Defn: Like a drone; indolent; slow. Burke.— Dron"ish*ly, adv.— Dron"ish*ness, n.
DRONKELEWEDron"ke*lewe, a. Etym: [See Drink.]
Defn: Given to drink; drunken. [Obs.] Chaucer.
DRONTEDron"te, n. Etym: [F.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: The dodo.
DRONYDron"y, a.
Defn: Like a drone; sluggish; lazy.
DROOLDrool, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Drooling.] Etym:[Contr. fr. drivel.]
Defn: To drivel, or drop saliva; as, the child drools.His mouth drooling with texts. T. Parker.
DROOPDroop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drooped; p. pr. & vb. n. Drooping.] Etym:[Icel. dr; akin to E. drop. See Drop.]
1. To hang bending downward; to sink or hang down, as an animal, plant, etc., from physical inability or exhaustion, want of nourishment, or the like. "The purple flowers droop." "Above her drooped a lamp." Tennyson. I saw him ten days before he died, and observed he began very much to droop and languish. Swift.
2. To grow weak or faint with disappointment, grief, or like causes; to be dispirited or depressed; to languish; as, her spirits drooped. I'll animate the soldier's drooping courage. Addison.
3. To proceed downward, or toward a close; to decline. "Then day drooped." Tennyson.
DROOPDroop, v. t.
Defn: To let droop or sink. [R.] M. Arnold. Like to a withered vine That droops his sapless branches to the ground. Shak.
DROOPDroop, n.
Defn: A drooping; as, a droop of the eye.
DROOPERDroop"er, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, droops.
DROOPINGLYDroop"ing*ly, adv.
Defn: In a drooping manner.
DROP Drop, n. Etym: [OE. drope, AS. dropa; akin to OS. dropo, D. drop, OHG. tropo, G. tropfen, Icel. dropi, Sw. droppe; and Fr. AS. dreópan to drip, drop; akin to OS. driopan, D. druipen, OHG. triofan, G. triefen, Icel. drj. Cf. Drip, Droop.]
1. The quantity of fluid which falls in one small spherical mass; a liquid globule; a minim; hence, also, the smallest easily measured portion of a fluid; a small quantity; as, a drop of water. With minute drops from off the eaves. Milton. As dear to me as are the ruddy drops That visit my sad heart. Shak. That drop of peace divine. Keble.
2. That which resembles, or that which hangs like, a liquid drop; as a hanging diamond ornament, an earring, a glass pendant on a chandelier, a sugarplum (sometimes medicated), or a kind of shot or slug.
3. (Arch.) (a) Same as Gutta. (b) Any small pendent ornament.
4. Whatever is arranged to drop, hang, or fall from an elevated position; also, a contrivance for lowering something; as: (a) A door or platform opening downward; a trap door; that part of the gallows on which a culprit stands when he is to be hanged; hence, the gallows itself. (b) A machine for lowering heavy weights, as packages, coal wagons, etc., to a ship's deck. (c) A contrivance for temporarily lowering a gas jet. (d) A curtain which drops or falls in front of the stage of a theater, etc. (e) A drop press or drop hammer. (f) (Mach.) The distance of the axis of a shaft below the base of a hanger.
5. pl.
Defn: Any medicine the dose of which is measured by drops; as, lavender drops.
6. (Naut.)
Defn: The depth of a square sail; — generally applied to the courses only. Ham. Nav. Encyc.
7. Act of dropping; sudden fall or descent. Ague drop, Black drop. See under Ague, Black. — Drop by drop, in small successive quantities; in repeated portions. "Made to taste drop by drop more than the bitterness of death." Burke. — Drop curtain. See Drop, n.,
4. (d).— Drop forging. (Mech.) (a) A forging made in dies by a drophammer. (b) The process of making drop forgings.— Drop hammer (Mech.), a hammer for forging, striking up metal,etc., the weight being raised by a strap or similar device, and thenreleased to drop on the metal resting on an anvil or die.— Drop kick (Football), a kick given to the ball as it reboundsafter having been dropped from the hands.— Drop lake, a pigment obtained from Brazil wood. Mollett.— Drop letter, a letter to be delivered from the same office whereposted.— Drop press (Mech.), a drop hammer; sometimes, a dead-strokehammer; — also called drop.— Drop scene, a drop curtain on which a scene is painted. See Drop,n., 4. (d).— Drop seed. (Bot.) See the List under Glass.— Drop serene. (Med.) See Amaurosis.
DROPDrop, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dropped or Dropt; p. pr. & vb. n.Dropping.] Etym: [OE. droppen, AS. dropan, v. i. See Drop, n.]
1. To pour or let fall in drops; to pour in small globules; to distill. "The trees drop balsam." Creech. The recording angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever. Sterne.
2. To cause to fall in one portion, or by one motion, like a drop; to let fall; as, to drop a line in fishing; to drop a courtesy.
3. To let go; to dismiss; to set aside; to have done with; to discontinue; to forsake; to give up; to omit. They suddenly drop't the pursuit. S. Sharp. That astonishing ease with which fine ladies drop you and pick you up again. Thackeray. The connection had been dropped many years. Sir W. Scott. Dropping the too rough H in Hell and Heaven. Tennyson.
4. To bestow or communicate by a suggestion; to let fall in an indirect, cautious, or gentle manner; as, to drop hint, a word of counsel, etc.
5. To lower, as a curtain, or the muzzle of a gun, etc.
6. To send, as a letter; as, please drop me a line, a letter, word.
7. To give birth to; as, to drop a lamb.
8. To cover with drops; to variegate; to bedrop. Show to the sun their waved coats dropped with gold. Milton. To drop a vessel (Naut.), to leave it astern in a race or a chase; to outsail it.
DROPDrop, v. i.
1. To fall in drops. The kindly dew drops from the higher tree, And wets the little plants that lowly dwell. Spenser.
2. To fall, in general, literally or figuratively; as, ripe fruit drops from a tree; wise words drop from the lips. Mutilations of which the meaning has dropped out of memory. H. Spencer. When the sound of dropping nuts is heard. Bryant.
3. To let drops fall; to discharge itself in drops. The heavens . . . dropped at the presence of God. Ps. lxviii. 8.
4. To fall dead, or to fall in death. Nothing, says Seneca, so soon reconciles us to the thoughts of our own death, as the prospect of one friend after another dropping round us. Digby.
5. To come to an end; to cease; to pass out of mind; as, the affair dropped. Pope.
6. To come unexpectedly; — with in or into; as, my old friend dropped in a moment. Steele. Takes care to drop in when he thinks you are just seated. Spectator.
