D. In the _Complete Book_, D means dead or deserted; Dsq., discharged
from the service, or into another ship.
DAB. The sea-flounder. An old general term for a pleuronect or flat fish
of any kind, but usually appropriated to the _Platessa limanda_. The
word is familiarly applied to one who is expert in anything.
DABBERLACK. A kind of long sea-weed on our northern coasts.
DAB-CHICK. The little grebe, _Podiceps minor_. A small diving bird
common in lakes and rivers.
DACOITS. _See_ DEKOYTS.
DADDICK. A west-country term for rotten-wood, touch-wood, &c.
DAGEN. A peculiar dirk or poignard.
DAGGAR. An old term for a dog-fish.
DAGGER-KNEE. A substitute for the hanging-knee, applied to the under
side of the lodging-knee; it is placed out of the perpendicular to avoid
a port-hole. Anything placed aslant or obliquely, now generally termed
diagonal, of which, indeed, it is a corruption.
DAGGER-PIECE, OR DAGGER-WOOD. A timber or plank that faces on to the
poppets of the bilge-ways, and crosses them diagonally, to keep them
together. The plank securing the head is called the daggerplank.
DAGGES. An old term for pistols or hand-guns.
DAHLGREN GUN. A modification of the Paixhan gun, introduced into the
United States service by Lieut., now Admiral, Dahlgren, of that navy;
having, in obedience to the results of ingenious experiment on the
varying force of explosion on different parts of a gun, what has been
called the soda-water bottle or pear-shaped form.
DAHM. An Arab or Indian decked boat.
DAILY PROGRESS. A daily return when in port of all particulars relative
to the progress of a ship's equipment.
DAIRS. Small unsaleable fish.
DALE. A trough or spout to carry off water, usually named from the
office it has to perform, as a pump-dale, &c. Also, a place forward, to
save the decks from being wetted, now almost abolished.
DALLOP. A heap or lump in a clumsy state. A large quantity of anything.
DAM. A barrier of stones, stakes, or rubble, constructed to stop or
impede the course of a stream. (_See_ INUNDATIONS and FLOATING DAM.)
DAMASCENED. The mixing of various metals in the Damascus blades, the
kris, or other weapons; sometimes by adding silver, to produce a watered
effect.
DAMASCUS BLADE. Swords famed for the quality and temper of the metal, as
well as the beauty of the _jowhir_, or watering of the blades.
DAMASK. Steel worked in the Damascus style, showing the wavy lines of
the different metals; usually termed watered or twisted.
DAMBER. An old word for lubberly rogue.
DAMELOPRE. An ancient flat-floored vessel belonging to Holland, and
intended to carry heavy cargoes over their shallow waters.
DAMMAH. A kind of turpentine or resin from a species of pine, which is
used in the East Indies for the same purposes to which turpentine and
pitch are applied. It is exported in large quantities from Sumatra to
Bengal and other places, where it is much used for paying seams and the
bottoms of vessels, for which latter purpose it is often mixed with
sulphur, and answers admirably in warm climates.
DAMPER. The means by which the furnace of each boiler in a steamer can
be regulated independently, by increasing or diminishing the draught to
the fire.
DAMSEL. A coast name for the skate-fish.