Fluid dram, or Fluid drachm. See under Fluid.
Dram, v. i. & t. To drink drams; to ply with drams. [Low] Johnson. Thackeray.
Dra"ma (drä"m or dr"m; 277), n. [L. drama, Gr. dra^ma, fr. dra^n to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.] 1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action, and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by actors on the stage.
A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon.
Milton.
2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and interest. "The drama of war." Thackeray.
Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day;
Time's noblest offspring is the last.
Berkeley.
The drama and contrivances of God's providence.
Sharp.
3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or illustrating it; dramatic literature.
The principal species of the drama are tragedy and comedy; inferior species are tragi-comedy, melodrama, operas, burlettas, and farces.
The romantic drama, the kind of drama whose aim is to present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays (like those of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others) are stories told in dialogue by actors on the stage. J. A. Symonds.
{ Dra*mat"ic (?), Dra*mat"ic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?;: cf. F. dramatique.] Of or pertaining to the drama; appropriate to, or having the qualities of, a drama; theatrical; vivid.
The emperor . . . performed his part with much dramatic effect.
Motley.
Dra*mat"ic*al*ly, adv. In a dramatic manner; theatrically; vividly.
||Dram"a*tis per*so"næ (?). [L.] The actors in a drama or play.
Dram"a*tist (?), n. [Cf. F. dramatiste.] The author of a dramatic composition; a writer of plays.
Dram"a*ti`za*ble (?), a. Capable of being dramatized.
Dram`a*ti*za"tion (?), n. Act of dramatizing.
Dram"a*tize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dramatized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dramatizing (?).] [Cf. F. dramatiser.] To compose in the form of the drama; to represent in a drama; to adapt to dramatic representation; as, to dramatize a novel, or an historical episode.
They dramatized tyranny for public execration.
Motley.
Dram`a*tur"gic (?), a. Relating to dramaturgy.
Dram"a*tur`gist (?), n. One versed in dramaturgy. Carlyle.
Dram"a*tur`gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; dramatic composition; &?; drama + a root akin to E. work: cf. F. dramaturgie.] The art of dramatic composition and representation.
Dram"ming (?), n. The practice of drinking drams.
Dram"sell`er (?), n. One who sells distilled liquors by the dram or glass.
Dram"shop` (?), n. A shop or barroom where spirits are sold by the dram.
Drank (?), imp. of Drink.
Drank, n. [Cf. 3d Drake.] Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
||Drap` d'é*té" (?). [F., clot of summer.] A thin woolen fabric, twilled like merino.
Drape (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Draped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Draping (?).] [F. draper, fr. drap cloth. See 3d Drab.] 1. To cover or adorn with drapery or folds of cloth, or as with drapery; as, to drape a bust, a building, etc.
The whole people were draped professionally.
De Quincey.
These starry blossoms, [of the snow] pure and white,
Soft falling, falling, through the night,
Have draped the woods and mere
. Bungay.