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.
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.…Dowse, v. t. p. 409To plunge, dip, or duck in the water; to douse. 2. To beat or thrash. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.Dowse, v. i. p. 409To use the dipping or divining rod, as in search of water, ore, &c. Adams had the reputation of having dowsed successfully for more than a hundred wells. Eng. Cyc.Dowse, n. p. 409A blow on the face. [Low.] Smart.Dows'er, n. p. 409The divining-rod. [Colloq.]Dows'ing-rōd p. 409Dows'er, n. p. 409One who uses the dowser or divining-rod. “The powers of two dowsers or diviners.”Dowst, n. p. 409A dowse. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.Dŏx/o-lŏg'ic-al, a. p. 409Pertaining to doxology; giving praise to God. Howell.Dox-ŏl'o-gize, v. i. p. 409To give glory to God, as in doxology; to praise with doxologies.Dox-ōl'o-gy, n. p. 409In Christian worship, a hymn expressing praise and honor to God; a form of praise to God designed to be sung or chanted by the choir or the congregation.Dōx'y, n. p. 409A sweetheart, mistress, or paramour. B. & Fl. 2. A woman of low character; a prostitute.Dōze, v. i. p. 409To slumber; to sleep lightly; to be in a dull or stupefied condition, as if half asleep; to be drowsy. If he happened to doze a little, the jolly cobbler waked him. L'Estrange. Chiefless armies dozed…Dōze, v. t. p. 409To pass or spend in drowsiness; as, to doze away one's time. 2. To make dull; to stupefy. [Obs.] I was an hour . . . in casting up about twenty sums, being dozed with much work. Pepys. They left him…Dōze, n. p. 409A light sleep; a drowse. Tennyson.Dȯz'en, n. p. 409A collection of twelve individuals; a set of twelve; as, a dozen of eggs, gloves, &c. 2. An indefinite number.Dȯz'enth, a. p. 409Twelfth. [Rare.]Dōz'er, n. p. 409One who dozes or drowses.Dōz'i-ness, n. p. 409The state of being dozy; drowsiness; heaviness; inclination to sleep.Dōz'y, a. p. 409Drowsy; heavy; inclined to sleep; sleepy; sluggish; as, a dozy head. Dryden.Dōz'lied, a. p. 409Stupid; heavy. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.Drăb, n. p. 409A woman of vile character; a low wench; a slut; a strumpet; a prostitute. Shak. 2. A wooden box, used in salt-works for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling-pans.Drăb, v. i. p. 409To associate with strumpets. Beau. & Fl.Drăb, n. p. 409A kind of thick, woolen cloth of a dun, or dull brownish-yellow, or gray color. 2. A dull brownish-yellow or gray color.Drăb, a. p. 409Of a dun color, like the cloth so called.Drăb'ber, n. p. 409One who associates with drabs; a wencher.Drăb'bish, a. p. 409Having the character of a drab. “The drabbish sorceress.” Drant. 2. Somewhat like drab; as, a drabbish color. [R.]Drāb'ble, v. t. p. 409To draggle; to make dirty by drawing in mud and water; to wet and befoul; as, to drabble a gown or cloak. Halliwell.Drăb'ble, v. i. p. 409To fish for barbels with a long line and rod.Drāb'bler, n. p. 409(Naut.) A piece of canvas fastened by lacing to the bonnet of a sail, to give it a greater depth, or more drop. Dana.Drāb'ble-tāil, n. p. 409One who has the bottom of her gown dirty; a slattern. Halliwell.Drāb'bling, n. p. 409A method of angling for barbels, with a rod and long line passed through a piece of lead.Dra-cæ'na, n. p. 409(Bot.) A genus of endogenous plants, of which one species, the D. draco, affords the resin of commerce called dragon's-blood.Drā'canth, n. p. 409A kind of gum;—called also gum-tragacanth, or tragacanth. See TRAGACANTH.Drăchm, n. p. 409See DRAM and DRACHMA.Drăch'mȧ, n. p. 409A silver coin among the Greeks, having a different value in different states and at different periods. The average value of the Attic drachma was 9¾ d., or about 18 cents. 2. A weight among the…Dra-çī'nȧ or Drā'çine, n. p. 409(Chem.) A chemical principle constituting the coloring matter of dragon’s blood; draconine.