Dig (dig), n. 1. A thrust; a punch; a poke; as a diy in the ribs -2. A diligent or plodding student [United States.] Digamma (di-gam'ma), n. (Gr. prefix di, twice, and gamma: so called because when written it resembled two gammas, the one set above the other, as F, the gamma being represented thus r] A letter which once belonged to the alphabet of the Greeks and It remained longest among the Eolians. was a true consonant, and appears to have had the force of wor v. It was attached t several words which in the more familiar dialect had the smooth or rough breathing, It is frequently represented in Latin by v, when lost in the Greek synonym; thus, Gr. onas, wine, L. rinum; Gr. oikos, a house, I ricus; Gr eido, I see, L. video. Digamous (dig'a-mus), a. [Gr. digamos, married a second time-prefix di, and ga , marriage.] Relating to digamy or a second marriage. Digamy (dig'a-mi), n. Second marriage. Digastric (di-gas'trik), a. [Gr prefix di, and gaster, belly] Having a double belly. Digastric muscle, a double muscle, situated externally between the lower jaw and mastoid process, the central tendon being attached to the hyoid bone. It pulls the Jower jaw downwards and backwards, and when the jaws are shut it draws the larynx, and with it the pharynx, upwards in the act of swallowing. - Digastric groove, a longitudinal depression of the mastoid process, so called from its giving attachment to the digastric muscle. Digenesis (di-gen'ê-sis), n. [Gr. prefix di, and genesis.] In physiol. parthenogenesis (which see). Digerent (di'jér-ent), a. [L digerens, ppr. of digero See DIGEST, v.t.] Digesting. Digest (di'jest), n. [L. digestus, put in order, pp. of digero, digestum See the verb.] 1. A collection or body of Roman laws, digested or arranged under proper titles by order of the Emperor Justinian; the Pandects. Any collection, compilation, abridgment or summary, as of laws, disposed under proper heads or titles; a compendium; a summary; an abridgment; as, the Digest of Comyns. They made and recorded a sort of institute and digest of anarchy, called the rights of man. Burke. Digest (di-jest), v.t. [L digero, digestum, to carry asunder, to spread-di for dis, asunder, and gero, to bear, carry, or wear.] 1. To distribute into suitable classes, or under proper heads or titles; to arrange in convenient order; to dispose in due method; as, to digest the Roman laws or the common law-2 To arrange methodically in the mind; to form with due arrangement of parts; to settle in one's mind; to think out; as, to digest a plan or scheme. Every one hath not digested, when it is a sin to take something for money lent, or when not. G. Herbert. 3. To separate or dissolve in the stomach, as food, to separate into nutritive and innutritions elements and prepare the former for entering the circulatory system; to convert into chyme-4. In chem. to soften and prepare by heat; to expose to a gentle heat in a boiler or matrass, as a preparation for operations -5. To bear with patience or with an effort; to brook; to receive without resentment; to put up with; to endure. werks I never can digest the loss of most of Origen's Coleridge. 6 To prepare in the mind; to dispose in a manner that shall improve the understanding and heart; to prepare for nourishing practical duties; as, to digest a discourse or sermon.-7. In med. to dispose to suppur ate, as an ulcer or wound.-8. To dissolve and prepare for manure, as plants and other substances -9. To mature; to ripen. Welldigested fruits' Jer. Taylor. Digest (di-jest), ri 1. To undergo digestion, as food. Hinger's my cook, my labour brings me meat, 31 2. To be prepared by heat. -3. To suppurate; to generate pus, as an ulcer or wound.4. To dissolve and be prepared for manure, as substances in compost. Digestedly (di-jest'ed-li), adv. In a wellarranged manner. Digester (di-jest'èr), n. 1. He that digests or disposes in order. We find this digester of codes, amender of laws, destroyer of feudality, equalizer of public burthens, &c., permitting, if he did not perpetrate, one of the most atrocious acts of oppression. Brougham. 2. One who digests his food, or that which assists the digestion of food, as a medicine or article of food that strengthens the digestive power of the stomach.-3. A strong close vessel, in which bones or other substances may be subjected, usually in water or other liquid, to a temperature above that of boiling. It is made of iron or other metal, with a screwed-down air-tight lid, in which is a safety-valve. Into this vessel animal or other substances are placed, immersed in water, and submitted to a higher degree of heat than could be obtained in open vessels, by which the solvent power of the water is so increased that bones are converted into a jelly. The safety-valve prevents the bursting of the vessel. Digestibility (di-jest'i-bil'i-ti), n. The quality of being digestible. Digestible (di-jest'i-bl), a. Capable of being digested. Digestibleness (di-jest'i-bl-nes), n. Quality of being digestible. Digestion (di-jest'yon), n. [L. digestio, an orderly distribution, digestion, from digero, digestum. See DIGEST.] 1. The conversion of food into chyme, or the process of decomposing aliment in the stomach and recomposing it in a new form, and thus preparing it for circulation and nourishment. According to Liebig digestion is effected without the aid of the vital force, by a metamorphosis analogous to fermentation, by which a new arrangement of the particles is effected. It is a chemical process regulated by vital action. The gastric juice, which so greatly assists in digestion, is secreted by glands situated in the lining membrane of the stomach, which is in a state of progressive change, and the change or motion is propagated from this to the particles of the food under certain conditions, such as a certain temperature, &c. The oxygen introduced with the saliva during mastication assists in the process. 