Chapter 23

8. A step or remove downward in any scale of gradation; a degree in the scale of genealogy; a generation.

No man living is a thousand descents removed from Adam himself.

Hooker.

9. Lowest place; extreme downward place. [R.]

And from the extremest upward of thy head, To the descent and dust below thy foot.

Shak. 10. (Mus.) A passing from a higher to a lower tone.

Syn. -- Declivity; slope; degradation; extraction; lineage; assault; invasion; attack.

De*scrib"a*ble (?), a. That can be described; capable of description.

De*scribe" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Described (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Describing.] [L. describere, descriptum; de- + scribere to write: cf. OE. descriven, OF. descrivre, F. décrire. See Scribe, and cf. Descry.] 1. To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out; as, to describe a circle by the compasses; a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle.

2. To represent by words written or spoken; to give an account of; to make known to others by words or signs; as, the geographer describes countries and cities.

3. To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class. [Obs.]

Passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book.

Josh. xviii. 9.

Syn. -- To set forth; represent; delineate; relate; recount; narrate; express; explain; depict; portray; chracterize.

De*scribe", v. i. To use the faculty of describing; to give a description; as, Milton describes with uncommon force and beauty.

De*scrib"ent (?), n. [L. describens, p. pr. of describere.] (Geom.) Same as Generatrix.

De*scrib"er (?), n. One who describes.

De*scri"er (?), n. One who descries.

De*scrip"tion (?), n. [F. description, L. descriptio. See Describe.] 1. The act of describing; a delineation by marks or signs.

2. A sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species.

Milton has descriptions of morning.

D. Webster.

3. A class to which a certain representation is applicable; kind; sort.

A difference . . . between them and another description of public creditors.

A. Hamilton.

The plates were all of the meanest description.

Macaulay.

Syn. -- Account; definition; recital; relation; detail; narrative; narration; explanation; delineation; representation; kind; sort. See Definition.

De*scrip"tive (?), a. [L. descriptivus: cf. F. descriptif.] Tending to describe; having the quality of representing; containing description; as, a descriptive figure; a descriptive phrase; a descriptive narration; a story descriptive of the age.

Descriptive anatomy, that part of anatomy which treats of the forms and relations of parts, but not of their textures. -- Descriptive geometry, that branch of geometry. which treats of the graphic solution of problems involving three dimensions, by means of projections upon auxiliary planes. Davies & Peck (Math. Dict. )

-- De*scrip"tive*ly, adv. -- De*scrip"tive*ness, n.

De*scrive" (?), v. t. [OF. descrivre. See Describe.] To describe. [Obs.] Spenser.

De*scry" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Descried (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Descrying.] [OE. descrien, discrien, to espy, prob. from the proclaiming of what was espied, fr. OF. descrier to proclaim, cry down, decry, F. décrier. The word was confused somewhat with OF. descriven, E. describe, OF. descrivre, from L. describere. See Decry.] 1. To spy out or discover by the eye, as objects distant or obscure; to espy; to recognize; to discern; to discover.

And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel.

Judg. i. 23.

Edmund, I think, is gone . . . to descry The strength o' the enemy.

Shak.

And now their way to earth they had descried.

Milton.

2. To discover; to disclose; to reveal. [R.]

His purple robe he had thrown aside, lest it should descry him.

Milton.

Syn. -- To see; behold; espy; discover; discern.

De*scry" (?), n. Discovery or view, as of an army seen at a distance. [Obs.]

Near, and on speedy foot; the main descry Stands on the hourly thought.

Shak.

Des"e*cate (?), v. t. [L. desecare to cut off.] To cut, as with a scythe; to mow. [Obs.]

Des"e*crate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desecrated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Desecrating (?).] [L. desecratus, p. p. of desecrare (also desacrare) to consecrate, dedicate; but taken in the sense if to divest of a sacred character; de- + sacrare to consecrate, fr. sacer sacred. See Sacred.] To divest of a sacred character or office; to divert from a sacred purpose; to violate the sanctity of; to profane; to put to an unworthy use; -- the opposite of consecrate.

The [Russian] clergy can not suffer corporal punishment without being previously desecrated.

W. Tooke.

The founders of monasteries imprecated evil on those who should desecrate their donations.

Salmon.

Des"e*cra`ter (?), n. One who desecrates; a profaner. Harper's Mag.

Des`e*cra"tion (?), n. The act of desecrating; profanation; condition of anything desecrated.

Des"e*cra`tor (?), n. One who desecrates. "Desecrators of the church." Morley.

De*seg`men*ta"tion (?), n. (Anat.) The loss or obliteration of division into segments; as, a desegmentation of the body.

