Delta noun ; plural Deltas . [ Greek de`lta , the name of the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (the capital form of which is Δ, Eng. D), from the Phœnician name of the corresponding letter. The Greeks called the alluvial deposit at the mouth of the Nile, from its shape, the Delta of the Nile.] A tract of land shaped like the letter delta (Δ), especially when the land is alluvial and inclosed between two or more mouths of a river; as, the delta of the Ganges, of the Nile, or of the Mississippi.

Delta noun
1. The fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (Δ δ), answering to D . Hence, an object having the shape of the capital Δ.

2. (Electricity) The closed figure produced by connecting three coils or circuits successively, end for end, esp. in a three-phase system; -- often used attributively, as delta winding, delta connection (which see), etc.

Delta connection (Electricity) One of the usual forms or methods for connecting apparatus to a three-phase circuit, the three corners of the delta or triangle, as diagrammatically represented, being connected to the three wires of the supply circuit.

Delta current (Electricity) The current flowing through a delta connection.

Deltafication noun [ Delta + Latin facere to make.] The formation of a delta or of deltas. [ R.]

Deltaic adjective Relating to, or like, a delta.

Delthyris noun [ New Latin , from Greek de`lta the name of the letter Δ + thy`ra door.] (Zoology) A name formerly given to certain Silurian brachiopod shells of the genus Spirifer .

Delthyris limestone (Geol.) , one of the divisions of the Upper Silurian rocks in New York.

Deltic adjective Deltaic.

Deltidium noun [ New Latin , from Greek de`lta , the letter Δ.] (Zoology) The triangular space under the beak of many brachiopod shells.

Deltohedron noun [ Greek de`lta , the letter Δ + 'e`dra seat, base.] (Crystallog.) A solid bounded by twelve quadrilateral faces. It is a hemihedral form of the isometric system, allied to the tetrahedron.

Deltoid adjective [ Greek deltoeidh`s delta- shaped; de`lta the name of the letter Δ + e'i^dos form: confer French deltoïde . See Delta .] Shaped like the Greek Δ (delta); delta-shaped; triangular.

Deltoid leaf (Botany) , a leaf in the form of a triangle with the stem inserted at the middle of the base. -- Deltoid muscle (Anat.) , a triangular muscle in the shoulder which serves to move the arm directly upward.

Deludable adjective Capable of being deluded; liable to be imposed on; gullible. Sir T. Browne.

Delude transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Deluded ; present participle & verbal noun Deluding .] [ Latin deludere , delusum ; de- + ludere to play, make sport of, mock. See Ludicrous .]
1. To lead from truth or into error; to mislead the mind or judgment of; to beguile; to impose on; to dupe; to make a fool of.

To delude the nation by an airy phantom.

Burke.

2. To frustrate or disappoint.

It deludes thy search.

Dryden.

Syn. -- To mislead; deceive; beguile; cajole; cheat; dupe. See Deceive .

Deluder noun One who deludes; a deceiver; an impostor.

Deluge noun [ French déluge , Latin diluvium , from diluere wash away; di- = dis- + luere , equiv. to lavare to wash. See Lave , and confer Diluvium .]
1. A washing away; an overflowing of the land by water; an inundation; a flood; specifically, The Deluge , the great flood in the days of Noah ( Gen. vii. ).

2. Fig.: Anything which overwhelms, or causes great destruction. "The deluge of summer." Lowell.

A fiery deluge fed
With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed.

Milton.

As I grub up some quaint old fragment of a [ London] street, or a house, or a shop, or tomb or burial ground, which has still survived in the deluge .

F. Harrison.

After me the deluge .
(Aprés moi le déluge.)

Madame de Pompadour.

Deluge transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Deluged ; present participle & verbal noun Deluging .]
1. To overflow with water; to inundate; to overwhelm.

The deluged earth would useless grow.

Blackmore.

2. To overwhelm, as with a deluge; to cover; to overspread; to overpower; to submerge; to destroy; as, the northern nations deluged the Roman empire with their armies; the land is deluged with woe.

At length corruption, like a general flood . . .
Shall deluge all.

Pope.

Delundung noun [ Native name.] (Zoology) An East Indian carnivorous mammal ( Prionodon gracilis ), resembling the civets, but without scent pouches. It is handsomely spotted.