2. In chem. the operation of exposing bodies to a gentle heat to prepare them for some action on each other; or the slow action of a solvent on any substance. 3. The act of methodizing and reducing to order; the maturation of a design. The digestion of the counsels in Sweden is made in senate. Sir W. Temple. 4. The process of maturing an ulcer or wound and disposing it to generate pus; or the generation of matter.-5. The process of dissolution and preparation of substances for manure, as in compost. Digestive (di-jest'iv), a. 1. Having the power to cause digestion in the stomach; as, a digestive preparation of medicine. 2. In chem. capable of softening and preparing by heat.-3. Methodizing; reducing to order. Digestive thought.' Dryden.4. In surg. causing maturation in wounds or ulcers. Digestive (di-jest'iv), n. 1. In med. any preparation or medicine which increases the tone of the stomach and aids digestion; a stomachic; a corroborant.-2. In surg, an application which ripens an ulcer or wound, or disposes it to suppurate. Digestor (di-jest'er), n. Same as Digester. Digesture + (di-jest'ür), n. Digestion. And further, his majesty professed, that were he to invite the devil to a dinner he should have these three dishes: 1, a pig; 2, a pole of ling and mustard; and 3, a pipe of tobacco for digesture. Apothegms of King James, 1669. That may be digDiggable (digʻga-bl), a. ged. Digger (digger), n. One who or that which digs. In mining, (a) the Digging (digging), n. operation of freeing ore from the stratum in which it lies, where every stroke of their tools turns to account; in contradistinction to the openings made in search of such ore, which are called Hatches or Essay-hatches. (b) pl. A word first used at the western lead-mines in the United States, to denote places where the ore was dug. It is now employed almost exclusively to denote the DIGITIFORM different localities in California, Australia, New Zealand, &c., where gold is obtained. In placer-diggings the gold is scattered all through the surface dirt; in pocket-diggings' it is concentrated in one little spot; in quartz' the gold is in a solid continuous vein of rock, inclosed between distinct walls of some other kinds of stone-and this is the most laborious and expensive of all the differ ent kinds of mining. S. L. Clemens. (c) pl. The place where one resides or is employed. [Colloq. slang.] Dight (dit), v. t. pret. & pp. dight. [A. Sax. dihtan, O.E. dighten, to set in order, to arrange; from L. dictare, to dictate, indite, frequentative of dicere, to say. The G. dichten, O.G. tichton, to write, to compose poetry or fiction of any kind, is of the same origin.] 1. To prepare; to put in order; hence, to dre-s or put on; to array; to adorn. [Obsolete, or used only in poetry,] On his head his dreadful hat he dight, Which maketh him invisible to sight. Spenser. Thy sommer prowde, with daffadilies dight, Spenser. The snorting steed in harness newly dight. F. Baillie. 2. [Scotch.] (dicht). To wipe; to clean by rubbing. Let me ryke up to dight that tear. Burns. Digit (di'jit), n. [L. digitus, a finger; Gr. daktylos. Root dik, to point out, as in Gr. deiknymi, and L. dico.] 1. A finger. Owen, The innermost digit is often stunted or absent. 2. The measure of a finger's breadth or inch. 3. In astron. the twelfth part of the diameter of the sun or moon; a term used to express the quantity of an eclipse; as, an eclipse of six digits is one which hides onehalf of the disk.-4. In arith. any integer under 10; so called from counting on the fingers; thus, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, are the digits. Digit (di'jit), v.t. To point at or out with the finger. I shall never care to be digited with a 'That is he." Feltham. Digital (di'jit-al), a [L. digitalis, from digitus, a finger.] Pertaining to the fingers or to digits. Digitalia (di-jit-a'li-a), n. Same as Digitalin. Digitaliform (di-jit-a'li-form), a. In bot. like the corolla of Digitalis. Digitalin, Digitaline (di'jit-a-lin, di'jit-alin), n. (C2H40018) A vegetable alkali, the active principle of Digitalis purpurea, or foxglove. It is white, difficult to crystallize, inodorous, has a bitter taste, and is a strong poison. Digitaline (di'jit-a-li'në), n. A genus of the sub-kingdom Protozoa, belonging to the family of infusorial animals Vorticellidae. They commonly grow on the back of the minute crustaceous animals which live in fresh water, as the common water-flea, &c., covering them so completely as to make it difficult for them to swim about. Digitalis (di-jit-ä'lis), n. [L. digitalis, pertaining to the finger, from digitus, a finger, because the flowers are put on the fingers by children.] A genus of plants, nat. order Scrophulariaceæ, containing about twenty species of tall herbs, natives of Europe and Western Asia. One species, D. purpurea (the foxglove), is a common wild flower in Britain. (See FOXGLOVE.) Several other species are grown in gardens, as D. grandiflora, D. lutea, and D. ferruginea. Digitaria (di-jit-a'ri-a), n. Finger-grass, a genus of grasses characterized by the spikes being digitate. It is generally considered to be only a section of Panicum. One species, D. humifusa, is found in the sandy soils of the south of England. Digitate, Digitated (di'jit-at, di'jit-at-ed), a. [L. digitatus, having fingers or toes, from digitus, a finger.] In bot. branched out into divisions like fingers. A digitate leaf is one which branches into several distinct