize at leisure.
J. A. Symonds.

De*fer", v. t. [F. déférer to pay deference, to yield, to bring before a judge, fr. L. deferre to bring down; de- + ferre to bear. See Bear to support, and cf. Defer to delay, Delate.] 1. To render or offer. [Obs.]

Worship deferred to the Virgin.
Brevint.

2. To lay before; to submit in a respectful manner; to refer; -- with to.

Hereupon the commissioners . . . deferred the matter to the Earl of Northumberland.
Bacon.

De*fer", v. i. To yield deference to the wishes of another; to submit to the opinion of another, or to authority; -- with to.

The house, deferring to legal right, acquiesced.
Bancroft.

Def"er*ence (?), n. [F. déférence. See 3d Defer.] A yielding of judgment or preference from respect to the wishes or opinion of another; submission in opinion; regard; respect; complaisance.

Deference to the authority of thoughtful and sagacious men.
Whewell.

Deference is the most complicate, the most indirect, and the most elegant of all compliments.
Shenstone.

Syn. -- Deference, Reverence, Respect. Deference marks an inclination to yield one's opinion, and to acquiesce in the sentiments of another in preference to one's own. Respect marks the estimation that we have for another, which makes us look to him as worthy of high confidence for the qualities of his mind and heart. Reverence denotes a mingling of fear with a high degree of respect and esteem. Age, rank, dignity, and personal merit call for deference; respect should be paid to the wise and good; reverence is due to God, to the authors of our being, and to the sanctity of the laws.

Def"er*ent (?), a. [L. deferens, p. pr. of deferre. See 3d Defer.] Serving to carry; bearing. [R.] "Bodies deferent." Bacon.

Def"er*ent, n. 1. That which carries or conveys.

Though air be the most favorable deferent of sounds.
Bacon.

2. (Ptolemaic Astron.) An imaginary circle surrounding the earth, in whose periphery either the heavenly body or the center of the heavenly body's epicycle was supposed to be carried round.

Def`er*en"tial (?), a. [See Deference.] Expressing deference; accustomed to defer.

Def`er*en"tial*ly, adv. With deference.

De*fer"ment (?), n. [See 1st Defer.] The act of delaying; postponement. [R.]

My grief, joined with the instant business,
Begs a deferment.
Suckling.

De*fer"rer (?), n. One who defers or puts off.

{ De`fer*ves"cence (?), De`fer*ves"cency (?), } n. [L. defervescere to grow cool.] 1. A subsiding from a state of ebullition; loss of heat; lukewarmness.

A defervescency in holy actions.
Jer. Taylor.

2. (Med.) The subsidence of a febrile process; as, the stage of defervescence in pneumonia.

De*feu"dal*ize (?), v. t. To deprive of the feudal character or form.

De*fi"ance (?), n. [OF. defiance, desfiance, challenge, fr. desfier to challenge, F. défier. See Defy.] 1. The act of defying, putting in opposition, or provoking to combat; a challenge; a provocation; a summons to combat.

A war without a just defiance made.
Dryden.

Stood for her cause, and flung defiance down.
Tennyson.

2. A state of opposition; willingness to flight; disposition to resist; contempt of opposition.

He breathed defiance to my ears.
Shak.

3. A casting aside; renunciation; rejection. [Obs.] "Defiance to thy kindness." Ford.

To bid defiance, To set at defiance, to defy; to disregard recklessly or contemptuously. Locke.

De*fi"ant (?), a. [Cf. F. défiant, p. pr. of défier. See Defy.] Full of defiance; bold; insolent; as, a defiant spirit or act.

In attitude stern and defiant.
Longfellow.

-- De*fi"ant*ly, adv. -- De*fi"ant*ness, n.

De*fi"a*to*ry (?), a. [See Defy.] Bidding or manifesting defiance. [Obs.] Shelford.

De*fi"bri*nate (?), v. t. To deprive of fibrin, as fresh blood or lymph by stirring with twigs.

De*fi`bri*na"tion (?), n. The act or process of depriving of fibrin.

De*fi"bri*nize (?), v. t. To defibrinate.

De*fi"cience (?), n. Same as Deficiency.

Thou in thyself art perfect, and in thee
Is no deficience found.
Milton.

De*fi"cien*cy (?), n.; pl. Deficiencies (#). [See Deficient.] The state of being deficient; inadequacy; want; failure; imperfection; shortcoming; defect. "A deficiency of blood." Arbuthnot.

[Marlborough] was so miserably ignorant, that his deficiencies made him the ridicule of his contemporaries.
Buckle.

Deficiency of a curve (Geom.), the amount by which the number of double points on a curve is short of the maximum for curves of the same degree.

De*fi"cient (?), a. [L. deficiens, -entis, p. pr. of deficere to be wanting. See Defect.] Wanting, to make up completeness; wanting, as regards a requirement; not sufficient; inadequate; defective; imperfect; incomplete; lacking; as, deficient parts; deficient estate; deficient strength; deficient in judgment.

The style was indeed deficient in ease and variety.
Macaulay.

Deficient number. (Arith.) See under Abundant.

-- De*fi"cient-ly, adv.

Def"i*cit (?), n. [Lit., it is wanting, 3d person pres. indic. of L. deficere, cf. F. déficit. See Defect.] Deficiency in amount or quality; a falling short; lack; as, a deficit in taxes, revenue, etc. Addison.

De*fi"er (?), n. [See Defy.] One who dares and defies; a contemner; as, a defier of the laws.

De*fig`u*ra"tion (?), n. Disfiguration; mutilation. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

De*fig"ure (?), v. t. [Pref. de- (intens.) + figure.] To delineate. [Obs.]

These two stones as they are here defigured.
Weever.

De`fi*lade" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defiladed; p. pr. & vb. n. Defilading.] [Cf. F. défiler to defile, and défilade act of defiling. See 1st Defile.] (Mil.) To raise, as a rampart, so as to shelter interior works commanded from some higher point.

De`fi*lad"ing, n. (Mil.) The art or act of determining the directions and heights of the lines of rampart with reference to the protection of the interior from exposure to an enemy's fire from any point within range, or from any works which may be erected. Farrow.

De*file" (d&esl;*fīl"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Defiled (-fīld"); p. pr. & vb. n. Defiling.] [F. défiler; pref. dé-, for des- (L. dis-) + file a row or line. See File a row.] To march off in a line, file by file; to file off.

De*file", v. t. (Mil.) Same as Defilade.

De*file" (d&esl;*fīl" or dē"fīl; 277), n. [Cf. F. défilé, fr. défiler to defile.] 1. Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks, etc.

2. (Mil.) The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior. See Defilade.