7. To fall or be depressed; to lower; as, the point of the spear dropped a little.
8. To fall short of a mark. [R.] Often it drops or overshoots by the disproportion of distance. Collier.
9. To be deep in extent; to descend perpendicularly; as, her main topsail drops seventeen yards. To drop astern (Naut.), to go astern of another vessel; to be left behind; to slacken the speed of a vessel so as to fall behind and to let another pass a head. — To drop down (Naut.), to sail, row, or move down a river, or toward the sea. — To drop off, to fall asleep gently; also, to die. [Colloq.]
DROPLETDrop"let, n.
Defn: A little drop; a tear. Shak.
DROPLIGHTDrop"light`, n.
Defn: An apparatus for bringing artificial light down from a chandelier nearer to a table or desk; a pendant.
DROPMEAL; DROPMELE Drop"meal`, Drop"mele`, adv. Etym: [AS. drop-m; dropa drop + m portion. Cf. Piecemeal.]
Defn: By drops or small portions. [Obs.]Distilling dropmeal, a little at once. Holland.
DROPPERDrop"per, n.
1. One who, or that which, drops. Specif.: (Fishing) A fly that drops from the leaden above the bob or end fly.
2. A dropping tube.
3. (Mining)
Defn: A branch vein which drops off from, or leaves, the main lode.
4. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A dog which suddenly drops upon the ground when it sights game, — formerly a common, and still an occasional, habit of the setter.
DROPPINGDrop"ping, n.
1. The action of causing to drop or of letting drop; falling.
2. pl.
Defn: That which falls in drops; the excrement or dung of animals.Dropping bottle, an instrument used to supply small quantities of afluid to a test tube or other vessel.— Dropping fire, a continued irregular discharge of firearms.— Dropping tube, a tube for ejecting any liquid in drops.
DROPPINGLYDrop"ping*ly, adv.
Defn: In drops.
DROPSICALDrop"si*cal, a. Etym: [From Dropsy.]
1. Diseased with dropsy; hydropical; tending to dropsy; as, a dropsical patient.
2. Of or pertaining to dropsy.
DROPSICALNESSDrop"si*cal*ness, n.
Defn: State of being dropsical.
DROPSIEDDrop"sied, a.
Defn: Diseased with drops. Shak.
DROPSYDrop"sy, n.; pl. Dropsies. Etym: [OE. dropsie, dropesie, OF.idropisie, F. hydropisie, L. hydropisis, fr. Gr. Water, and cf.Hydropsy.] (Med.)
Defn: An unnatural collection of serous fluid in any serous cavity of the body, or in the subcutaneous cellular tissue. Dunglison.
DROPTDropt,
Defn: imp. & p. p. of Drop, v. G. Eliot.
DROPWISEDrop"wise`, adv.
Defn: After the manner of a drop; in the form of drops.Trickling dropwise from the cleft. Tennyson.
DROPWORMDrop"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: The larva of any geometrid moth, which drops from trees by means of a thread of silk, as the cankerworm.
DROPWORTDrop"wort`, n. (Bot.)
Defn: An Old World species of Spiræa (S. filipendula), with finely cut leaves.
DROSERADros"e*ra, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of low perennial or biennial plants, the leaves of which are beset with gland-tipped bristles. See Sundew. Gray.
DROSKY Dros"ky, n.; pl. Droskies. Etym: [Russ. drojki, dim. of drogi a kind of carriage, prop. pl. of droga shaft or pole of a carriage.]
Defn: A low, four-wheeled, open carriage, used in Russia, consisting of a kind of long, narrow bench, on which the passengers ride as on a saddle, with their feet reaching nearly to the ground. Other kinds of vehicles are now so called, esp. a kind of victoria drawn by one or two horses, and used as a public carriage in German cities. [Written also droitzschka, and droschke.]
DROSOMETERDro*som"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter: cf. F. drosométre.] (Meteorol.)
Defn: An instrument for measuring the quantity of dew on the surface of a body in the open air. It consists of a balance, having a plate at one end to receive the dew, and at the other a weight protected from the deposit of dew.
DROSSDross, n. Etym: [AS. dros, fr. dreósan to fall. See Dreary.]
1. The scum or refuse matter which is thrown off, or falls from, metals in smelting the ore, or in the process of melting; recrement.
2. Rust of metals. [R.] Addison.
3. Waste matter; any worthless matter separated from the better part; leavings; dregs; refuse. All world's glory is but dross unclean. Spenser. At the devil's booth are all things sold, Each ounce of dross coats its ounce of gold. Lowell.
DROSSELDros"sel, n. Etym: [Cf. Drazel.]
Defn: A slut; a hussy; a drazel. [Obs.] Warner.
DROSSLESSDross"less, a.
Defn: Free from dross. Stevens.
DROSSYDross"y, a. [Compar. Drossier; superl. Drossiest.]
Defn: Of, pertaining to, resembling, dross; full of dross; impure; worthless. " Drossy gold." Dryden. "Drossy rhymes." Donne. — Dross"i*ness, n.
DROTCHELDrotch"el, n.
Defn: See Drossel. [Obs.]
DROUGHDrough, imp.
Defn: of Draw. [Obs.] Chaucer.
DROUGHT Drought, n. Etym: [OE. droght, drougth, dru, AS. druga, from drugian to dry. See Dry, and cf. Drouth, which shows the original final sound.]
1. Dryness; want of rain or of water; especially, such dryness of the weather as affects the earth, and prevents the growth of plants; aridity. The drought of March hath pierced to the root. Chaucer. In a drought the thirsty creatures cry. Dryden.
2. Thirst; want of drink. Johnson.
3. Scarcity; lack.A drought of Christian writers caused a dearth of all history.Fuller.
DROUGHTINESSDrought"i*ness, n.
Defn: A state of dryness of the weather; want of rain.
DROUGHTYDrought"y, a.
1. Characterized by drought; wanting rain; arid; adust. Droughty and parched countries. Ray.
2. Dry; thirsty; wanting drink. Thy droughty throat. Philips.
DROUMY Drou"my, a. Etym: [Cf. Scot. drum, dram, melancholy, Icel prumr a moper, W. trwm heavy, sad.]
Defn: Troubled; muddy. [Obs.] Bacon.
DROUTHDrouth, n.
Defn: Same as Drought. Sandys.Another ill accident is drouth at the spindling of corn. Bacon.One whose drouth [thirst], Yet scarce allayed, still eyes the currentstream. Milton.In the dust and drouth of London life. Tennyson.
DROUTHYDrouth"y, a.
Defn: Droughty.
DROVEDrove, imp.
Defn: of Drive.
