Dernly Dern"ly adverb Secretly; grievously; mournfully. [ Obsolete]
Spenser.
Derogant Der"o搽ant adjective [ Latin
derogans , present participle]
Derogatory. [ R.]
T. Adams.
Derogate Der"o搽ate transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Derogated ;
present participle & verbal noun Derogating .] [ Latin
derogatus , past participle of
derogare to derogate;
de- +
rogare to ask, to ask the people about a law. See
Rogation .]
1. To annul in part; to repeal partly; to restrict; to limit the action of; -- said of a law. By several contrary customs, . . . many of the civil and canon laws are controlled and derogated .
Sir M. Hale. 2. To lessen; to detract from; to disparage; to depreciate; -- said of a person or thing. [ R.]
Anything . . . that should derogate , minish, or hurt his glory and his name.
Sir T. More.
Derogate Der"o搽ate intransitive verb 1. To take away; to detract; to withdraw; -- usually with from . If we did derogate from them whom their industry hath made great.
Hooker. It derogates little from his fortitude, while it adds infinitely to the honor of his humanity.
Burke. 2. To act beneath one-s rank, place, birth, or character; to degenerate. [ R.]
You are a fool granted; therefore your issues, being foolish, do not derogate .
Shak. Would Charles X. derogate from his ancestors? Would he be the degenerate scion of that royal line?
Hazlitt.
Derogate Der"o搽ate noun [ Latin
derogatus , past participle ]
Diminished in value; dishonored; degraded. [ R.]
Shak.
Derogately Der"o搽ate損y adverb In a derogatory manner.
Derogation Der`o搽a"tion noun [ Latin
derogatio : confer French
d廨ogation .]
1. The act of derogating, partly repealing, or lessening in value; disparagement; detraction; depreciation; -- followed by of , from , or to . I hope it is no derogation to the Christian religion.
Locke. He counted it no derogation of his manhood to be seen to weep.
F. W. Robertson. 2. (Stock Exch.) An alteration of, or subtraction from, a contract for a sale of stocks.
Derogative De斟og"a暗ive adjective Derogatory. --
De*rog"a*tive*ly ,
adverb [ R.]
Sir T. Browne.
Derogator Der"o搽a`tor noun [ Latin ]
A detractor.
Derogatorily De斟og"a暗o斟i損y adverb In a derogatory manner; disparagingly. Aubrey.
Derogatoriness De斟og"a暗o斟i搖ess noun Quality of being derogatory.
Derogatory De斟og"a暗o斟y adjective Tending to derogate, or lessen in value; expressing derogation; detracting; injurious; -- with from , to , or unto . Acts of Parliament derogatory from the power of subsequent Parliaments bind not.
Blackstone. His language was severely censured by some of his brother peers as derogatory to their order.
Macaulay. Derogatory clause in a testament (Law) ,
a sentence of secret character inserted by the testator alone, of which he reserves the knowledge to himself, with a condition that no will he may make thereafter shall be valid, unless this clause is inserted word for word; -- a precaution to guard against later wills extorted by violence, or obtained by suggestion.
Derotremata Der`o暗re"ma暗a noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek
de`ros skin + ..., ..., hole.]
(Zoology) The tribe of aquatic Amphibia which includes Amphiuma, Menopoma, etc. They have permanent gill openings, but no external gills; -- called also Cryptobranchiata . [ Written also
Derotrema .]
Derre Der"re adjective Dearer. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Derrick Der"rick noun [ Orig., a gallows, from a hangman named
Derrick . The name is of Dutch origin; Dutch
Diederik ,
Dierryk , prop. meaning, chief of the people; confer Anglo-Saxon
pe鏚ric , English
Theodoric , German
Dietrich . See
Dutch , and
Rich .]
A mast, spar, or tall frame, supported at the top by stays or guys, with suitable tackle for hoisting heavy weights, as stones in building. Derrick crane ,
a combination of the derrick and the crane, having facility for hoisting and also for swinging the load horizontally.
Derrick Der"rick noun (Mining) The pyramidal structure or tower over a deep drill hole, such as that of an oil well.
Derring Der"ring adjective Daring or warlike. [ Obsolete]
Drad for his derring doe and bloody deed.
Spenser.
Derringer Der"rin搽er noun [ From the American inventor.]
A kind of short-barreled pocket pistol, of very large caliber, often carrying a half-ounce ball.
Derth Derth noun Dearth; scarcity. [ Obsolete]
Spenser.
Dertrotheca Der`tro暗he"ca noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... beak + ... box, case.]
(Zoology) The horny covering of the end of the bill of birds.
