Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Dow'cet, n. p. 408One of the testicles of a hart or stag. [Written also doucet.] B. Jonson.Dow'dy, n. p. 408An awkward, ill-dressed, inelegant woman. Shak. Dryden.Dow'dy, a. p. 408Awkward; ill-dressed; vulgar-looking.Dow'dy-ish, a. p. 408Like a dowdy.Dow'el, v. t. p. 408To fasten together by dowels; as, a cooper dowels pieces for the head of a cask.Dow'el, n. p. 408A dowel-pin. 2. A piece of wood driven into a wall, so that other pieces may be nailed to it.Dow'el-joint, n. p. 408A joint made by means of a dowel or dowels.Dow'el-pĭn, n. p. 408A pin of wood or metal used for joining two pieces, as of wood, stones, &c., by inserting part of its length into one piece, the rest of it entering a corresponding hole in the other, as in the heads…Dow'er, n. p. 408That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift. How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower! Davies. Man in his primeval dower arrayed. Wordsworth. 2. The property with which a woman is…Dow'ered, a. p. 408Furnished with dower, or a portion. Shak.Dow'er-less, a. p. 408Destitute of dower; having no portion or fortune. Shak.Dow'er-y, n. p. 408The same as DOWER.Dow'l, n. p. 408The same as DOWLE.Dow'las, n. p. 408A kind of coarse linen cloth. Shak.Dowle, n. p. 408One of the filaments which make up the blade of a feather; feathery or wool-like down. No feather, or dowle of a feather, but was heavy enough for him. De Quincey.Down, n. p. 408Fine, soft, hairy outgrowth from the skin or surface of animals or plants, not matted and fleecy like wool; especially, (a.) The close, hairy covering of birds, under the feathers, particularly on…Down, v. t. p. 408To cover, line, or stuff with down. Young.Down, n. p. 408A bank or rounded hillock of sand thrown up by the wind along or near the shore;— usually in the plural. Hills afford pleasant prospects, as they needs acknowledge who have been on the downs of…Down, prep. p. 408In a descending direction along; from higher to lower upon or within; as, down a hill; down a well. 2. Toward the mouth of a river, or toward the place where water is discharged into the ocean or a…Down, adv. p. 408In a descending direction; tending from a higher to a lower place; in the direction of gravity, or toward the center of the earth. 2. From a higher to a lower condition; into humility, disgrace…Down, v. t. p. 408To cause to go down; to make descend; to overthrow, as in wrestling; hence, to subdue; to conquer; to bring down. [Obs. or rare.] “To down proud hearts.” Sidney. I remember how you downed Beauclerk…Down, v. i. p. 408To go down; to descend. Locke.Down, a. p. 408Downcast; dejected. 2. Downright; plain; flat; absolute; positive; as, a down denial. Beau. & Fl. 3. Downward; proceeding from the chief terminus; as, a down train on a railway.Down'-bear, v. t. p. 408To bear down; to depress.Down'cast, a. p. 408Cast downward; directed to the ground, from bashfulness, modesty, or dejection of mind. 'Tis love, she said, and then my downcast eyes And guilty dumbness witnessed my surprise. Dryden.Down'cast, n. p. 408Sadness; melancholy look. [Obs.] “That downcast of thine eye.” Beau. & Fl.Down'-cast, n. p. 408A ventilating shaft down which the air passes in circulating through a mine.Down'-căst-ing, a. p. 408Casting down; dejecting.Down'come, n. p. 408Downfall; destruction. “A sair downcome.” W. Scott.Down'-drâught, n. p. 408The draught down a chimney, shaft of a mine, &c.Downed, a. p. 408Covered or stuffed with down. Young.Down'fall, n. p. 408A falling downward. “Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid.” Holland. Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour. Dryden. 2. A sudden descent from rank, reputation, happiness, or the like; loss of…Down'fallen, a. p. 408Fallen; ruined. Carew.Down'gŷved, a. p. 408Hanging down like the loose cincture of fetters. [Obs. and rare.] Shak.Down'-haul, n. p. 408(Naut.) A rope passing along a stay, through the cringles of the stay-sail or jib, and made fast to the upper corner of the sail, to haul it down. Totten.Down'heärt-ed, a. p. 408Dejected in spirits.Down'hill, n. p. 408Declivity; descent; slope. “Though ’tis downhill all.” Dryden.Down'hill, a. p. 408Declivous; descending; sloping. “A downhill greensward.” Congreve.Down'i-ness, n. p. 408The state of being downy.Down'looked, a. p. 408Having a downcast countenance; dejected; gloomy; sullen. Dryden.Down'ly-ing, n. p. 408The time of retiring to rest; time of repose. Cavendish.Down'ly-ing, a. p. 408About to lie down or be in travail of child-birth. Johnson.Down’right, adv. p. 408Straight down; perpendicularly. 2. In plain terms; without ceremony or circumlocution; absolutely. We shall chide downright if I longer stay. Shak. 3. Without delay; immediately; completely; at once.…Down'right, a. p. 408Plain; artless; unceremonious; blunt;— used of persons; as, he spoke in his downright way. “A man of plain, downright character.” W. Scott. 2. Plain; open; artless; undisguised; absolute; unmixed;—…Down'right-ly, adv. p. 408Plainly; in plain terms; bluntly. [Obs.] Barrow.Down'right-ness, n. p. 408The state or quality of being downright, or direct and plain.Down'-shâre, n. p. 408A breast-plow used in paring off turf on downs. [Eng.] Ogilvie.Down'-sit/ting, n. p. 408The act of sitting down; repose; a resting. Thou knowest my down-sitting and my up-rising. Ps. cxxxix. 2.Down'-stâirs, a. p. 408Below; upon a lower floor.Down'-stâirs, adv. p. 408Down the stairs; to a lower floor.Down'steep-y, a. p. 408Very steep. [Obs.] Florio.Down'-strōke, n. p. 408A stroke or blow downward. 2. (Penmanship.) A thick stroke made with a downward motion of the hand.Down'trŏd or Down'trŏd'den, a. p. 408Trodden down; trampled down. Shak.Down'ward or Down'wards, adv. p. 408From a higher place to a lower; in a descending course; as, to tend downward; to move or roll downward; to look downward; to take root downward. Their heads they downward bent. Drayton. 2. From a…Down'ward, a. p. 408Moving or extending from a higher to a lower place; tending toward the earth or its center; declivous. With downward force that drove the sand along He took his way. Dryden. 2. Descending from a…Down'weed, n. p. 408Cottonweed. Barret.Down'y, a. p. 408Covered with down or nap, or with pubescence or soft hairs. “A downy feather.” Shak. Plants that . . . have downy or velvet rind upon their leaves. Bacon. 2. Made of, or resembling, down; down-like…Dow'ral, a. p. 409Pertaining to, or constituting, a dower. [Rare.] Potter.Dow'ress, n. p. 409A woman entitled to dower. Bouvier.Dow'ry, n. p. 409A gift; a fortune given. Johnson. 2. The money, goods, or estate, which a woman brings to her husband in marriage; the portion given with a wife; dower. Shak. Dryden. 3. The reward paid for a wife.…