Dieter Di"et·er noun One who diets; one who prescribes, or who partakes of, food, according to hygienic rules.

Dietetic, Dietetical Di`e·tet"ic, Di`e·tet"ic·al adjective [ Greek ...: confer French diététique . See Diet .] Of or performance to diet, or to the rules for regulating the kind and quantity of food to be eaten.

Dietetically Di`e·tet"ic·al·ly adverb In a dietetical manner.

Dietetics Di`e·tet"ics noun That part of the medical or hygienic art which relates to diet or food; rules for diet.

To suppose that the whole of dietetics lies in determining whether or not bread is more nutritive than potatoes.

H. Spencer.

Dietetist Di`e·tet"ist noun A physician who applies the rules of dietetics to the cure of diseases. Dunglison.

Diethylamine Di·eth`yl·am"ine noun [ Prefix di- + ethylamine .] (Chemistry) A colorless, volatile, alkaline liquid, NH(C ₂ H ₅ ) ₂ , having a strong fishy odor resembling that of herring or sardines. Confer Methylamine .

Dietic Di·et"ic adjective Dietetic.

Dietical Di·et"ic·al adjective Dietetic. [ R.] Ferrand.

Dietine Di"et·ine noun [ Confer French diétine .] A subordinate or local assembly; a diet of inferior rank.

Dietist, Dietitian Di"et·ist, Di`e·ti"tian noun One skilled in dietetics. [ R.]

Diffame Dif·fame` noun [ See Defame .] Evil name; bad reputation; defamation. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Diffarreation Dif·far`re·a"tion noun [ Latin diffarreatio ; dif- = farreum a spelt cake. See Confarreation .] A form of divorce, among the ancient Romans, in which a cake was used. See Confarreation .

Differ Dif"fer intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Differed ; present participle & verbal noun Differing .] [ Latin differre ; dif- = dis- + ferre to bear, carry: confer French différer . See 1st Bear , and confer Defer , Delay .] 1. To be or stand apart; to disagree; to be unlike; to be distinguished; -- with from .

One star differeth from another star in glory.

1 Cor. xv. 41.

Minds differ , as rivers differ .

Macaulay.

2. To be of unlike or opposite opinion; to disagree in sentiment; -- often with from or with .

3. To have a difference, cause of variance, or quarrel; to dispute; to contend.

We 'll never differ with a crowded pit.

Rowe.

Syn. -- To vary; disagree; dissent; dispute; contend; oppose; wrangle. -- To Differ with , Differ from . Both differ from and aiffer with are used in reference to opinions; as, "I differ from you or with you in that opinion."" In all other cases, expressing simple unlikeness, differ from is used; as, these two persons or things differ entirely from each other.

Severely punished, not for differing from us in opinion, but for committing a nuisance.

Macaulay.

Davidson, whom on a former occasion we quoted, to differ from him.

M. Arnold.

Much as I differ from him concerning an essential part of the historic basis of religion.

Gladstone.

I differ with the honorable gentleman on that point.

Brougham.

If the honorable gentleman differs with me on that subject, I differ as heartily with him, and shall always rejoice to differ.

Canning.

Differ Dif"fer transitive verb To cause to be different or unlike; to set at variance. [ R.]

But something 'ts that differs thee and me.

Cowley.

Difference Dif"fer·ence noun [ French différence , Latin differentia .] 1. The act of differing; the state or measure of being different or unlike; distinction; dissimilarity; unlikeness; variation; as, a difference of quality in paper; a difference in degrees of heat, or of light; what is the difference between the innocent and the guilty?

Differencies of administration, but the same Lord.

1 Cor. xii. 5.

2. Disagreement in opinion; dissension; controversy; quarrel; hence, cause of dissension; matter in controversy.

What was the difference ? It was a contention in public.

Shak.

Away therefore went I with the constable, leaving the old warden and the young constable to compose their difference as they could.

T. Ellwood.

3. That by which one thing differs from another; that which distinguishes or causes to differ; mark of distinction; characteristic quality; specific attribute.

The marks and differences of sovereignty.

Davies.

4. Choice; preference. [ Obsolete]

That now he chooseth with vile difference
To be a beast, and lack intelligence.

Spenser.

