Chapter 19

Dew"ar ves`sel (d"r). [After Sir James Dewar, British physicist.] A double-walled glass vessel for holding liquid air, etc., having the space between the walls exhausted so as to prevent conduction of heat, and sometimes having the glass silvered to prevent absorption of radiant heat; -- called also, according to the particular shape, Dewar bulb, Dewar tube, etc.

Dex"ter, n. [Prob. so named after the original breeder.] One of a breed of small hardy cattle originating from the Kerry breed of Ireland, valuable both for beef and milk. They are usually chiefly black, sometimes red, and somewhat resemble a small shorthorn in build. Called also Dexter Kerry.

Di*ab"o*lo (d*b"*l), n. An old game or sport (revived under this name) consisting in whirling on a string, fastened to two sticks, a small somewhat spool-shaped object (called the diabolo) so as to balance it on a string, toss it in the air and catch it, etc.

{ Diamond anniversary, jubilee, etc. } One celebrated upon the completion of sixty, or, according to some, seventy-five, years from the beginning of the thing commemorated.

Diamond State. Delaware; -- a nickname alluding to its small size.

||Di*as"po*ra (?), n. [Gr. &?;. See Diaspore.] Lit., "Dispersion." -- applied collectively: (a) To those Jews who, after the Exile, were scattered through the Old World, and afterwards to Jewish Christians living among heathen. Cf. James i. 1. (b) By extension, to Christians isolated from their own communion, as among the Moravians to those living, usually as missionaries, outside of the parent congregation.

Dick"ey, 1. A hat; esp., in U. S., a stiff hat or derby; in Eng., a straw hat. [Slang]

2. One of various animals; specif.: (a) A donkey. (b) Any small bird; -- called also dickey bird. [Colloq.] (c) The hedge sparrow. [Dial. Eng.] (d) The haddock.

3. In a carriage: (a) A seat for the driver; -- called also dickey box. (b) A seat at the back for servants.

Dic"ta*graph (?). Var. of Dictograph.

Dic"ta*phone (?), n. [Dictate + -phone, as in telephone.] A form of phonographic recorder and reproducer adapted for use in dictation, as in business.

Dic"to*graph (?), n. [L. dictum a thing said + E. -graph.] A telephonic instrument for office or other similar use, having a sound-magnifying device enabling the ordinary mouthpiece to be dispensed with. Much use has been made of it for overhearing, or for recording, conversations for the purpose of obtaining evidence for use in litigation.

The makers of this instrument spell it dictograph.

{ Die"sel en`gine or mo`tor (?) }. [After Dr. Rudolf Diesel, of Munich, the inventor.] A type of internal- combustion engine in which the air drawn in by the suction stroke is so highly compressed that the heat generated ignites the fuel (usually crude oil), the fuel being automatically sprayed into the cylinder under pressure. The Diesel engine has a very high thermal efficiency.

Di"et, n. Specifically: Any of various national or local assemblies; as, (a) Occasionally, the Reichstag of the German Empire, Reichsrath of the Austrian Empire, the federal legislature of Switzerland, etc. (b) The legislature of Denmark, Sweden, Japan, or Hungary. (c) The state assembly or any of various local assemblies in the states of the German Empire, as the legislature (Landtag) of the kingdom of Prussia, and the Diet of the Circle (Kreistag) in its local government. (d) The local legislature (Landtag) of an Austrian province. (e) The federative assembly of the old Germanic Confederation (1815 -- 66). (f) In the old German or Holy Roman Empire, the great formal assembly of counselors (the Imperial Diet or Reichstag) or a small, local, or informal assembly of a similar kind (the Court Diet, or Hoftag). The most celebrated Imperial Diets are the three following, all held under Charles V.: Diet of Worms, 1521, the object of which was to check the Reformation and which condemned Luther as a heretic; D. of Spires, or Speyer, 1529, which had the same object and issued an edict against the further dissemination of the new doctrines, against which edict Lutheran princes and deputies protested (hence Protestants): D. of Augsburg, 1530, the object of which was the settlement of religious disputes, and at which the Augsburg Confession was presented but was denounced by the emperor, who put its adherents under the imperial ban.

Dig, v. i. 1. To work hard or drudge; specif. (U. S.): To study ploddingly and laboriously. [Colloq.]

Peter dug at his books all the harder.

Paul L. Ford.

2. (Mach.) Of a tool: To cut deeply into the work because ill set, held at a wrong angle, or the like, as when a lathe tool is set too low and so sprung into the work.