De*sert" (d*zrt"), n. [OF. deserte, desserte, merit, recompense, fr. deservir, desservir, to merit. See Deserve.] That which is deserved; the reward or the punishment justly due; claim to recompense, usually in a good sense; right to reward; merit.

According to their deserts will I judge them.

Ezek. vii. 27.

Andronicus, surnamed Pius For many good and great deserts to Rome.

Shak.

His reputation falls far below his desert.

A. Hamilton.

Syn. -- Merit; worth; excellence; due.

Des"ert (dz"rt), n. [F. désert, L. desertum, from desertus solitary, desert, pp. of deserere to desert; de- + serere to join together. See Series.] 1. A deserted or forsaken region; a barren tract incapable of supporting population, as the vast sand plains of Asia and Africa which are destitute of moisture and vegetation.

A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.

Pope.

2. A tract, which may be capable of sustaining a population, but has been left unoccupied and uncultivated; a wilderness; a solitary place.

He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.

Is. li. 3.

Also figuratively.

Before her extended Dreary and vast and silent, the desert of life.

Longfellow.

Des"ert, a. [Cf. L. desertus, p. p. of deserere, and F. désert. See 2d Desert.] Of or pertaining to a desert; forsaken; without life or cultivation; unproductive; waste; barren; wild; desolate; solitary; as, they landed on a desert island.

He . . . went aside privately into a desert place.

Luke ix. 10.

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

Gray.

Desert flora (Bot.), the assemblage of plants growing naturally in a desert, or in a dry and apparently unproductive place. -- Desert hare (Zoöl.), a small hare (Lepus sylvaticus, var. Arizonæ) inhabiting the deserts of the Western United States. -- Desert mouse (Zoöl.), an American mouse (Hesperomys eremicus), living in the Western deserts.

De*sert" (d*zrt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deserted; p. pr. & vb. n. Deserting.] [Cf. L. desertus, p. p. of deserere to desert, F. déserter. See 2d Desert.] 1. To leave (especially something which one should stay by and support); to leave in the lurch; to abandon; to forsake; -- implying blame, except sometimes when used of localities; as, to desert a friend, a principle, a cause, one's country. "The deserted fortress." Prescott.

2. (Mil.) To abandon (the service) without leave; to forsake in violation of duty; to abscond from; as, to desert the army; to desert one's colors.

De*sert", v. i. To abandon a service without leave; to quit military service without permission, before the expiration of one's term; to abscond.

The soldiers . . . deserted in numbers.

Bancroft.

Syn. -- To abandon; forsake; leave; relinquish; renounce; quit; depart from; abdicate. See Abandon.

De*sert"er (d*zrt"r), n. One who forsakes a duty, a cause or a party, a friend, or any one to whom he owes service; especially, a soldier or a seaman who abandons the service without leave; one guilty of desertion.

De*sert"ful (?), a. Meritorious. [R.] Beau. & Fl.

De*ser"tion (d*zr"shn), n. [L. desertio: cf. F. désertion.] 1. The act of deserting or forsaking; abandonment of a service, a cause, a party, a friend, or any post of duty; the quitting of one's duties willfully and without right; esp., an absconding from military or naval service.

Such a resignation would have seemed to his superior a desertion or a reproach.

Bancroft.

2. The state of being forsaken; desolation; as, the king in his desertion.

3. Abandonment by God; spiritual despondency.

The spiritual agonies of a soul under desertion.

South.

De*sert"less (?), a. Without desert. [R.]

De*sert"less*ly, adv. Undeservedly. [R.] Beau. & Fl.

Des"ert*ness (?), n. A deserted condition. [R.] "The desertness of the country." Udall.

{ De*sert"rix (?), De*sert"rice (?), } n. [L. desertrix.] A feminine deserter. Milton.

De*serve" (d*zrv"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deserved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deserving.] [OF. deservir, desservir, to merit, L. deservire to serve zealously, be devoted to; de- + servire to serve. See Serve.] 1. To earn by service; to be worthy of (something due, either good or evil); to merit; to be entitled to; as, the laborer deserves his wages; a work of value deserves praise.

God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

Job xi. 6.

John Gay deserved to be a favorite.

Thackeray.

Encouragement is not held out to things that deserve reprehension.

Burke.

2. To serve; to treat; to benefit. [Obs.]

A man that hath So well deserved me.

Massinger.

De*serve" (d*zrv"), v. i. To be worthy of recompense; -- usually with ill or with well.

One man may merit or deserve of another.

South.

De*serv"ed*ly (-zrv"d*l>ycr/), adv. According to desert (whether good or evil); justly.

