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Read Ebook: The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section D and E by Project Gutenberg Webster Noah
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Ebook has 14121 lines and 346810 words, and 283 pages
Begin file 3 of 11: D and E. of An electronic field-marked version of:
This electronic version was prepared by MICRA, Inc. of Plainfield, NJ. Last edit February 11, 1999.
This version is only a first typing, and has numerous typographic errors, including errors in the field-marks. Assistance in bringing this dictionary to a more accurate and useful state will be greatly appreciated. This electronic dictionary is made available as a potential starting point for development of a modern on-line comprehensive encyclopedic dictionary, by the efforts of all individuals willing to help build a large and freely available knowledge base. Anyone willing to assist in any way in constructing such a knowledge base should contact:
Patrick Cassidy cassidy@micra.com 735 Belvidere Ave. Office: 668-5252 Plainfield, NJ 07062 561-3416
D 1. The fourth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonant. The English letter is from Latin, which is from Greek, which took it from Ph?nician, the probable ultimate origin being Egyptian. It is related most nearly to t and th; as, Eng. deep, G. tief; Eng. daughter, G. tochter, Gr. qyga`thr, Skr. duhitr. See Guide to Pronunciation, √178, 179, 229.
Dab , n. A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert.
One excels at a plan or the titlepage, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a dab at an index.
Goldsmith.
Dab, n. A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides.
Dab , v. i. 1. To strike or touch gently, as with a soft or moist substance; to tap; hence, to besmear with a dabber.
A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing it over with fine lint.
S. Sharp.
Dab , n. 1. A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.
A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak.
Hawthorne.
Dabb , n. A large, spine-tailed lizard , found in Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine; -- called also dhobb, and dhubb.
Dab"ber , n. That with which one dabs; hence, a pad or other device used by printers, engravers, etc., as for dabbing type or engraved plates with ink.
Dab"ble , v. t. To wet by little dips or strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet. "Bright hair dabbled in blood." Shak.
Dab"ble, v. i. 1. To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water.
Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling sedge.
Wordsworth.
During the first year at Dumfries, Burns for the first time began to dabble in politics.
J. C. Shairp.
Dab"bler , n. 1. One who dabbles.
Dab"chick` , n. A small water bird , allied to the grebes, remarkable for its quickness in diving; -- called also dapchick, dobchick, dipchick, didapper, dobber, devil-diver, hell-diver, and pied- billed grebe.
Dab"ster, n. One who is skilled; a master of his business; a proficient; an adept.
Sometimes improperly used for dabbler; as, "I am but a dabster with gentle art."
Dace , n. A small European cyprinoid fish ; -- called also dare.
In America the name is given to several related fishes of the genera Squalius, Minnilus, etc. The black-nosed dace is Rhinichthys atronasus the horned dace is Semotilus corporalis. For red dace, see Redfin.
||Dachs"hund` , n. One of a breed of small dogs with short crooked legs, and long body; -- called also badger dog. There are two kinds, the rough-haired and the smooth-haired.
Da"cian , a. Of or pertaining to Dacia or the Dacians. -- n. A native of ancient Dacia.
Dac"tyl , n. 1. A poetical foot of three sylables , one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. t?gmn, E. merb6ciful; -- so called from the similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a finger.
There are two different manual alphabets, the one- hand alphabet , and the two-hand alphabet. The latter was probably based on the manual alphabet published by George Dalgarus of Aberdeen, in 1680. See Illustration in Appendix.
Dad , n. Father; -- a word sometimes used by children.
I was never so bethumped with words, Since I first called my brother's father dad.
Shak.
Dad"dle , v. i. To toddle; to walk unsteadily, like a child or an old man; hence, to do anything slowly or feebly.
Dad"dock , n. The rotten body of a tree. Wright.
Dad"dy , n. Diminutive of Dad. Dryden.
Dad"dy long"legs` . 1. An arachnidan of the genus Phalangium, and allied genera, having a small body and four pairs of long legs; -- called also harvestman, carter, and grandfather longlegs.
Dade , v. t. To hold up by leading strings or by the hand, as a child while he toddles.
Drayton.
Dade, v. i. To walk unsteadily, as a child in leading strings, or just learning to walk; to move slowly.
No sooner taught to dade, but from their mother trip.
Drayton.
Da"do , n.; pl. Dadoes . That part of a pedestal included between the base and the cornice ; the die. See Illust. of Column. Hence: In any wall, that part of the basement included between the base and the base course. See Base course, under Base. In interior decoration, the lower part of the wall of an apartment when adorned with moldings, or otherwise specially decorated.
, a. 1. Cunningly or ingeniously formed or working; skillful; artistic; ingenious.
Our bodies decked in our daedalian arms.
Chapman.
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