leaflets, or in which a petiole supports several leaflets at its apex. A digitate root is one in which the tubercles are divided into lobes like fingers, the division extending nearly to the base of the root, as in some plants of the genus Orchis. Digitatet (di'jit-at), v.t. [L. L. digito, digitatum, from L. digitus. See DIGIT.] To point out, as with a finger. Robinson. Digitately (di'jit-at-li), adv. In a digitate manner. - Digitately pinnate, in bot. applied to digitate leaves, the leaflets of which are pinnate. Digitation (di-jit-a'shon), n. In anat. a division into finger-like processes. Digitiform (di'jit-i-form), a. Formed like fingers; as, a digitiform leaf, root, &c. DIGITIGRADA Digitigrada (di'jit-i-gra-da), n. [L. digitus, a finger or toe, and gradior, to walk.] The second tribe, in Cuvier's arrangement, of Carnivora, including those animals which Digitigrada.-Hind-leg of Lion. a, Femur or thigh. b, Tibia or leg. c, Tarsus or foot. d, Calx or heel. e, Planta or sole of foot. f, Digits or toes. walk on the toes only, such as the lion, tiger, cat, weasel, civet, hyena, &c.: distinguished from Plantigrada or bears, which walk on the broad palm of the foot. Digitigrade (di'jit-i-grad), n. An animal that walks or steps on his toes or digits, as the lion, wolf, &c. Digitigrade (di'jit-i-grad), a. Walking on the toes. See the noun. Digitorium (di-jit-o'ri-um), n. A small portable dumb instrument used for giving strength and flexibility to the fingers for piano playing. It is shaped like a diminutive piano, and has a key-board with five keys resting on strong metal springs. Called also Dumb Piano. Digitule (di'jit-ül), n. [Dim. from L. digitus.] 1. A little finger or toe. Specifically-2. Anything resembling a little finger or toe, as one of the hairs on the tarsus of the mealy bug. Digitus (di'jit-us), n. [L.] In anat. a finger or toe. Digladiate (di-gla'di-at), v.t. [L. digladior, digladiatus, to fight for life or death-di for dis, and gladius, a sword.] To fence; to quarrel. [Rare.] A com Digladiation (di-gla'di-a"shon), n. bat with swords; a quarrel. Avoid all digladiations. B. Jonson. [Rare.] Diglyph (di'glif), n. [Gr. diglyphos, doubly indented-prefix di, and glypho, to carve.] In arch. a projecting face with two panels or channels sunk in it. Digne,ta. [Fr.] Worthy; proud; disdainful. Chaucer. Dignification (dig'ni-fi-ka"shon), n. [See DIGNIFY.] The act of dignifying; exaltation; promotion. I. Walton. [Rare.] Dignified (dig'ni-fid), p. and a. [See DIGNIFY.] 1. Exalted; honoured; invested with dignity; as, the dignified clergy. Abbots are styled dignified clerks, as having some dignity in the church. Ayliffe. 2. Marked with dignity; noble; as, dignified conduct or manner. To the great astonishment of the Jews, the manners of Jesus are familiar, yet dignified. Buckminster. 3. Stately in deportment.-SYN. Exalted, elevated, honoured, noble, august, stately, lofty. Dignify (dig'ni-fi), v. t. pret. & pp. dignified; ppr. dignifying. [Fr. dignifier-L. dignus, worthy, and fier, a degraded form of L. ficere, the form assumed in composition by facere, to make.] 1. To invest with honour or dignity; to exalt in rank; to promote; to elevate to a high office.-2. To honour; to make illustrious; to distinguish by some excellence, or that which gives celebrity. Your worth will dignify our feast. B. Jonson. SYN. To exalt, elevate, prefer, advance, honour, adorn, ennoble. Dignitary (dig'ni-ta-ri), n. One who holds an exalted rank or office; especially an ecclesiastic who holds a dignity or a benefice which gives him some pre-eminence over mere priests and canons, as a bishop, dean, archdeacon, prebendary, &c. Dignity (digni-ti), n. [L. dignitas, worthiness, from dignus, worthy. From IndoEur. root dik, to point out, seen in L. dico, to say; Gr. deiknumi, to bring to light, to show.] 1. True honour; nobleness or elevation of mind, consisting in a high sense of propriety, truth, and justice, with an abhorrence of mean and sinful actions: opposed to meanness. In this sense we speak of the dignity of mind and dignity of sentiments. True dignity abides with her alone Who, in the silent hour of inward thought, Can still respect, can still revere herself In lowliness of heart. Wordsworth. H. More. Some habits well pursued betimes May reach the dignity of crimes. 6. An elevated office, civil or ecclesiastical, giving a high rank in society; advancement; preferment, or the rank attached to it. While dignity sinks with its own weight, the scum of mankind will naturally rise above it. Swift. 7. The rank or title of a nobleman.-8. One who holds high rank; a dignitary. These filthy dreamers... speak evil of dignities. Jude 8. 9. In rhet. one of the three parts of elocution, consisting in the right use of tropes and figures.--10. In astrol. an advantage which a planet is supposed to have on account of its being in some particular place of the zodiac, or in a particular station in respect to other planets.-11. A general maxim or principle. The sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves.' Sir T. Browne. Dignotiont (dig-no'shon), n. [L. dignosco, dignotum, to distinguish-di for dis, and (gnosco) nosco, to get a knowledge of.] Distinguishing mark; distinction. Digonous (di'go-nus), a. [Gr. prefix di for dis, twice, and gonia, an angle.] In bot. having two angles; as, a digonous stem. Di grado (de gra'do). [It., step by step.] In music, moving by conjunct degrees. Digram, Digraph (di'gram, di'graf), n. [Gr. prefix di for dis, twice, and grapho, to write.] A union of two vowels or of two consonants, representing a single sound of the voice, as ea in head, th in path. All improper diphthongs, or as I have called them, digraphs. Sheridan. Digress (di-gres'), v.i. [L. digredior, digres sus, to step apart or asunder-prefix di twice, and gradior, to step. See GRADE.] 