Dev`i*see" (?), n. (Law) One to whom a devise is made, or real estate given by will.
De*vis"er (?), n. One who devises.
De*vis"or (?), n. (Law) One who devises, or gives real estate by will; a testator; -- correlative to devisee.
Dev"i*ta*ble (?), a. [L. devitare to avoid; de + vitare to shun, avoid.] Avoidable. [Obs.]
De*vi"tal*ize (?), v. t. To deprive of life or vitality. -- De*vi`tal*i*za"tion (#), n.
Dev`i*ta"tion (?), n. [L. devitatio.] An avoiding or escaping; also, a warning. [Obs.] Bailey.
De*vit`ri*fi*ca"tion (?), n. The act or process of devitrifying, or the state of being devitrified. Specifically, the conversion of molten glassy matter into a stony mass by slow cooling, the result being the formation of crystallites, microbites, etc., in the glassy base, which are then called devitrification products.
De*vit"ri*fy (?), v. t. To deprive of glasslike character; to take away vitreous luster and transparency from.
De*vo"cal*ize (?), v. t. To make toneless; to deprive of vowel quality. -- De*vo`cal*i*za"tion, n.
If we take a high vowel, such as (i) [= nearly i of bit], and devocalize it, we obtain a hiss which is quite distinct enough to stand for a weak (jh).
H. Sweet.
Dev`o*ca"tion (?), n. [L. devocare to call off or away; de + vocare to call.] A calling off or away. [R.] Hallywell.
De*void" (?), v. t. [OE. devoiden to leave, OF. desvuidier, desvoidier, to empty out. See Void.] To empty out; to remove.
De*void", a. [See Devoid, v. t.] 1. Void; empty; vacant. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. Destitute; not in possession; -- with of; as, devoid of sense; devoid of pity or of pride.
||De*voir" (?), n. [F., fr. L. debere to owe. See Due.] Duty; service owed; hence, due act of civility or respect; -- now usually in the plural; as, they paid their devoirs to the ladies. "Do now your devoid, young knights!" Chaucer.
Dev"o*lute (?), v. t. [L. devolutus, p. p. of devolvere. See Devolve.] To devolve. [Obs.] Foxe.
Dev`o*lu"tion (?), n. [LL. devolutio: cf. F. dévolution.] 1. The act of rolling down. [R.]
The devolution of earth down upon the valleys.
Woodward.
2. Transference from one person to another; a passing or devolving upon a successor.
The devolution of the crown through a . . . channel known and conformable to old constitutional requisitions.
De Quincey.
De*volve" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Devolved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Devolving.] [L. devolvere, devolutum, to roll down; de + volvere to roll down; de + volvere to roll. See Voluble.] 1. To roll onward or downward; to pass on.
Every headlong stream
Devolves its winding waters to the main.
Akenside.
Devolved his rounded periods.
Tennyson.
2. To transfer from one person to another; to deliver over; to hand down; -- generally with upon, sometimes with to or into.
They devolved a considerable share of their power upon their favorite.
Burke.
They devolved their whole authority into the hands of the council of sixty.
Addison.
De*volve", v. i. To pass by transmission or succession; to be handed over or down; -- generally with on or upon, sometimes with to or into; as, after the general fell, the command devolved upon (or on) the next officer in rank.
His estate . . . devolved to Lord Somerville.
Johnson.
De*volve"ment (?), n. The act or process of devolving;; devolution.
De"von (?), n. One of a breed of hardy cattle originating in the country of Devon, England. Those of pure blood have a deep red color. The small, longhorned variety, called North Devons, is distinguished by the superiority of its working oxen.
De*vo"ni*an (?), a. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to Devon or Devonshire in England; as, the Devonian rocks, period, or system.
Devonian age (Geol.), the age next older than the Carboniferous and later than the Silurian; -- called also the Age of fishes. The various strata of this age compose the Devonian formation or system, and include the old red sandstone of Great Britain. They contain, besides plants and numerous invertebrates, the bony portions of many large and remarkable fishes of extinct groups. See the Diagram under Geology.
De*vo"ni*an, n. The Devonian age or formation.
Dev`o*ra"tion (?), n. [L. devoratio. See Devour.] The act of devouring. [Obs.] Holinshed.
De*vo"ta*ry (?), n. [See Devote, Votary.] A votary. [Obs.] J. Gregory.
De*vote" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Devoted; p. pr. & vb. n. Devoting.] [L. devotus, p. p. of devovere; de + vovere to vow. See Vow, and cf. Devout, Devow.] 1. To appropriate by vow; to set apart or dedicate by a solemn act; to consecrate; also, to consign over; to doom; to evil; to devote one to destruction; the city was devoted to the flames.
No devoted thing that a man shall devote unto the Lord . . . shall be sold or redeemed.
Lev. xxvii. 28.