DROVEDrove, n. Etym: [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
1. A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body.
2. Any collection of irrational animals, moving or driving forward; as, a finny drove. Milton.
3. A crowd of people in motion. Where droves, as at a city gate, may pass. Dryden.
4. A road for driving cattle; a driftway. [Eng.]
5. (Agric.)
Defn: A narrow drain or channel used in the irrigation of land.Simmonds.
6. (Masonry) (a) A broad chisel used to bring stone to a nearly smooth surface; — called also drove chisel. (b) The grooved surface of stone finished by the drove chisel; — called also drove work.
DROVENDro"ven, p. p.
Defn: of Drive. [Obs.]
DROVERDro"ver, n.
1. One who drives cattle or sheep to market; one who makes it his business to purchase cattle, and drive them to market. Why, that's spoken like an honest drover; so they sell bullocks. Shak.
2. A boat driven by the tide. [Obs.] Spenser.
DROVY Dro"vy, a. Etym: [AS. dr dirty; cf. D. droef, G. trübe, Goth. dr to trouble.]
Defn: Turbid; muddy; filthy. [Obs.] Chaucer.
DROWDrow, imp.
Defn: of Draw. [Obs.] Chaucer.
DROWNDrown, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drowned; p. pr. & vb. n. Drowning.] Etym:[OE. drunen, drounen, earlier drunknen, druncnien, AS. druncnian tobe drowned, sink, become drunk, fr. druncen drunken. See Drunken,Drink.]
Defn: To be suffocated in water or other fluid; to perish in water.Methought, what pain it was to drown. Shak.
DROWNDrown, v. t.
1. To overwhelm in water; to submerge; to inundate. "They drown the land." Dryden.
2. To deprive of life by immersion in water or other liquid.
3. To overpower; to overcome; to extinguish; — said especially ofsound.Most men being in sensual pleasures drowned. Sir J. Davies.My private voice is drowned amid the senate. Addison.To drown up, to swallow up. [Obs.] Holland.
DROWNAGEDrown"age, n.
Defn: The act of drowning. [R.]
DROWNERDrown"er, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, drowns.
DROWSE Drowse, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drowsed; p. pr. & vb. n. Drowsing.] Etym: [AS. dr, dr, to sink, become slow or inactive; cf. OD. droosen to be sleepy, fall asleep, LG. dr, druusken, to slumber, fall down with a noise; prob, akin to AS. dreósan to fall. See Dreary.]
Defn: To sleep imperfectly or unsoundly; to slumber; to be heavy with sleepiness; to doze. "He drowsed upon his couch." South. In the pool drowsed the cattle up to their knees. Lowell.
DROWSEDrowse, v. t.
Defn: To make heavy with sleepiness or imperfect sleep; to make dull or stupid. Milton.
DROWSEDrowse, n.
Defn: A slight or imperfect sleep; a doze.But smiled on in a drowse of ecstasy. Mrs. Browning.
DROWSIHEADDrow"si*head, n.
Defn: Drowsiness. Thomson.
DROWSIHEDDrow"si*hed, n.
Defn: Drowsihead. [Obs.] Spenser.
DROWSILYDrow"si*ly, adv.
Defn: In a drowsy manner.
DROWSINESSDrow"si*ness, n.
Defn: State of being drowsy. Milton.
DROWSYDrow"sy, a. [Compar. Drowsier; superl. Drowsiest.]
1. Inclined to drowse; heavy with sleepiness; lethargic; dozy. "WhenI am drowsy." Shak.Dapples the drowsy east with spots of gray. Shak.To our age's drowsy blood Still shouts the inspiring sea. Lowell.
2. Disposing to sleep; lulling; soporific. The drowsy hours, dispensers of all good. Tennyson.
3. Dull; stupid. " Drowsy reasoning." Atterbury.
Syn.— Sleepy; lethargic; dozy; somnolent; comatose; dull heavy; stupid.
DROWTHDrowth, n.
Defn: See Drought. Bacon.
DROYLEDroyle, v. i.
Defn: See Droil. [Obs.] Spenser.
DRUB Drub, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Drubbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Drubbing.] Etym: [Cf. Prov. E. drab to beat, Icel. & Sw. drabba to hit, beat, Dan. dræbe to slay, and perh. OE. drepen to strike, kill, AS. drepan to strike, G. & D. freffen to hit, touch, Icel. drepa to strike, kill.]
Defn: To beat with a stick; to thrash; to cudgel.Soundly Drubbed with a good honest cudgel. L'Estrange.
DRUBDrub, n.
Defn: A blow with a cudgel; a thump. Addison.
DRUBBERDrub"ber, n.
Defn: One who drubs. Sir W. Scott.
DRUDGEDrudge, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drudged; p. pr. & vb. n. Drudging.] Etym:[OE. druggen; prob not akin to E. drag, v. t., but fr. Celtic; cf.Ir. drugaire a slave or drudge.]
Defn: To perform menial work; to labor in mean or unpleasant officeswith toil and fatigue.He gradually rose in the estimation of the booksellers for whom hedrudged. Macaulay.
DRUDGEDrudge, v. t.
Defn: To consume laboriously; — with away.Rise to our toils and drudge away the day. Otway.
DRUDGEDrudge, n.
Defn: One who drudges; one who works hard in servile employment; a mental servant. Milton.
DRUDGERDrudg"er, n.
1. One who drudges; a drudge.
2. A dredging box.
DRUDGERYDrudg"er*y, n.
Defn: The act of drudging; disagreeable and wearisome labor; ignobleor slavish toil.The drudgery of penning definitions. Macaulay.Paradise was a place of bliss . . . without drudgery and with outsorrow. Locke.
Syn.— See Toll.
DRUDGING BOXDrudg"ing box`.
Defn: See Dredging box.
DRUDGINGLYDrudg"ing*ly, adv.
Defn: In a drudging manner; laboriously.
DRUERYDru"er*y, n. Etym: [OF. druerie.]
Defn: Courtship; gallantry; love; an object of love. [Obs.] Chaucer.
DRUGDrug, v. i. Etym: [See 1st Drudge.]
Defn: To drudge; to toil laboriously. [Obs.] "To drugge and draw."Chaucer.
DRUGDrug, n.
Defn: A drudge. Shak. (Timon iv. 3, 253).
DRUG Drug, n. Etym: [F. drogue, prob. fr. D. droog; akin to E. dry; thus orig., dry substance, hers, plants, or wares. See Dry.]
1. Any animal, vegetable, or mineral substance used in the composition of medicines; any stuff used in dyeing or in chemical operations. Whence merchants bring Their spicy drugs. Milton.
2. Any commodity that lies on hand, or is not salable; an article of slow sale, or in no demand. "But sermons are mere drugs." Fielding. And virtue shall a drug become. Dryden.