De*file" (d&esl;*fīl"), v. t. [OE. defoulen, -foilen, to tread down, OF. defouler; de- + fouler to trample (see Full, v. t.), and OE. defoulen to foul (influenced in form by the older verb defoilen). See File to defile, Foul, Defoul.] 1. To make foul or impure; to make filthy; to dirty; to befoul; to pollute.

They that touch pitch will be defiled.
Shak.

2. To soil or sully; to tarnish, as reputation; to taint.

He is . . . among the greatest prelates of this age, however his character may be defiled by . . . dirty hands.
Swift.

3. To injure in purity of character; to corrupt.

Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt.
Ezek. xx. 7.

4. To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate.

The husband murder'd and the wife defiled.
Prior.

5. To make ceremonially unclean; to pollute.

That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile therewith.
Lev. xxii. 8.

De*file"ment (?), n. [Cf. F. défilement. See Defile] (Mil.) The protection of the interior walls of a fortification from an enfilading fire, as by covering them, or by a high parapet on the exposed side.

De*file"ment, n. [From 3d Defile.] The act of defiling, or state of being defiled, whether physically or morally; pollution; foulness; dirtiness; uncleanness.

Defilements of the flesh.
Hopkins.

The chaste can not rake into such filth without danger of defilement.
Addison.

De*fil"er (?), n. One who defiles; one who corrupts or violates; that which pollutes.

De*fil`i*a"tion (?), n. [L. de- + filius son.] Abstraction of a child from its parents. Lamb.

De*fin"a*ble (?), a. [From Define.] Capable of being defined, limited, or explained; determinable; describable by definition; ascertainable; as, definable limits; definable distinctions or regulations; definable words. -- De*fin"a*bly, adv.

De*fine" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defined (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Defining.] [OE. definer, usually, to end, to finish, F. définir to define, L. definire to limit, define; de- + finire to limit, end, finis boundary, limit, end. See Final, Finish.] 1. To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end. "To define controversies." Barrow.

2. To determine or clearly exhibit the boundaries of; to mark the limits of; as, to define the extent of a kingdom or country.

3. To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly; as, the defining power of an optical instrument.

Rings . . . very distinct and well defined.
Sir I. Newton.

4. To determine the precise signification of; to fix the meaning of; to describe accurately; to explain; to expound or interpret; as, to define a word, a phrase, or a scientific term.

They define virtue to be life ordered according to nature.
Robynson (More's Utopia).

De*fine" (?), v. i. To determine; to decide. [Obs.]

De*fine"ment (?), n. The act of defining; definition; description. [Obs.] Shak.

De*fin"er (?), n. One who defines or explains.

Def"i*nite (?), a. [L. definitis, p. p. of definire: cf. F. défini. See Define.] 1. Having certain or distinct; determinate in extent or greatness; limited; fixed; as, definite dimensions; a definite measure; a definite period or interval.

Elements combine in definite proportions.
Whewell.

2. Having certain limits in signification; determinate; certain; precise; fixed; exact; clear; as, a definite word, term, or expression.

3. Determined; resolved. [Obs.] Shak.

4. Serving to define or restrict; limiting; determining; as, the definite article.

Definite article (Gram.), the article the, which is used to designate a particular person or thing, or a particular class of persons or things; -- also called a definitive. See Definitive, n. - - Definite inflorescence. (Bot.) See Determinate inflorescence, under Determinate. -- Law of definite proportions (Chem.), the essential law of chemical combination that every definite compound always contains the same elements in the same proportions by weight; and, if two or more elements form more than one compound with each other, the relative proportions of each are fixed. Compare Law of multiple proportions, under Multiple.

Def"i*nite, n. A thing defined or determined. [Obs.]

Def"i*nite*ly, adv. In a definite manner; with precision; precisely; determinately.

Def"i*nite*ness, n. The state of being definite; determinateness; precision; certainty.

Def`i*ni"tion (?), n. [L. definitio: cf. F. définition.] 1. The act of defining; determination of the limits; as, a telescope accurate in definition.

2. Act of ascertaining and explaining the signification; a description of a thing by its properties; an explanation of the meaning of a word or term; as, the definition of "circle;" the definition of "wit;" an exact definition; a loose definition.

Definition being nothing but making another understand by words what the term defined stands for.
Locke.

3. Description; sort. [R.] "A new creature of another definition." Jer. Taylor.

4. (Logic) An exact enunciation of the constituents which make up the logical essence.

5. (Opt.) Distinctness or clearness, as of an image formed by an optical instrument; precision in detail.

Syn. -- Definition, Explanation, Description. A definition is designed to settle a thing in its compass and extent; an explanation is intended to remove some obscurity or misunderstanding, and is therefore more extended and minute; a description enters into striking particulars with a view to interest or impress by graphic effect. It is not therefore true, though often said, that description is only an extended definition. "Logicians distinguish definitions into essential and accidental. An essential definition states what are regarded as the constituent parts of the essence of that which is to be defined; and an accidental definition lays down what are regarded as circumstances belonging to it, viz., properties or accidents, such as causes, effects, etc." Whately.

Def`i*ni"tion*al (?), a. Relating to definition; of the nature of a definition; employed in defining.

De*fin"i*tive (?), a. [L. definitivus: cf. F. définitif.] 1. Determinate; positive; final; conclusive; unconditional; express.

A strict and definitive truth.
Sir T. Browne.

Some definitive . . . scheme of reconciliation.
Prescott.

2. Limiting; determining; as, a definitive word.

3. Determined; resolved. [Obs.] Shak.

De*fin"i*tive, n. (Gram.) A word used to define or limit the extent of the signification of a common noun, such as the definite article, and some pronouns.

&fist; Definitives . . . are commonly called by grammarians articles. . . . They are of two kinds, either those properly and strictly so called, or else pronominal articles, such as this, that, any, other, some, all, no, none, etc. Harris (Hermes).

De*fin"i*tive*ly, adv. In a definitive manner.

De*fin"i*tive*ness, n. The quality of being definitive.

De*fin"i*tude (?), n. Definiteness. [R.]

Definitude . . . is a knowledge of minute differences.
Sir W. Hamilton.

De*fix" (?), v. t. [L. defixus, p. p. of defigere to fix; de- + figere to fix.] To fix; to fasten; to establish. [Obs.] "To defix their princely seat . . . in that extreme province." Hakluyt.

Def`la*gra*bil"i*ty (?), n. (Chem.) The state or quality of being deflagrable.

The ready deflagrability . . . of saltpeter.
Boyle.

De*fla"gra*ble (?; 277), a. [See Deflagrate.] (Chem.) Burning with a sudden and sparkling combustion, as niter; hence, slightly explosive; liable to snap and crackle when heated, as salt.