De*serv"ed*ness, n. Meritoriousness.

De*serv"er (?), n. One who deserves.

De*serv"ing, n. Desert; merit.

A person of great deservings from the republic.

Swift.

De*serv"ing, a. Meritorious; worthy; as, a deserving person or act. -- De*serv"ing*ly, adv.

Des`ha*bille (?), n. [F. déshabillé, fr. déshabiller to undress; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + habiller to dress. See Habiliment, and cf. Dishabille.] An undress; a careless toilet.

De*sic"cant (?), a. [L. desiccans, p. pr. of desiccare. See Desiccate.] Drying; desiccative. -- n. (Med.) A medicine or application for drying up a sore. Wiseman.

Des"ic*cate (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desiccated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiccating.] [L. desiccatus, p. p. of desiccare to dry up; de- + siccare to dry, siccus dry. See Sack wine.] To dry up; to deprive or exhaust of moisture; to preserve by drying; as, to desiccate fish or fruit.

Bodies desiccated by heat or age.

Bacon.

Des"ic*cate, v. i. To become dry.

Des`ic*ca"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. dessiccation.] The act of desiccating, or the state of being desiccated.

De*sic"ca*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. dessicatif.] Drying; tending to dry. Ferrand. -- n. (Med.) An application for drying up secretions.

Des"ic*ca`tor (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, desiccates.

2. (Chem.) A short glass jar fitted with an air-tight cover, and containing some desiccating agent, as sulphuric acid or calcium chloride, above which is suspended the material to be dried, or preserved from moisture.

De*sic"ca*to*ry (?), a. Desiccative.

De*sid"er*a*ble (?), a. Desirable. [R.] "Good and desiderable things." Holland.

||De*sid`e*ra"ta (?), n. pl. See Desideratum.

De*sid"er*ate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desiderated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiderating.] [L. desideratus, p. p. of desiderare to desire, miss. See Desire, and cf. Desideratum.] To desire; to feel the want of; to lack; to miss; to want.

Pray have the goodness to point out one word missing that ought to have been there -- please to insert a desiderated stanza. You can not.

Prof. Wilson.

Men were beginning . . . to desiderate for them an actual abode of fire.

A. W. Ward.

De*sid`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. desideratio.] Act of desiderating; also, the thing desired. [R.] Jeffrey.

De*sid"er*a*tive (?), a. [L. desiderativus.] Denoting desire; as, desiderative verbs.

De*sid"er*a*tive, n. 1. An object of desire.

2. (Gram.) A verb formed from another verb by a change of termination, and expressing the desire of doing that which is indicated by the primitive verb.

||De*sid`e*ra"tum (?), n.; pl. Desiderata (#). [L., fr. desideratus, p. p. See Desiderate.] Anything desired; that of which the lack is felt; a want generally felt and acknowledge.

{ De*sid"i*ose` (?), De*sid"i*ous (?), } a. [L. desidiosus, fr. desidia a sitting idle, fr. desid&?;re to sit idle; de- + sed&?;re to sit.] Idle; lazy. [Obs.]

De*sid"i*ous*ness, n. The state or quality of being desidiose, or indolent. [Obs.] N. Bacon.

De*sight" (?), n. [Pref. de- + sight.] An unsightly object. [Obs.]

De*sight"ment (?), n. The act of making unsightly; disfigurement. [R.]

To substitute jury masts at whatever desightment or damage in risk.

London Times.

De*sign" (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Designed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Designing.] [F. désigner to designate, cf. F. dessiner to draw, dessin drawing, dessein a plan or scheme; all, ultimately, from L. designare to designate; de- + signare to mark, mark out, signum mark, sign. See Sign, and cf. Design, n., Designate.] 1. To draw preliminary outline or main features of; to sketch for a pattern or model; to delineate; to trace out; to draw. Dryden.

2. To mark out and exhibit; to designate; to indicate; to show; to point out; to appoint.

We shall see Justice design the victor's chivalry.

Shak.

Meet me to-morrow where the master And this fraternity shall design.

Beau. & Fl.

3. To create or produce, as a work of art; to form a plan or scheme of; to form in idea; to invent; to project; to lay out in the mind; as, a man designs an essay, a poem, a statue, or a cathedral.

4. To intend or purpose; -- usually with for before the remote object, but sometimes with to.

Ask of politicians the end for which laws were originally designed.

Burke.

He was designed to the study of the law.

Dryden.

Syn. -- To sketch; plan; purpose; intend; propose; project; mean.

De*sign", v. i. To form a design or designs; to plan.

Design for, to intend to go to. [Obs.] "From this city she designed for Collin [Cologne]." Evelyn.