DRUGDrug, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drugged; p. pr. & vb. n. Drugging.] Etym:[Cf. F. droguer.]
Defn: To prescribe or administer drugs or medicines. B. Jonson.
DRUGDrug, v. t.
1. To affect or season with drugs or ingredients; esp., to stupefy by a narcotic drug. Also Fig. The laboring masses . . . [were] drugged into brutish good humor by a vast system of public spectacles. C. Kingsley. Drug thy memories, lest thou learn it. Tennyson.
2. To tincture with something offensive or injurious. Drugged as oft, With hatefullest disrelish writhed their jaws. Milton.
3. To dose to excess with, or as with, drugs. With pleasure drugged, he almost longed for woe. Byron.
DRUGGERDrug"ger, n.
Defn: A druggist. [Obs.] Burton.
DRUGGET Drug"get, n. Etym: [F. droguet, prop. dim. of drogue trash, stuff, perh, the same word as drogue drug, but cf. also W. drwg evil, bad, Ir. & Gael. droch, Arm. droug, drouk. See 3d Drug.] (a) A coarse woolen cloth dyed of one color or printed on one side; generally used as a covering for carpets. (b) By extension, any material used for the same purpose.
DRUGGISTDrug"gist, n. Etym: [F. droguiste, fr. drogue. See 3d Drug.]
Defn: One who deals in drugs; especially, one who buys and sells drugs without compounding them; also, a pharmaceutist or apothecary.
Note: The same person often carries on the business of the druggist and the apothecary. See the Note under Apothecary.
DRUGSTERDrug"ster, n.
Defn: A druggist. [Obs.] Boule.
DRUID Dru"id, n. Etym: [L. Druides; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. draoi, druidh, magician, Druid, W. derwydd Druid.]
1. One of an order of priests which in ancient times existed among certain branches of the Celtic race, especially among the Gauls and Britons.
Note: The Druids superintended the affairs of religion and morality, and exercised judicial functions. They practiced divination and magic, and sacrificed human victims as a part of their worship. They consisted of three classes; the bards, the vates or prophets, and the Druids proper, or priests. Their most sacred rites were performed in the depths of oak forests or of caves.
2. A member of a social and benevolent order, founded in London in 1781, and professedly based on the traditions of the ancient Druids. Lodges or groves of the society are established in other countries. Druid stones, a name given, in the south of England, to weatherworn, rough pillars of gray sandstone scattered over the chalk downs, but in other countries generally in the form of circles, or in detached pillars.
DRUIDESSDru"id*ess, n.
Defn: A female Druid; a prophetess.
DRUIDIC; DRUIDICALDru*id"ic, Dru*id"ic*al, a.
Defn: Pertaining to, or resembling, the Druids. Druidical circles.See under Circle.
DRUIDISHDru"id*ish, a.
Defn: Druidic.
DRUIDISMDru"id*ism, n.
Defn: The system of religion, philosophy, and instruction, received and taught by the Druids; the rites and ceremonies of the Druids.
DRUM Drum, n. Etym: [Cf. D. trom, trommel, LG. trumme, G. trommel, Dan. tromme, Sw. trumma, OHG. trumba a trumpet, Icel. pruma a clap of thunder, and as a verb, to thunder, Dan. drum a booming sound, drumme to boom; prob. partly at least of imitative origin; perh. akin to E. trum, or trumpet.]
1. (Mus.)
Defn: An instrument of percussion, consisting either of a hollow cylinder, over each end of which is stretched a piece of skin or vellum, to be beaten with a stick; or of a metallic hemisphere (kettledrum) with a single piece of skin to be so beaten; the common instrument for marking time in martial music; one of the pair of tympani in an orchestra, or cavalry band. The drums cry bud-a-dub. Gascoigne.
2. Anything resembling a drum in form; as: (a) A sheet iron radiator, often in the shape of a drum, for warming an apartment by means of heat received from a stovepipe, or a cylindrical receiver for steam, etc. (b) A small cylindrical box in which figs, etc., are packed. (c) (Anat.) The tympanum of the ear; — often, but incorrectly, applied to the tympanic membrane. (d) (Arch.)
Defn: One of the cylindrical, or nearly cylindrical, blocks, of which the shaft of a column is composed; also, a vertical wall, whether circular or polygonal in plan, carrying a cupola or dome. (e) (Mach.)
Defn: A cylinder on a revolving shaft, generally for the purpose of driving several pulleys, by means of belts or straps passing around its periphery; also, the barrel of a hoisting machine, on which the rope or chain is wound.
3. (Zoöl.)
Defn: See Drumfish.
4. A noisy, tumultuous assembly of fashionable people at a private house; a rout. [Archaic] Not unaptly styled a drum, from the noise and emptiness of the entertainment. Smollett.
Note: There were also drum major, rout, tempest, and hurricane, differing only in degrees of multitude and uproar, as the significant name of each declares.
5. A tea party; a kettledrum. G. Eliot. Bass drum. See in the Vocabulary. — Double drum. See under Double.
DRUMDrum, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Drummed; p. pr. & vb. n. Drumming.]
1. To beat a drum with sticks; to beat or play a tune on a drum.
2. To beat with the fingers, as with drumsticks; to beat with a rapid succession of strokes; to make a noise like that of a beaten drum; as, the ruffed grouse drums with his wings. Drumming with his fingers on the arm of his chair. W. Irving.
3. To throb, as the heart. [R.] Dryden.
4. To go about, as a drummer does, to gather recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc,; — with for.
DRUMDrum, v. t.
1. To execute on a drum, as a tune.
2. (With out) To expel ignominiously, with beat of drum; as, to drum out a deserter or rogue from a camp, etc.
3. (With up) To assemble by, or as by, beat of drum; to collect; to gather or draw by solicitation; as, to drum up recruits; to drum up customers.
DRUMBEATDrum"beat`, n.
Defn: The sound of a beaten drum; drum music. Whose morning drumbeat, following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles the earth with one continuous and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England. D. Webster.
DRUMBLEDrum"ble, v. i. Etym: [See Drumly.]
1. To be sluggish or lazy; to be confused. [Obs.] Shak.
2. To mumble in speaking. [Obs.]
DRUMFISHDrum"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: any fish of the family Sciænidæ, which makes a loud noise by means of its air bladder; — called also drum.
Note: The common drumfish (Pogonias chromis) is a large species, common south of New Jersey. The southern red drum or red horse (Sciæna ocellata), and the fresh-water drum or croaker (Aplodionotus grunniens), are related species.
DRUMHEADDrum"head`, n.
