Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Dēm'i-dēv'il, n. p. 352Half a devil.Dēm'i-dis/tan'ce, n. p. 352(Fort.) The distance between the outward polygons and the flank. [Obs.]Dēm'i-dī'tōne, n. p. 352(Mus.) A minor third.Dēm'i-gāunt/let, n. p. 352(Surg.) A kind of bandage for disjointed fingers.Dēm'i-gōd, n. p. 352Half a god; one partaking of the divine nature; a fabulous hero, produced by the cohabitation of a deity with a mortal.Dēm'i-gōd/dess, n. p. 352A female demi-god.Dĕm'i-gôrge, n. p. 352(Fort.) That part of the interior polygon which remains after the flank is raised, extending from the curtain to the angle of the polygon. It is half of the vacant space or entrance into a bastion.…Dēm'i-grāte, v. i. p. 352To emigrate; to leave one's country. [Obs.] Cockeram.Dēm'i-grā'tion, n. p. 352Emigration. [Obs.] Cockram.Dēm’i-grōat, n. p. 352A half-groat.Dēm'i-jŏhn, n. p. 352A glass vessel or bottle with a large body and small neck, inclosed in wicker-work.Dēm'i-lānçe, n. p. 352A light lance; a short spear; a half-pike.Dēm'i-lūne, n. p. 352(Fort.) A work constructed beyond the main ditch of a fortress, and in front of the curtain between two bastions, intended to defend the curtain; a ravelin. See RAVELIN.Dēm'i-mān, n. p. 352Half a man;—used contemptuously.Dĕm'i-prēm'i-seş, n. pl. p. 352Half-premises.Dēm'i-quā'ver, n. p. 352(Mus.) A note of half the length of the quaver; a semi-quaver. [Rare.]Dēm'i-rĕp, n. p. 352A woman of suspicious chastity.Dēm'i-rī'lī-e'vo, n. p. 352(Sculp.) Half relief, or the standing out of a figure from the background by half its thickness.De-mis'a-bil'i-ty, n. p. 352(Law.) The state of being demisable.De-mīz'a-ble, a. p. 352Capable of being leased; as, an estate demisable by copy of court roll.De-mīse', n. p. 352Transmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor; transferrence; making over; especially the transfer or transmission of the crown or royal authority to a successor. 2. The decease of…De-mīse', v. t. p. 352To transfer or transmit by succession or inheritance; to grant or bestow by will; to bequeath. “Power to demise my lands.” Swift. 2. To convey; to give. [Rare.] His soul is at his conception demised…Dēm'/i-sēm'/i-quā'/ver, n. p. 352(Mus.) A short note, equal in time to the half of a semiquaver, or the thirty-second part of a whole note.De-mis'sion, n. p. 352The act of demitting, or the state of being demitted; a lowering; degradation; depression; humiliation; “A demission of sovereign authority.” L'Estrange. “Demission of mind.” Hammond.De-mīs'sion-a-ry, a. p. 352Pertaining to transfer or conveyance. 2. Tending to lower, depress, or degrade.De-miss'ive or De-miss', a. p. 352Humble. [Obs.]De-miss'ly, adv. p. 352In a humble manner. [Obs.]Dēm'i-sūit, n. p. 352A half suit, as of armor.De-mit', v. i. p. 352To let fall; to depress; hence, to lay down formally, as an office. They [peacocks] demit and let fall the same [i. e., their train]. Bacon. 2. To yield or submit; as, to demit one's self to humble…Dĕm′i-tĭnt′, n. p. 352(Paint.) A gradation of color between positive light and positive shade;—called also half-tint. Elmes.Dēm'i-tōne', n. p. 352(Mus.) An interval of half a tone; a semitone. [Rare.]Dēm'i-ŭrge, n. p. 352(Gr. Antiq.) The highest magistrate in several Grecian cities. 2. God as the creator and former of the world. 