<! p. 398 !>

De*sign" (?), n. [Cf. dessein, dessin.] 1. A preliminary sketch; an outline or pattern of the main features of something to be executed, as of a picture, a building, or a decoration; a delineation; a plan.

2. A plan or scheme formed in the mind of something to be done; preliminary conception; idea intended to be expressed in a visible form or carried into action; intention; purpose; -- often used in a bad sense for evil intention or purpose; scheme; plot.

The vast design and purpos&?; of the King.

Tennyson.

The leaders of that assembly who withstood the designs of a besotted woman.

Hallam.

A . . . settled design upon another man's life.

Locke.

How little he could guess the secret designs of the court!

Macaulay.

3. Specifically, intention or purpose as revealed or inferred from the adaptation of means to an end; as, the argument from design.

4. The realization of an inventive or decorative plan; esp., a work of decorative art considered as a new creation; conception or plan shown in completed work; as, this carved panel is a fine design, or of a fine design.

5. (Mus.) The invention and conduct of the subject; the disposition of every part, and the general order of the whole.

Arts of design, those into which the designing of artistic forms and figures enters as a principal part, as architecture, painting, engraving, sculpture. -- School of design, one in which are taught the invention and delineation of artistic or decorative figures, patterns, and the like.

Syn. -- Intention; purpose; scheme; project; plan; idea. - - Design, Intention, Purpose. Design has reference to something definitely aimed at. Intention points to the feelings or desires with which a thing is sought. Purpose has reference to a settled choice or determination for its attainment. "I had no design to injure you," means it was no part of my aim or object. "I had no intention to injure you," means, I had no wish or desire of that kind. "My purpose was directly the reverse," makes the case still stronger.

Is he a prudent man . . . that lays designs only for a day, without any prospect to the remaining part of his life?

Tillotson.

I wish others the same intention, and greater successes.

Sir W. Temple.

It is the purpose that makes strong the vow.

Shak.

Des"ig*na*ble (?), a. Capable of being designated or distinctly marked out; distinguishable. Boyle.

Des"ig*nate (?), a. [L. designatus, p. p. of designare. See Design, v. t.] Designated; appointed; chosen. [R.] Sir G. Buck.

Des"ig*nate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Designated; p. pr. & vb. n. Designating.] 1. To mark out and make known; to point out; to name; to indicate; to show; to distinguish by marks or description; to specify; as, to designate the boundaries of a country; to designate the rioters who are to be arrested.

2. To call by a distinctive title; to name.

3. To indicate or set apart for a purpose or duty; -- with to or for; as, to designate an officer for or to the command of a post or station.

Syn. -- To name; denominate; style; entitle; characterize; describe.

Des`ig*na"tion (?), n. [L. designatio: cf. F. désignation.] 1. The act of designating; a pointing out or showing; indication.

2. Selection and appointment for a purpose; allotment; direction.

3. That which designates; a distinguishing mark or name; distinctive title; appellation.

The usual designation of the days of the week.

Whewell.

4. Use or application; import; intention; signification, as of a word or phrase.

Finite and infinite seem . . . to be attributed primarily, in their first designation, only to those things which have parts.

Locke.

Des"ig*na*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. désignatif.] Serving to designate or indicate; pointing out.

Des"ig*na`tor (?), n. [L.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) An officer who assigned to each his rank and place in public shows and ceremonies.

2. One who designates.

Des"ig*na*to*ry (?), a. Serving to designate; designative; indicating. [R.]

De*sign"ed*ly (?), adv. By design; purposely; intentionally; -- opposed to accidentally, ignorantly, or inadvertently.

De*sign"er (?), n. 1. One who designs, marks out, or plans; a contriver.

2. (Fine Arts) One who produces or creates original works of art or decoration.

3. A plotter; a schemer; -- used in a bad sense.

De*sign"ful (?), a. Full of design; scheming. [R.] -- De*sign"ful*ness, n. [R.] Barrow.

De*sign"ing, a. Intriguing; artful; scheming; as, a designing man.

De*sign"ing, n. The act of making designs or sketches; the act of forming designs or plans.

De*sign"less, a. Without design. [Obs.] -- De*sign"less*ly, adv. [Obs.]

De*sign"ment (?), n. 1. Delineation; sketch; design; ideal; invention. [Obs.]

For though that some mean artist's skill were shown In mingling colors, or in placing light, Yet still the fair designment was his own.

Dryden.

2. Design; purpose; scheme. [Obs.] Shak.

De*sil"ver (?), v. t. To deprive of silver; as, to desilver lead.

De*sil`ver*i*za"tion (?), n. The act or the process of freeing from silver; also, the condition resulting from the removal of silver.