1. The parchment or skin stretched over one end of a drum.
2. The top of a capstan which is pierced with sockets for levers used in turning it. See Illust. of Capstan. Drumhead court-martial (Mil.), a summary court-martial called to try offenses on the battlefield or the line of march, when, sometimes, a drumhead has to do service as a writing table.
DRUMLINDrum"lin, n. Etym: [Gael. druim the ridge of a hill.] (Geol.)
Defn: A hill of compact, unstratified, glacial drift or till, usually elongate or oval, with the larger axis parallel to the former local glacial motion.
DRUMLYDrum"ly, a. Etym: [Cf. Droumy.]
Defn: Turbid; muddy. [Scot. & Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Wodroephe (1623).Burns.
DRUM MAJORDrum" ma"jor
Defn: .
1. The chief or first drummer of a regiment; an instructor of drummers.
2. The marching leader of a military band. [U.S.]
3. A noisy gathering. [R.] See under Drum, n.,
4.
DRUMMERDrum"mer, n.
1. One whose office is to best the drum, as in military exercises and marching.
2. One who solicits custom; a commercial traveler. [Colloq. U.S.] Bartlett.
3. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A fish that makes a sound when caught; as: (a) The squeteague. (b) A California sculpin.
4. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A large West Indian cockroach (Blatta gigantea) which drums on woodwork, as a sexual call.
DRUMMINGDrum"ming, n.
Defn: The act of beating upon, or as if upon, a drum; also, the noise which the male of the ruffed grouse makes in spring, by beating his wings upon his sides.
DRUMMOND LIGHT Drum"mond light`. Etym: [From Thomas Drummond, a British naval officer.]
Defn: A very intense light, produced by turning two streams of gas, one oxygen and the other hydrogen, or coal gas, in a state of ignition, upon a ball of lime; or a stream of oxygen gas through a flame of alcohol upon a ball or disk of lime; — called also oxycalcium light, or lime light.
Note: The name is also applied sometimes to a heliostat, invented by Drummond, for rendering visible a distant point, as in geodetic surveying, by reflecting upon it a beam of light from the sun.
DRUMSTICKDrum"stick`, n.
1. A stick with which a drum is beaten.
2. Anything resembling a drumstick in form, as the tibiotarsus, or second joint, of the leg of a fowl.
DRUM WINDINGDrum winding. (Elec.)
Defn: 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.
DRUNKDrunk, a. Etym: [OE. dronke, drunke, dronken, drunken, AS. druncen.Orig. the same as drunken, p. p. of drink. See Drink.]
1. Intoxicated with, or as with, strong drink; inebriated; drunken; - - never used attributively, but always predicatively; as, the man is drunk (not, a drunk man). Be not drunk with wine, where in is excess. Eph. v. 18. Drunk with recent prosperity. Macaulay.
2. Drenched or saturated with moisture or liquid. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood. Deut. xxxii. 42.
DRUNKDrunk, n.
Defn: A drunken condition; a spree. [Slang]
DRUNKARDDrunk"ard, n. Etym: [Drunk + -ard.]
Defn: One who habitually drinks strong liquors immoderately; one whose habit it is to get drunk; a toper; a sot. The drunkard and glutton shall come to poverty. Prov. xxiii. 21.
DRUNKEN Drunk"en, a. Etym: [AS. druncen, prop., that has drunk, p. p. of drincan, taken as active. See Drink, v. i., and cf. Drunk.]
1. Overcome by strong drink; intoxicated by, or as by, spirituous liquor; inebriated. Drunken men imagine everything turneth round. Bacon.
2. Saturated with liquid or moisture; drenched. Let the earth be drunken with our blood. Shak.
3. Pertaining to, or proceeding from, intoxication. The drunken quarrels of a rake. Swift.
DRUNKENHEADDrunk"en*head, n.
Defn: Drunkenness. [Obs.]
DRUNKENLYDrunk"en*ly, adv.
Defn: In a drunken manner. [R.] Shak.
DRUNKENNESSDrunk"en*ness, n.
1. The state of being drunken with, or as with, alcoholic liquor; intoxication; inebriety; — used of the casual state or the habit. The Lacedemonians trained up their children to hate drunkenness by bringing a drunken man into their company. I. Watts.
2. Disorder of the faculties, resembling intoxication by liquors; inflammation; frenzy; rage. Passion is the drunkenness of the mind. South.
Syn. — Intoxication; inebriation; inebriety. — Drunkenness, Intoxication, Inebriation. Drunkenness refers more to the habit; intoxication and inebriation, to specific acts. The first two words are extensively used in a figurative sense; a person is intoxicated with success, and is drunk with joy. "This plan of empire was not taken up in the first intoxication of unexpected success." Burke.
DRUNKENSHIP; DRUNKSHIPDrunk"en*ship, Drunk"ship, n.
Defn: The state of being drunk; drunkenness. [Obs.] Gower.
DRUPACEOUSDru*pa"ceous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. drupacé.] (Bot.)
Defn: Producing, or pertaining to, drupes; having the form of drupes; as, drupaceous trees or fruits.
DRUPALDrup"al, a. (Bot.)
Defn: Drupaceous.
DRUPEDrupe, n. Etym: [F. drupe, L. drupa an overripe, wrinkled olive, fr.Gr. (Bot.)
Defn: A fruit consisting of pulpy, coriaceous, or fibrous exocarp, without valves, containing a nut or stone with a kernel. The exocarp is succulent in the plum, cherry, apricot, peach, etc.; dry and subcoriaceous in the almond; and fibrous in the cocoanut.
DRUPEL; DRUPELETDrup"el, Drupe"let, n. Etym: [Dim. of Drupe.] (Bot.)
Defn: A small drupe, as one of the pulpy grains of the blackberry.
DRUSEDruse, n. Etym: [Cf. G. druse bonny, crystallized piece of ore,Bohem. druza. Cf. Dross.] (Min.)
Defn: A cavity in a rock, having its interior surface studded with crystals and sometimes filled with water; a geode.
DRUSEDruse, n.
Defn: One of a people and religious sect dwelling chiefly in theLebanon mountains of Syria.The Druses separated from the Mohammedan Arabs in the 9th century.Their characteristic dogma is the unity of God. Am. Cyc.
DRUSY; DRUSEDDru"sy, Drused, a. (Min.)
Defn: Covered with a large number of minute crystals.
DRUXEY; DRUXYDrux"ey, Drux"y, a. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]
Defn: Having decayed spots or streaks of a whitish color; — said of timber. Weale.
DRYDry, a. [Compar. Drier; superl. Driest.] Etym: [OE. dru, druye, drie,AS. dryge; akin to LG. dröge, D. droog, OHG. trucchan, G. trocken,Icel. draugr a dry log. Cf. Drought, Drouth, 3d Drug.]