Def"la*grate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Deflagrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Deflagrating.] [L. deflagratus, p. p. of deflagrare to burn up; de- + flagrare to flame, burn.] (Chem.) To burn with a sudden and sparkling combustion, as niter; also, to snap and crackle with slight explosions when heated, as salt.

Def"la*grate, v. t. (Chem.) To cause to burn with sudden and sparkling combustion, as by the action of intense heat; to burn or vaporize suddenly; as, to deflagrate refractory metals in the oxyhydrogen flame.

Def`la*gra"tion (?), n. [L. deflagratio: cf. F. déflagration.] 1. A burning up; conflagration. "Innumerable deluges and deflagrations." Bp. Pearson.

2. (Chem.) The act or process of deflagrating.

Def"la*gra`tor (?), n. (Chem.) A form of the voltaic battery having large plates, used for producing rapid and powerful combustion.

De*flate" (?), v. t. [Pref. de- down + L. flare, flatus to blow.] To reduce from an inflated condition.

De*flect" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deflected; p. pr. & vb. n. Deflecting.] [L. deflectere; de- + flectere to bend or turn. See Flexible.] To cause to turn aside; to bend; as, rays of light are often deflected.

Sitting with their knees deflected under them.
Lord (1630).

De*flect", v. i. To turn aside; to deviate from a right or a horizontal line, or from a proper position, course or direction; to swerve.

At some part of the Azores, the needle deflecteth not, but lieth in the true meridian.
Sir T. Browne.

To deflect from the line of truth and reason.
Warburton.

De*flect"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being deflected.

De*flect"ed, a. 1. Turned aside; deviating from a direct line or course.

2. Bent downward; deflexed.

De*flec"tion (?), n. [L. deflexio, fr. deflectere: cf. F. déflexion.] 1. The act of turning aside, or state of being turned aside; a turning from a right line or proper course; a bending, esp. downward; deviation.

The other leads to the same point, through certain deflections.
Lowth.

2. (Gunnery) The deviation of a shot or ball from its true course.

3. (Opt.) A deviation of the rays of light toward the surface of an opaque body; inflection; diffraction.

4. (Engin.) The bending which a beam or girder undergoes from its own weight or by reason of a load.

De*flec`tion*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of freeing from inflections. Earle.

De*flec"tion*ize (?), v. t. To free from inflections.

Deflectionized languages are said to be analytic.
Earle.

De*flect"ive (?), a. Causing deflection.

Deflective forces, forces that cause a body to deviate from its course.

De*flect"or (?), n. (Mech.) That which deflects, as a diaphragm in a furnace, or a cone in a lamp (to deflect and mingle air and gases and help combustion).

De*flexed" (?), a. Bent abruptly downward.

De*flex"ion (?), n. See Deflection.

De*flex"ure (?), n. [From L. deflectere, deflexum. See Deflect.] A bending or turning aside; deflection. Bailey.

De*flo"rate (?), a. [LL. defloratus, p. p. of deflorare. See Deflour.] (Bot.) Past the flowering state; having shed its pollen. Gray.

Def`lo*ra"tion (?), n. [LL. defloratio: cf. F. défloration.] 1. The act of deflouring; as, the defloration of a virgin. Johnson.

2. That which is chosen as the flower or choicest part; careful culling or selection. [R.]

The laws of Normandy are, in a great measure, the defloration of the English laws.
Sir M. Hale.

De*flour" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defloured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deflouring.] [F. déflorer, LL. deflorare; L. de- + flos, floris, flower. See Flower, and cf. Deflorate.] 1. To deprive of flowers.

2. To take away the prime beauty and grace of; to rob of the choicest ornament.

He died innocent and before the sweetness of his soul was defloured and ravished from him.
Jer. Taylor.

3. To deprive of virginity, as a woman; to violate; to ravish; also, to seduce.

De*flour"er (?), n. One who deflours; a ravisher.

De*flow" (?), v. i. [Pref. de- + flow: cf. L. defluere.] To flow down. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

De*flow"er (?), v. t. [Pref. de- + flower.] Same as Deflour.

An earthquake . . . deflowering the gardens.
W. Montagu.

If a man had deflowered a virgin.
Milton.

De*flow"er*er (?), n. See Deflourer. Milton.

Def"lu*ous (?), a. [L. defluus, fr. defluere to flow down; de- + fluere to flow.] Flowing down; falling off. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*flux" (?), n. [L. defluxus, fr. defluere, defluxum.] Downward flow. [Obs.] Bacon.

De*flux"ion (?), n. [L. defluxio.] (Med.) A discharge or flowing of humors or fluid matter, as from the nose in catarrh; -- sometimes used synonymously with inflammation. Dunglison.

Def"ly (?), adv. Deftly. [Obs.] Spenser.

Def`œ*da"tion (?), n. Defedation. [Obs.]

{ De*fo"li*ate (?), De*fo"li*a`ted (?). } a. Deprived of leaves, as by their natural fall.

De*fo`li*a"tion (?), n. [LL. defoliare, defoliatum, to shed leaves; L. de- + folium leaf: cf. F. défoliation.] The separation of ripened leaves from a branch or stem; the falling or shedding of the leaves.

De*force" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deforced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deforcing.] [OF. deforcier; de- or des- (L. de or dis-) + forcier, F. forcer. See Force, v.] (Law) (a) To keep from the rightful owner; to withhold wrongfully the possession of, as of lands or a freehold. (b) (Scots Law) To resist the execution of the law; to oppose by force, as an officer in the execution of his duty. Burrill.

De*force"ment (?), n. [OF.] (Law) (a) A keeping out by force or wrong; a wrongful withholding, as of lands or tenements, to which another has a right. (b) (Scots Law) Resistance to an officer in the execution of law. Burrill.

De*force"or (?), n. Same as Deforciant. [Obs.]

De*for"ciant (?), n. [OF. deforciant, p. pr. of deforcier. See Deforce.] (Eng. Law) (a) One who keeps out of possession the rightful owner of an estate. (b) One against whom a fictitious action of fine was brought. [Obs.] Burrill.

De*for`ci*a"tion (?), n. (Law) Same as Deforcement, n.

De*for"est (?), v. t. To clear of forests; to disforest. U. S. Agric. Reports.

De*form" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deformed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deforming.] [L. deformare; de- + formare to form, shape, fr. forma: cf. F. déformer. See Form.] 1. To spoil the form of; to mar in form; to misshape; to disfigure.

Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
Into this breathing world.
Shak.

2. To render displeasing; to deprive of comeliness, grace, or perfection; to dishonor.

Above those passions that this world deform.
Thomson.

De*form", a. [L. deformis; de- + forma form: cf. OF. deforme, F. difforme. Cf. Difform.] Deformed; misshapen; shapeless; horrid. [Obs.]

