Diorama Di`o·ra"ma noun [ Greek ... to see through; ... = dia` through + ... to see; confer ... that which is seen, a sight: confer French diorama . Confer Panorama .] 1. A mode of scenic representation, invented by Daguerre and Bouton, in which a painting is seen from a distance through a large opening. By a combination of transparent and opaque painting, and of transmitted and reflected light, and by contrivances such as screens and shutters, much diversity of scenic effect is produced.

2. A building used for such an exhibition.

Dioramic Di`o·ram"ic adjective Pertaining to a diorama.

Diorism Di"o·rism noun [ Greek ..., from ... to distinguish; ... = dia` through + ... to divide from, from ... a boundary.] Definition; logical direction. [ Obsolete] Dr. H. More.

Dioristic Di`o·ris"tic adjective [ Greek ....] Distinguishing; distinctive; defining. [ R.] -- Di`o*ris"tic*al*ly adverb [ R.] Dr. H. More.

Diorite Di"o·rite noun [ Confer French diorite . See Diorism .] (Min.) An igneous, crystalline in structure, consisting essentially of a triclinic feldspar and hornblende. It includes part of what was called greenstone.

Dioritic Di`o·rit"ic adjective Containing diorite.

Diorthotic Di`or·thot"ic adjective [ Greek ...; ... = ... + ... to set straight.] Relating to the correcting or straightening out of something; corrective.

Dioscorea Di`os·co"re·a noun [ New Latin Named after Dioscorides the Greek physician.] (Botany) A genus of plants. See Yam .

Diota Di·o"ta noun [ Latin , from Greek ... two- handled; di- = di`s- twice + ..., ..., ear, handle.] (Rom. Antiq.) A vase or drinking cup having two handles or ears.

Dioxide Di·ox"ide noun [ Prefix di- + oxide .] (Chemistry) (a) An oxide containing two atoms of oxygen in each molecule; binoxide. (b) An oxide containing but one atom or equivalent of oxygen to two of a metal; a suboxide. [ Obsolete]

Carbon dioxide . See Carbonic acid , under Carbonic .

Dioxindol Di`ox·in"dol noun [ Prefix di- + ox ygen + indol .] (Chemistry) A white, crystalline, nitrogenous substance obtained by the reduction of isatin. It is a member of the indol series; -- hence its name.

Dip Dip transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Dipped or Dipt ; present participle & verbal noun Dipping .] [ Middle English dippen , duppen , Anglo-Saxon dyppan ; akin to Danish dyppe , Swedish doppa , and to Anglo-Saxon d...pan to baptize, Old Saxon d...pian , Dutch doopen , German taufen , Swedish döpa , Goth. daupjan , Lithuanian dubus deep, hollow, OSlav. dupl... hollow, and to English dive . Confer Deep , Dive .] 1. To plunge or immerse; especially, to put for a moment into a liquid; to insert into a fluid and withdraw again.

The priest shall dip his finger in the blood.

Lev. iv. 6.

[ Wat'ry fowl] now dip their pinions in the briny deep.

Pope.

While the prime swallow dips his wing.

Tennyson.

2. To immerse for baptism; to baptize by immersion. Book of Common Prayer. Fuller.

3. To wet, as if by immersing; to moisten. [ Poetic]

A cold shuddering dew
Dips me all o'er.

Milton.

4. To plunge or engage thoroughly in any affair.

He was . . . dipt in the rebellion of the Commons.

Dryden.

5. To take out, by dipping a dipper, ladle, or other receptacle, into a fluid and removing a part; -- often with out ; as, to dip water from a boiler; to dip out water.

6. To engage as a pledge; to mortgage. [ Obsolete]

Live on the use and never dip thy lands.

Dryden.

Dipped candle , a candle made by repeatedly dipping a wick in melted tallow. -- To dip snuff , to take snuff by rubbing it on the gums and teeth. [ Southern U. S.] -- To dip the colors (Nautical) , to lower the colors and return them to place; -- a form of naval salute.