1. To step or go from the way or road; to go out of the right way or common track: in a literal sense. Moreover she beginneth to digresse in latitude, and to diminish her motion from the morne rising. Holland. 2. To turn aside from the right path; to transgress; to offend. Thy abundant goodness shall excuse This deadly blot on thy digressing son. Shak. 3. To depart or wander from the main subject, design, or tenor of a discourse, argument, or narration: used only of speaking or writing. In the pursuit of an argument there is hardly room to digress into a particular definition, as often as a Locke. man varies the signification of any term. Let the student of our history digress into whatever other fields he will. F. Stephens. Digress (di-gres), n. A digression. 'A digress from my history.' Fuller. Digression (di-gre'shon), n. [L. digressio, a stepping aside, from digredior, digressus. See DIGRESS.] 1. The act of digressing; a departure from the main subject under consideration; an excursion of speech or writing. And there began a lang digression about the lords o' the creation. Burns. 2. The part or passage of a discourse, argument, or narration, which deviates from the main subject, tenor, or design, but which may have some relation to it, or be of use to it.-3. Deviation from a regular course. 'The digression of the sun is not equal.' Sir T. Browne. [Rare.] Hence4. Deviation from the path of virtue; transgression. Then my digression is so vile and base, That it will live engraven in my face. Shak. 5. In astron, the apparent distance of the inferior planets Mercury and Venus from the sun; elongation. Digressional (di-gre'shon-al), a. Pertaining to or consisting in digression; departing from the main purpose or subject. Digressive (di-gres'iv), a Departing from the main subject; partaking of the nature of digression Digressive sallies of imagination.' Johnson. Digressively (di-gres'iv-li), adv. By way of digression. DIKE Digyn (di'jin), n. [Gr. prefix di for dis, twice, and gyně, a female.] A plant having two pistils. Digynia (di-ji'ni-a), n. pl. The name given by Linnæus, in his artificial system, to such plants as have two styles, or a single style deeply cleft into two parts. Digynian, Digynous (di-ji'ni-an, di'jin-us), a. Having two pistils. Dihedral (di-he'dral), a. [Gr. prefix di for dis, twice, and hedra, a seat or face.] Having two sides, as a figure; having two plane faces, as a crystal.-Dihedral angle, the mutual inclination of two intersecting planes, or the angular space included between them. Dihedron (di-he'dron), n. A figure with two sides or surfaces. Dihexahedral (di-heks'a-he"dral), a. [Gr. prefix di, and E. hexahedral.] In crystal. having the form of a hexahedral or six-sided prism with trihedral summits. Dilamb, Diiambus (di'i-amb, di-i-am'bus), n. In pros. a double iambus, a foot consisting of two iambuses. Dijudicant (di-ju'di-kant), n. One who dijudicates, determines, or decides. Dijudicate (di-ju'di-kát), v.i. pret. & pp. dijudicated; ppr. dijudicating. [L dijudico, dijudicatum, to judge between, to decide by arms-prefix di for dis, intens., and judico, to judge.] To judge, determine, or decide. The Church of Rome, when she commends unto us the authority of the Church in dijudicating of Scriptures, seems only to speak of herself. Hales. Dijudication (di-ju'di-ka"shon), n. Judicial distinction. Glanville. Dikamali, Dikamalli (dik-a-mal'i), n. The native name of a fragrant, resinous gum which exudes from the ends of young shoots of Gardenia lucida, an Indian tree. It possesses a powerful fragrance, and is used in hospitals to keep away flies, as well as to dress wounds and open sores. Dike, Dyke (dik), n. [A. Sax. dic, D. dijk, Dan. dige, all signifying a bank of earth and a ditch. As the ditch is excavated and the bank formed by the same operation, it is easy to understand how they are confounded under one name. Ditch is a softened form of this; hence also dig.] 1. A channel for water made by digging; a ditch. Little channels or dikes.' Ray. Adown the crystal dykes at Camelot.' Tennyson.-2. A mound of earth, of stones, or of other materials, intended to prevent low lands from being inundated by the sea or a river; as, the low countries of Holland are defended by dikes. 3. In geol. a vein of basalt, greenstone, or other igneous rock which has been intruded in a melted state into rents or fissures of rocks. When a mass of the unstratified or igneous rocks, such as granite, trap, and Fig. 1. DIKE abown worn away by the action of the wea- Diket (dik), vi To dig; to work as a diker It were better dike and delve, Gower. ami larero, to tear ] To tear; to rend asun- Dilaceration (di-la'sér-á ̋shon), n. The act Dilaniate (di-là'ni-at), v.t. [L dilanio, to Dilapidate (di-la'pi dät), vi, pret. & pp. di- Dilapidate (di-la'pi-dat), v.t. 1. To pull If the bishop, parson, or vicar, &c., dilapidates the 2. To waste; to squander. Was ber moderation seen in dilapidating the Dilapidated (di-la'pi-dat-ed), p. and a. Dilapidation (di-la'pi-da"shon), n. 1. Ec- ruin By keeping a strict account of incomes and expen- & Peculation [Rare ] Dilatability (di-lat'a-bil"i-ti), n. The qua- Dilate (di-lat ́), rt pret. & pp. dilated; ppr. Satan alarmed, Milton. 