Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Děr'mis, n. p. 359See DERME.Dĕr'moid, a. p. 359Same as DERMATOID.Dĕr'mo-skĕl'e-ton, n. p. 359(Nat. Hist.) The skin of certain animals, which is hard or firm, through horny, calcareous, or other secretions. ☞ The dermo-skeleton of a fish or reptile is the skin with the scales: in a turtle the…Der-mōt’o-my, n. p. 359(Anat.) The anatomy, or the dissection, of the skin. Dunglison.Dĕrn, a. p. 359Hidden; concealed; secret. [Obs.] Chaucer. 2. Solitary; sad. [Obs.] More.Děrne, v. i. p. 359To hide; to skulk. [Scot.] He at length escaped them by derning himself in a fox-earth. H. Miller.Dĕrn'ful, a. p. 359Sad; mournful. [Obs.] “Dernful noise.” Spenser.Dĕr'ni-er, a. p. 359Last; final. Dernier ressort. [Fr.] Last resort.Dĕrn'ly, adv. p. 359Sadly; mournfully. [Obs.] More.Děr'o-gāte, v. t. p. 359To annul in part; to repeal partly; to restrict; to limit the action of;—said of a law. By several contrary customs, many of the civil and canon laws are controlled and derogated. Hale. 2. To lessen…Děr'o-gāte, v. i. p. 359To take away; to detract;—used with from. “Derogate from them whom their industry hath made great.” Hooker. 2. To act beneath one's rank, place, birth, or character. [Rare.] You are a fool granted…Dĕr'o-gate, a. p. 360Diminished in value; degraded; damaged. [Rare.] Hall.Dĕr'o-gate-ly, adv. p. 360In a derogatory manner.Dĕr'o-gā'tion, n. p. 360The act of derogating, partly repealing, or lessening in value; disparagement; detraction; depreciation; — followed by of, from, or to. I hope it is no derogation to the Christian religion. Locke. He…De-rŏg'a-tive, a. p. 360Derogatory. [Rare.] Browne.De-rŏg'a-to-ri-ly, adv. p. 360In a derogatory manner.De-rŏg'a-to-ri-ness, n. p. 360The quality of being derogatory.De-rŏg'a-to-ry, a. p. 360Tending to derogate or lessen in value; detracting; injurious; — with from, to, or unto. Acts of Parliament derogatory from the power of subsequent Parliaments bind not. Blackstone. Derogatory clause…Dĕr'rick, n. p. 360A mast or spar supported at the top by stays or guys, with suitable tackle for raising and adjusting heavy weights, as stones in building. Derrick crane, a kind of crane, the boom or derrick of which…Dĕr’ring, a. p. 360Daring. [Obs.] “Dreadful derring doers.” Spenser.Dĕr'vis or Dĕr'vise or Dĕr'vish, n. p. 360A Turkish or Persian monk; especially one who professes extreme poverty, and leads an austere life.Dĕs'art, n. p. 360The same as DESERT. [Obs.]De-sāve', v. t. p. 360To deceive. [Obs.] Let not blind Fortune so your minds desave. Fairfax.Dĕs'cant, n. p. 360A variation of an air. Twenty doctors expound one text twenty ways, as children make descant upon plain song. Tyndale. She [the nightingale] all night long her amorous descant sung. Milton. 2. A…Des-cānt', v. i. p. 360To sing a variation or accompaniment. 2. To comment; to discourse with fullness and particularity;— used especially of familiar topics. A virtuous man should be pleased to find people descanting on…Des-cănt'er, n. p. 360One who descants.De-scĕnd' (-sĕnd'), v. i. p. 360To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move in a downward direction; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, &c.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward. We will here…De-scĕnd', v. t. p. 360To go down upon or along; to pass from the top to the bottom of. But never tears his cheek descended. Byron.De-sçend'ant, n. p. 360One who descends, as offspring, however remotely; — correlative to ancestor. “The defection of our first parents and their descendants.” Hale.De-sçend'ent, a. p. 360Descending; falling; proceeding from an ancestor or source. More than mortal grace Speaks thee descendent of ethereal race. Pope.De-sçend'er, n. p. 360One who descends.De-scĕnd/i-bil'i-ty, n. p. 360The quality of being descendible; capability of being transmitted from ancestors; as, the descendibility of an estate or of a crown.De-scend'i-ble, a. p. 360Admitting descent; capable of being descended; as, the hill is descendible. 