To dig out, to depart; to leave, esp. hastily; decamp. [Slang, U. S.]

Dig, n. 1. A tool for digging. [Dial. Eng.]

2. An act of digging.

3. An amount to be dug.

4. (Mining) = Gouge.

Di*he"dral (?), a. 1. Of a kite or an aëroplane, having wings that make with one another a dihedral angle, esp. when the angle between the upper sides is less than 180°.

2. (Aëronautics) Of wing pairs, inclined at an upward angle to each other.

Ding"dong` the"o*ry. (Philol.) The theory which maintains that the primitive elements of language are reflex expressions induced by sensory impressions; that is, as stated by Max Müller, the creative faculty gave to each general conception as it thrilled for the first time through the brain a phonetic expression; -- jocosely so called from the analogy of the sound of a bell induced by the stroke of the clapper.

||Di`o*ny"si*a (?), n. pl. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Class. Antiq.) Any of the festivals held in honor of the Olympian god Dionysus. They correspond to the Roman Bacchanalia; the greater Dionysia were held at Athens in March or April, and were celebrated with elaborate performances of both tragedies and comedies.

Di`o*ny"si*ac (?), a. Of or pertaining to Dionysus or to the Dionysia; Bacchic; as, a Dionysiac festival; the Dionysiac theater at Athens.

Dip, n. 1. A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms.

2. In the turpentine industry, the viscid exudation, which is dipped out from incisions in the trees; as, virgin dip (the runnings of the first year), yellow dip (the runnings of subsequent years).

3. (Aëronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.

Di"plex (?), a. [Pref. di- + - plex, as in duplex.] (Teleg.) Pertaining to the sending of two messages in the same direction at the same time. Diplex and contraplex are the two varieties of duplex.

Dip"lo*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; double + -graph.] An instrument used for double writing, as one for producing embossed writing for the blind and ordinary writing at the same time. -- Dip`lo*graph"ic*al (#), a. -- Dip*log"ra*phy (#), n.

{ Dip"sey, Dip"sie, Dip"sy } (?), a. Deep-sea; as, a dipsey line; a dipsy lead. [Sailor's Cant]

{ Dip"sey, Dip"sie, Dip"sy }, n. 1. A sinker attached to a fishing line; also, a line having several branches, each with such a sinker, used in deep-sea fishing. [Local, U. S.]

2. (Naut.) A deep-sea lead. [Rare]

Di*rect", a. (Political Science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates; as, direct nomination, direct legislation.

Direct action. (Trade unions) See Syndicalism, below.

Di*rect"-cou"pled (?), a. Coupled without intermediate connections, as an engine and a dynamo.

Direct-coupled antenna (Wireless Teleg.), an antenna connected electrically with one point of a closed oscillation circuit in syntony with it and earthed.

Direct current. (Elec.) (a) A current flowing in one direction only; -- distinguished from alternating current. When steady and not pulsating a direct current is often called a continuous current. (b) A direct induced current, or momentary current of the same direction as the inducing current, produced by stopping or removing the latter; also, a similar current produced by removal of a magnet.

Direct nomination. (Political Science) The nomination or designation of candidates for public office by direct popular vote rather than through the action of a convention or body of elected nominating representatives or delegates. The term is applied both to the nomination of candidates without any nominating convention, and, loosely, to the nomination effected, as in the case of candidates for president or senator of the United States, by the election of nominating representatives pledged or instructed to vote for certain candidates dssignated by popular vote.

Di`rec`toire" style (?). (Dressmaking) A style of dress prevalent at the time of the French Directory, characterized by great extravagance of design and imitating the Greek and Roman costumes.

Direct primary. (Political Science) A primary by which direct nominations of candidates for office are made.

Dis`ap*pear"ing, p. pr. & vb. n. of Disappear.

Disappearing carriage (Ordnance), a carriage for heavy coast guns on which the gun is raised above the parapet for firing and upon discharge is lowered behind the parapet for protection. The standard type of disappearing carriage in the coast artillery of the United States army is the Buffington-Crozier carriage, in which the gun trunnions are secured at the upper and after ends of a pair of heavy levers, at the lower ends of which is attached a counterweight of lead. The levers are pivoted at their middle points, which are, with the top carriage, permitted restrained motion along the slightly inclined chassis rails. The counterweight is held in place by a pawl and ratchet. When the gun is loaded the pawl is released and the counterweight sinks, raising the gun to the firing position above the parapet. The recoil following the discharge returns the gun to the loading position, the counterweight rising until the pawl engages the ratchet.