1. Free from moisture; having little humidity or none; arid; not wet or moist; deficient in the natural or normal supply of moisture, as rain or fluid of any kind; — said especially: (a) Of the weather: Free from rain or mist. The weather, we agreed, was too dry for the season. Addison.
(b) Of vegetable matter: Free from juices or sap; not succulent; not green; as, dry wood or hay. (c) Of animals: Not giving milk; as, the cow is dry. (d) Of persons: Thirsty; needing drink. Give the dry fool drink. Shak
(e) Of the eyes: Not shedding tears. Not a dry eye was to be seen in the assembly. Prescott. (f) (Med.)
Defn: Of certain morbid conditions, in which there is entire or comparative absence of moisture; as, dry gangrene; dry catarrh.
2. Destitute of that which interests or amuses; barren; unembellished; jejune; plain. These epistles will become less dry, more susceptible of ornament. Pope.
3. Characterized by a quality somewhat severe, grave, or hard; hence, sharp; keen; shrewd; quaint; as, a dry tone or manner; dry wit. He was rather a dry, shrewd kind of body. W. Irving.
4. (Fine Arts)
Defn: Exhibiting a sharp, frigid preciseness of execution, or the want of a delicate contour in form, and of easy transition in coloring. Dry area (Arch.), a small open space reserved outside the foundation of a building to guard it from damp. — Dry blow. (a) (Med.) A blow which inflicts no wound, and causes no effusion of blood. (b) A quick, sharp blow. — Dry bone (Min.), Smithsonite, or carbonate of zinc; — a miner's term. — Dry castor (Zoöl.) a kind of beaver; — called also parchment beaver. — Dry cupping. (Med.) See under Cupping. — Dry dock. See under Dock. — Dry fat. See Dry vat (below). — Dry light, pure unobstructed light; hence, a clear, impartial view. Bacon. The scientific man must keep his feelings under stern control, lest they obtrude into his researches, and color the dry light in which alone science desires to see its objects. J. C. Shairp. — Dry masonry. See Masonry. — Dry measure, a system of measures of volume for dry or coarse articles, by the bushel, peck, etc. — Dry pile (Physics), a form of the Voltaic pile, constructed without the use of a liquid, affording a feeble current, and chiefly useful in the construction of electroscopes of great delicacy; — called also Zamboni's , from the names of the two earliest constructors of it. — Dry pipe (Steam Engine), a pipe which conducts dry steam from a boiler. — Dry plate (Photog.), a glass plate having a dry coating sensitive to light, upon which photographic negatives or pictures can be made, without moistening. — Dry-plate process, the process of photographing with dry plates. — Dry point. (Fine Arts) (a) An engraving made with the needle instead of the burin, in which the work is done nearly as in etching, but is finished without the use acid. (b) A print from such an engraving, usually upon paper. (c) Hence: The needle with which such an engraving is made. — Dry rent (Eng. Law), a rent reserved by deed, without a clause of distress. Bouvier. — Dry rot, a decay of timber, reducing its fibers to the condition of a dry powdery dust, often accompanied by the presence of a peculiar fungus (Merulius lacrymans), which is sometimes considered the cause of the decay; but it is more probable that the real cause is the decomposition of the wood itself. D. C. Eaton. Called also sap rot, and, in the United States, powder post. Hebert. — Dry stove, a hothouse adapted to preserving the plants of arid climates. Brande & C. — Dry vat, a vat, basket, or other receptacle for dry articles. — Dry wine, that in which the saccharine matter and fermentation were so exactly balanced, that they have wholly neutralized each other, and no sweetness is perceptible; — opposed to sweet wine, in which the saccharine matter is in excess.
DRY Dry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dried; p. pr. & vb. n. Drying.] Etym: [AS. drygan; cf. drugian to grow dry. See Dry, a.]
Defn: To make dry; to free from water, or from moisture of any kind, and by any means; to exsiccate; as, to dry the eyes; to dry one's tears; the wind dries the earth; to dry a wet cloth; to dry hay. To dry up. (a) To scorch or parch with thirst; to deprive utterly of water; to consume. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Is. v. 13. The water of the sea, which formerly covered it, was in time exhaled and dried up by the sun. Woodward. (b) To make to cease, as a stream of talk. Their sources of revenue were dried up. Jowett (Thucyd. ) — To dry, or dry up, a cow, to cause a cow to cease secreting milk. Tylor.
DRYDry, v. i.
1. To grow dry; to become free from wetness, moisture, or juice; as, the road dries rapidly.
2. To evaporate wholly; to be exhaled; — said of moisture, or a liquid; — sometimes with up; as, the stream dries, or dries up.
3. To shrivel or wither; to lose vitality. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. I Kings xiii. 4.
DRYADDry"ad, n. Etym: [L. dryas, pl. dryades, Gr. Tree.] (Class. Myth.)
Defn: A wood nymph; a nymph whose life was bound up with that of her tree.
DRYANDRADry*an"dra, n. Etym: [NL. Named after J. Dryander.] (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of shrubs growing in Australia, having beautiful, hard, dry, evergreen leaves.
DRYASDry"as, n.; pl. Dryades. Etym: [L. See Dryad.] (Class. Myth.)
Defn: A dryad.
DRY-BEATDry"-beat`, v. t.
Defn: To beat severely. Shak.
DRY-BONEDDry"-boned`, a.
Defn: Having dry bones, or bones without flesh.
DRY DOCKDry" dock`. (Naut.)
Defn: See under Dock.
DRYERDry"er, n.
Defn: See Drier. Sir W. Temple.
DRY-EYEDDry"-eyed`, a.
Defn: Not having tears in the eyes.
DRY-FISTEDDry"-fist`ed, a.
Defn: Niggardly.
DRYFOOTDry"foot, n.
Defn: The scent of the game, as far as it can be traced. [Obs.] Shak.
DRY GOODSDry" goods`.
Defn: A commercial name for textile fabrics, cottons, woolens, linen, silks, laces, etc., — in distinction from groceries. [U.S.]
DRYINGDry"ing, a.
1. Adapted or tending to exhaust moisture; as, a drying wind or day; a drying room.
2. Having the quality of rapidly becoming dry. Drying oil, an oil which, either naturally or after boiling with oxide of lead, absorbs oxygen from the air and dries up rapidly. Drying oils are used as the bases of many paints and varnishes.
DRYLYDry"ly, adv.
Defn: In a dry manner; not succulently; without interest; without sympathy; coldly.
DRYNESSDry"ness, n.
Defn: The state of being dry. See Dry.
DRY NURSEDry" nurse`.
