Under the term defectives are included deaf-mutes, the blind, the feeble-minded, the insane, and sometimes, esp. in criminology, criminals and paupers.
||Dé`ga`gé" (?), a. [F., p. p. of dégager to disengage. See De-, lst Gage, and cf. Disgage.] Unconstrained; easy; free. Vanbrugh.
A graceful and dégagé manner.
Poe.
De*germ" (?), v. t. (Milling) To extract the germs from, as from wheat grains.
De*ger"mi*na`tor (?), n. (Milling) A machine for breaking open the kernels of wheat or other grain and removing the germs.
De*glaze" (?), v. t. To remove the glaze from, as pottery or porcelain, so as to give a dull finish.
||Dé`gras" (?), Deg"ras (&?;), n. [F.; cf. F. gras, a. & n., fat.] A semisolid emulsion produced by the treatment of certain skins with oxidized fish oil, which extracts their soluble albuminoids. It was formerly solely a by-product of chamois leather manufacture, but is now made for its own sake, being valuable as a dressing for hides.
De*grease" (?), v. t. To remove grease or fatty matter from, as wool or silk.
De*gum" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Degummed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Degumming.] To deprive of, or free from, gum; as, to degum ramie.
Dek"a*brist (?), n. A Decembrist.
Del`i*ca*tes"sen (?), n. pl. [G., fr. F. délicatesse.] Relishes for the table; dainties; delicacies. "A dealer in delicatessen". G. H. Putnam.
De*lig"nate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Delignated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Delignating.] [Pref. de- + L. lignum wood.] 1. To clear or strip of wood (by cutting down trees). [R.] Fuller.
2. To strip or remove the wood from; as, to delignate ramie, in the preparation of ribbons of the fiber for further working.
Del*sarte" (?), n., or Delsarte system. A system of calisthenics patterned on the theories of François Delsarte (1811 -- 71), a French teacher of dramatic and musical expression.
Del"ta, n. 1. The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet ( δ), answering to D. Hence, an object having the shape of the capital .
2. (Elec.) The closed figure produced by connecting three coils or circuits successively, end for end, esp. in a three-phase system; -- often used attributively, as delta winding, delta connection (which see), etc.
Delta connection. (Elec.) One of the usual forms or methods for connecting apparatus to a three-phase circuit, the three corners of the delta or triangle, as diagrammatically represented, being connected to the three wires of the supply circuit.
Delta current. (Elec.) The current flowing through a delta connection.
De*mit" (?), v. i. [F. démettre to remove, se démettre to resign; dé- (L. dis-) + mettre to put, fr. L. mittere to send. Cf. Dismiss.] To lay down or relinquish an office, membership, authority, or the like; to resign, as from a Masonic lodge; -- generally used with an implication that the act is voluntary.
De*mit", n. The act of demitting; also, a letter, certificate, or the like, certifying that a person has (honorably) demitted, as from a Masonic lodge.
||De*mi"-tasse" (?), n. [F., half cup.] A small cup for, or of, black coffee.