Doff Doff intransitive verb To put off dress; to take off the hat.

Doffer Doff"er noun (Machinery) A revolving cylinder, or a vibrating bar with teeth, in a carding machine, which doffs, or strips off, the cotton from the cards. Ure.

Doffer Doff"er noun 1. (Machinery) A revolving cylinder, or a vibrating bar, with teeth, in a carding machine, which doffs, or strips off, the fiber from the cards.

2. (Spinning) A worker who replaces full bobbins by empty ones on the throstle or ring frames.

Dog Dog (dŏg) noun [ Anglo-Saxon docga ; akin to Dutch dog mastiff, Danish dogge , Swedish dogg .] 1. (Zoology) A quadruped of the genus Canis , esp. the domestic dog ( C. familiaris ). The dog is distinguished above all others of the inferior animals for intelligence, docility, and attachment to man. There are numerous carefully bred varieties, as the beagle, bloodhound, bulldog, coachdog, collie, Danish dog, foxhound, greyhound, mastiff, pointer, poodle, St. Bernard, setter, spaniel, spitz dog, terrier, etc. There are also many mixed breeds, and partially domesticated varieties, as well as wild dogs, like the dingo and dhole. (See these names in the Vocabulary.)

2. A mean, worthless fellow; a wretch.

What is thy servant, which is but a dog , that he should do this great thing?

2 Kings viii. 13 (Rev. Ver. )

3. A fellow; -- used humorously or contemptuously; as, a sly dog ; a lazy dog . [ Colloq.]

4. (Astron.) One of the two constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor , or the Greater Dog and the Lesser Dog. Canis Major contains the Dog Star (Sirius).

5. An iron for holding wood in a fireplace; a firedog; an andiron.

6. (Mech.) (a) A grappling iron, with a claw or claws, for fastening into wood or other heavy articles, for the purpose of raising or moving them. (b) An iron with fangs fastening a log in a saw pit, or on the carriage of a sawmill. (c) A piece in machinery acting as a catch or clutch; especially, the carrier of a lathe, also, an adjustable stop to change motion, as in a machine tool.

» Dog is used adjectively or in composition, commonly in the sense of relating to , or characteristic of , a dog . It is also used to denote a male ; as, dog fox or g -fox, a male fox; dog otter or dog -otter, dog wolf, etc.; -- also to denote a thing of cheap or mean quality ; as, dog Latin.

A dead dog , a thing of no use or value. 1 Sam. xxiv. 14. -- A dog in the manger , an ugly-natured person who prevents others from enjoying what would be an advantage to them but is none to him. -- Dog ape (Zoology) , a male ape. -- Dog cabbage , or Dog's cabbage (Botany) , a succulent herb, native to the Mediterranean region ( Thelygonum Cynocrambe ). -- Dog cheap , very cheap. See under Cheap . -- Dog ear (Architecture) , an acroterium. [ Colloq.] -- Dog flea (Zoology) , a species of flea ( Pulex canis ) which infests dogs and cats, and is often troublesome to man. In America it is the common flea. See Flea , and Aphaniptera . -- Dog grass (Botany) , a grass ( Triticum caninum ) of the same genus as wheat. -- Dog Latin , barbarous Latin; as, the dog Latin of pharmacy. -- Dog lichen (Botany) , a kind of lichen ( Peltigera canina ) growing on earth, rocks, and tree trunks, - - a lobed expansion, dingy green above and whitish with fuscous veins beneath. -- Dog louse (Zoology) , a louse that infests the dog, esp. Hæmatopinus piliferus ; another species is Trichodectes latus . -- Dog power , a machine operated by the weight of a dog traveling in a drum, or on an endless track, as for churning. -- Dog salmon (Zoology) , a salmon of northwest America and northern Asia; -- the gorbuscha ; -- called also holia , and hone . -- Dog shark . (Zoology) See Dogfish . -- Dog's meat , meat fit only for dogs; refuse; offal. -- Dog Star . See in the Vocabulary. -- Dog wheat (Botany) , Dog grass. -- Dog whelk (Zoology) , any species of univalve shells of the family Nassidæ , esp. the Nassa reticulata of England. -- To give, or throw , to the dogs , to throw away as useless. " Throw physic to the dogs ; I'll none of it." Shak. -- To go to the dogs , to go to ruin; to be ruined.

Dog Dog transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Dogged ; present participle & verbal noun Dogging .] To hunt or track like a hound; to follow insidiously or indefatigably; to chase with a dog or dogs; to worry, as if by dogs; to hound with importunity.

I have been pursued, dogged , and waylaid.

Pope.

Your sins will dog you, pursue you.

Burroughs.

Eager ill-bred petitioners, who do not so properly supplicate as hunt the person whom they address to, dogging him from place to place, till they even extort an answer to their rude requests.