Dis*charge", v. t. (Textile Dyeing & Printing) To bleach out or to remove or efface, as by a chemical process; as, to discharge the color from a dyed fabric in order to form light figures on a dark ground.

Dis*charge", n. (Elec.) The equalization of a difference of electric potential between two points. The character of the discharge is mostly determined by the nature of the medium through which it takes place, the amount of the difference of potential, and the form of the terminal conductors on which the difference exists. The discharge may be alternating, continuous, brush, connective, disruptive, glow, oscillatory, stratified, etc.

Dis*cov"er*y Day. = Columbus Day, above.

Disk clutch. (Engin.) A friction clutch in which the gripping surfaces are disks or more or less resemble disks.

Dis*trib"u*tor (?), n. [L.] One that distributes; a distributer; specif.: (a) A machine for distributing type. (b) An appliance, as a roller, in a printing press, for distributing ink. (c) An apparatus for distributing an electric current, either to various points in rotation, as in some motors, or along two or more lines in parallel, as in a distributing system.

||Di"va (d"v), n.; It. pl. Dive (d"v). [It., prop. fem. of divo divine, L. divus.] A prima donna.

Di*vin"i*ty calf` (?). (Bookbinding) Calf stained dark brown and worked without gilding, often used for theological books.

Do (?), v. t. 1. To perform work upon, about, for, or at, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, or the like.

The sergeants seem to do themselves pretty well.

Harper's Mag.

2. To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for. [Colloq. or Slang]

Sometimes they lie in wait in these dark streets, and fracture his skull, . . . or break his arm, or cut the sinew of his wrist; and that they call doing him.

Charles Reade.

Dob"by (?), n. (Weaving) An apparatus resembling a Jacquard for weaving small figures (usually about 12 - 16 threads, seldom more than 36 - 40 threads).

Do*bell's" so*lu"tion (?). (Med.) An aqueous solution of carbolic acid, borax, sodium bicarbonate, and glycerin, used as a spray in diseases of the nose and throat.

Doe, John. (Law) The fictitious lessee acting as plaintiff in the common-law action of ejectment, the fictitious defendant being usually denominated Richard Roe. Hence, a fictitious name for a party, real or fictitious, to any action or proceeding.

Doff"er (?), n. 1. (Mach.) A revolving cylinder, or a vibrating bar, with teeth, in a carding machine, which doffs, or strips off, the fiber from the cards.

2. (Spinning) A worker who replaces full bobbins by empty ones on the throstle or ring frames.

Dol"er*ite (?), n. [Gr. &?; deceptive, because easily confounded with diorite.] (Petrography) (a) A dark, crystalline, igneous rock, chiefly pyroxene with labradorite. (b) Coarse- grained basalt. (c) Diabase. (d) Any dark, igneous rock composed chiefly of silicates of iron and magnesium with some feldspar. -- Dol`er*it"ic (#), a.

Dol"man (?), n.; pl. Dolmans. 1. A woman's cloak with capelike pieces instead of sleeves.

2. The uniform jacket of many European hussar regiments, worn like a cloak, fastened with a cord or chain, and with sleeves hanging loose.

Dom"i*ne (?), n. A clergyman.

Do*min"ion Day. In Canada, a legal holiday, July lst, being the anniversary of the proclamation of the formation of the Dominion in 1867.

Dom"i*no whist. A game of cards in which the suits are played in sequence, beginning with a 5 or 9, the player who gets rid of his cards first being the winner.

Don"go*la (?), n. 1. A government of Upper Egypt.

2. Dongola kid.

Dongola kid, D. leather, leather made by the Dongola process. -- D. process, a process of tanning goatskin, and now also calfskin and sheepskin, with a combination of vegetable and mineral agents, so that it resembles kid. -- D. race, a boat race in which the crews are composed of a number of pairs, usually of men and women.

||Don`née" (?), n. [F., fr. donner to give.] Lit., given; hence, in a literary work, as a drama or tale, that which is assumed as to characters, situation, etc., as a basis for the plot or story. W. E. Henley.

That favorite romance donnée of the heir kept out of his own.

Saintsbury.

Dope (dp), n. [D. doop a dipping, fr. doopen to dip. Cf. Dip.] 1. Any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as of opium for medicinal purposes, of grease for a lubricant, etc.

2. Any preparation, as of opium, used to stupefy or, in the case of a race horse, to stimulate. [Slang or Cant]

3. An absorbent material; esp., in high explosives, the sawdust, infusorial earth, mica, etc., mixed with nitroglycerin to make a damp powder (dynamite, etc.) less dangerous to transport, and ordinarily explosive only by suitable fulminating caps.