5. (Her.) An addition to a coat of arms to distinguish the bearings of two persons, which would otherwise be the same. See Augmentation , and Marks of cadency , under Cadency .

6. (Logic) The quality or attribute which is added to those of the genus to constitute a species; a differentia.

7. (Math.) The quantity by which one quantity differs from another, or the remainder left after subtracting the one from the other.

Ascensional difference . See under Ascensional .

Syn. -- Distinction; dissimilarity; dissimilitude; variation; diversity; variety; contrariety; disagreement; variance; contest; contention; dispute; controversy; debate; quarrel; wrangle; strife.

Difference Dif"fer·ence transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Differenced ; present participle & verbal noun Differencing .] To cause to differ; to make different; to mark as different; to distinguish.

Thou mayest difference gods from men.

Chapman.

Kings, in receiving justice and undergoing trial, are not differenced from the meanest subject.

Milton.

So completely differenced by their separate and individual characters that we at once acknowledge them as distinct persons.

Sir W. Scott.

Different Dif"fer·ent adjective [ Latin differens , -entis , present participle of differre : confer French différent .] 1. Distinct; separate; not the same; other. "Five different churches." Addison.

2. Of various or contrary nature, form, or quality; partially or totally unlike; dissimilar; as, different kinds of food or drink; different states of health; different shapes; different degrees of excellence.

Men are as different from each other, as the regions in which they are born are different .

Dryden.

» Different is properly followed by from . Different to , for different from , is a common English colloquialism. Different than is quite inadmissible.

Differentia Dif`fer·en"ti·a noun ; plural Differentiæ . [ Latin See Difference .] (Logic) The formal or distinguishing part of the essence of a species; the characteristic attribute of a species; specific difference.

Differential Dif`fer·en"tial adjective [ Confer French différentiel .] 1. Relating to or indicating a difference; creating a difference; discriminating; special; as, differential characteristics; differential duties; a differential rate.

For whom he produced differential favors.

Motley.

2. (Math.) Of or pertaining to a differential, or to differentials.

3. (Mech.) Relating to differences of motion or leverage; producing effects by such differences; said of mechanism.

Differential calculus . (Math.) See under Calculus . -- Differential coefficient , the limit of the ratio of the increment of a function of a variable to the increment of the variable itself, when these increments are made indefinitely small. -- Differential coupling , a form of slip coupling used in light machinery to regulate at pleasure the velocity of the connected shaft. -- Differential duties (Polit. Econ.) , duties which are not imposed equally upon the same products imported from different countries. -- Differential galvanometer (Electricity) , a galvanometer having two coils or circuits, usually equal, through which currents passing in opposite directions are measured by the difference of their effect upon the needle. -- Differential gearing , a train of toothed wheels, usually an epicyclic train, so arranged as to constitute a differential motion . -- Differential motion , a mechanism in which a simple differential combination produces such a change of motion or force as would, with ordinary compound arrangements, require a considerable train of parts. It is used for overcoming great resistance or producing very slow or very rapid motion. -- Differential pulley . (Machinery) (a) A portable hoisting apparatus, the same in principle as the differential windlass. (b) A hoisting pulley to which power is applied through a differential gearing. -- Differential screw , a compound screw by which a motion is produced equal to the difference of the motions of the component screws. -- Differential thermometer , a thermometer usually with a U-shaped tube terminating in two air bulbs, and containing a colored liquid, used for indicating the difference between the temperatures to which the two bulbs are exposed, by the change of position of the colored fluid, in consequence of the different expansions of the air in the bulbs. A graduated scale is attached to one leg of the tube. -- Differential windlass , or Chinese windlass , a windlass whose barrel has two parts of different diameters. The hoisting rope winds upon one part as it unwinds from the other, and a pulley sustaining the weight to be lifted hangs in the bight of the rope. It is an ancient example of a differential motion.

Differential Dif`fer·en"tial noun 1. (Math.) An increment, usually an indefinitely small one, which is given to a variable quantity.

» According to the more modern writers upon the differential and integral calculus, if two or more quantities are dependent on each other, and subject to increments of value, their differentials need not be small, but are any quantities whose ratios to each other are the limits to which the ratios of the increments approximate, as these increments are reduced nearer and nearer to zero.

2. A small difference in rates which competing railroad lines, in establishing a common tariff, allow one of their number to make, in order to get a fair share of the business. The lower rate is called a differential rate. Differentials are also sometimes granted to cities.