Dip Dip intransitive verb 1. To immerse one's self; to become plunged in a liquid; to sink.

The sun's rim dips ; the stars rush out.

Coleridge.

2. To perform the action of plunging some receptacle, as a dipper, ladle. etc.; into a liquid or a soft substance and removing a part.

Whoever dips too deep will find death in the pot.

L'Estrange.

3. To pierce; to penetrate; -- followed by in or into .

When I dipt into the future.

Tennyson.

4. To enter slightly or cursorily; to engage one's self desultorily or by the way; to partake limitedly; -- followed by in or into . " Dipped into a multitude of books." Macaulay.

5. To incline downward from the plane of the horizon; as, strata of rock dip .

6. To dip snuff. [ Southern U.S.]

Dip Dip noun 1. The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a liquid. "The dip of oars in unison." Glover.

2. Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line; slope; pitch.

3. A liquid, as a sauce or gravy, served at table with a ladle or spoon. [ Local, U.S.] Bartlett.

4. A dipped candle. [ Colloq.] Marryat.

Dip of the horizon (Astron.) , the angular depression of the seen or visible horizon below the true or natural horizon; the angle at the eye of an observer between a horizontal line and a tangent drawn from the eye to the surface of the ocean. -- Dip of the needle , or Magnetic dip , the angle formed, in a vertical plane, by a freely suspended magnetic needle, or the line of magnetic force, with a horizontal line; -- called also inclination . -- Dip of a stratum (Geol.) , its greatest angle of inclination to the horizon, or that of a line perpendicular to its direction or strike; -- called also the pitch .

Dip Dip noun 1. A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms.

2. In the turpentine industry, the viscid exudation, which is dipped out from incisions in the trees; as, virgin dip (the runnings of the first year), yellow dip (the runnings of subsequent years).

3. (Aëronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.

Dipaschal Di·pas"chal adjective [ Prefix di- + paschal .] Including two passovers. Carpenter.

Dipchick Dip"chick` noun (Zoology) See Dabchick .

Dipetalous Di·pet"al·ous adjective [ Prefix di- + petalous .] (Botany) Having two petals; two- petaled.

Diphenyl Di·phe"nyl noun [ Prefix di- + phenyl .] (Chemistry) A white crystalline substance, C ₆ H ₅ .C ₆ H ₅ , obtained by leading benzene through a heated iron tube. It consists of two benzene or phenyl radicals united.

Diphtheria Diph·the"ri·a noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... leather (hence taken in the sense of membrane ): confer ... to make soft, Latin depsere to knead.] (Medicine) A very dangerous contagious disease in which the air passages, and especially the throat, become coated with a false membrane, produced by the solidification of an inflammatory exudation. Confer Group .

Diphtherial, Diphtheric Diph·the"ri·al, Diph·ther"ic adjective Relating to diphtheria; diphtheritic.

Diphtheritic Diph`the·rit"ic adjective (Medicine) 1. Pertaining to, or connected with, diphtheria.

2. Having characteristics resembling those of diphtheria; as, diphtheritic inflammation of the bladder.

Diphthong Diph"thong noun [ Latin diphthongus , Greek ...; di- = di`s- twice + ... voice, sound, from ... to utter a sound: confer French diphthongue .] (Orthoëpy) (a) A coalition or union of two vowel sounds pronounced in one syllable; as, ou in out , oi in noise ; -- called a proper diphthong . (b) A vowel digraph; a union of two vowels in the same syllable, only one of them being sounded; as, ai in rain , eo in people ; -- called an improper diphthong .

Diphthong Diph"thong transitive verb To form or pronounce as a diphthong; diphthongize. [ R.]

Diphthongal Diph·thon"gal adjective Relating or belonging to a diphthong; having the nature of a diphthong. -- Diph*thon"gal*ly , adverb

Diphthongalize Diph·thon"gal·ize transitive verb To make into a diphthong; to pronounce as a diphthong.

Diphthongation Diph`thon·ga"tion noun See Diphthongization .