Defn: A nurse who attends and feeds a child by hand; — in distinction from a wet nurse, who suckles it.
DRYNURSEDry"nurse`, v. t.
Defn: To feed, attend, and bring up without the breast. Hudibras.
DRYOBALANOPSDry`o*bal"a*nops, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)
Defn: The genus to which belongs the single species D. Camphora, a lofty resinous tree of Borneo and Sumatra, yielding Borneo camphor and camphor oil.
DRY-RUB Dry"-rub`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dry-rubbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dry- rubbing.]
Defn: To rub and cleanse without wetting. Dodsley.
DRYSALTERDry"salt`er, n.
Defn: A dealer in salted or dried meats, pickles, sauces, etc., and in the materials used in pickling, salting, and preserving various kinds of food Hence drysalters usually sell a number of saline substances and miscellaneous drugs. Brande & C.
DRYSALTERYDry"salt`er*y, n.
Defn: The articles kept by a drysalter; also, the business of a drysalter.
DRY-SHODDry"-shod`, a.
Defn: Without wetting the feet.
DRY-STONEDry"-stone`, a.
Defn: Constructed of uncemented stone. "Dry-stone walls." Sir W.Scott.
DRYTH; DRITHDryth, or Drith, n.
Defn: Drought. [Obs.] Tyndale.
DUADDu"ad, n. Etym: [See Dyad.]
Defn: A union of two; duality. [R.] Harris.
DUALDu"al, a. Etym: [L. dualis, fr. duo two. See Two.]
Defn: Expressing, or consisting of, the number two; belonging to two; as, the dual number of nouns, etc. , in Greek. Here you have one half of our dual truth. Tyndall.
DUALINDu"a*lin, n. (Chem.)
Defn: An explosive substance consisting essentially of sawdust or wood pulp, saturated with nitroglycerin and other similar nitro compounds. It is inferior to dynamite, and is more liable to explosion.
DUALISMDu"al*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. dualisme.]
Defn: State of being dual or twofold; a twofold division; any system which is founded on a double principle, or a twofold distinction; as: (a) (Philos.) A view of man as constituted of two original and independent elements, as matter and spirit. (Theol.) (b) A system which accepts two gods, or two original principles, one good and the other evil. (c) The doctrine that all mankind are divided by the arbitrary decree of God, and in his eternal foreknowledge, into two classes, the elect and the reprobate. (d) (Physiol.) The theory that each cerebral hemisphere acts independently of the other. An inevitable dualism bisects nature, so that each thing is a half, and suggests another thing to make it whole. Emerson.
DUALISTDu"al*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. dualiste.]
1. One who believes in dualism; a ditheist.
2. One who administers two offices. Fuller.
DUALISTICDu`al*is"tic, a.
Defn: Consisting of two; pertaining to dualism or duality. Dualistic system or theory (Chem.), the theory, originated by Lavoisier and developed by Berzelius, that all definite compounds are binary in their nature, and consist of two distinct constituents, themselves simple or complex, and possessed of opposite chemical or electrical affinities.
DUALITYDu"al"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. dualitas: cf. F. dualité.]
Defn: The quality or condition of being two or twofold; dual character or usage.
DUANDu"an, n. Etym: [Gael. & Ir.]
Defn: A division of a poem corresponding to a canto; a poem or song.[R.]
DUARCHYDu"ar*chy, n. Etym: [Gr. -archy.]
Defn: Government by two persons.
DUBDub, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dubbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dubbing.] Etym: [AS.dubban to strike, beat ("dubbade his sunu . . . to ridere." AS.Chron. an 1086); akin to Icel. dubba; cf. OF. adouber (prob. fr.Icel.) a chevalier, Icel. dubba til riddara.]
1. To confer knight.
Note: The conclusion of the ceremony was marked by a tap on the shoulder with the sword.
2. To invest with any dignity or new character; to entitle; to call. A man of wealth is dubbed a man of worth. Pope.
3. To clothe or invest; to ornament; to adorn. [Obs.] His diadem was dropped down Dubbed with stones. Morte d'Arthure.
4. To strike, rub, or dress smooth; to dab; as: (a) To dress with an adz; as, to dub a stick of timber smooth.
(b) To strike cloth with teasels to raise a nap. Halliwell. (c) To rub or dress with grease, as leather in the process of cyrrying it. Tomlinson. (d) To prepare for fighting, as a gamecock, by trimming the hackles and cutting off the comb and wattles. To dub a fly, to dress a fishing fly. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. — To dub out (Plastering), to fill out, as an uneven surface, to a plane, or to carry out a series of small projections.
DUBDub, v. i.
Defn: To make a noise by brisk drumbeats. "Now the drum dubs." Beau. & Fl.
DUBDub, n.
Defn: A blow. [R.] Hudibras.
DUBDub, n. Etym: [Cf. Ir. dób mire, stream, W. dwvr water.]
Defn: A pool or puddle. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
DUBBDubb, n. Etym: [Ar.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: The Syrian bear. See under Bear. [Written also dhubb, and dub.]
DUBBERDub"ber, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, dubs.
DUBBERDub"ber, n. Etym: [Hind. dabbah.]
Defn: A globular vessel or bottle of leather, used in India to hold ghee, oil, etc. [Also written dupper.] M'Culloch.
DUBBINGDub"bing, n.
1. The act of dubbing, as a knight, etc.
2. The act of rubbing, smoothing, or dressing; a dressing off smooth with an adz.
3. A dressing of flour and water used by weavers; a mixture of oil and tallow for dressing leather; daubing.
4. The body substance of an angler's fly. Davy.
DUBIETYDu*bi"e*ty, n.; pl. Dubieties. Etym: [L. dubietas, fr. dubius. SeeDubious.]
Defn: Doubtfulness; uncertainty; doubt. [R.] Lamb. "The dubiety of his fate." Sir W. Scott.
DUBIOSITYDu`bi*os"i*ty, n.; pl. Dubiosities. Etym: [L. dubiosus.]
Defn: The state of being doubtful; a doubtful statement or thing.[R.]Men often swallow falsities for truths, dubiosities for certainties,possibilities for feasibilities. Sir T. Browne.
DUBIOUS Du"bi*ous, a. Etym: [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See Two, and cf. Doubt.]
1. Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. "Dubious policy." Sir T. Scott. A dubious, agitated state of mind. Thackeray.
2. Occasioning doubt; not clear, or obvious; equivocal; questionable; doubtful; as, a dubious answer. Wiping the dingy shirt with a still more dubious pocket handkerchief. Thackeray.
3. Of uncertain event or issue; as, in dubious battle.
Syn. — Doubtful; doubting; unsettled; undetermined; equivocal; uncertain. Cf. Doubtful.
