Decollated De·col"la·ted adjective (Zoology) Decapitated; worn or cast off in the process of growth, as the apex of certain univalve shells.

Decollation De`col·la"tion noun [ Latin decollatio : confer French décollation .] 1. The act of beheading or state of one beheaded; -- especially used of the execution of St. John the Baptist.

2. A painting representing the beheading of a saint or martyr, esp. of St. John the Baptist.

Décolletage Dé`col`le·tage" (dā`ko`l'*tȧzh) noun [ French See Décolleté .] (Costume) The upper border or part of a décolleté corsage.

Décolleté Dé`col`le·té" adjective [ French, past participle of décolleter to bare the neck and shoulders; dé- + collet collar, from Latin collum neck.] Leaving the neck and shoulders uncovered; cut low in the neck, or low-necked, as a dress.

Décolleté Dé`col`le·té" (da`kŏl`l e *ta") adjective Wearing a décolleté gown.

Decolling De·col"ling noun Beheading. [ R.]

By a speedy dethroning and decolling of the king.

Parliamentary History (1648).

Decolor De·col"or transitive verb [ Confer French décolorer , Latin decolorare . Confer Discolor .] To deprive of color; to bleach.

Decolorant De·col"or·ant noun [ Confer French décolorant , present participle] A substance which removes color, or bleaches.

Decolorate De·col"or·ate adjective [ Latin decoloratus , past participle of decolorare .] Deprived of color.

Decolorate De·col"or·ate transitive verb To decolor.

Decoloration De·col`or·a"tion noun [ Latin decoloratio : confer French décoloration .] The removal or absence of color. Ferrand.

Decolorize De·col"or·ize transitive verb To deprive of color; to whiten. Turner. -- De*col`or*i*za"tion noun

Decomplex De"com·plex` adjective [ Prefix de- (intens.) + complex .] Repeatedly compound; made up of complex constituents.

Decomposable De`com·pos"a·ble adjective Capable of being resolved into constituent elements.

Decompose De`com·pose" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Decomposed ; present participle & verbal noun Decomposing .] [ Confer French décomposer . Confer Discompose .] To separate the constituent parts of; to resolve into original elements; to set free from previously existing forms of chemical combination; to bring to dissolution; to rot or decay.

Decompose De`com·pose" intransitive verb To become resolved or returned from existing combinations; to undergo dissolution; to decay; to rot.

Decomposed De`com·posed" adjective (Zoology) Separated or broken up; -- said of the crest of birds when the feathers are divergent.

Decomposite De`com·pos"ite adjective [ Prefix de- (intens.) + composite .] 1. Compounded more than once; compounded with things already composite.

2. (Botany) See Decompound , adjective , 2.

Decomposite De`com·pos"ite noun Anything decompounded.

Decomposites of three metals or more.

Bacon.

Decomposition De·com`po·si"tion noun [ Prefix de- (in sense 3 intensive) + composition : confer French décomposition . Confer Decomposition .] 1. The act or process of resolving the constituent parts of a compound body or substance into its elementary parts; separation into constituent part; analysis; the decay or dissolution consequent on the removal or alteration of some of the ingredients of a compound; disintegration; as, the decomposition of wood, rocks, etc.

2. The state of being reduced into original elements.

3. Repeated composition; a combination of compounds. [ Obsolete]

Decomposition of forces . Same as Resolution of forces , under Resolution . -- Decomposition of light , the division of light into the prismatic colors.

Decompound De`com·pound" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Decompounded ; present participle & verbal noun Decompounding .] [ Prefix de- (intens. in sense 1) + compound , transitive verb ] 1. To compound or mix with that is already compound; to compound a second time.

2. To reduce to constituent parts; to decompose.

It divides and decompounds objects into . . . parts.

Hazlitt.

Decompound De`com·pound" adjective [ Prefix de- (intens.) + compound , adjective ] 1. Compound of what is already compounded; compounded a second time.