33 'So dilate and absolute a power.' B. Jon- son. Dilater (di-lat'èr), n. One who enlarges; Dilation (di-lä'shon), n. Delay. What construction canst thou make of our wilful At first her eye with slow dilation roll'd Dilatorily (di'la-to-ri-li), adv. In a dilatory manner; with delay; tardily. ness. These lamented their dilatoriness and imperfec- Dilatory (di'la-to-ri), a. [Fr. dilatoire; L. L. Dilection (di-lek'shon), n. [L. dilectio, So free is Christ's dilection, that the grand condi- A strong dilemma in a desperate case To act with infamy, or quit the place. Swift. ch chain; ch, Sc. Joch; g, go; j, job; n, Fr. ton; DILLING fulness, diligence, from diligo, to love ear- Shak. If your diligence be not speedy, I shall be there Keep thy heart with all diligence. Prov. iv. 23. Diligence and accuracy are the only merits which Franklin. Diligent (di'li-jent), a. [L. diligens, dili- Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall 2. Steadily applied; prosecuted with care The judges shall make diligent inquisition. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Dill (dil), n. [A. Sax. dil, Sw. dill, G. dill, dill. Dillen (dil'en), v.t. In mining, to dress in A Dillenia (dil-lē'ni-a), n. [From Dillenius, a w, wig; wh, whig; zh, azure.-See KEY. F. H. Frere. So down thy hill, romantic Ashbourn, glides The Derby dilly, carrying six insides. Dilly-dally (dil'li-dal-li), v. i. [See DALLY.] To loiter; to delay; to trifle. [Colloq.] Dilogy (di'lo-ji), n. [Gr. di for dis, twice, and logos, discourse.] In rhetoric, a figure in which a word is used in an equivocal sense; a speech or expression which may have two different meanings. Dilucid (di-lu'sid), a. [L. dilucidus, from diluceo, to shine out-di for dis, distrib., and luceo, to shine. See LUCID.] Clear. 'Dilucid description.' Bacon. Dilucidatet (di-lū'sid-āt), v.t. clear; to elucidate. To make Dilucidating it with all the light which... the profoundest knowledge of the sciences had empowered him to cast upon it. Sterne. Dilucidation (dī-lū'sid-ā”shon), n. The act of making clear. Dilucidity (dī-lū-sid′i-ti), n. The quality of being dilucid or clear. Dilucidly+ (di-lu'sid-li), adv. Clearly. 'Dilucidly and fully.' Hammond. Diluendo (di-lu-en'dō). In music, a mark indicating a reduction of the sound. Diluent (di'lu-ent), a. [L. diluens, diluentis, ppr. of diluo, to wash off, to temper, to weaken. See DILUTE.] Making liquid or more fluid; making thin; attenuating; weakening the strength of by mixture with water. Diluent (dilu-ent), n. 1. That which thins or attenuates; that which makes more liquid; that which weakens the strength of, as water, which mixed with wine or spirit reduces the strength of it.-2. In med. a substance which increases the proportion of fluid in the blood. Diluents consist of water and watery liquors. Dilute (di-lut'), v. t. pret. & pp. diluted; ppr. diluting. [L. diluo, dilutus-prefix di for dis, and luo, to wash. See DELUGE.] 1. To render liquid or more liquid; to make thin or more fluid: thus syrup or molasses is made thin or more liquid by an admixture with water, and the water is said to dilute it. Hence-2. To weaken, as spirit or an acid, by an admixture of water, which renders the spirit or acid less concentrated. 3. To make weak or weaker, as colour, by mixture; to reduce the strength or standard of. The chamber was dark, lest these colours should be diluted and weakened by the mixture of any adventitious light. Sir I. Newton. Dilute (di-lut), v.i. To become attenuated or thin; as, it dilutes easily. Dilute (di-lut'), a. Thin; attenuated; reduced in strength, as spirit or colour; paltry; poor. They had but dilute ideas of God's nature, and scant discoveries of his will. Barrow. Dilutedly (di-lūt′ed-li), adu. In a diluted form. Dilutedness (di-lût'ed-nes), n. The state or quality of being diluted. Diluteness (di-lut'nes), n. Dilutedness; thinness. Wilkins. Diluter (di-lut'èr), n. He who or that which dilutes. Dilution (di-lu'shon), n. The act of making thin, weak, or more liquid. 'Opposite to dilution is coagulation or thickening.' Arbuthnot. 34 sand, gravel, pebbles, &c., caused by currents of water. Dim (dim), a. [A. Sax. dim, dark, obscure. Cog. O. Fries. dim, Icel. dimmr, dim. dimma, to grow dim: Lith. tamsa, darkness; Rus. temnyi, dark; Skr. tamas, darkness.] 1. Not seeing clearly; having the vision obscured and indistinct. My heart is breaking and my eyes are dim. Tennyson. 2. Not clearly seen; obscure; imperfectly seen or discovered; faint; vague; as, a dim prospect; a dim recollection. The intellectual power, through words and things, Went sounding on, a dim and perilous way. Wordsworth. Dim with the mist of years, gray flits the shade of power. Byron. 3. Somewhat dark; dusky; not luminous; as, a dim shade. And storied windows richly dight DIMINISHED Dimerosomata (di'me-ro-so'ma-ta), n. pl. [Gr. di for dis, twice, meros, part, and sōma, body.] An order of Arachnida, comprising the true spiders, so called from the marked division of the body into two regions, the cephalothorax and abdomen. The name Araneides is usually employed for the order. Dimerous (di'me-rus), a. [Gr. di for dis, twice, and meros, part.] Having its parts in pairs; composed of two unrelated pieces or parts. Dimeter (di'me-tér), a. [L., from Gr. dimetros di for dis, twice, and metron, a measure.] Having two poetical measures. Dimeter (di'me-tér), n. A verse of two measures. Dimetric (di-met'rik), a. [Gr. di for dis, twice, and metron, measure.] In crystal. a term applied to crystals whose vertical axis is unequal to the lateral, as the square prism and square octahedron. Milton. Dimication (di-mi-kä'shon), n. [L. dimicatio, a fight, from dimico, dimicatum, to brandish one's weapons against the enemy. to fight--di for dis, and mico, to move quickly in a vibrating manner.] A battle or fight; contest. 'Unbrotherly dimications." Bp. Hall. 4. Dull of apprehension; having obscure conceptions. The understanding is dim.' Rogers.