3. The creator of the world and of man from matter;—so called by the Gnostics, and…Dēm'i-ür'gie, a. p. 352Pertaining to a demiurge; formative; molding; creative. Far beyond all other political powers of Christianity is the demiurgic power of this religion over the kingdoms of human opinion. De Quincey.Dēm'i-vīll, n. p. 352(Law.) A half vill, consisting of five freemen or frankpledges. Blackstone.Dēm'i-vōlt, n. p. 352(Man.) One of the seven artificial motions of a horse, in which he raises his fore-legs in a particular manner.Dēm'i-wolf, n. p. 352Half a wolf; a mongrel dog, between a dog and a wolf. Shak.De-mōc'ra-cy, n. p. 352Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is in the hands of the people, and directly exercised by them; hence, more usually, a form of government in which the power…Dēm'o-crat, n. p. 352One who is an adherent or promoter of democracy, or government by the people. 2. A member of the democratic party. [U. S.]Dēm'o-crāt'ic, a. p. 352[Gr. δημοκρατικός, Fr. démo-Dēm'o-crāt'ie-al p. 352Appertaining to democracy, or favoring democracy, or constructed upon the principle of popular government. The Democratic party, name of one of the political parties in the United States.Dēm'o-crāt'ĭc-al, n. p. 352A democrat. [Obs.] Hobbes.Dēm'o-crāt'īe-al-ly, adv. p. 352In a democratical manner. Sidney.De-mōc'ra-tĭsm, n. p. 352The principles or spirit of democracy. [Rare.]De-mōc'ra-tīst, n. p. 352A democrat. [Rare.] Burke.De-mōc'ra-tīze, v. t. p. 352To render democratic. [Rare.]De-mōc'ra-ty, n. p. 352Democracy. [Obs.] Milton.Dē'mo-gôr'gon, n. p. 352A mysterious divinity among the ancients, regarded as an object of terror.Dem-oi-selle', n. p. 352A young lady; a lady's maid. 2. (Ornith.) The Numidian crane, Anthropoides virgo;—so called on account of the grace and symmetry of its form.De-mōl'ish, v. t. p. 352To throw or pull down; to raze; to destroy the fabric of; to pull to pieces; to ruin; as, to demolish an edifice, a wall, or fortification. “Their demolished works to pieces rent.” Dryden. Syn.—To…De-mŏl'ish-er, n. p. 353One who demolishes, or pulls or throws down; one who destroys or lays waste; as, a demolisher of towns.De-mō'li'sh-ment, n. p. 353Ruin; overthrow; demolition. [Obs.] Beaumont.Dēm’o-li'tion, n. p. 353The act of overthrowing, pulling down, or destroying a pile or structure; ruin; destruction; as, the demolition of a house, or of military works.Dē'mon, n. p. 353(Gr. Antiq.) A spirit, or immaterial being, holding a middle place between men and the deities of the pagans; — hence, also, a departed soul. The demon kind is of an intermediate nature between the…Dē'mon-ess, n. p. 353A female demon.De-mōn'e-ti-zā'tion, n. p. 353The act of demonetizing, or condition as demonetized.De-mōn'e-tīze, v. t. p. 353To deprive of value, or to withdraw from use, as currency. They [gold mohurs] have been completely demonetized by the [East India] Company. R. Cobden.De-mō'ni-ac or Dē'mo-ni'a-cal, a. p. 353Pertaining to, or resembling, demons or evil spirits; horrid. “Thy demoniac holds.” Milton. “Sarcastic, demoniacal laughter.” Thackeray. 2. Influenced by demons; produced by demons or evil spirits.…De-mō'ni-ae, n. p. 353A human being possessed by a demon or evil spirit; one whose faculties are overpowered, restrained, or disturbed in their regular operation by an evil spirit. The demoniac in the gospel was sometimes…Dēm'o-nī'ae-al-ly, adv. p. 353In a demoniacal manner.Dē'mo-ni'a-çism, n. p. 353The state of being demoniac, or the practice of demoniacs.