Chapter 398

4. (Law) That part of the process in which the plaintiff sets forth in order and at large his cause of complaint; the narration of the plaintiff's case containing the count, or counts. See Count , n. , 3.

Declaration of Independence . (Amer. Hist.) See under Independence . -- Declaration of rights . (Eng. Hist) See Bill of rights , under Bill . -- Declaration of trust (Law) , a paper subscribed by a grantee of property, acknowledging that he holds it in trust for the purposes and upon the terms set forth.

Abbott.

Declarative <Xpage=377>

De*clar"a*tive (?) , a. [L. declarativus , fr. declarare : cf. F. d\'82claratif .] Making declaration, proclamation, or publication; explanatory; assertive; declaratory. " Declarative laws."

Baker.

The "vox populi," so declarative on the same side. Swift.

Declaratively <Xpage=377>

De*clar"a*tive*ly , adv. By distinct assertion; not impliedly; in the form of a declaration.

The priest shall expiate it, that is, declaratively . Bates.

Declarator <Xpage=377>

Dec"la*ra`tor (?) , n. [L., an announcer.] (Scots Law) A form of action by which some right or interest is sought to be judicially declared.

Declaratorily <Xpage=377>

De*clar"a*to*ri*ly (?) , adv. In a declaratory manner.

Declaratory <Xpage=377>

De*clar"a*to*ry (?) , a. [Cf. F. d\'82claratoire .] Making declaration, explanation, or exhibition; making clear or manifest; affirmative; expressive; as, a clause declaratory of the will of the legislature .

Declaratory act (Law) , an act or statute which sets forth more clearly, and declares what is, the existing law.

Declare <Xpage=377>

De*clare" (?) , v. t. [ imp . & p . p . Declared (#) ; p . pr . & vb . n . Declaring .] [F. d\'82clarer , from L. declarare ; de + clarare to make clear, clarus , clear, bright. See Clear .]

1. To make clear; to free from obscurity. [Obs.] "To declare this a little."

Boyle.

2. To make known by language; to communicate or manifest explicitly and plainly in any way; to exhibit; to publish; to proclaim; to announce.

This day I have begot whom I declare My only Son. Milton.

The heavens declare the glory of God. Ps. xix. 1.

3. To make declaration of; to assert; to affirm; to set forth; to avow; as, he declares the story to be false .

I the Lord . . . declare things that are right. Isa. xlv. 19.

4. (Com.) To make full statement of, as goods, etc., for the purpose of paying taxes, duties, etc.

To declare off , to recede from an agreement, undertaking, contract, etc.; to renounce. -- To declare one's self , to avow one's opinion; to show openly what one thinks, or which side he espouses.

Declare <Xpage=377>

De*clare" , v. i.

1. To make a declaration, or an open and explicit avowal; to proclaim one's self; -- often with for or against ; as, victory declares against the allies .

Like fawning courtiers, for success they wait, And then come smiling, and declare for fate. Dryden.

2. (Law) To state the plaintiff's cause of action at law in a legal form; as, the plaintiff declares in trespass .

Declaredly <Xpage=377>

De*clar"ed*ly (?) , adv. Avowedly; explicitly.

Declaredness <Xpage=377>

De*clar"ed*ness , n. The state of being declared.

Declarement <Xpage=377>

De*clare"ment (?) , n. Declaration. [Obs.]

Declarer <Xpage=377>

De*clar"er (?) , n. One who makes known or proclaims; that which exhibits.

Udall.

Declension <Xpage=377>

De*clen"sion (?) , n. [Apparently corrupted fr. F. d\'82clinaison , fr. L. declinatio , fr. declinare . See Decline , and cf. Declination .]

1. The act or the state of declining; declination; descent; slope.

The declension of the land from that place to the sea. T. Burnet.

2. A falling off towards a worse state; a downward tendency; deterioration; decay; as, the declension of virtue, of science, of a state, etc.

Seduced the pitch and height of all his thoughts To base declension . Shak.