-5. Having its lustre obscured; sullied; tarnished. Lam. iv. 1. How is the gold become dim! SYN. Obscure, dusky, dark, mysterious, indistinct, ill-defined, indefinite, imperfect, dull, sullied, tarnished. Dim (dim), v.t. pret. & pp. dimmed; ppr. dimming. To render dim; to render less bright; to render less clear or distinct; to becloud; to obscure; to tarnish or sully; to becloud the understanding of; to render dull the mental powers of; as, to dim the eye; to dim the vision; to dim the prospect; to dim gold. Each passion dimmed his face. The eyes that shone, Millon. Moore. The cheerful hearts now broken. Dimblet (dim'bl), n. [Probably another form of or connected with dimple, and signifying originally a hollow or cavity.] A bower; a cell or retreat; a dingle. Within a bushy dimble she doth dwell. B. Fonson. Dime (dim), n. [Fr., O. Fr. disme; Pr. desme, deime; It. decima, from L. decimus, the tenth, from decem, ten.] A silver coin of the United States of the value of ten cents; the tenth of a dollar, or about 5d. Dimension (di-men'shon), n. [L. dimensio, from dimetior, to measure-di for dis, and metior, to mete. See METE and MEASURE.] 1. Extension in a single line or direction, as length, breadth, and thickness or depth; as, a line has one dimension or length; a superficies has two dimensions length and breadth; and a solid has three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness or depth. The word is generally used in the plural, and denotes the whole space occupied by a body, or its capacity, size, measure; as, the dimensions of a room, or of a ship; the dimensions of a farm, of a kingdom, &c. These as a line their long dimension drew. Milton. Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions. Shak. 2. Outline; shape. In dimension, and the shape of nature, a gracious person.' Shak. 3. Fig. bulk; consequence; importance; as, the question is assuming great dimensions. 4. In alg. a term used in the same sense as degree. Thus, in a simple equation, the unknown quantity is of one dimension or degree; in a quadratic equation it is of two dimensions; in a cubic equation it is of three dimensions, and so on. In general, an equation is said to be of as many dimensions as there are units in the index of the highest power of the unknown quantity. Dimension + (di-men'shon), v.i. To suit or proportion as to size; to make agree in measure. Diluvial, Diluvian (di-lù'vi-al, di-lū’vi-an), a. [L. diluvium, a deluge, from diluo. See DILUTE, v.t.] 1. Pertaining to a flood or deluge, more especially to the deluge in Noah's days. 2. Effected or produced by a flood, or any extraordinary rush of water; as, diluvial beds. Diluvial formation, in geol, the name given to the superficial deposits of gravel, clay, sand, &c., conveyed to their present sites by any unusual or extraordinary rush of water. Diluvial action may result from heavy rains, melting of snow, submarine earthquakes, &c. The term is now rarely used by geologists, the deposits grouped under it being assigned to the post-pliocene period. See POST-PLIOCENE. Diluvialist (di-lü'vi-al-ist), n. One who explains geological phenomena by the Noa- Dimensivet (di-mens'iv), a. That marks the chian deluge. Diluvian, a. See DILUVIAL. Diluviatet (di-lū'vi-āt), v.i. To run as a flood. Diluvion (di-lú'vi-on), n. Same as Diluvium. Diluvium (di-lû'vi-um), n. [L. See DELUGE.] 1. A deluge or inundation; an overflowing. 2. In geol. a deposit of superficial loam, Dimensioned (di-men'shond), a. Having dimensions. (Rare except in composition.] Dimensity (di-men'si-ti), n. Dimension; extent; capacity. Of the smallest stars in sky boundaries or outlines. Howell. Who can draw the soul's dimensive lines? Davies. Dimera (di'me-ra), n. pl. [Gr. di for dis, twice, and meros, a part.] A section of homopterous insects, in which the tarsi are two-jointed, as in the aphides. Dimeren (di'me-ran), n. An individual of the section of insects Dimera. Dimidiate (di-mi'di-at), v.t. pret. & pp. dimidiated; ppr. dimidiating. [L. dimidio, dimidiatum, to divide into halves, from dimidium, the half-di for dis, asunder, and medius, the middle.] 1. To divide into two equal parts.-2. In her. to represent the half of. Dimidiate (di-mi'di-át), a. 1. Divided into two equal parts; halved.-2. In bot. applied to an organ when half of it is so much smaller than the other as to appear to be missing; as, a dimidiate leaf; also, split into two on one side, as the calyptra of some mosses.-3. In zool. having the organs of one side of different functions from the corresponding organs on the Dimidiate Ca- other, as where those on one lyptra. side are male, and on the other female. Insects, like crustaceans, are occasionally subject to one-sided, or dimidiate hermaphroditism. Owen. Dimidiation (di-mi'di-ā"shon), n. 1. The act of halving; division into equal parts.-2. In her. an obsolete variety of impalement (which see). Diminish (di-min'ish), v. t. [O.Fr. demenuiser; Fr. diminuer, from L. diminuo, to lessen -di for dis, asunder, and minuere, to lessen. Root min, in minor, less.] 1. To lessen; to make less or smaller, by any means: opposed to increase and augment; as, to diminish the size of a thing by contraction, or by cutting off a part; to diminish a number by subtraction; to diminish the revenue by limiting commerce or reducing the customs; to diminish strength or safety; to diminish the heat of a room.-2. To lessen; to impair; to degrade; to abase. I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. Ezek. xxix. 15. 3. To take away; to subtract: with from, and applied to the object removed. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it. Deut. iv. 2. Nothing was diminished from the safety of the king by the imprisonment of the duke. Sir J. Hayward. 