DUBIOUSLYDu"bi*ous*ly, adv.
Defn: In a dubious manner.
DUBIOUSNESSDu"bi*ous*ness, n.
Defn: State of being dubious.
DUBITABLEDu"bi*ta*ble, a. Etym: [L. dubitabilis. Cf. Doubtable.]
Defn: Liable to be doubted; uncertain. [R.] Dr. H. More.— Du"bi*ta*bly, adv. [R.]
DUBITANCYDu"bi*tan*cy, n. Etym: [LL. dubitantia.]
Defn: Doubt; uncertainty. [R.] Hammond.
DUBITATEDu"bi*tate, v. i. Etym: [L. dubitatus, p. p. of dubitare. See Doubt.]
Defn: To doubt. [R.]If he . . . were to loiter dubitating, and not come. Carlyle.
DUBITATIONDu`bi*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. dubitatio.]
Defn: Act of doubting; doubt. [R.] Sir T. Scott.
DUBITATIVEDu"bi*ta*tive, a. Etym: [L. dubitativus: cf. F. dubitatif.]
Defn: Tending to doubt; doubtful. [R.] — Du"bi*ta*tive*ly, adv. [R.]. Eliot.
DUBOISIADu*bois"i*a, n. Etym: [NL.] (Med.)
Defn: Same as Duboisine.
DUBOISINEDu*bois"ine, n. (Med.)
Defn: An alkaloid obtained from the leaves of an Australian tree(Duboisia myoporoides), and regarded as identical with hyoscyamine.It produces dilation of the pupil of the eye.
DUCALDu"cal, a. Etym: [F. ducal. See Duke.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to a duke.His ducal cap was to be exchanged for a kingly crown. Motley.
DUCALLYDu"cal*ly, adv.
Defn: In the manner of a duke, or in a manner becoming the rank of a duke.
DUCAT Duc"at, n. Etym: [F. ducat, It. ducato, LL. ducatus, fr. dux leader or commander. See Duke.]
Defn: A coin, either of gold or silver, of several countries inEurope; originally, one struck in the dominions of a duke.
Note: The gold ducat is generally of the value of nine shillings and four pence sterling, or somewhat more that two dollars. The silver ducat is of about half this value.
DUCATOONDuc`a*toon", n. Etym: [F. or Sp. ducaton, fr. ducat.]
Defn: A silver coin of several countries of Europe, and of different values.
DUCES TECUMDu"ces te"cum. Etym: [L., bring with thee.]
Defn: A judicial process commanding a person to appear in court and bring with him some piece of evidence or other thing to be produced to the court.
DUCHESSDuch"ess, n. Etym: [F. duchesse, fr. duc duke.]
Defn: The wife or widow of a duke; also, a lady who has the sovereignty of a duchy in her own right.
DUCHESSE D'ANGOULEMEDu`chesse" d'An`gou`lême". Etym: [F.] (Bot.)
Defn: A variety of pear of large size and excellent flavor.
DUCHESSE LACEDu`chesse" lace.
Defn: 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.
DUCHY Duch"y, n.; pl. Duchies. Etym: [F. duché, OF. duchée, (assumed) LL. ducitas, fr. L. dux. See Duke.]
Defn: The territory or dominions of a duke; a dukedom.
DUCKDuck, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. dukke, Sw. docka, OHG. doccha, G. docke. Cf.Doxy.]
Defn: A pet; a darling. Shak.
DUCK Duck, n. Etym: [D. doek cloth, canvas, or Icel. d cloth; akin to OHG. tuoh, G. tuch, Sw. duk, Dan. dug.]
1. A linen (or sometimes cotton) fabric, finer and lighter than canvas, — used for the lighter sails of vessels, the sacking of beds, and sometimes for men's clothing.
2. (Naut.) pl.
Defn: The light clothes worn by sailors in hot climates. [Colloq.]
DUCKDuck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ducked; p. pr. & vb. n. Ducking.] Etym:[OE. duken, douken, to dive; akin to D. duiken, OHG. t, MHG. tucken,tücken, t, G. tuchen. Cf. 5th Duck.]
1. To thrust or plunge under water or other liquid and suddenly withdraw. Adams, after ducking the squire twice or thrice, leaped out of the tub. Fielding.
2. To plunge the head of under water, immediately withdrawing it; as, duck the boy.
3. To bow; to bob down; to move quickly with a downward motion. " Will duck his head aside. Swift.
DUCKDuck, v. i.
1. To go under the surface of water and immediately reappear; to dive; to plunge the head in water or other liquid; to dip. In Tiber ducking thrice by break of day. Dryden.
2. To drop the head or person suddenly; to bow. The learned pate Ducks to the golden fool. Shak.
DUCKDuck, n. Etym: [OE. duke, doke. See Duck, v. t. ]
1. (Zool.)
Defn: Any bird of the subfamily Anatinæ, family Anatidæ.
Note: The genera and species are numerous. They are divided into river ducks and sea ducks. Among the former are the common domestic duck (Anas boschas); the wood duck (Aix sponsa); the beautiful mandarin duck of China (Dendronessa galeriliculata); the Muscovy duck, originally of South America (Cairina moschata). Among the sea ducks are the eider, canvasback, scoter, etc.
2. A sudden inclination of the bead or dropping of the person, resembling the motion of a duck in water. Here be, without duck or nod, Other trippings to be trod. Milton. Bombay duck (Zoöl.), a fish. See Bummalo. — Buffel duck, or Spirit duck. See Buffel duck. — Duck ant (Zoöl.), a species of white ant in Jamaica which builds large nests in trees. — Duck barnacle. (Zoöl.) See Goose barnacle. — Duck hawk. (Zoöl.) (a) In the United States: The peregrine falcon. (b) In England: The marsh harrier or moor buzzard. — Duck mole (Zoöl.), a small aquatic mammal of Australia, having webbed feet and a bill resembling that of a duck (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). It belongs the subclass Monotremata and is remarkable for laying eggs like a bird or reptile; — called also duckbill, platypus, mallangong, mullingong, tambreet, and water mole. — To make ducks and drakes, to throw a flat stone obliquely, so as to make it rebound repeatedly from the surface of the water, raising a succession of jets; hence: To play at ducks and drakes, with property, to throw it away heedlessly or squander it foolishly and unprofitably. — Lame duck. See under Lame.
DUCKBILLDuck"bill`, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: See Duck mole, under Duck, n.
DUCK-BILLEDDuck"-billed`, a.
Defn: Having a bill like that of a duck..
DUCKERDuck"er, n.
1. One who, or that which, ducks; a plunger; a diver.
2. A cringing, servile person; a fawner.