3. Act of courteously refusing; act of declining; a declinature; refusal; as, the declension of a nomination .

4. (Gram.) (a) Inflection of nouns, adjectives, etc., according to the grammatical cases. (b) The form of the inflection of a word declined by cases; as, the first or the second declension of nouns, adjectives, etc. (c) Rehearsing a word as declined.

&hand; The nominative was held to be the primary and original form, and was likened to a perpendicular line; the variations, or oblique cases, were regarded as fallings (hence called casus , cases, or fallings) from the nominative or perpendicular; and an enumerating of the various forms, being a sort of progressive descent from the noun's upright form, was called a declension .

Harris.

Declension of the needle , declination of the needle.

Declensional <Xpage=377>

De*clen"sion*al (?) , a. Belonging to declension.

Declensional and syntactical forms. M. Arnold.

Declinable <Xpage=377>

De*clin"a*ble (?) , a. [Cf. F. d\'82clinable . See Decline .] Capable of being declined; admitting of declension or inflection; as, declinable parts of speech .

Declinal <Xpage=377>

De*clin"al (?) , a. Declining; sloping.

Declinate <Xpage=377>

Dec"li*nate (?) , a. [L. declinatus , p. p. of declinare . See Decline .] Bent downward or aside; (Bot.) bending downward in a curve; declined.

Declination <Xpage=377>

Dec`li*na"tion (?) , n. [L. declinatio a bending aside, an avoiding: cf. F. d\'82clination a decadence. See Declension .]

1. The act or state of bending downward; inclination; as, declination of the head .

2. The act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline. "The declination of monarchy."

Bacon.

Summer . . . is not looked on as a time Of declination or decay. Waller.

3. The act of deviating or turning aside; oblique motion; obliquity; withdrawal.

The declination of atoms in their descent. Bentley.

Every declination and violation of the rules. South.

4. The act or state of declining or refusing; withdrawal; refusal; averseness.

The queen's declination from marriage. Stow.

5. (Astron.) The angular distance of any object from the celestial equator, either northward or southward.

6. (Dialing) The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south.

7. (Gram.) The act of inflecting a word; declension. See Decline , v. t. , 4.

Angle of declination , the angle made by a descending line, or plane, with a horizontal plane. -- Circle of declination , a circle parallel to the celestial equator. -- Declination compass (Physics) , a compass arranged for finding the declination of the magnetic needle. -- Declination of the compass &or; needle , the horizontal angle which the magnetic needle makes with the true north-and-south line.

Declinator <Xpage=377>

Dec"li*na`tor (?) , n. [Cf. F. d\'82clinateur . See Decline .]

1. An instrument for taking the declination or angle which a plane makes with the horizontal plane.

2. A dissentient. [R.]

Bp. Hacket.

Declinatory <Xpage=377>

De*clin"a*to*ry (?; 277) , a. [LL. declinatorius , fr. L. declinare : cf. F. d\'82clinatoire .] Containing or involving a declination or refusal, as of submission to a charge or sentence.

Blackstone.

Declinatory plea (O. Eng. Law) , the plea of sanctuary or of benefit of clergy, before trial or conviction; -- now abolished.

Declinature <Xpage=377>

De*clin"a*ture (?; 135) , n. The act of declining or refusing; as, the declinature of an office .

Decline <Xpage=377>

De*cline" (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Declined (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Declining .] [OE. declinen to bend down, lower, sink, decline (a noun), F. d\'82cliner to decline, refuse, fr. L. declinare to turn aside, inflect (a part of speech), avoid; de- + clinare to incline; akin to E. lean . See Lean , v. i. ]

1. To bend, or lean downward; to take a downward direction; to bend over or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend. "With declining head."

Shak.

He . . . would decline even to the lowest of his family. Lady Hutchinson.

Disdaining to decline , Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries. Byron.

The ground at length became broken and declined rapidly. Sir W. Scott.

2. To tend or draw towards a close, decay, or extinction; to tend to a less perfect state; to become diminished or impaired; to fail; to sink; to diminish; to lessen; as, the day declines ; virtue declines ; religion declines ; business declines .