4. In music, to lessen by a semitone, as an interval. SYN. To lessen, decrease, abate, reduce, impair. Diminish (di-min'ish), v. i. To lessen; to become or appear less or smaller; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it. What judgment I had increases rather than dimixishes. Dryden. Decrease, Diminish. See under DECREASE. SYN. To lessen, decrease, dwindle, contract, shrink, subside, abate. Diminishable (di-min'ish-a-bl), a. Capable of being reduced in size or quality. Diminished (di-min'isht), p. and a. Lessened; made smaller; reduced in size; contracted; degraded. In whose sight all the stars Milton. - Diminished arch, an arch less than a semicircle.-Diminished bar, in joinery, the bar of a sash which is thinnest on its inner edge. --Diminished interval, in music, an interval made less than minor, thus G sharp to F natural is a diminished seventh, G to F DIMINISHER being a minor seventh, and G sharp being a se uitone less than the minor interval.Traninished subject, in music, a subject introduced with notes half or quarter the value of those in which they were originally enunciated. - Diminished triad, in music, the chord consisting of two thirds on the btonie, as B, D, F, in the key of C. Diminisher (di-min'ish-ér), n. He who or that which diminishes. Diminishingly (di-min'ish-ing-li), adv. In a manner to lessen reputation. I never heard him censure, or so much as speak AVMANUAL of any one who was absent. Locke. Diminishing-stuff (di-min'ish-ing-stuf), n. In ship building, planks wrought under the wales of a ship, diminishing gradually till they come to the thickness of the bottom plank Diminishment (di-min'ish-ment), n. Tuinution Cheke. Diminuendo (dim-in'û-en"do). [It.] In , an instruction to the performer to lessen the volume of sound from loud to soft usually marked thus >. Diminuent (di-min'ü-ent), a. Lessening. [Kare or obsolete.] Di The comparative degree in such kind of expres moms being usually taken for a diminuent term." Bp. Sanderson. Prices Diminute (di'min-út), a. Small. made diminute. Jer. Taylor. Diminutely (di'min-ût-li), adv. In a diminute manner, in a manner which lessens. An execration only; but that too, elliptically and deminutely uttered. Bp. Sanderson. Diminution (di-min-u'shon), n. [L. diminutio (deminutio), a lessening, from diminuo (deminuo), to lessen by taking something from de, and minuo, to lessen, from minus, less 1 The act of diminishing or lessening, a making smaller: opposed to augmentation, as, the diminution of size, of wealth, of power, of safety -2. The state of becoming or appearing less: opposed to increase; as the diminution of the apparent diameter of a receding body; the diminution of the velocity of a projectile.-3. Discredit; loss of dignity; degradation. Philip. Nor thinks it diminution to be rank'd In military honour next. Deprivation of dignity; a lessening of estimation Make me wise by the truth, for my own soul's salvati, and I shall not regard the world's opinion or diminution of me. Bp. Gauden. 5 In music, the imitation of or reply to a subject in notes of half the length or value of those of the subject itself.-6. In law, an omission in the record, or in some point of the proceedings, which is certified in a writ of error on the part of either plaintiff or defen lant 7. In her the defacing of some particular point in the escutcheon.-8. In arch, the gradual decrease in the diameter of the shaft of a column from the base to the capital. See ENTASIS SYN. Decrease, lessening, reduction, abridgment, abatement, deduction. Diminutive (di-min'ût-iv), a. [Fr. diminu tif: It diminuitivo. See DIMINUTION. ] 1 Small, little, narrow; contracted; as, a diminutive race of men or other animals; a dùnuutine thought. 2. Having the power of diminishing or lessening; that abridges or decreases, tending to diminish. Diminu fire of liberty' Shaftesbury. Diminutive (di-min'ut-iv), n. of very small size. 1. ↑ Anything Most monster-like, be shown For post diminutives, for doits. Shak. 3+ In old med anything that diminishes or alites ? minutives, alteratives, cordials, correctors, Burton. as before 4 In ram a word formed from another word, usually an appellative or generic term to express a little thing of the kind; as in Latin, lapillus, a little stone, from lapu, celula, a little cell, from cella, a cell; In French, maisonnette, a little house, from mison, a house; in English, manikin, a Litle man, from man; rivulet, which is a duble diminutive, being from L. rivulus, a diminutive of rirus, a river, with the Eng1h diminutive termination -et. 'Babyisms and dear diminutives.' Tennyson. Diminutively (di-min ́ût-iv-li), adv. In a diminutive manner, in a manner to lessen; as to speak diminutively of another. 35 Diminutiveness(di-min'ût-iv-nes), n. Smallness; littleness; want of bulk; want of dignity. Dimish (dim'ish), a. Same as Dimmish. Dimission† (di-mi'shon), n. Leave to depart. Dimissory (di-mis'so-ri), a. [L. L. dimissorius. [See DISMISS.] 1. Sending away; dismissing to another jurisdiction.-2. Granting leave to depart.-Letter dimissory, a letter given by a bishop to a candidate for holy orders, having a title in his diocese, directed to some other bishop, and giving leave for the bearer to be ordained by him. Dimit (di-mit'), v.t. [L. dimitto, to send different ways, to let go. See DISMISS.] To permit to go; to grant; to farm; to let. Dimity (di'mi-ti), n. [It. dimito; L. L. dimit um, from Gr. dimitos, of double thread-as a noun, dimity-di for dis, twice, and mitos, Another etymology refers it to a thread. Damietta.] A stout cotton fabric ornamented in the loom by raised stripes or fancy figures; it is rarely dyed, but usually employed white for bed and bed-room furniture. Dimly (dimli), adv. (See DIM.] 1. In a dim or obscure manner; with imperfect sight. 