2. (Botany) Several times compounded or divided, as a leaf or stem; decomposite.

Decompound De`com·pound" noun A decomposite.

Decompoundable De`com·pound"a·ble adjective Capable of being decompounded.

Deconcentrate De`con·cen"trate transitive verb To withdraw from concentration; to decentralize. [ R.]

Deconcentration De·con`cen·tra"tion noun Act of deconcentrating. [ R.]

Deconcoct De`con·coct" transitive verb To decompose. [ R.] Fuller.

Deconsecrate De·con"se·crate transitive verb To deprive of sacredness; to secularize. -- De*con`se*cra"tion noun

Decorament Dec"o·ra·ment noun [ Latin decoramentum . See Decorate , transitive verb ] Ornament. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Decorate Dec"o·rate (dck"o*rāt) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Decorated (dck"o*rā`tĕd); present participle & verbal noun Decorating (-rā`tĭng).] [ Latin decoratus , past participle of decorare , from decus ornament; akin to decere to be becoming. See Decent .] To deck with that which is becoming, ornamental, or honorary; to adorn; to beautify; to embellish; as, to decorate the person; to decorate an edifice; to decorate a lawn with flowers; to decorate the mind with moral beauties; to decorate a hero with honors.

Her fat neck was ornamented with jewels, rich bracelets decorated her arms.

Thackeray.

Syn. -- To adorn; embellish; ornament; beautify; grace. See Adorn .

Decorated style (Architecture) , a name given by some writers to the perfected English Gothic architecture; it may be considered as having flourished from about adjective d . 1300 to adjective d . 1375.

Decoration Dec`o·ra"tion (dĕk`o*rā"shŭn) noun [ Late Latin decoratio : confer French décoration .] 1. The act of adorning, embellishing, or honoring; ornamentation.

2. That which adorns, enriches, or beautifies; something added by way of embellishment; ornament.

The hall was celebrated for . . . the richness of its decoration .

Motley.

3. Specifically, any mark of honor to be worn upon the person, as a medal, cross, or ribbon of an order of knighthood, bestowed for services in war, great achievements in literature, art, etc.

Decoration Day , a day, May 30, appointed for decorating with flowers the graves of the Union soldiers and sailors, who fell in the Civil War in the United States; Memorial Day. [ U.S.]

Decoration Day Decoration Day = Memorial Day . [ U. S.]

Decorative Dec"o·ra·tive (dĕk"o*rȧ*tĭv or -ra*tĭv) adjective [ Confer French décoratif .] Suited to decorate or embellish; adorning. -- Dec"o*ra*tive*ness , noun

Decorative art , fine art which has for its end ornamentation, rather than the representation of objects or events.

Decorator Dec"o·ra`tor (-rā"tẽr) noun [ Confer French décorateur .] One who decorates, adorns, or embellishes; specifically, an artisan whose business is the decoration of houses, esp. their interior decoration.

Decore De·core" transitive verb [ Confer French décorer . See Decorate .] To decorate; to beautify. [ Obsolete]

To decore and beautify the house of God.

E. Hall.

Decorement De·core"ment noun Ornament. [ Obsolete]

Decorous De·co"rous adjective [ Latin decōrus , from decor comeliness, beauty; akin to decere . See Decent , and confer Decorum .] Suitable to a character, or to the time, place, and occasion; marked with decorum; becoming; proper; seemly; befitting; as, a decorous speech; decorous behavior; a decorous dress for a judge.

A decorous pretext the war.

Motley.

-- De*co"rous*ly , adverb -- De*co"rous*ness , noun

Decorticate De·cor"ti·cate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Decorticated ; present participle & verbal noun Decorticating .] [ Latin decorticatus , past participle of decorticare to bark; de- + cortex bark.] To divest of the bark, husk, or exterior coating; to husk; to peel; to hull. "Great barley dried and decorticated ." Arbuthnot.