Delusion noun [ Latin delusio , from deludere . See Delude .]
1. The act of deluding; deception; a misleading of the mind. Pope.

2. The state of being deluded or misled.

3. That which is falsely or delusively believed or propagated; false belief; error in belief.

And fondly mourned the dear delusion gone.

Prior.

Syn. -- Delusion , Illusion . These words both imply some deception practiced upon the mind. Delusion is deception from want of knowledge; illusion is deception from morbid imagination. An illusion is a false show, a mere cheat on the fancy or senses. It is, in other words, some idea or image presented to the bodily or mental vision which does not exist in reality. A delusion is a false judgment, usually affecting the real concerns of life. Or, in other words, it is an erroneous view of something which exists indeed, but has by no means the qualities or attributes ascribed to it. Thus we speak of the illusions of fancy, the illusions of hope, illusive prospects, illusive appearances, etc. In like manner, we speak of the delusions of stockjobbing, the delusions of honorable men, delusive appearances in trade, of being deluded by a seeming excellence.

A fanatic, either religious or political, is the subject of strong delusions ; while the term illusion is applied solely to the visions of an uncontrolled imagination, the chimerical ideas of one blinded by hope, passion, or credulity, or lastly, to spectral and other ocular deceptions, to which the word delusion is never applied. Whately.

Delusional adjective Of or pertaining to delusions; as, delusional monomania.

Delusive adjective [ See Delude .] Apt or fitted to delude; tending to mislead the mind; deceptive; beguiling; delusory; as, delusive arts; a delusive dream.

Delusive and unsubstantial ideas.

Whewell.

-- De*lu"sive*ly , adverb -- De*lu"sive*ness , noun

Delusory adjective Delusive; fallacious. Glanvill.

Delve transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Delved ; present participle & verbal noun Delving .] [ Anglo-Saxon delfan to dig; akin to Old Saxon bidelban to bury, Dutch delven to dig, Middle High German telben , and possibly to English dale . Confer Delf a mine.]
1. To dig; to open (the ground) as with a spade.

Delve of convenient depth your thrashing floor.

Dryden.

2. To dig into; to penetrate; to trace out; to fathom.

I can not delve him to the root.

Shak.

Delve intransitive verb To dig or labor with a spade, or as with a spade; to labor as a drudge.

Delve may I not: I shame to beg.

Wyclif (Luke xvi. 3).

Delve noun [ See Delve , transitive verb , and confer Delf a mine.] A place dug; a pit; a ditch; a den; a cave.

Which to that shady delve him brought at last.

Spenser.

The very tigers from their delves
Look out.

Moore.

Delver noun One who digs, as with a spade.

Demagnetize transitive verb
1. To deprive of magnetic properties. See Magnetize .

If the bar be rapidly magnetized and demagnetized .

Am. Cyc.

2. To free from mesmeric influence; to demesmerize.

-- De*mag`net*i*za"tion , noun -- De*mag"net*i`zer noun

Demagog noun Demagogue.

Demagogic, Demagogical adjective [ Greek dhmagwkiko`s : confer French démagogique .] Relating to, or like, a demagogue; factious.

Demagogism noun The practices of a demagogue.

Demagogue noun [ Greek dhmagwgo`s a popular leader; commonly in a bad sense, a leader of the mob; dh^mos the people + 'agwgo`s leading, from 'a`gein to lead; akin to English act : confer French démagogue .] A leader of the rabble; one who attempts to control the multitude by specious or deceitful arts; an unprincipled and factious mob orator or political leader.

Demagogy noun [ Confer French démagogie , Greek dhmagwgi`a leadership of the people.] Demagogism.

Demain noun [ See Demesne .]
1. Rule; management. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. (Law) See Demesne .

Demand transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Demanded ; present participle & verbal noun Demanding .] [ French demander , Late Latin demandare to demand, summon, send word, from Latin demandare to give in charge, intrust; de- + mandare to commit to one's charge, commission, order, command. Confer Mandate , Commend .]
1. To ask or call for with authority; to claim or seek from, as by authority or right; to claim, as something due; to call for urgently or peremptorily; as, to demand a debt; to demand obedience.

This, in our foresaid holy father's name,
Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.

Shak.