Dervish Der"vish noun One of the fanatical followers of the Mahdi, in the Sudan.
Dervish, Dervise Der"vish, Der"vise Der"vis noun [ Persian
derwēsch , from OPer.
derew to beg, ask alms: confer French
derviche .]
A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life.
Derworth Der"worth (dēr"wẽrth)
adjective [ Anglo-Saxon
de鏎wurþe , lit., dearworth.]
Precious. [ Obsolete]
Piers Plowman.
Descant Des"cant (dĕs"kănt)
noun [ Old French
descant ,
deschant , French
d嶰hant ,
discant , Late Latin
discantus , from Latin
dis +
cantus singing, melody, from
canere to sing. See
Chant , and confer
Descant ,
intransitive verb ,
Discant .]
1. (Mus.) (a) Originally, a double song; a melody or counterpoint sung above the plain song of the tenor; a variation of an air; a variation by ornament of the main subject or plain song. (b) The upper voice in part music. (c) The canto , cantus , or soprano voice; the treble. Grove. Twenty doctors expound one text twenty ways, as children make descant upon plain song.
Tyndale. She [ the nightingale] all night long her amorous descant sung.
Milton. » The term has also been used synonymously with counterpoint, or polyphony, which developed out of the French
d嶰hant , of the 12th century.
2. A discourse formed on its theme, like variations on a musical air; a comment or comments. Upon that simplest of themes how magnificent a descant !
De Quincey.
Descant Des搾ant" (dĕs*kănt")
intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Descanted ;
present participle & verbal noun Descanting .] [ From
descant ;
noun ; or directly from Old French
descanter ,
deschanter ; Latin
dis- +
cantare to sing.]
1. To sing a variation or accomplishment. 2. To comment freely; to discourse with fullness and particularity; to discourse at large. A virtuous man should be pleased to find people descanting on his actions.
Addison.
Descanter Des搾ant"er noun One who descants.
Descend De新cend" intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Descended ;
present participle & verbal noun Descending .] [ French
descendre , Latin
descendere ,
descensum ;
de- +
scandere to climb. See
Scan .]
1. To pass from a higher to a lower place; to move downwards; to come or go down in any way, as by falling, flowing, walking, etc.; to plunge; to fall; to incline downward; -- the opposite of ascend . The rain descended , and the floods came.
Matt. vii. 25. We will here descend to matters of later date.
Fuller. 2. To enter mentally; to retire. [ Poetic]
[ He] with holiest meditations fed,
Into himself descended .
Milton. 3. To make an attack, or incursion, as if from a vantage ground; to come suddenly and with violence; -- with on or upon . And on the suitors let thy wrath descend .
Pope. 4. To come down to a lower, less fortunate, humbler, less virtuous, or worse, state or station; to lower or abase one's self; as, he descended from his high estate. 5. To pass from the more general or important to the particular or less important matters to be considered. 6. To come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation or by transmission; to fall or pass by inheritance; as, the beggar may descend from a prince; a crown descends to the heir. 7. (Anat.) To move toward the south, or to the southward. 8. (Mus.) To fall in pitch; to pass from a higher to a lower tone.
Descend De新cend" transitive verb To go down upon or along; to pass from a higher to a lower part of; as, they descended the river in boats; to descend a ladder. But never tears his cheek descended .
Byron.
Descendant De新cend"ant adjective [ French
descendant , present participle of
descendre . Confer
Descendent .]
Descendent.
Descendant De新cend"ant noun One who descends, as offspring, however remotely; -- correlative to ancestor or ascendant . Our first parents and their descendants .
Hale. The descendant of so many kings and emperors.
Burke.
Descendent De新cend"ent adjective [ Latin
descendens ,
-entis , present participle of
descendre . Confer
Descendant .]
Descending; falling; proceeding from an ancestor or source. More than mortal grace
Speaks thee descendent of ethereal race.
Pope.
Descender De新cend"er noun One who descends.
Descendibility De新cend`i搓il"i暗y noun The quality of being descendible; capability of being transmitted from ancestors; as, the descendibility of an estate.
Descendible De新cend"i搓le adjective 1. Admitting descent; capable of being descended. 2. That may descend from an ancestor to an heir. "A
descendant estate."
Sir W. Jones.
Descending De新cend"ing adjective Of or pertaining to descent; moving downwards. Descending constellations or
signs (Astron.) ,
those through which the planets descent toward the south. --
Descending node (Astron.) ,
that point in a planet's orbit where it intersects the ecliptic in passing southward. --
Descending series (Math.) ,
a series in which each term is numerically smaller than the preceding one; also, a series arranged according to descending powers of a quantity.