Sight so deform what heart of rock could long
Dry-eyed behold?
Milton.

Def`or*ma"tion (?), n. [L. deformatio: cf. F. déformation.] 1. The act of deforming, or state of anything deformed. Bp. Hall.

2. Transformation; change of shape.

De*formed" (?), a. Unnatural or distorted in form; having a deformity; misshapen; disfigured; as, a deformed person; a deformed head. -- De*form"ed*ly (#), adv. -- De*form"ed*ness, n.

De*form"er (?), n. One who deforms.

De*form"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Deformities (#). [L. deformitas, fr. deformis: cf. OF. deformeté, deformité, F. difformité. See Deform, v. & a., and cf. Disformity.] 1. The state of being deformed; want of proper form or symmetry; any unnatural form or shape; distortion; irregularity of shape or features; ugliness.

To make an envious mountain on my back,
Where sits deformity to mock my body.
Shak.

2. Anything that destroys beauty, grace, or propriety; irregularity; absurdity; gross deviation from order or the established laws of propriety; as, deformity in an edifice; deformity of character.

Confounded, that her Maker's eyes
Should look so near upon her foul deformities.
Milton.

De*fors"er (?), n. [From Deforce.] [Written also deforsor.] A deforciant. [Obs.] Blount.

De*foul" (?), v. t. [See Defile, v. t.] 1. To tread down. [Obs.] Wyclif.

2. To make foul; to defile. [Obs.] Wyclif.

De*fraud" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defrauded; p. pr. & vb. n. Defrauding.] [L. defraudare; de- + fraudare to cheat, fr. fraus, fraudis, fraud: cf. OF. defrauder. See Fraud.] To deprive of some right, interest, or property, by a deceitful device; to withhold from wrongfully; to injure by embezzlement; to cheat; to overreach; as, to defraud a servant, or a creditor, or the state; -- with of before the thing taken or withheld.

We have defrauded no man.
2 Cor. vii. 2.

Churches seem injured and defrauded of their rights.
Hooker.

De`frau*da"tion (?), n. [L. defraudatio: cf. F. défraudation.] The act of defrauding; a taking by fraud. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

De*fraud"er (?), n. One who defrauds; a cheat; an embezzler; a peculator.

De*fraud"ment (?), n. [Cf. OF. defraudement.] Privation by fraud; defrauding. [Obs.] Milton.

De*fray" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defrayed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Defraying.] [F. défrayer; pref. dé- (L. de or dis-) + frais expense, fr. LL. fredum, fridum, expense, fine by which an offender obtained peace from his sovereign, or more likely, atoned for an offense against the public peace, fr. OHG. fridu peace, G. friede. See Affray.] 1. To pay or discharge; to serve in payment of; to provide for, as a charge, debt, expenses, costs, etc.

For the discharge of his expenses, and defraying his cost, he allowed him . . . four times as much.
Usher.

2. To avert or appease, as by paying off; to satisfy; as, to defray wrath. [Obs.] Spenser.

De*fray"al (?), n. The act of defraying; payment; as, the defrayal of necessary costs.

De*fray"er (?), n. One who pays off expenses.

De*fray"ment (?), n. Payment of charges.

Deft (?), a. [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS. dæft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to dafen, gedafen, becoming, fit, Goth. gadaban to be fit. Cf. Daft, Daff, Dapper.] Apt; fit; dexterous; clever; handy; spruce; neat. [Archaic or Poetic] "The deftest way." Shak. "Deftest feats." Gay.

The limping god, so deft at his new ministry.
Dryden.

Let me be deft and debonair.
Byron.

Deft"ly, adv. [Cf. Defly.] Aptly; fitly; dexterously; neatly. "Deftly dancing." Drayton.

Thyself and office deftly show.
Shak.

Deft"ness, n. The quality of being deft. Drayton.

De*funct" (?). a. [L. defunctus, p. p. of defungi to acquit one's self of, to perform, finish, depart, die; de + fungi to perform, discharge: cf. F. défunt. See Function.] Having finished the course of life; dead; deceased. "Defunct organs." Shak.

The boar, defunct, lay tripped up, near.
Byron.

De*funct", n. A dead person; one deceased.

De*func"tion (?), n. [L. defunctio performance, death.] Death. [Obs.]

After defunction of King Pharamond.
Shak.

De*func"tive (?), a. Funereal. [Obs.] "Defunctive music." Shak.

De*fuse" (?), v. t. [Cf. Diffuse.] To disorder; to make shapeless. [Obs.] Shak.

De*fy" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Defying.] [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to challenge, defy; fr. L. dis- + fides faith. See Faith, and cf. Diffident, Affiance.] 1. To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [Obs.]

I defy the surety and the bond.
Chaucer.

For thee I have defied my constant mistress.
Beau. & Fl.

2. To provoke to combat or strife; to call out to combat; to challenge; to dare; to brave; to set at defiance; to treat with contempt; as, to defy an enemy; to defy the power of a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy public opinion.

I once again
Defy thee to the trial of mortal fight.
Milton.

I defy the enemies of our constitution to show the contrary.
Burke.

De*fy" (?), n. A challenge. [Obs.] Dryden.

De*gar"nish (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Degarnished (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Degarnishing.] [F. dégarnir; pref. dé- , des- (L. dis-) + garnir to furnish. See Garnish, and cf. Disgarnish.] 1. To strip or deprive of entirely, as of furniture, ornaments, etc.; to disgarnish; as, to degarnish a house, etc. [R.]

2. To deprive of a garrison, or of troops necessary for defense; as, to degarnish a city or fort. [R.] Washington.

De*gar"nish*ment (?), n. The act of depriving, as of furniture, apparatus, or a garrison. [R.]

{ De*gen"der (?), De*gen"er (?), } v. i. [See Degenerate.] To degenerate. [Obs.] "Degendering to hate." Spenser.

He degenereth into beastliness.
Joye.

De*gen"er*a*cy (?), n. [From Degenerate, a.] 1. The act of becoming degenerate; a growing worse.

Willful degeneracy from goodness.
Tillotson.

2. The state of having become degenerate; decline in good qualities; deterioration; meanness.

Degeneracy of spirit in a state of slavery.
Addison.

To recover mankind out of their universal corruption and degeneracy.
S. Clarke.

De*gen"er*ate (?), a. [L. degeneratus, p. p. of degenerare to degenerate, cause to degenerate, fr. degener base, degenerate, that departs from its race or kind; de- + genus race, kind. See Kin relationship.] Having become worse than one's kind, or one's former state; having declined in worth; having lost in goodness; deteriorated; degraded; unworthy; base; low.

Faint-hearted and degenerate king.
Shak.

A degenerate and degraded state.
Milton.