That empire must decline Whose chief support and sinews are of coin. Waller.

And presume to know . . . Who thrives, and who declines . Shak.

3. To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw; as, a line that declines from straightness; conduct that declines from sound morals.

Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. Ps. cxix. 157.

4. To turn away; to shun; to refuse; -- the opposite of accept or consent ; as, he declined , upon principle .

Decline <Xpage=377>

De*cline" , v. t.

1. To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.

In melancholy deep, with head declined . Thomson.

And now fair Phoebus gan decline in haste His weary wagon to the western vale. Spenser.

2. To cause to decrease or diminish. [Obs.] "You have declined his means."

Beau. & Fl.

He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline it. Burton.

3. To put or turn aside; to turn off or away from; to refuse to undertake or comply with; reject; to shun; to avoid; as, to decline an offer; to decline a contest; he declined any participation with them.

Could I Decline this dreadful hour? Massinger.

4. (Gram.) To inflect, or rehearse in order the changes of grammatical form of; as, to decline a noun or an adjective .

&hand; Now restricted to such words as have case inflections; but formerly it was applied both to declension and conjugation.

After the first declining of a noun and a verb. Ascham.

5. To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun. [R.]

Shak.

Decline <Xpage=377>

De*cline" (?) , n. [F. d\'82clin . See Decline , v. i. ]

1. A falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; also, the period when a thing is tending toward extinction or a less perfect state; as, the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion.

Their fathers lived in the decline of literature. Swift.

2. (Med.) That period of a disorder or paroxysm when the symptoms begin to abate in violence; as, the decline of a fever .

3. A gradual sinking and wasting away of the physical faculties; any wasting disease, esp. pulmonary consumption; as, to die of a decline .

Dunglison.

Syn. -- Decline , Decay , Consumption . Decline marks the first stage in a downward progress; decay indicates the second stage, and denotes a tendency to ultimate destruction; consumption marks a steady decay from an internal exhaustion of strength. The health may experience a decline from various causes at any period of life; it is naturally subject to decay with the advance of old age; consumption may take place at almost any period of life, from disease which wears out the constitution. In popular language decline is often used as synonymous with consumption . By a gradual decline , states and communities lose their strength and vigor; by progressive decay , they are stripped of their honor, stability, and greatness; by a consumption of their resources and vital energy, they are led rapidly on to a completion of their existence.

Declined <Xpage=377>

De*clined" (?) , a. Declinate.

Decliner <Xpage=377>

De*clin"er (?) , n. He who declines or rejects.

A studious decliner of honors. Evelyn.

Declinometer <Xpage=377>

Dec`li*nom"e*ter (?) , n. [ Decline + -meter .] (Physics) An instrument for measuring the declination of the magnetic needle.

Declinous <Xpage=377>

De*clin"ous (?) , a. Declinate.

Declivitous, Declivous <Xpage=377>

De*cliv"i*tous (?) , De*cli"vous (?) , a. Descending gradually; moderately steep; sloping; downhill.

Declivity <Xpage=377>

De*cliv"i*ty (?) , n. ; pl. Declivities (#) . [L. declivitas , fr. declivis sloping, downhill; de + clivus a slope, a hill; akin to clinare to incline: cf. F. d\'82clivit\'82 . See Decline .]

1. Deviation from a horizontal line; gradual descent of surface; inclination downward; slope; -- opposed to acclivity , or ascent; the same slope, considered as descending , being a declivity , which, considered as ascending , is an acclivity .

2. A descending surface; a sloping place.

Commodious declivities and channels for the passage of the waters. Derham.

Decoct <Xpage=377>

De*coct" (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Decocted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Decocting .] [L. decoctus , p. p. of decoquere to boil down; de- + coquere to cook, boil. See Cook to decoct.]

1. To prepare by boiling; to digest in hot or boiling water; to extract the strength or flavor of by boiling; to make an infusion of.

2. To prepare by the heat of the stomach for assimilation; to digest; to concoct.

3. To warm, strengthen, or invigorate, as if by boiling. [R.] " Decoct their cold blood."

Shak.