Descendingly De新cend"ing損y adverb In a descending manner.
Descension De新cen"sion noun [ Old French
descension , Latin
descensio . See
Descent .]
The act of going downward; descent; falling or sinking; declension; degradation. Oblique descension (Astron.) ,
the degree or arc of the equator which descends, with a celestial object, below the horizon of an oblique sphere. --
Right descension ,
the degree or arc of the equator which descends below the horizon of a right sphere at the same time with the object. [ Obsolete]
Descensional De新cen"sion戢l adjective Pertaining to descension. Johnson.
Descensive De新cen"sive adjective Tending to descend; tending downwards; descending. Smart.
Descensory De新cen"so斟y noun [ New Latin
descensorium : confer Old French
descensoire . See
Descend .]
A vessel used in alchemy to extract oils.
Descent De新cent" noun [ French
descente , from
descendre ; like
vente , from
vendre . See
Descend .]
1. The act of descending, or passing downward; change of place from higher to lower. 2. Incursion; sudden attack; especially, hostile invasion from sea; -- often followed by upon or on ; as, to make a descent upon the enemy. The United Provinces . . . ordered public prayer to God, when they feared that the French and English fleets would make a descent upon their coasts.
Jortin. 3. Progress downward, as in station, virtue, as in station, virtue, and the like, from a higher to a lower state, from a higher to a lower state, from the more to the less important, from the better to the worse, etc. 2. Derivation, as from an ancestor; procedure by generation; lineage; birth; extraction. Dryden. 5. (Law) Transmission of an estate by inheritance, usually, but not necessarily, in the descending line; title to inherit an estate by reason of consanguinity. Abbott. 6. Inclination downward; a descending way; inclined or sloping surface; declivity; slope; as, a steep descent . 7. That which is descended; descendants; issue. If care of our descent perplex us most,
Which must be born to certain woe.
Milton. 8. A step or remove downward in any scale of gradation; a degree in the scale of genealogy; a generation. No man living is a thousand descents removed from Adam himself.
Hooker. 9. Lowest place; extreme downward place. [ R.]
And from the extremest upward of thy head,
To the descent and dust below thy foot.
Shak. 10. (Mus.) A passing from a higher to a lower tone. Syn. -- Declivity; slope; degradation; extraction; lineage; assault; invasion; attack.
Describable De新crib"a搓le adjective That can be described; capable of description.
Describe De新cribe" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Described ;
present participle & verbal noun Describing .] [ Latin
describere ,
descriptum ;
de- +
scribere to write: confer Middle English
descriven , Old French
descrivre , French
d嶰rire . See
Scribe , and confer
Descry .]
1. To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out; as, to describe a circle by the compasses; a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle. 2. To represent by words written or spoken; to give an account of; to make known to others by words or signs; as, the geographer describes countries and cities. 3. To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class. [ Obsolete]
Passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book.
Josh. xviii. 9. Syn. -- To set forth; represent; delineate; relate; recount; narrate; express; explain; depict; portray; chracterize.
Describe De新cribe" intransitive verb To use the faculty of describing; to give a description; as, Milton describes with uncommon force and beauty.
Describent De新crib"ent noun [ Latin
describens , present participle of
describere .]
(Geom.) Same as Generatrix .
Describer De新crib"er noun One who describes.
Descrier De新cri"er noun One who descries.
Description De新crip"tion noun [ French
description , Latin
descriptio . See
Describe .]
1. The act of describing; a delineation by marks or signs. 2. A sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species. Milton has descriptions of morning.
D. Webster. 3. A class to which a certain representation is applicable; kind; sort. A difference . . . between them and another description of public creditors.
A. Hamilton. The plates were all of the meanest description .
Macaulay. Syn. -- Account; definition; recital; relation; detail; narrative; narration; explanation; delineation; representation; kind; sort. See
Definition .
Descriptive De新crip"tive adjective [ Latin
descriptivus : confer French
descriptif .]
Tending to describe; having the quality of representing; containing description; as, a descriptive figure; a descriptive phrase; a descriptive narration; a story descriptive of the age. Descriptive anatomy ,
that part of anatomy which treats of the forms and relations of parts, but not of their textures. --
Descriptive geometry ,
that branch of geometry. which treats of the graphic solution of problems involving three dimensions, by means of projections upon auxiliary planes. Davies & Peck (Math. Dict. ) --
De*scrip"tive*ly ,
adverb --
De*scrip"tive*ness ,
noun
Descrive De新crive" transitive verb [ Old French
descrivre . See
Describe .]
To describe. [ Obsolete]
Spenser.
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