2. Capable of descending or being transmitted by inheritance. “A descendible estate.” Sir W. Jones.De-sçend'ing, p. a. p. 360Of, or pertaining to, descent; moving downward. Descending constellations, or signs (Astron.), those through which the planets descend toward the south. — Descending node, that point in a planet's…De-scĕn’sion, n. p. 360The act of going downward; descent; falling or sinking; degradation. Oblique descension (Astron.), the degree or arc of the equator which descends, with a celestial object, below the horizon of an…De-sçĕn'sion-al, a. p. 360Pertaining to descension or descent.De-sçen’sive, a. p. 360Descending; tending downward; having power to descend.De-sçen’so-ry, n. p. 360A vessel used in alchemy to extract oils. Chaucer.De-sçént', n. p. 360The act of descending or coming down; change of place from higher to lower. 2. Incursion; sudden attack;—often followed by upon; as, to make a descent upon the enemy. The United Provinces . . .…De-scrib'a-ble, a. p. 360Capable of being described; admitting description.De-scribe', v. t. p. 360To represent by lines; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace out; as, to describe a circle by the compasses. 2. To form or trace by motion; as, a star describes a circle in the heavens. 3. To…De-scribe', v. i. p. 360To use the power of describing; as, Milton describes with uncommon force and beauty.De-scrib'ent, n. p. 360(Geom.) Same as GENERATRIX.De-scrib'er, n. p. 360One who describes.De-scri'er, n. p. 360One who descries.De-scrip'tion, n. p. 360The act of describing. 2. A sketch or account of any thing in words; a representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species; a recital; a report. Milton has…De-scrip'tive, a. p. 360Tending to describe; having the quality of representing; containing description: as, a descriptive figure; a descriptive narration; a story descriptive of the age. Descriptive anatomy, that part of…De-scrip'tive-ly, adv. p. 360In a descriptive manner; by means of description.De-scrip'tive-ness, n. p. 360The state of being descriptive.De-scrive', v. t. p. 360To describe. [Obs.] Spenser.De-scry′, v. t. p. 360To spy out and make known; to discover by the eye, as objects at a distance that can be faintly seen; to espy; to detect; to recognize. Edmund, I think, is gone . . . to descry The strength of the…De-sery', n. p. 360The thing descried, as an army seen at a distance. [Obs.] Near, and on speedy foot; the main descry Stands on the hourly thought. Shak.Dĕs'e-cāte, v. t. p. 360To cut, as with a scythe; to mow. [Obs.]Dés'e-crāte, v. t. p. 360To divest of a sacred character or office; to divert from a sacred purpose or appropriation; to treat in a sacrilegious manner. The [Russian] clergy can not suffer corporal punishment without being…Dĕs'e-crā'tion, n. p. 360The act of diverting from the sacred purpose or use to which a thing had been devoted; the act of diverting from a sacred character or office; the act of treating sacrilegiously.De-sért', v. t. p. 360To part from; to end a connection with; to abandon; to forsake; — usually in an opprobrious sense; as, to desert a friend; to desert our country; to desert a cause. “The deserted fortress.” Prescott.…De-sért', v. i. p. 360To quit a service without permission; to run away; as, to desert from the army. Syn.—To abandon; forsake; leave; relinquish; quit; depart from; abdicate. See ABANDON.Dĕs'ert, a. p. 361Forsaken; without life or cultivation; untilled; unproductive; waste; barren; wild; desolate; — used especially in speaking of a region of country. Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And…Dĕs'ert, n. p. 361A deserted or forsaken tract of land; an uninhabited and unproductive region; a wilderness; a solitude; a region destitute of moisture and vegetation; as, the Desert of Sahara. Hadst thou sprung In…De-sērt', n. p. 361That which is deserved; the reward or punishment to which one is entitled; claim to recompense, usually in a good sense; right to reward; merit. Yet, more to move you, Take my deserts to his, and…