DAFFODIL, daf'o-dil, DAFFODILLY, daf'o-dil-i, DAFFODOWNDILLY,
daf'o-down-dil'i, _n._ a yellow flower of the lily tribe--also called
_King's spear_. [M. E. _affodille_--O. Fr. _asphodile_--Gr. _asphodelus_;
the _d_ is prefixed accidentally.]
DAFT, daft, _adj._ (_Scot._) silly, weak-minded, insane, unreasonably
merry.--_adv._ DAFT'LY.--_n._ DAFT'NESS. [See DAFF.]
DAG, dag, _n._ a dagger: a hand-gun or heavy pistol, used in the 15th and
16th centuries.--Also DAGGE. [Fr. _dague_; Celt.; cf. Bret. _dag_.]
DAGGER, dag'[.e]r, _n._ a short sword for stabbing at close quarters:
(_print._) a mark of reference ([Dagger]), the double dagger ([Double
Dagger]) being another.--AT DAGGERS DRAWN, in a state of hostility; LOOK
DAGGERS, to look in a hostile manner. [M. E. _dagger_--W. _dagr_ (Ir.
_daigear_); cf. Fr. _dague_.]
DAGGLE, dag'l, _v.t._ and _v.i._ to wet or grow wet by dragging on the wet
ground.--_n._ DAGG'LE-TAIL, a slattern.--_adj._ slatternly. [Freq. of prov.
Eng. _dag_, to sprinkle, from a Scand. root seen in Sw. _dagg_.]
DAGO, d[=a]'go, _n._ (_U.S._) a name applied loosely to Spanish- and
Italian-born men. [Prob. a corr. of Sp. _Diego_--L. _Jacobus_.]
DAGOBA, dag'o-ba, _n._ in Ceylon, a dome-like structure of solid masonry,
containing relics of a Buddhist saint. [Singh. _d[=a]gaba_.]
DAGON, d[=a]'gon, _n._ the national god of the Philistines, half-man,
half-fish. [Heb. _d[=a]g[=o]n_--_dag_, fish.]
DAGUERREOTYPE, da-ger'o-t[=i]p, _n._ a method of taking pictures on metal
plates by the light of the sun: a photograph fixed on a plate of copper by
a certain process.--_adj._ DAGUER'R[=E]AN.--_n._ DAGUERR[=E]'OTYPY, the art
of daguerreotyping. [Fr., from Louis _Daguerre_ (1789-1851).]
DAGWOOD. See DOGWOOD.
DAHABEEAH, da-ha-b[=e]'a, _n._ a Nile-boat with oars, one or two masts, and
lateen sails.--Also DAHABI'EH, DAHABI'YEH. [Ar. _dahab[=i]ya_.]
DAHLIA, d[=a]l'i-a, _n._ a genus of garden plants with large flowers. [From
_Dahl_, a Swedish botanist.]
DAIDLE, d[=a]'dl, _v.i._ a Scotch form of _daddle_: also to
draggle.--_adj._ DAID'LING, feeble: dawdling.
DAIKER, d[=a]'ker, _v.i._ (_prov._) to deck out.
DAILY, d[=a]'li, _adj._ and _adv._ every day.--_n._ a daily paper.
DAIMIO, d[=i]'myo, _n._ a Japanese territorial noble under the old feudal
system. [Jap.]
DAINTY, d[=a]n'ti, _adj._ pleasant to the palate: delicate: fastidious:
(_Spens._) elegant.--_n._ that which is dainty, a delicacy.--_adj._ DAINT
(_Spens._).--_adv._ DAIN'TILY.--_n._ DAIN'TINESS. [M. E. _deintee_,
anything worthy or costly. O. Fr. _daintié_, worthiness--L.
_dignitat-em_--_dignus_, worthy.]
DAIRY, d[=a]'ri, _n._ the place where milk is kept, and butter and cheese
made: an establishment for the supply of milk.--_ns._ DAI'RY-FARM;
DAI'RYING; DAI'RYMAID; DAI'RYMAN. [M. E. _deye_.--Ice. _deigja_, a
dairymaid; orig. a kneader of dough.]
DAIS, d[=a]'is, _n._ a raised floor at the upper end of the dining-hall
where the high table stood: a raised floor with a seat and canopy: the
canopy over an altar, &c. [O. Fr. _dais_--Low L. _discus_, a table--L.
_discus_, a quoit--Gr. _diskos_, a disc.]
DAISY, d[=a]'zi, _n._ a common wild-flower, growing in pastures and
meadows--the name given also to other plants, as the _Ox-eye daisy_, which
is a chrysanthemum.--_adj._ DAI'SIED, covered with daisies.--_n._
DAI'SY-CUT'TER, a fast-going horse that does not lift its feet high: a
cricket-ball skimmed along the ground. [A. S. _dæges eáge_, day's eye, the
sun.]
DAK, däk, DAWK, dawk, _n._ in India, the mail-post: travelling in
palanquins carried by relays of bearers. [Hind. _d[=a]k_, a relay of men.]
DAKOIT. See DACOIT.
DALAI-LAMA. See LAMA.
DALE, d[=a]l, DELL, del, _n._ the low ground between hills: the valley
through which a river flows.--_n._ DALES'MAN, specifically, an inhabitant
of the dales of the Lake District. [Ice. _dalr_, Sw. _dal_; Ger. _thal_.]
DALI, dä'li, _n._ a timber-tree of Guiana, its wood used for staves, &c.
DALILA. See DELILAH.
DALL, dal, _n._ a tile with incised surface: (_pl._) rapids.
DALLOP, dal'op, _n._ (_prov._), a tuft of grass.
DALLY, dal'i, _v.i._ to lose time by idleness or trifling: to play: to
exchange caresses:--_pa.p._ dall'ied.--_ns._ DALL'IANCE, dallying, toying,
or trifling: interchange of embraces: delay; DALL'IER, a trifler. [M. E.
_dalien_, to play; prob. from A.S. _dweligan_, to err; cf. Ice. _dvala_, to
delay, Dut. _dwalen_, to err; prob. conn. with _dwell_.]
DALMAHOY, dal'ma-hoi, _n._ a bushy bob-wig, worn in the 18th cent. by
chemists, &c.
DALMATIAN, dal-m[=a]'shun, _adj._ belonging to _Dalmatia_, a strip of
Austrian territory along the Adriatic.--DALMATIAN DOG, the spotted
coach-dog, resembling the pointer in shape.
DALMATIC, dal-mat'ik, _n._ a loose-fitting, wide-sleeved ecclesiastical
vestment, worn specially by deacons in the R.C. Church, also sometimes by
bishops. [Low L. _dalmatica_, a robe worn by persons of rank in the early
Christian centuries, on the pattern of a dress worn in _Dalmatia_.]