Degenerate from their ancient blood.
Swift.

These degenerate days.
Pope.

I had planted thee a noble vine . . . : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
Jer. ii. 21.

De*gen"er*ate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Degenerated; p. pr. & vb. n. Degenerating.] 1. To be or grow worse than one's kind, or than one was originally; hence, to be inferior; to grow poorer, meaner, or more vicious; to decline in good qualities; to deteriorate.

When wit transgresseth decency, it degenerates into insolence and impiety.
Tillotson.

2. (Biol.) To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy structure of its kind; to become of a lower type.

De*gen"er*ate*ly (?), adv. In a degenerate manner; unworthily.

De*gen"er*ate*ness, n. Degeneracy.

De*gen`er*a"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. dégénération.] 1. The act or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse; decline; degradation; debasement; degeneracy; deterioration.

Our degeneration and apostasy.
Bates.

2. (Physiol.) That condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become either diminished or perverted; a substitution of a lower for a higher form of structure; as, fatty degeneration of the liver.

3. (Biol.) A gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants or any particular organ or organs; hereditary degradation of type.

4. The thing degenerated. [R.]

Cockle, aracus, . . . and other degenerations.
Sir T. Browne.

Amyloid degeneration, Caseous degeneration, etc. See under Amyloid, Caseous, etc.

De*gen`er*a"tion*ist, n. (Biol.) A believer in the theory of degeneration, or hereditary degradation of type; as, the degenerationists hold that savagery is the result of degeneration from a superior state.

De*gen"er*a*tive (?), a. Undergoing or producing degeneration; tending to degenerate.

De*gen"er*ous (?), a. [L. degener. See Degenerate.] Degenerate; base. [Obs.] "Degenerous passions." Dryden. "Degenerous practices." South.

De*gen"er*ous*ly, adv. Basely. [Obs.]

De*glaz"ing (?), n. The process of giving a dull or ground surface to glass by acid or by mechanical means. Knight.

De*glo"ried (?), a. Deprived of glory; dishonored. [Obs.] "With thorns degloried." G. Fletcher.

De*glu"ti*nate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deglutinated; p. pr. & vb. n. Deglutinating.] [L. deglutinatus, p. p. of deglutinare to deglutinate; de- + glutinare to glue, gluten glue.] To loosen or separate by dissolving the glue which unties; to unglue.

De*glu`ti*na"tion (?), n. The act of ungluing.

Deg`lu*ti"tion (?), n. [L. deglutire to swallow down; de- + glutire to swallow: cf. F. déglutition. See Glut.] The act or process of swallowing food; the power of swallowing.

The muscles employed in the act of deglutition.
Paley.

Deg`lu*ti"tious (?), a. Pertaining to deglutition. [R.]

De*glu"ti*to*ry (?), a. Serving for, or aiding in, deglutition.

Deg`ra*da"tion (?), n. [LL. degradatio, from degradare: cf. F. dégradation. See Degrade.] 1. The act of reducing in rank, character, or reputation, or of abasing; a lowering from one's standing or rank in office or society; diminution; as, the degradation of a peer, a knight, a general, or a bishop.

He saw many removes and degradations in all the other offices of which he had been possessed.
Clarendon.

2. The state of being reduced in rank, character, or reputation; baseness; moral, physical, or intellectual degeneracy; disgrace; abasement; debasement.

The . . . degradation of a needy man of letters.
Macaulay.

Deplorable is the degradation of our nature.
South.

Moments there frequently must be, when a sinner is sensible of the degradation of his state.
Blair.

3. Diminution or reduction of strength, efficacy, or value; degeneration; deterioration.

The development and degradation of the alphabetic forms can be traced.
I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

4. (Geol.) A gradual wearing down or wasting, as of rocks and banks, by the action of water, frost etc.

5. (Biol.) The state or condition of a species or group which exhibits degraded forms; degeneration.

The degradation of the species man is observed in some of its varieties.
Dana.

6. (Physiol.) Arrest of development, or degeneration of any organ, or of the body as a whole.

Degradation of energy, or Dissipation of energy (Physics), the transformation of energy into some form in which it is less available for doing work.

Syn. -- Abasement; debasement; reduction; decline.

De*grade" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Degraded; p. pr. & vb. n. Degrading.] [F. dégrader, LL. degradare, fr. L. de- + gradus step, degree. See Grade, and cf. Degree.] 1. To reduce from a higher to a lower rank or degree; to lower in rank; to deprive of office or dignity; to strip of honors; as, to degrade a nobleman, or a general officer.

Prynne was sentenced by the Star Chamber Court to be degraded from the bar.
Palfrey.

2. To reduce in estimation, character, or reputation; to lessen the value of; to lower the physical, moral, or intellectual character of; to debase; to bring shame or contempt upon; to disgrace; as, vice degrades a man.

O miserable mankind, to what fall
Degraded, to what wretched state reserved!
Milton.

Yet time ennobles or degrades each line.
Pope.

Her pride . . . struggled hard against this degrading passion.
Macaulay.

3. (Geol.) To reduce in altitude or magnitude, as hills and mountains; to wear down.

Syn. -- To abase; demean; lower; reduce. See Abase.

De*grade", v. i. (Biol.) To degenerate; to pass from a higher to a lower type of structure; as, a family of plants or animals degrades through this or that genus or group of genera.

De*grad"ed (?), a. 1. Reduced in rank, character, or reputation; debased; sunken; low; base.

The Netherlands . . . were reduced practically to a very degraded condition.
Motley.

2. (Biol.) Having the typical characters or organs in a partially developed condition, or lacking certain parts.

Some families of plants are degraded dicotyledons.
Dana.

3. [Cf. F. degré step.] (Her.) Having steps; -- said of a cross each of whose extremities finishes in steps growing larger as they leave the center; -- termed also on degrees.

De*grade"ment (?), n. Deprivation of rank or office; degradation. [R.] Milton.

De*grad"ing*ly, adv. In a degrading manner.

Deg`ra*va"tion (?), n. [L. degravare, degravatum, to make heavy. See Grave, a.] The act of making heavy. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*gree" (?), n. [F. degré, OF. degret, fr. LL. degradare. See Degrade.] 1. A step, stair, or staircase. [Obs.]

By ladders, or else by degree.
Rom. of R.

2. One of a series of progressive steps upward or downward, in quality, rank, acquirement, and the like; a stage in progression; grade; gradation; as, degrees of vice and virtue; to advance by slow degrees; degree of comparison.

3. The point or step of progression to which a person has arrived; rank or station in life; position. "A dame of high degree." Dryden. "A knight is your degree." Shak. "Lord or lady of high degree." Lowell.