3. (Electricity) (a) One of two coils of conducting wire so related to one another or to a magnet or armature common to both, that one coil produces polar action contrary to that of the other. (b) A form of conductor used for dividing and distributing the current to a series of electric lamps so as to maintain equal action in all. Knight.

Partial differential (Math.) , the differential of a function of two or more variables, when only one of the variables receives an increment. -- Total differential (Math.) , the differential of a function of two or more variables, when each of the variables receives an increment. The total differential of the function is the sum of all the partial differentials .

Differentially Dif`fer·en"tial·ly adverb In the way of differentiation.

Differentiate Dif`fer·en"ti·ate transitive verb 1. To distinguish or mark by a specific difference; to effect a difference in, as regards classification; to develop differential characteristics in; to specialize; to desynonymize.

The word then was differentiated into the two forms then and than .

Earle.

Two or more of the forms assumed by the same original word become differentiated in signification.

Dr. Murray.

2. To express the specific difference of; to describe the properties of (a thing) whereby it is differenced from another of the same class; to discriminate. Earle.

3. (Math.) To obtain the differential, or differential coefficient, of; as, to differentiate an algebraic expression, or an equation.

Differentiate Dif`fer·en"ti·ate intransitive verb (Biol.) To acquire a distinct and separate character. Huxley.

Differentiation Dif`fer·en`ti·a"tion noun 1. The act of differentiating.

Further investigation of the Sanskrit may lead to differentiation of the meaning of such of these roots as are real roots.

J. Peile.

2. (Logic) The act of distinguishing or describing a thing, by giving its different, or specific difference; exact definition or determination.

3. (Biol.) The gradual formation or production of organs or parts by a process of evolution or development, as when the seed develops the root and the stem, the initial stem develops the leaf, branches, and flower buds; or in animal life, when the germ evolves the digestive and other organs and members, or when the animals as they advance in organization acquire special organs for specific purposes.

4. (Metaph.) The supposed act or tendency in being of every kind, whether organic or inorganic, to assume or produce a more complex structure or functions.

Differentiator Dif`fer·en"ti·a`tor noun One who, or that which, differentiates.

Differently Dif"fer·ent·ly adverb In a different manner; variously.

Differingly Dif"fer·ing·ly adverb In a differing or different manner. Boyle.

Difficile Dif"fi·cile adjective [ Latin difficilis : confer French difficile . See Difficult .] Difficult; hard to manage; stubborn. [ Obsolete] -- Dif"fi*cile*ness , noun [ Obsolete] Bacon.

Difficilitate Dif`fi·cil"i·tate transitive verb To make difficult. [ Obsolete] W. Montagu.

Difficult Dif"fi·cult adjective [ From Difficulty .] 1. Hard to do or to make; beset with difficulty; attended with labor, trouble, or pains; not easy; arduous.

» Difficult implies the notion that considerable mental effort or skill is required, or that obstacles are to be overcome which call for sagacity and skill in the agent; as, a difficult task; hard work is not always difficult work; a difficult operation in surgery; a difficult passage in an author.

There is not the strength or courage left me to venture into the wide, strange, and difficult world, alone.

Hawthorne.

2. Hard to manage or to please; not easily wrought upon; austere; stubborn; as, a difficult person.

Syn. -- Arduous; painful; crabbed; perplexed; laborious; unaccommodating; troublesome. See Arduous .

Difficult Dif"fi·cult transitive verb To render difficult; to impede; to perplex. [ R.] Sir W. Temple.

Difficultate Dif"fi·cult·ate transitive verb To render difficult; to difficilitate. [ Obsolete] Cotgrave.

Difficultly Dif"fi·cult·ly adverb With difficulty. Cowper.

Difficultness Dif"fi·cult·ness noun Difficulty. [ R.] Golding.

Difficulty Dif"fi·cul·ty noun ; plural Difficulties . [ Latin difficultas , from difficilis difficult; dif- = dis- + facilis easy: confer French difficulté . See Facile .] 1. The state of being difficult, or hard to do; hardness; arduousness; -- opposed to easiness or facility ; as, the difficulty of a task or enterprise; a work of difficulty .

Not being able to promote them [ the interests of life] on account of the difficulty of the region.