2. Not brightly or clearly; with a faint light. Dryden. Swift. 'Yon Their temples dimly shone. Dimmish (dim'ish), a. 1. Somewhat dim; obscure.-2. Somewhat dim-sighted. My eyes are somewhat dimmish grown. Dimmy (dim'i), a. Somewhat dim. Sir P. Sidney. dimmy clouds.' Dimness (dim'nes), n. 1. Dulness of sight; as, the dimness of the eyes.-2. State of being dim or obscure; want of clearness: applied to the medium through which anything is seen. With such thick dimness . . . filled the air. Cowper. 3. Want of distinctness; faintness: applied to the object looked at; as, the dimness of a view or of a colour.-4. Want of brightness; as, the dimness of gold or silver.-5. Want of clear apprehension; vagueness; dulness; as, dimness of memory. Answerable to this dimness of their perception, was the whole system and body of their religion. Dr. H. More. -Darkness, Obscurity, Dimness. See DARKNESS. Di molto (de mōl'to). [It.] In music, very; as, largo di molto, very much largo. Dimorphic (di-mor'fik), a. Having two distinct forms; dimorphous. Stood pretty dimpled boys like smiling Cupids. Shak. Dimplement (dim'pl-ment), n. State of being marked with dimples or gentle depressions. [Rare or poetical.] I dared to rest, or wander,-like a rest,- Dimply (dim'pli), a. Full of dimples or small depressions. The dimply flood.' J. Dimyaria (di-mi-a'ri-a), n. [Gr. di for dis, Dimyary (di'mi-a-ri), a. Pertaining or be- Din (din), n. [A. Sax. dyn, dyne, noise, The guests are met, the feast is set,- Coleridge. Din (din), v. t. pret. & pp. dinned; ppr. dinning. To strike with continued or confused sound; to stun with noise; to harass with clamour. 'Din your ears with hungry cries.' Otway. "This hath been often dinned in my ears." Swift. Dinarchy (din'är-ki), n. An erroneous form of Diarchy. Dindle (din'dl), n. Nat. Hist. Rev. A large proportion of the trees of temperate climates bear only flowers thus dimorphic. Dimorphism (di-mor'fizm), n. [Gr. di for dis, twice, and morphe, form.] 1. In crystal. the property of assuming two incompatible forms; the property of crystallizing in two distinct forms not derivable from each other. Thus, sulphur assumes one form when crystallizing at a high temperature, and another wholly different when becoming solid at the ordinary temperature. Hence the same chemical substance may form two or more distinct species. Thus, carbon in one form is the diamond, in another graphite, &c.-2. In bot. the condition when analogous organs of plants of the same species appear under two very dissimilar forms. In the oak, beech, chestnut, and pine, for example, this dimorphism is extreme. In the stamen-bearing flowers, we find no rudiment of a pistil-in the pistilbearing, no rudiment of a stamen. Nat. Hist. Rev. 3. In zool. difference of form between members of the same species, as when the females vary according to the season, or the males are constantly unlike the females. Dimorphism has been observed by Kölliker in the Pennatulid (Octocoralla). Each compound organism, or polypary, presents two different kinds of polypes-one of which is tentaculiferous and provided with sexual organs, while the other has neither tentacles nor any sexual apparatus. Huxley. Dimorphous (di-mor'fus), a. 1. In crystal. a term applied to a substance whose crystals occur in two distinct forms. Thus, the crystals of sulphate of nickel, if deposited from an acid solution, are square prisms; but if from a neutral solution, they are right rhombic prisms. -2. In bot. and zool. characterized by dimorphism. Dimple (dim'pl), n. [Probably a diminutive form from an intens. of dip or deep. Comp. G. dumpel, tümpel, a pool.] 1. A small natural depression in the cheek or other part of the face, as the chin; a slight interruption to the uniform rounded flow of the facial lines, appearing especially in youth A local name for the common and corn sow-thistles, as also for hawk-weed. Dine (din), v.i. pret. & pp. dined; ppr. dining. [Fr. diner, O. F. disner, Pr. disnar, L.L. disnare, the origin of which is very doubtful, but which probably arose from decænare, a verb hypothetically formed from L. de, and cana, dinner or supper. By the shifting of the accent deconare would become décenare, then desnare and disnare. This is the view taken by Díez, and supported by Scheler and Pott. Littré, Mahn, and others, derive it from disjejunare, from L. prefix dis, and jejunare, to fast (whence déjeuner). Some derive it from L. desinere, to leave off-the hour of dinner implying the cessation of labour.] To eat the chief meal of the day; to take dinner. The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, And wretches hang, that jurymen may dine. Pope -To dine out, to take dinner elsewhere than at one's own residence. -To dine with Duke Humphrey, to be dinnerless; a phrase said to have originated from the circumstance that a part of the public walks in Old St. Paul's, London, was called Duke Humphrey's Walk (being near his tomb), and that those who could not pay for a dinner at a tavern were accustomed to promenade here in the hope of meeting an acquaintance, and getting an invitation to dine. The phrase, however, may be connected with the report that Duke Humphrey, son of Henry IV., was starved to death. Dine (din), v. t. pret. & pp. dined; ppr. dining. To give a dinner to; to furnish with the principal meal; to afford convenience for dining; as, the landlord dined a hundred men. A table massive enough to have dined Johnnie Sir W. Scott. Armstrong and his merry men. Dine (din), n. Dinner-time; mid-day. [Scotch.] |