South.

Dog bee Dog" bee` A male or drone bee. Halliwell.

Dog day, Dogday Dog" day`, Dog"day` One of the dog days.

Dogday cicada (Zoology) , a large American cicada ( C. pruinosa ), which trills loudly in midsummer.

Dog days Dog" days` A period of from four to six weeks, in the summer, variously placed by almanac makers between the early part of July and the early part of September; canicular days; -- so called in reference to the rising in ancient times of the Dog Star (Sirius) with the sun. Popularly, the sultry, close part of the summer.

» The conjunction of the rising of the Dog Star with the rising of the sun was regarded by the ancients as one of the causes of the sultry heat of summer, and of the maladies which then prevailed. But as the conjunction does not occur at the same time in all latitudes, and is not constant in the same region for a long period, there has been much variation in calendars regarding the limits of the dog days. The astronomer Roger Long states that in an ancient calendar in Bede (died 735) the beginning of dog days is placed on the 14th of July; that in a calendar prefixed to the Common Prayer, printed in the time of Queen Elizabeth, they were said to begin on the 6th of July and end on the 5th of September; that, from the Restoration (1660) to the beginning of New Style (1752), British almanacs placed the beginning on the 19th of July and the end on the 28th of August; and that after 1752 the beginning was put on the 30th of July, the end on the 7th of September. Some English calendars now put the beginning on July 3d, and the ending on August 11th. A popular American almanac of the present time (1890) places the beginning on the 25th of July, and the end on the 5th of September.

Dog fancier Dog" fan`cier One who has an unusual fancy for, or interest in, dogs; also, one who deals in dogs.

Dog Star Dog" Star` Sirius, a star of the constellation Canis Major , or the Greater Dog, and the brightest star in the heavens; -- called also Canicula , and, in astronomical charts, α Canis Majoris . See Dog days .

Dog-brier Dog"-bri`er noun (Botany) The dog-rose.

Dog-eared Dog"-eared` adjective Having the corners of the leaves turned down and soiled by careless or long- continued usage; -- said of a book.

Statute books before unopened, not dog- eared .

Ld. Mansfield.

Dog-faced Dog"-faced` adjective Having a face resembling that of a dog.

Dog-faced baboon (Zoology) , any baboon of the genus Cynocephalus . See Drill .

Dog-fox Dog"-fox` noun (Zoology) (a) A male fox. See the Note under Dog , noun , 6. Sir W. Scott. (b) The Arctic or blue fox; -- a name also applied to species of the genus Cynalopex .

Dog-headed Dog"-head`ed adjective (Zoology) Having a head shaped like that of a dog; -- said of certain baboons.

Dog-hearted Dog"-heart`ed adjective Inhuman; cruel. Shak.

dog-legged dog"-leg`ged adjective (Arch) Noting a flight of stairs, consisting of two or more straight portions connected by a platform (landing) or platforms, and running in opposite directions without an intervening wellhole.

Dog-rose Dog"-rose` noun (Botany) A common European wild rose, with single pink or white flowers.

Dog-weary Dog"-wea`ry adjective Extremely weary. Shak.

Dog's-bane Dog's"-bane` noun (Botany) See Dogbane .

Dog's-ear Dog's"-ear` noun The corner of a leaf, in a book, turned down like the ear of a dog. Gray. -- Dog's"-eared` adjective Cowper.

Dog's-tail grass Dog's"-tail grass` noun (Botany) A hardy species of British grass ( Cynosurus cristatus ) which abounds in grass lands, and is well suited for making straw plait; -- called also goldseed .

Dog's-tongue Dog's"-tongue` noun (Botany) Hound's-tongue.

Dogal Do"gal adjective [ Late Latin dogalis for ducalis . See Doge .] Of or pertaining to a doge. [ R.]

Dogate Do"gate noun [ Confer French dogat , Italian dogato . See Doge , and confer Dogeate .] The office or dignity of a doge.

Dogbane Dog"bane` noun [ Said to be poisonous to dogs. Confer Apocynaceous .] (Botany) A small genus of perennial herbaceous plants, with poisonous milky juice, bearing slender pods pods in pairs.

Dogberry Dog"ber`ry noun (Botany) The berry of the dogwood; -- called also dogcherry . Dr. Prior.

Dogberry tree (Botany) , the dogwood.

Dogbolt Dog"bolt` noun (Gun.) The bolt of the cap-square over the trunnion of a cannon. Knight.

Dogcart Dog"cart` noun A light one- horse carriage, commonly two-wheeled, patterned after a cart. The original dogcarts used in England by sportsmen had a box at the back for carrying dogs.

