De*mote" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Demoted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Demoting (?).] [Pref. de- + mote, as in promote; cf. L. demovere to remove.] To reduce to a lower grade, as in school.
De*mot"ics (?), n. The department of knowledge relative to the care and culture of the people; sociology in its broadest sense; -- in library cataloguing.
De*mount"a*ble (?), [See De-; Mount.] Capable of being dismounted; -- said of a form of rim, for an automobile wheel, which can be removed with its tire from the wheel.
De*na"ture (?), v. t. [De- + nature.] To deprive of its natural qualities; change the nature of.
De*part"ment store. A store keeping a great variety of goods which are arranged in several departments, esp. one with dry goods as the principal stock.
De*phase" (?), v. t. (Elec.) To put out of phase, as two parts of a single alternating current.
Depth, n. (Aëronautics) The perpendicular distance from the chord to the farthest point of an arched surface.
De*queen" (?), v. t. (Apiculture) To remove the queen from (a hive of bees).
De*re"cho (?), n. [Sp. derecho straight.] A straight wind without apparent cyclonic tendency, usually accompanied with rain and often destructive, common in the prairie regions of the United States.
||De ri`gueur" (?). [F. See 2d Rigor.] According to strictness (of etiquette, rule, or the like); obligatory; strictly required.
Der`iva"tion, n. The formation of a word from its more original or radical elements; also, a statement of the origin and history of a word.
Der"rick, n. (Mining) The pyramidal structure or tower over a deep drill hole, such as that of an oil well.
Der"vish, n. One of the fanatical followers of the Mahdi, in the Sudan.
Des"ic*ca`tor (?), n. One that desiccates; specif.: (a) (Chem., etc.) A short glass jar fitted with an air-tight cover, and containing some desiccating agent, as calcium chloride, above which is placed the material to be dried or preserved from moisture. (b) A machine or apparatus for drying fruit, milk, etc., usually by the aid of heat; an evaporator.
De*stroy"er, n. = Torpedo-boat destroyer.
De*struct"or, n. A furnace or oven for the burning or carbonizing of refuse; specif. (Sewage Disposal), a furnace (called in full refuse destructor) in which the more solid constituents of sewage are burnt. Destructors are often so constructed as to utilize refuse as fuel.
De*tail", n. (Arch. & Mach.) (a) A minor part, as, in a building, the cornice, caps of the buttresses, capitals of the columns, etc., or (called larger details) a porch, a gable with its windows, a pavilion, or an attached tower. (b) A detail drawing.
In detail, in subdivisions; part by part; item by item; circumstantially; with particularity.
De*tect"or, n. Specifically: (a) An indicator showing the depth of the water in a boiler. (b) (Elec.) A galvanometer, usually portable, for indicating the direction of a current. (c) (Elec.) Any of various devices for detecting the presence of electric waves.
De*tect"or bar. (Railroads) A bar, connected with a switch, longer than the distance between any two consecutive wheels of a train (45 to 50 feet), laid inside a rail and operated by the wheels so that the switch cannot be thrown until all the train is past the switch.
Det"o*na`tor (?), n. One that detonates; specif.: (a) An explosive whose action is practically instantaneous. (b) Something used to detonate a charge, as a detonating fuse. (c) A case containing detonating powder, the explosion of which serves as a signal, as on railroads. (d) A gun fired by a percussion cap. [Obs.]
De*vel"op*er, n. One that develops; specif.: (a) (Photog.) A chemical bath or reagent used in developing photographs. (b) (Dyeing) A reagent used to produce an ingrain color by its action upon some substance on the fiber.
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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.