James Byrne.

2. Something difficult; a thing hard to do or to understand; that which occasions labor or perplexity, and requires skill and perseverance to overcome, solve, or achieve; a hard enterprise; an obstacle; an impediment; as, the difficulties of a science; difficulties in theology.

They lie under some difficulties by reason of the emperor's displeasure.

Addison.

3. A controversy; a falling out; a disagreement; an objection; a cavil.

Measures for terminating all local difficulties .

Bancroft.

4. Embarrassment of affairs, especially financial affairs; -- usually in the plural; as, to be in difficulties .

In days of difficulty and pressure.

Tennyson.

Syn. -- Impediment; obstacle; obstruction; embarrassment; perplexity; exigency; distress; trouble; trial; objection; cavil. See Impediment .

Diffide Dif·fide" intransitive verb [ Latin diffidere . See Diffident .] To be distrustful. [ Obsolete] Dr. H. More.

Diffidence Dif"fi·dence noun [ Latin diffidentia .] 1. The state of being diffident; distrust; want of confidence; doubt of the power, ability, or disposition of others. [ Archaic]

That affliction grew heavy upon me, and weighed me down even to a diffidence of God's mercy.

Donne.

2. Distrust of one's self or one's own powers; lack of self-reliance; modesty; modest reserve; bashfulness.

It is good to speak on such questions with diffidence .

Macaulay.

An Englishman's habitual diffidence and awkwardness of address.

W. Irving.

Syn. -- Humility; bashfulness; distrust; suspicion; doubt; fear; timidity; apprehension; hesitation. See Humility , and Bashfulness .

Diffidency Dif"fi·den·cy noun See Diffidence . [ Obsolete]

Diffident Dif"fi·dent adjective [ Latin diffidens , -entis , present participle of diffidere ; dif- = dis + fidere to trust; akin to fides faith. See Faith , and confer Defy .] 1. Wanting confidence in others; distrustful. [ Archaic]

You were always extremely diffident of their success.

Melmoth.

2. Wanting confidence in one's self; distrustful of one's own powers; not self-reliant; timid; modest; bashful; characterized by modest reserve.

The diffident maidens,
Folding their hands in prayer.

Longfellow.

Syn. -- Distrustful; suspicious; hesitating; doubtful; modest; bashful; lowly; reserved.

Diffidently Dif"fi·dent·ly adverb In a diffident manner.

To stand diffidently against each other with their thoughts in battle array.

Hobbes.

Diffind Dif·find transitive verb [ Latin diffindere , diffissum ; dif- = dis- + findere to split.] To split. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Diffine Dif·fine" transitive verb To define. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Diffinitive Dif·fin"i·tive adjective [ For definitive .] Definitive; determinate; final. [ Obsolete] Sir H. Wotton.

Diffission Dif·fis"sion noun [ See Diffind .] Act of cleaving or splitting. [ R.] Bailey.

Difflation Dif·fla"tion noun [ Late Latin difflatio , from Latin difflare , difflatum , to disperse by blowing.] A blowing apart or away. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Diffluence, Diffluency Dif"flu·ence, Dif"flu·en·cy noun A flowing off on all sides; fluidity. [ R.]

Diffluent Dif"flu·ent adjective [ Latin diffluens , present participle of diffluere to flow off; dif- = dis- + fluere to flow.] Flowing apart or off; dissolving; not fixed. [ R.] Bailey.

Difform Dif"form` adjective [ Confer French difforme , from Latin dif- = dis- + forma form. Confer Deform .] Irregular in form; -- opposed to uniform ; anomalous; hence, unlike; dissimilar; as, to difform corolla, the parts of which do not correspond in size or proportion; difform leaves.

The unequal refractions of difform rays.

Sir I. Newton.

Difformity Dif·form"i·ty noun [ Confer French difformité . See Difform , Deformity .] Irregularity of form; diversity of form; want of uniformity. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Diffract Dif·fract" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Diffracted ; present participle & verbal noun Diffracting .] [ Latin diffractus , past participle of diffringere to break in pieces; dif- = dis- + frangere to break. See Fracture .] To break or separate into parts; to deflect, or decompose by deflection, a... rays of light.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter D > Page 63 of 135.
« Previous ¦55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 ¦ Next »