Dogdraw Dog"draw` noun (Eng. Forest Law) The act of drawing after, or pursuing, deer with a dog. Cowell.

Doge Doge noun [ It doge , dogio , for duce , duca , from Latin dux , ducis , a leader, commander. See Duke .] The chief magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa.

Dogeate Doge"ate noun Dogate. Wright.

Dogeless Doge"less adjective Without a doge. Byron.

Dogfish Dog"fish` noun (Zoology) 1. A small shark, of many species, of the genera Mustelus , Scyllium , Spinax , etc.

» The European spotted dogfishes ( Scyllium catudus , and S. canicula ) are very abundant; the American smooth, or blue dogfish is Mustelus canis ; the common picked, or horned dogfish ( Squalus acanthias ) abundant on both sides of the Atlantic.

2. The bowfin ( Amia calva ). See Bowfin .

3. The burbot of Lake Erie.

Dogged Dog"ged adjective [ Fron. Dog .] 1. Sullen; morose. [ Obsolete or R.]

The sulky spite of a temper naturally dogged .

Sir W. Scott.

2. Sullenly obstinate; obstinately determined or persistent; as, dogged resolution; dogged work.

Doggedly Dog"ged·ly adverb In a dogged manner; sullenly; with obstinate resolution.

Doggedness Dog"ged·ness noun 1. Sullenness; moroseness. [ R.]

2. Sullen or obstinate determination; grim resolution or persistence.

Dogger Dog"ger noun [ Dutch, from dogger codfish, orig. used in the catching of codfish.] (Nautical) A two-masted fishing vessel, used by the Dutch.

Dogger Dog"ger noun A sort of stone, found in the mines with the true alum rock, chiefly of silica and iron.

Doggerel Dog"ger·el adjective [ Middle English dogerel .] Low in style, and irregular in measure; as, doggerel rhymes.

This may well be rhyme doggerel , quod he.

Chaucer.

Doggerel Dog"ger·el noun A sort of loose or irregular verse; mean or undignified poetry.

Doggerel like that of Hudibras.

Addison.

The ill-spelt lines of doggerel in which he expressed his reverence for the brave sufferers.

Macaulay.

Doggerman Dog"ger·man noun A sailor belonging to a dogger.

Dogget Dog"get noun Docket. See Docket . [ Obsolete]

Doggish Dog"gish adjective Like a dog; having the bad qualities of a dog; churlish; growling; brutal. -- Dog"gish*ly , adverb -- Dog"gish*ness , noun

Doggrel Dog"grel adjective & noun Same as Doggerel .

Doghole Dog"hole` noun A place fit only for dogs; a vile, mean habitation or apartment. Dryden.

Dogma Dog"ma (dŏg"mȧ) noun ; plural English Dogmas (-mȧz), Latin Dogmata (-mȧ*tȧ). [ Latin dogma , Greek do`gma , plural do`gmata , from dokei^n to think, seem, appear; akin to Latin decet it is becoming. Confer Decent .] 1. That which is held as an opinion; a tenet; a doctrine.

The obscure and loose dogmas of early antiquity.

Whewell.

2. A formally stated and authoritatively settled doctrine; a definite, established, and authoritative tenet.

3. A doctrinal notion asserted without regard to evidence or truth; an arbitrary dictum.

Syn. -- tenet; opinion; proposition; doctrine. -- Dogma , Tenet . A tenet is that which is maintained as true with great firmness; as, the tenets of our holy religion. A dogma is that which is laid down with authority as indubitably true, especially a religious doctrine; as, the dogmas of the church. A tenet rests on its own intrinsic merits or demerits; a dogma rests on authority regarded as competent to decide and determine. Dogma has in our language acquired, to some extent, a repulsive sense, from its carrying with it the idea of undue authority or assumption. This is more fully the case with its derivatives dogmatical and dogmatism .

Dogmatic Dog·mat"ic (dŏg*măt"ĭk) noun One of an ancient sect of physicians who went by general principles; -- opposed to the Empiric .

Dogmatic Dog·mat"ic (dŏg*măt"ĭk), Dog*mat`ic*al (-ĭ*k a l) adjective [ Latin dogmaticus , Greek dogmatiko`s , from do`gma : confer French dogmatique .] 1. Pertaining to a dogma, or to an established and authorized doctrine or tenet.

2. Asserting a thing positively and authoritatively; positive; magisterial; hence, arrogantly authoritative; overbearing.

Critics write in a positive, dogmatic way.

Spectator.

[ They] are as assertive and dogmatical as if they were omniscient.

Glanvill.

Dogmatic theology . Same as Dogmatics .

Syn. -- Magisterial; arrogant. See Magisterial .

Dogmatically Dog·mat"ic·al·ly adverb In a dogmatic manner; positively; magisterially.

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