Decoctible <Xpage=377>

De*coct"i*ble (?) , a. Capable of being boiled or digested.

Decoction <Xpage=377>

De*coc"tion (?) , n. [F. d\'82coction , L. decoctio .]

1. The act or process of boiling anything in a watery fluid to extract its virtues.

In decoction . . . it either purgeth at the top or settleth at the bottom. Bacon.

2. An extract got from a body by boiling it in water.

If the plant be boiled in water, the strained liquor is called the decoction of the plant. Arbuthnot.

In pharmacy decoction is opposed to infusion, where there is merely steeping. Latham.

Decocture <Xpage=377>

De*coc"ture (?; 135) , n. A decoction. [R.]

Decollate <Xpage=377>

De*col"late (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Decollated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Decollating .] [L. decollatus , p. p. of decollare to behead; de- + collum neck.] To sever from the neck; to behead; to decapitate.

The decollated head of St. John the Baptist. Burke.

Decollated <Xpage=377>

De*col"la*ted (?) , a. (Zo\'94l.) Decapitated; worn or cast off in the process of growth, as the apex of certain univalve shells.

Decollation <Xpage=377>

De`col*la"tion (?) , n. [L. decollatio : cf. F. d\'82collation .]

1. The act of beheading or state of one beheaded; -- especially used of the execution of St. John the Baptist.

2. A painting representing the beheading of a saint or martyr, esp. of St. John the Baptist.

D\'82collet\'82 <Xpage=377>

D\'82`col`le*t\'82" (?) , a. [F., p. p. of d\'82colleter to bare the neck and shoulders; d\'82- + collet collar, fr. L. collum neck.] Leaving the neck and shoulders uncovered; cut low in the neck, or low-necked, as a dress.

Decolling <Xpage=377>

De*col"ling (?) , n. Beheading. [R.]

By a speedy dethroning and decolling of the king. Parliamentary History (1648).

Decolor <Xpage=377>

De*col"or (?) , v. t. [Cf. F. d\'82colorer , L. decolorare . Cf. Discolor .] To deprive of color; to bleach.

Decolorant <Xpage=377>

De*col"or*ant (?) , n. [Cf. F. d\'82colorant , p. pr.] A substance which removes color, or bleaches.

Decolorate <Xpage=377>

De*col"or*ate (?) , a. [L. decoloratus , p. p. of decolorare .] Deprived of color.

Decolorate <Xpage=377>

De*col"or*ate (?) , v. t. To decolor.

<page="378"> Page 378

Decoloration <Xpage=378>

De*col`or*a"tion (?) , n. [L. decoloratio : cf. F. d\'82coloration .] The removal or absence of color.

Ferrand.

Decolorize <Xpage=378>

De*col"or*ize (?) , v. t. To deprive of color; to whiten. Turner . -- De*col`or*i*za"tion (#) , n.

Decomplex <Xpage=378>

De"com*plex` (?) , a. [Pref. de- (intens.) + complex .] Repeatedly compound; made up of complex constituents.

Decomposable <Xpage=378>

De`com*pos"a*ble (?) , a. Capable of being resolved into constituent elements.

Decompose <Xpage=378>

De`com*pose" (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Decomposed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Decomposing .] [Cf. F. d\'82composer . Cf. Discompose .] To separate the constituent parts of; to resolve into original elements; to set free from previously existing forms of chemical combination; to bring to dissolution; to rot or decay.

Decompose <Xpage=378>

De`com*pose" , v. i. To become resolved or returned from existing combinations; to undergo dissolution; to decay; to rot.

Decomposed <Xpage=378>

De`com*posed" (?) , a. (Zo\'94l.) Separated or broken up; -- said of the crest of birds when the feathers are divergent.

Decomposite <Xpage=378>

De`com*pos"ite (?) , a. [Pref. de- (intens.) + composite .]

1. Compounded more than once; compounded with things already composite.

2. (Bot.) See Decompound , a. , 2.