4. Measure of advancement; quality; extent; as, tastes differ in kind as well as in degree.

The degree of excellence which proclaims genius, is different in different times and different places.
Sir. J. Reynolds.

5. Grade or rank to which scholars are admitted by a college or university, in recognition of their attainments; as, the degree of bachelor of arts, master, doctor, etc.

&fist; In the United States diplomas are usually given as the evidence of a degree conferred. In the humanities the first degree is that of bachelor of arts (B. A. or A. B.); the second that of master of arts (M. A. or A. M.). The degree of bachelor (of arts, science, divinity, law, etc.) is conferred upon those who complete a prescribed course of undergraduate study. The first degree in medicine is that of doctor of medicine (M. D.). The degrees of master and doctor are sometimes conferred, in course, upon those who have completed certain prescribed postgraduate studies, as doctor of philosophy (Ph. D.); but more frequently the degree of doctor is conferred as a complimentary recognition of eminent services in science or letters, or for public services or distinction (as doctor of laws (LL. D.) or doctor of divinity (D. D.), when they are called honorary degrees.

The youth attained his bachelor's degree, and left the university.
Macaulay.

6. (Genealogy) A certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of blood; one remove in the chain of relationship; as, a relation in the third or fourth degree.

In the 11th century an opinion began to gain ground in Italy, that third cousins might marry, being in the seventh degree according to the civil law.
Hallam.

7. (Arith.) Three figures taken together in numeration; thus, 140 is one degree, 222,140 two degrees.

8. (Algebra) State as indicated by sum of exponents; more particularly, the degree of a term is indicated by the sum of the exponents of its literal factors; thus, a2b3c is a term of the sixth degree. The degree of a power, or radical, is denoted by its index, that of an equation by the greatest sum of the exponents of the unknown quantities in any term; thus, ax4 + bx2 = c, and mx2y2 + nyx = p, are both equations of the fourth degree.

9. (Trig.) A 360th part of the circumference of a circle, which part is taken as the principal unit of measure for arcs and angles. The degree is divided into 60 minutes and the minute into 60 seconds.

10. A division, space, or interval, marked on a mathematical or other instrument, as on a thermometer. 11. (Mus.) A line or space of the staff.

&fist; The short lines and their spaces are added degrees.

Accumulation of degrees. (Eng. Univ.) See under Accumulation. -- By degrees, step by step; by little and little; by moderate advances. "I'll leave it by degrees." Shak. -- Degree of a curve or surface (Geom.), the number which expresses the degree of the equation of the curve or surface in rectilinear coördinates. A straight line will, in general, meet the curve or surface in a number of points equal to the degree of the curve or surface and no more. -- Degree of latitude (Geog.), on the earth, the distance on a meridian between two parallels of latitude whose latitudes differ from each other by one degree. This distance is not the same on different parts of a meridian, on account of the flattened figure of the earth, being 68.702 statute miles at the equator, and 69.396 at the poles. -- Degree of longitude, the distance on a parallel of latitude between two meridians that make an angle of one degree with each other at the poles -- a distance which varies as the cosine of the latitude, being at the equator 69.16 statute miles. -- To a degree, to an extreme; exceedingly; as, mendacious to a degree.

It has been said that Scotsmen . . . are . . . grave to a degree on occasions when races more favored by nature are gladsome to excess.
Prof. Wilson.

||De"gu (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A small South American rodent (Octodon Cumingii), of the family Octodontidæ.

De*gust" (?), v. t. [L. degustare: cf. F. déguster. See Gust to taste.] To taste. [Obs.] Cockeram.

Deg`us*ta"tion (?), n. [L. degustatio: cf. F. dégustation.] (Physiol.) Tasting; the appreciation of sapid qualities by the taste organs. Bp. Hall.

De*hisce" (?), v. i. [L. dehiscere; de- + hiscere to gape.] To gape; to open by dehiscence.

De*his"cence (?), n. [Cf. F. déhiscence.] 1. The act of gaping.

2. (Biol.) A gaping or bursting open along a definite line of attachment or suture, without tearing, as in the opening of pods, or the bursting of capsules at maturity so as to emit seeds, etc.; also, the bursting open of follicles, as in the ovaries of animals, for the expulsion of their contents.

De*his"cent (?), a. [L. dehiscens, -entis, p. pr. Cf. F. déhiscent.] Characterized by dehiscence; opening in some definite way, as the capsule of a plant.

De`ho*nes"tate (?), v. t. [L. dehonestatus, p. p. of dehonestare to dishonor; de- + honestare to make honorable. Cf. Dishonest, and see Honest.] To disparage. [Obs.]

De*hon`es*ta"tion (?), n. [L. dehonestatio.] A dishonoring; disgracing. [Obs.] Gauden.

De*horn" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dehorned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dehorning.] To deprive of horns; to prevent the growth of the horns of (cattle) by burning their ends soon after they start. See Dishorn. "Dehorning cattle." Farm Journal (1886).

||De*hors" (?), prep. [F., outside.] (Law) Out of; without; foreign to; out of the agreement, record, will, or other instrument.

||De*hors", n. (Mil.) All sorts of outworks in general, at a distance from the main works; any advanced works for protection or cover. Farrow.

De*hort" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dehorted; p. pr. & vb. n. Dehorting.] [L. dehortari; de- + hortari to urge, exhort.] To urge to abstain or refrain; to dissuade. [Obs.]

The apostles vehemently dehort us from unbelief.
Bp. Ward.

"Exhort" remains, but dehort, a word whose place neither "dissuade" nor any other exactly supplies, has escaped us.
Trench.

De`hor*ta"tion (?), n. [L. dehortatio.] Dissuasion; advice against something. [R.]

De*hort"a*tive (?), a. Dissuasive. [R.]

De*hort"a*to*ry (?), a. [L. dehortatorius.] Fitted or designed to dehort or dissuade. Bp. Hall.

De*hort"er (?), n. A dissuader; an adviser to the contrary. [Obs.]

De*hu"man*ize (?), v. t. To divest of human qualities, such as pity, tenderness, etc.; as, dehumanizing influences.

De*husk" (?), v. t. To remove the husk from. [Obs.] "Wheat dehusked upon the floor." Drant.

De*hy"drate (?), v. t. (Chem.) To deprive of water; to render free from water; as, to dehydrate alcohol.

De`hy*dra"tion (?), n. (Chem.) The act or process of freeing from water; also, the condition of a body from which the water has been removed.

De*hy"dro*gen*ate (?), v. t. (Chem.) To deprive of, or free from, hydrogen.

De*hy`dro*gen*a"tion (?), n. (Chem.) The act or process of freeing from hydrogen; also, the condition resulting from the removal of hydrogen.