4. Information concerning the previous performances of race horses, or other facts concerning them which may be of assistance in judging of their chances of winning future races; sometimes, similar information concerning other sports. [Sporting Slang]

Dope, v. t. 1. To treat or affect with dope; as, to dope nitroglycerin; specif.: (a) To give stupefying drugs to; to drug. [Slang] (b) To administer a stimulant to (a horse) to increase his speed. It is a serious offense against the laws of racing. [Race-track Slang]

2. To judge or guess; to predict the result of, as by the aid of dope. [Slang]

Dope"-book`, n. A chart of previous performances, etc., of race horses. [Race-track Slang]

Dop"ey (?), a. Affected by "dope"; esp., sluggish or dull as though under the influence of a narcotic. [Slang]

||Dop"pel*gäng`er (?), n. [G.] A spiritual or ghostly double or counterpart; esp., an apparitional double of a living person; a cowalker.

Dor"my (?), a. [Origin uncertain.] (Golf) Up, or ahead, as many holes as remain to be played; -- said of a player or side.

A player who is dormy can not be beaten, and at the worst must halve the match. Encyc. of Sport.

||Dos`-à-dos" (?), adv. [F.] Back to back; as, to sit dos-à-dos in a dogcart; to dance dos-à-dos, or so that two dancers move forward and pass back to back.

||Dos`-à-dos", n. A sofa, open carriage, or the like, so constructed that the occupants sit back to back.

Dos"age (ds"j), n. [Cf. F. dosage. See Dose, v.] 1. (Med.) The administration of medicine in doses; specif., a scheme or system of grading doses of medicine according to age, etc.

2. The process of adding some ingredient, as to wine, to give flavor, character, or strength.

Do*sim"e*try (?), n. [NL. dosis dose + -metry.] (Med.) Measurement of doses; specif., a system of therapeutics which uses but few remedies, mostly alkaloids, and gives them in doses fixed by certain rules. -- Do`si*met"ric (#), a. -- Do*sim"e*trist (#), n.

Doss (?), n. [Etym. uncertain.] A place to sleep in; a bed; hence, sleep. [Slang]

Doss house. A cheap lodging house.

They [street Arabs] consort together and sleep in low doss houses where they meet with all kinds of villainy.

W. Besant.

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||Dos`sier" (ds`sy"; E. ds"s*r), n. [F., back of a thing, bulging bundle of papers, fr. dos back.] A bundle containing the papers in reference to some matter.

Dot"ty (?), a. [From 2d Dot.] 1. Composed of, or characterized by, dots.

2. [Perh. a different word; cf. Totty.] Unsteady in gait; hence, feeble; half-witted. [Eng.]

Dou"ble (?), n. A person or thing that is the counterpart of another; a duplicate; copy; (Obs.) transcript; -- now chiefly used of persons. Hence, a wraith.

My charming friend . . . has, I am almost sure, a double, who preaches his afternoon sermons for him.

E. E. Hale.

Dou"ble-deck"er, n. (a) A tenement house having two families on each floor. [Local, U. S.] (b) A biplane aëroplane or kite. [Colloq.]

Dou"ble*gang`er (?), n. [G. doppelgänger; doppel double + gänger walker.] An apparition or double of a living person; a doppelgänger.

Either you are Hereward, or you are his doubleganger.

C. Kingsley.

Double pedro. Cinch (the game).

Dou"bler (?), n. 1. A part of a distilling apparatus for intercepting the heavier fractions and returning them to be redistilled.

2. (Calico Printing) A blanket or felt placed between the fabric and the printing table or cylinder.

Dou"ble-sur"faced (?), a. Having two surfaces; -- said specif. of aëroplane wings or aërocurves which are covered on both sides with fabric, etc., thus completely inclosing their frames.

||Dou`blure" (?), n. [F.] 1. (Bookbinding) The lining of a book cover, esp. one of unusual sort, as of tooled leather, painted vellum, rich brocade, or the like.

2. (Paleon.) The reflexed margin of the trilobite carapace.

Down"com`er (?), n. A pipe to conduct something downwards; specif.: (a) (Iron Manuf.) A pipe for leading the hot gases from the top of a blast furnace downward to the regenerators, boilers, etc. (b) (Steam Engin.) In some water-tube boilers, a tube larger in diameter than the water tubes to conduct the water from each top drum to a bottom drum, thus completing the circulation.