Decortication De·cor`ti·ca"tion noun [ Latin decorticatio : confer French décortication .] The act of stripping off the bark, rind, hull, or outer coat.

Decorticator De·cor"ti·ca`tor noun A machine for decorticating wood, hulling grain, etc.; also, an instrument for removing surplus bark or moss from fruit trees.

Decorum De·cor"um noun [ Latin decōrum , from decōrus . See Decorous .] Propriety of manner or conduct; grace arising from suitableness of speech and behavior to one's own character, or to the place and occasion; decency of conduct; seemliness; that which is seemly or suitable.

Negligent of the duties and decorums of his station.

Hallam.

If your master
Would have a queen his beggar, you must tell him,
That majesty, to keep decorum , must
No less beg than a kingdom.

Shak.

Syn. -- Decorum , Dignity . Decorum , in accordance with its etymology, is that which is becoming in outward act or appearance; as, the decorum of a public assembly. Dignity springs from an inward elevation of soul producing a corresponding effect on the manners; as, dignity of personal appearance.

Decoy De·coy" (de*koi") transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Decoyed ; present participle & verbal noun Decoying .] [ Prefix de- + coy ; orig., to quiet, soothe, caress, entice. See Coy .] To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap; to insnare; to allure; to entice; as, to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net.

Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy .

Thomson.

E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy ,
The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy.

Goldsmith.

Syn. -- To entice; tempt; allure; lure. See Allure .

Decoy De·coy" noun 1. Anything intended to lead into a snare; a lure that deceives and misleads into danger, or into the power of an enemy; a bait.

2. A fowl, or the likeness of one, used by sportsmen to entice other fowl into a net or within shot.

3. A place into which wild fowl, esp. ducks, are enticed in order to take or shoot them.

4. A person employed by officers of justice, or parties exposed to injury, to induce a suspected person to commit an offense under circumstances that will lead to his detection.

Decoy-duck De·coy"-duck` noun A duck used to lure wild ducks into a decoy; hence, a person employed to lure others into danger. Beau. & Fl.

Decoy-man De·coy"-man` noun ; plural Decoy-men A man employed in decoying wild fowl.

Decoyer De·coy"er noun One who decoys another.

Decrease De·crease" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Decreased ; present participle & verbal noun Decreasing .] [ Middle English decrecen , from Old French decreistre , French décroître , or from the Old French noun (see Decrease , noun ), from Latin decrescere to grow less; de + crescere to grow. See Crescent , and confer Increase .] To grow less, -- opposed to increase ; to be diminished gradually, in size, degree, number, duration, etc., or in strength, quality, or excellence; as, they days decrease in length from June to December.

He must increase, but I must decrease .

John iii. 30.

Syn. -- To Decrease , Diminish . Things usually decrease or fall off by degrees, and from within, or through some cause which is imperceptible; as, the flood decreases ; the cold decreases ; their affection has decreased . Things commonly diminish by an influence from without, or one which is apparent; as, the army was diminished by disease; his property is diminishing through extravagance; their affection has diminished since their separation their separation. The turn of thought, however, is often such that these words may be interchanged.

The olive leaf, which certainly them told
The flood decreased .

Drayton.

Crete's ample fields diminish to our eye;
Before the Boreal blasts the vessels fly.

Pope.

Decrease De·crease" transitive verb To cause to grow less; to diminish gradually; as, extravagance decreases one's means.

That might decrease their present store.

Prior.

Decrease De·crease" noun [ Middle English decrees , Old French decreis , from decreistre . See Decrease , v. ] 1. A becoming less; gradual diminution; decay; as, a decrease of revenue or of strength.

2. The wane of the moon. Bacon.

Decreaseless De·crease"less adjective Suffering no decrease. [ R.]

It [ the river] flows and flows, and yet will flow,
Volume decreaseless to the final hour.

A. Seward.

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