De"i*cide (?), n. [L. deicida a deicide (in sense 2); deus god + cædere to cut, kill: cf. F. déicide.] 1. The act of killing a being of a divine nature; particularly, the putting to death of Jesus Christ. [R.]

Earth profaned, yet blessed, with deicide.
Prior.

2. One concerned in putting Christ to death.

Deic"tic (?), a. [Gr. deiktiko`s serving to show or point out, fr. deikny`nai to show.] (Logic) Direct; proving directly; -- applied to reasoning, and opposed to elenchtic or refutative.

Deic"tic*al*ly (?), adv. In a manner to show or point out; directly; absolutely; definitely.

When Christ spake it deictically.
Hammond.

{ De*if"ic (?), De*if"ic*al (?), } a. [L. deificus; deus god + facere to make: cf. F. déifique.] Making divine; producing a likeness to God; god-making. "A deifical communion." Homilies.

De`i*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [LL. deificare to deify: cf. F. déification. See Deify.] The act of deifying; exaltation to divine honors; apotheosis; excessive praise.

De"i*fied (?), a. Honored or worshiped as a deity; treated with supreme regard; godlike.

De"i*fi`er (?), n. One who deifies.

De"i*form (?), a. [L. deus a god + -form.] 1. Godlike, or of a godlike form. Dr. H. More.

2. Conformable to the will of God. [R.] Bp. Burnet.

De`i*for"mi*ty (?), n. Likeness to deity. [Obs.]

De"i*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deifying.] [F. déifier, LL. deificare, fr. L. deificus. See Deific, Deity, -fy.] 1. To make a god of; to exalt to the rank of a deity; to enroll among the deities; to apotheosize; as, Julius Cæsar was deified.

2. To praise or revere as a deity; to treat as an object of supreme regard; as, to deify money.

He did again so extol and deify the pope.
Bacon.

3. To render godlike.

By our own spirits are we deified.
Wordsworth.

Deign (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deigned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deigning.] [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent, and cf. Dainty, Dignity, Condign, Disdain.] 1. To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; - - opposed to disdain. [Obs.]

I fear my Julia would not deign my lines.
Shak.

2. To condescend to give or bestow; to stoop to furnish; to vouchsafe; to allow; to grant.

Nor would we deign him burial of his men.
Shak.

Deign, v. i. To think worthy; to vouchsafe; to condescend; - - followed by an infinitive.

O deign to visit our forsaken seats.
Pope.

Yet not Lord Cranstone deigned she greet.
Sir W. Scott.

Round turned he, as not deigning
Those craven ranks to see.
Macaulay.

In early English deign was often used impersonally.

Him deyneth not to set his foot to ground.
Chaucer.

Deign"ous (?), a. [For disdeignous, OF. desdeignos, desdaigneus, F. dédaigneux. See Disdain.] Haughty; disdainful. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Deil (dēl), n. Devil; -- spelt also deel. [Scot.]

Deil's buckie. See under Buckie.

||Dei*noc"e*ras (?), n. [NL.] (Paleon.) See Dinoceras.

||Dei*nor"nis (?), n. [NL.] (Paleon.) See Dinornis.

||Dei"no*saur (dī"n&osl;*s&add;r), n. [NL.] (Paleon.) See Dinosaur.

||Dei`no*the"ri*um (dī`n&osl;*thē"r&ibreve;*ŭm), n. [NL.] (Paleon.) See Dinotherium.

De*in"te*grate (?), v. t. [L. deintegrare to impair; de- + integrare to make whole.] To disintegrate. [Obs.]

{ Dein"te*ous (?), Dein"te*vous (?) }, a. Rare; excellent; costly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

De*ip"a*rous (d&esl;*&ibreve;p"&adot;*rŭs), a. [L. deus a god + parere to bring forth.] Bearing or bringing forth a god; -- said of the Virgin Mary. [Obs.] Bailey.

Deip*nos"o*phist (dīp*n&obreve;s"&osl;*f&ibreve;st), n. [Gr. deipnosofisth`s; dei^pnon a meal + sofisth`s a wise man, sophist.] One of an ancient sect of philosophers, who cultivated learned conversation at meals.

De"is (dē"&ibreve;s), n. See Dais.

De"ism (dē"&ibreve;z'm), n. [L. deus god: cf. F. déisme. See Deity.] The doctrine or creed of a deist; the belief or system of those who acknowledge the existence of one God, but deny revelation.

&fist; Deism is the belief in natural religion only, or those truths, in doctrine and practice, which man is to discover by the light of reason, independent of any revelation from God. Hence, deism implies infidelity, or a disbelief in the divine origin of the Scriptures.

De"ist (dē"&ibreve;st), n. [L. deus god: cf. F. déiste. See Deity.] One who believes in the existence of a God, but denies revealed religion; a freethinker.

&fist; A deist, as denying a revelation, is opposed to a Christian; as, opposed to the denier of a God, whether atheist or pantheist, a deist is generally denominated theist. Latham.

Syn. -- See Infidel.

{ De*is"tic (d&esl;*&ibreve;s"t&ibreve;k), De*is"tic*al (?), } a. Pertaining to, savoring of, or consisting in, deism; as, a deistic writer; a deistical book.

The deistical or antichristian scheme.
I. Watts.

De*is"tic*al*ly, adv. After the manner of deists.

De*is"tic*al*ness, n. State of being deistical.

De"i*tate (dē"&ibreve;*t&asl;t), a. Deified. [Obs.] Cranmer.

De"i*ty (dē"&ibreve;*t&ybreve;), n.; pl. Deities (- t&ibreve;z). [OE. deite, F. déité, fr. L. deitas, fr. deus a god; akin to divus divine, Jupiter, gen. Jovis, Jupiter, dies day, Gr. di^os divine, Zey`s, gen. Dio`s, Zeus, Skr. dēva divine, as a noun, god, daiva divine, dyō sky, day, hence, the sky personified as a god, and to the first syllable of E. Tuesday, Gael. & Ir. dia God, W. duw. Cf. Divine, Journey, Journal, Tuesday.] 1. The collection of attributes which make up the nature of a god; divinity; godhead; as, the deity of the Supreme Being is seen in his works.

They declared with emphasis the perfect deity and the perfect manhood of Christ.
Milman.

2. A god or goddess; a heathen god.

To worship calves, the deities
Of Egypt.
Milton.

The Deity, God, the Supreme Being.

This great poet and philosopher [Simonides], the more he contemplated the nature of the Deity, found that he waded but the more out of his depth.
Addison.

De*ject" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dejected; p. pr. & vb. n. Dejecting.] [L. dejectus, p. p. of dejicere to throw down; de- + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.] 1. To cast down. [Obs. or Archaic]

Christ dejected himself even unto the hells.
Udall.