De*sil"ver*ize (?), v. t. To deprive, or free from, silver; to remove silver from.

Des"i*nence (?), n. [Cf. F. désinence.] Termination; ending. Bp. Hall.

Des"i*nent (?), a. [L. desinens, p. pr. of desinere, desitum, to leave off, cease; de- + sinere to let, allow.] Ending; forming an end; lowermost. [Obs.] "Their desinent parts, fish." B. Jonson.

Des`i*nen"tial (?), a. [Cf. F. désinentiel.] Terminal.

Furthermore, b, as a desinential element, has a dynamic function.

Fitzed. Hall.

De*sip"i*ent (?), a. [L. desipiens, p. pr. of desipere to be foolish; de- + sapere to be wise.] Foolish; silly; trifling. [R.]

De*sir`a*bil"i*ty, n. The state or quality of being desirable; desirableness.

De*sir"a*ble (?), a. [F. désirable, fr. L. desiderabilis. See Desire, v. t.] Worthy of desire or longing; fitted to excite desire or a wish to possess; pleasing; agreeable.

All of them desirable young men.

Ezek. xxiii. 12.

As things desirable excite Desire, and objects move the appetite.

Blackmore.

De*sir"a*ble*ness, n. The quality of being desirable.

The desirableness of the Austrian alliance.

Froude.

De*sir"a*bly, adv. In a desirable manner.

De*sire" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desired (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Desiring.] [F. désirer, L. desiderare, origin uncertain, perh. fr. de- + sidus star, constellation, and hence orig., to turn the eyes from the stars. Cf. Consider, and Desiderate, and see Sidereal.] 1. To long for; to wish for earnestly; to covet.

Neither shall any man desire thy land.

Ex. xxxiv. 24.

Ye desire your child to live.

Tennyson.

2. To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.

Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord?

2 Kings iv. 28.

Desire him to go in; trouble him no more.

Shak.

3. To require; to demand; to claim. [Obs.]

A doleful case desires a doleful song.

Spenser.

4. To miss; to regret. [Obs.]

She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.

Jer. Taylor.

Syn. -- To long for; hanker after; covet; wish; ask; request; solicit; entreat; beg. -- To Desire, Wish. In desire the feeling is usually more eager than in wish. "I wish you to do this" is a milder form of command than "I desire you to do this," though the feeling prompting the injunction may be the same. C. J. Smith.

De*sire", n. [F. désir, fr. désirer. See Desire, v. t.] 1. The natural longing that is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of any good, and impels to action or effort its continuance or possession; an eager wish to obtain or enjoy.

Unspeakable desire to see and know.

Milton.

2. An expressed wish; a request; petition.

And slowly was my mother brought To yield consent to my desire.

Tennyson.

3. Anything which is desired; an object of longing.

The Desire of all nations shall come.

Hag. ii. 7.

4. Excessive or morbid longing; lust; appetite.

5. Grief; regret. [Obs.] Chapman.

Syn. -- Wish; appetency; craving; inclination; eagerness; aspiration; longing.

De*sire"ful (?), a. Filled with desire; eager. [R.]

The desireful troops.

Godfrey (1594).

De*sire"ful*ness, n. The state of being desireful; eagerness to obtain and possess. [R.]

The desirefulness of our minds much augmenteth and increaseth our pleasure.

Udall.

De*sire"less, a. Free from desire. Donne.

De*sir"er (?), n. One who desires, asks, or wishes.

De*sir"ous (?), a. [F. désireux, OF. desiros, fr. desir. See Desire, n.] Feeling desire; eagerly wishing; solicitous; eager to obtain; covetous.

Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him.

John xvi. 19.

Be not desirous of his dainties.

Prov. xxiii. 3.

De*sir"ous*ly, adv. With desire; eagerly.

De*sir"ous*ness, n. The state of being desirous.

De*sist" (?; 277), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Desisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Desisting.] [L. desistere; de- + sistere to stand, stop, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. désister. See Stand.] To cease to proceed or act; to stop; to forbear; -- often with from.

Never desisting to do evil.

E. Hall.

To desist from his bad practice.

Massinger.

Desist (thou art discern'd, And toil'st in vain).

Milton.

De*sist"ance (?), n. [Cf. F. desistance.] The act or state of desisting; cessation. [R.] Boyle.

If fatigue of body or brain were in every case followed by desistance . . . then would the system be but seldom out of working order.

H. Spencer.

De*sist"ive (?), a. [See Desist.] Final; conclusive; ending. [R.]

De*si"tion (?), n. [See Desinent.] An end or ending. [R.]