2. To inquire authoritatively or earnestly; to ask, esp. in a peremptory manner; to question.

I did demand what news from Shrewsbury.

Shak.

3. To require as necessary or useful; to be in urgent need of; hence, to call for; as, the case demands care.

4. (Law) To call into court; to summon. Burrill.

Demand intransitive verb To make a demand; to inquire.

The soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?

Luke iii. 14.

Demand noun [ French demande , from demander . See Demand , transitive verb ]
1. The act of demanding; an asking with authority; a peremptory urging of a claim; a claiming or challenging as due; requisition; as, the demand of a creditor; a note payable on demand .

The demand [ is] by the word of the holy ones.

Dan. iv. 17.

He that has confidence to turn his wishes into demands will be but a little way from thinking he ought to obtain them.

Locke.

2. Earnest inquiry; question; query. Shak.

3. A diligent seeking or search; manifested want; desire to possess; request; as, a demand for certain goods; a person's company is in great demand .

In 1678 came forth a second edition [ Pilgrim's Progress] with additions; and then the demand became immense.

Macaulay.

4. That which one demands or has a right to demand; thing claimed as due; claim; as, demands on an estate.

5. (Law) (a) The asking or seeking for what is due or claimed as due. (b) The right or title in virtue of which anything may be claimed; as, to hold a demand against a person. (c) A thing or amount claimed to be due.

In demand , in request; being much sought after. -- On demand , upon presentation and request of payment.

Demandable adjective That may be demanded or claimed. "All sums demandable ." Bacon.

Demandant noun [ French demandant , present participle of demander .] One who demands; the plaintiff in a real action; any plaintiff.

Demander noun One who demands.

Demandress noun A woman who demands.

Demantoid noun [ German demant diamond + -oid .] (Min.) A yellow-green, transparent variety of garnet found in the Urals. It is valued as a gem because of its brilliancy of luster, whence the name.

Demarcate transitive verb [ See Demarcation .] To mark by bounds; to set the limits of; to separate; to discriminate. Wilkinson.

Demarcation noun [ French démarcation ; prefix dé- (L. de ) + marquer to mark, of German origin. See Mark .] The act of marking, or of ascertaining and setting a limit; separation; distinction.

The speculative line of demarcation , where obedience ought to end and resistance must begin, is faint, obscure, and not easily definable.

Burke.

Demarch noun [ French démarche . See March , noun ] March; walk; gait. [ Obsolete]

Demarch (dē"märk) noun [ Greek dh`marchos ; dh^mos people + 'a`rchein to rule.] A chief or ruler of a deme or district in Greece.

Demarkation noun Same as Demarcation .

Dematerialize transitive verb To deprive of material or physical qualities or characteristics.

Dematerializing matter by stripping it of everything which . . . has distinguished matter.

Milman.

Deme (dēm) noun [ Greek dh^mos .]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) A territorial subdivision of Attica (also of modern Greece), corresponding to a township. Jowett (Thucyd.).

2. (Biol.) An undifferentiated aggregate of cells or plastids.

Demean transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Demeaned ; present participle & verbal noun Demeaning .] [ Old French demener to conduct, guide, manage, French se démener to struggle; prefix dé- (L. de ) + mener to lead, drive, carry on, conduct, from Latin minare to drive animals by threatening cries, from minari to threaten. See Menace .]
1. To manage; to conduct; to treat.

[ Our] clergy have with violence demeaned the matter.

Milton.

2. To conduct; to behave; to comport; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun.

They have demeaned themselves
Like men born to renown by life or death.

Shak.

They answered . . . that they should demean themselves according to their instructions.

Clarendon.

3. To debase; to lower; to degrade; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun.

Her son would demean himself by a marriage with an artist's daughter.

Thackeray.

» This sense is probably due to a false etymology which regarded the word as connected with the adjective mean .

Demean noun [ Old French demene . See Demean , transitive verb ]
1. Management; treatment. [ Obsolete]

Vile demean and usage bad.

Spenser.

2. Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor. [ Obsolete]

With grave demean and solemn vanity.

West.

Demean noun [ See Demesne .]
1. Demesne. [ Obsolete]

2. plural Resources; means. [ Obsolete]

You know
How narrow our demeans are.

Massinger.

Demeanance noun Demeanor. [ Obsolete] Skelton.