Sometimes she dejects her eyes in a seeming civility; and many mistake in her a cunning for a modest look.
Fuller.

2. To cast down the spirits of; to dispirit; to discourage; to dishearten.

Nor think, to die dejects my lofty mind.
Pope.

De*ject", a. [L. dejectus, p. p.] Dejected. [Obs.]

||De*jec"ta (?), n. pl. [NL., neut. pl. from L. dejectus, p. p.] Excrements; as, the dejecta of the sick.

De*ject"ed, a. Cast down; afflicted; low-spirited; sad; as, a dejected look or countenance. -- De*ject"ed*ly, adv. -- De*ject"ed*ness, n.

De*ject"er (?), n. One who casts down, or dejects.

De*jec"tion (?), n. [L. dejectio a casting down: cf. F. déjection.] 1. A casting down; depression. [Obs. or Archaic] Hallywell.

2. The act of humbling or abasing one's self.

Adoration implies submission and dejection.
Bp. Pearson.

3. Lowness of spirits occasioned by grief or misfortune; mental depression; melancholy.

What besides,
Of sorrow, and dejection, and despair,
Our frailty can sustain, thy tidings bring.
Milton.

4. A low condition; weakness; inability. [R.]

A dejection of appetite.
Arbuthnot.

5. (Physiol.) (a) The discharge of excrement. (b) Fæces; excrement. Ray.

De*ject"ly (?), adv. Dejectedly. [Obs.]

De*jec"to*ry (?), a. [L. dejector a dejecter.] 1. Having power, or tending, to cast down.

2. Promoting evacuations by stool. Ferrand.

De*jec"ture (?; 135), n. That which is voided; excrements. Arbuthnot.

Dej"er*ate (?), v. i. [L. dejeratus, p. p. of dejerare to swear; de- + jurare to swear.] To swear solemnly; to take an oath. [Obs.] Cockeram.

Dej`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. dejeratio.] The act of swearing solemnly. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

||Dé`jeu`né" (?), n. [F.] A déjeuner.

Take a déjeuné of muskadel and eggs.
B. Jonson.

||Dé`jeu`ner" (?), n. [F. déjeuner breakfast, as a verb, to breakfast. Cf. Dinner.] A breakfast; sometimes, also, a lunch or collation.

||De` ju"re (?). [L.] By right; of right; by law; -- often opposed to de facto.

Dek"a- (?). (Metric System) A prefix signifying ten. See Deca-.

Dek"a*gram (?), n. Same as Decagram.

Dek"a*li`ter (?), n. Same as Decaliter.

Dek"a*me`ter (?), n. Same as Decameter.

Dek"a*stere` (?), n. Same as Decastere.

De"kle (?), n. (Paper Making) See Deckle.

Del (?), n. [See Deal, n.] Share; portion; part. [Obs.] Chaucer.

De*lac`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. delacerare, delaceratum, to tear in pieces. See Lacerate.] A tearing in pieces. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*lac`ry*ma"tion (?), n. [L. delacrimatio, fr. delacrimare to weep. See Lachrymation.] An involuntary discharge of watery humors from the eyes; wateriness of the eyes. [Obs.] Bailey.

De`lac*ta"tion (?), n. [Pref. de- + L. lactare to suck milk, from lac milk.] The act of weaning. [Obs.] Bailey.

De*laine" (?), n. [See Muslin delaine, under Muslin.] A kind of fabric for women's dresses.

De*lam`i*na"tion (?), n. (Biol.) Formation and separation of laminæ or layers; one of the methods by which the various blastodermic layers of the ovum are differentiated.

&fist; This process consists of a concentric splitting of the cells of the blastosphere into an outer layer (epiblast) and an inner layer (hypoblast). By the perforation of the resultant two-walled vesicle, a gastrula results similar to that formed by the process of invagination.

De`lap*sa"tion (?), n. See Delapsion. Ray.

De*lapse" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Delapsed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Delapsing.] [L. delapsus, p. p. of delabi to fall down; de- + labi to fall or side.] To pass down by inheritance; to lapse. [Obs.]

Which Anne derived alone the right, before all other,
Of the delapsed crown from Philip.
Drayton.

De*lap"sion (?), n. A falling down, or out of place; prolapsion.

De`las*sa"tion (?), n. [L. delassare, delassatum, to tire out; de- + lassare to tire.] Fatigue.

Able to continue without delassation.
Ray.

De*late" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Delated; p. pr. & vb. n. Delating.] [L. delatus, used as p. p. of deferre. See Tolerate, and cf. 3d Defer, Delay, v.] [Obs. or Archaic] 1. To carry; to convey.

Try exactly the time wherein sound is delated.
Bacon.

2. To carry abroad; to spread; to make public.

When the crime is delated or notorious.
Jer. Taylor.

3. To carry or bring against, as a charge; to inform against; to accuse; to denounce.

As men were delated, they were marked down for such a fine.
Bp. Burnet.

4. To carry on; to conduct. Warner.

De*late", v. i. To dilate. [Obs.] Goodwin.

De*la"tion (?), n. [L. delatio accusation: cf. F. délation.] 1. Conveyance. [Obs. or Archaic]

In delation of sounds, the inclosure of them preserveth them.
Bacon.

2. (Law) Accusation by an informer. Milman.

De*la"tor (?), n. [L.] An accuser; an informer. [R.] Howell.

Del"a*ware (?), n. (Bot.) An American grape, with compact bunches of small, amber-colored berries, sweet and of a good flavor.

Del"a*wares (?), n. pl.; sing. Delaware. (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians formerly inhabiting the valley of the Delaware River, but now mostly located in the Indian Territory.

De*lay" (?), n.; pl. Delays (#). [F. délai, fr. OF. deleer to delay, or fr. L. dilatum, which, though really from a different root, is used in Latin only as a p. p. neut. of differre to carry apart, defer, delay. See Tolerate, and cf. Differ, Delay, v.] A putting off or deferring; procrastination; lingering inactivity; stop; detention; hindrance.

Without any delay, on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat.
Acts xxv. 17.

The government ought to be settled without the delay of a day.
Macaulay.

De*lay", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Delayed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Delaying.] [OF. deleer, delaier, fr. the noun délai, or directly fr. L. dilatare to enlarge, dilate, in LL., to put off. See Delay, n., and cf. Delate, 1st Defer, Dilate.] 1. To put off; to defer; to procrastinate; to prolong the time of or before.

My lord delayeth his coming.
Matt. xxiv. 48.

2. To retard; to stop, detain, or hinder, for a time; to retard the motion, or time of arrival, of; as, the mail is delayed by a heavy fall of snow.

Thyrsis! whose artful strains have oft delayed
The huddling brook to hear his madrigal.
Milton.

3.