Down"-wind`, adv. With the wind.

||Doy`en" (?), n. [F. See Dean.] Lit., a dean; the senior member of a body or group; as, the doyen of French physicians. "This doyen of newspapers." A. R. Colquhoun.

{ Drag line or rope }. (Aëronautics) A guide rope.

Draw (?), v. t. 1. In various games: (a) (Cricket) To play (a short-length ball directed at the leg stump) with an inclined bat so as to deflect the ball between the legs and the wicket. (b) (Golf) To hit (the ball) with the toe of the club so that it is deflected toward the left. (c) (Billiards) To strike (the cue ball) below the center so as to give it a backward rotation which causes it to take a backward direction on striking another ball. (d) (Curling) To throw up (the stone) gently.

2. To leave (a contest) undecided; as, the battle or game was drawn.

Draw, n. 1. The result of drawing, or state of being drawn; specif.: (a) A drawn battle, game, or the like. (b) The spin or twist imparted to a ball, or the like, by a drawing stroke.

2. That which is drawn or is subject to drawing.

Dread"nought` (?), n. 1. A British battleship, completed in 1906 -- 1907, having an armament consisting of ten 12-inch guns, and of twenty-four 12-pound quick-fire guns for protection against torpedo boats. This was the first battleship of the type characterized by a main armament of big guns all of the same caliber. She has a displacement of 17,900 tons at load draft, and a speed of 21 knots per hour.

2. Any battleship having its main armament entirely of big guns all of one caliber. Since the Dreadnought was built, the caliber of the heaviest guns has increased from 12 in. to 13½ in., 14 in., and 15 in., and the displacement of the largest batteships from 18,000 tons to 30,000 tons and upwards. The term superdreadnought is popularly applied to battleships with such increased displacement and gun caliber.

||Drei"bund` (?), n. [G., fr. drei three + bund league.] A triple alliance; specif., the alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy, formed in 1882.

Dress circle. A gallery or circle in a theater, generally the first above the floor, in which originally dress clothes were customarily worn.

Dress"er, n. [F. dressoir. See Dress, v. t.] A piece of chamber furniture consisting of a chest of drawers, or bureau, with a mirror. [U. S.]

Drib"ble (?), v. t. In various games, to propel (the ball) by successive slight hits or kicks so as to keep it always in control.

Drib"ble, v. i. 1. In football and similar games, to dribble the ball.

2. To live or pass one's time in a trivial fashion.

Drib"ble, n. An act of dribbling a ball.

Drift, n. 1. (Phys. Geog.) One of the slower movements of oceanic circulation; a general tendency of the water, subject to occasional or frequent diversion or reversal by the wind; as, the easterly drift of the North Pacific.

2. (Aëronautics) The horizontal component of the pressure of the air on the sustaining surfaces of a flying machine. The lift is the corresponding vertical component, which sustains the machine in the air.

Drive, v. i. (Golf) To make a drive, or stroke from the tee.

Drive, v. t. Specif., in various games, as tennis, baseball, etc., to propel (the ball) swiftly by a direct stroke or forcible throw.

Drive, n. 1. In various games, as tennis, cricket, etc., the act of player who drives the ball; the stroke or blow; the flight of the ball, etc., so driven.

2. (Golf) A stroke from the tee, generally a full shot made with a driver; also, the distance covered by such a stroke.

6. An implement used for driving; as: (a) A mallet. (b) A tamping iron. (c) A cooper's hammer for driving on barrel hoops. (d) A wooden- headed golf club with a long shaft, for playing the longest strokes. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Drome (drm), n. Short for Aërodrome. [Slang]

Drove (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Droved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Droving (?).] [Cf. Drove, n., and Drover.] 1. To drive, as cattle or sheep, esp. on long journeys; to follow the occupation of a drover.

He's droving now with Conroy's sheep along the Castlereagh.

Paterson.

2. To finish, as stone, with a drove or drove chisel.

Drum winding. (Elec.) A method of armature winding in which the wire is wound upon the outer surface of a cylinder or drum from end to end of the cylinder; -- distinguished from ring winding, etc.

Du`chesse" lace (?). A beautiful variety of Brussels pillow lace made originally in Belgium and resembling Honiton guipure. It is worked with fine thread in large sprays, usually of the primrose pattern, with much raised work.

Duff (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Duffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Duffing.] [Etym. uncertain.] [Colloq. or Slang] 1. To treat or manipulate so as to give a specious appearance to; to fake; hence, to cheat.

2. In Australia, to alter the brands on (cattle, horses, etc.); to steal (cattle, etc.), and alter their brands.