Diphthongic Diph·thong"ic adjective Of the nature of diphthong; diphthongal. H. Sweet.

Diphthongization Diph`thong·i·za"tion noun The act of changing into a diphthong. H. Sweet.

Diphthongize Diph"thong·ize transitive verb & i. To change into a diphthong, as by affixing another vowel to a simple vowel. "The diphthongized long vowels." H. Sweet.

Diphycercal Diph`y·cer"cal adjective [ Greek difyh`s double ( di- = di`s- twice + fy`ein to produce) + ke`rkos tail.] (Anat.) Having the tail fin divided into two equal parts by the notochord, or end of the vertebral column; protocercal. See Protocercal .

Diphygenic Diph`y·gen"ic (-jĕn"ĭk) adjective [ Greek difyh`s of double form + - genic .] (Zoology) Having two modes of embryonic development.
[ 1913 Webster]

Diphyllous Diph"yl·lous (dĭf"ĭl*lŭs or di*fĭl"-) adjective [ Greek di- = di`s- twice + fy`llon leaf: confer French diphylle .] (Botany) Having two leaves, as a calyx, etc.
[ 1913 Webster]

Diphyodont Diph"y·o·dont adjective [ Greek ... double ( di- = di`s- twice + ... to produce) + 'odoy`s , 'odo`ntos , tooth.] (Anat.) Having two successive sets of teeth (deciduous and permanent), one succeeding the other; as, a diphyodont mammal; diphyodont dentition; -- opposed to monophyodont . -- noun An animal having two successive sets of teeth.

Diphyozooid Diph`y·o·zo"oid noun [ Greek ... of double from + English zooid .] (Zoology) One of the free-swimming sexual zooids of Siphonophora.

Diplanar Di·pla"nar adjective [ Prefix di- + plane .] (Math.) Of or pertaining to two planes.

Dipleidoscope Di·plei"do·scope noun [ Greek ... double + ... image + -scope .] (Astron.) An instrument for determining the time of apparent noon. It consists of two mirrors and a plane glass disposed in the form of a prism, so that, by the reflections of the sun's rays from their surfaces, two images are presented to the eye, moving in opposite directions, and coinciding at the instant the sun's center is on the meridian.

Diplex Di"plex adjective [ Prefix di- + - plex , as in du plex .] (Teleg.) Pertaining to the sending of two messages in the same direction at the same time. Diplex and contraplex are the two varieties of duplex .

Diploblastic Dip`lo·blas"tic adjective [ Greek ... doublet + -blast + -ic .] (Biol.) Characterizing the ovum when it has two primary germinal layers.

Diplocardiac Dip`lo·car"di·ac adjective [ Greek ... double + English cardiac .] (Anat.) Having the heart completely divided or double, one side systemic, the other pulmonary.

Diplococcus Dip`lo·coc"cus noun ; plural Diplococci . [ New Latin , from Greek diplo`os twofold + ko`kkos grain, seed.] (Biol.) A form of micrococcus in which cocci are united in a binary manner. See Micrococcus .

Diploë Dip"lo·ë noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... fold, from ... twofold, double.] (Anat.) The soft, spongy, or cancellated substance between the plates of the skull.

Diploetic Dip`lo·et"ic adjective (Anat.) Diploic.

Diplogenic Dip`lo·gen"ic adjective [ Greek ... double + the root of ... to produce.] Partaking of the nature of two bodies; producing two substances. Wright.

Diplograph Dip"lo·graph noun [ Greek ... double + -graph .] An instrument used for double writing, as one for producing embossed writing for the blind and ordinary writing at the same time. -- Dip`lo*graph"ic*al adjective -- Dip*log"ra*phy noun

Diploic Di·plo"ic adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the diploë.

Diploid Dip"loid noun [ Greek ... twofold + -oid .] (Crystallog.) A solid bounded by twenty- four similar quadrilateral faces. It is a hemihedral form of the hexoctahedron.

Diploma Di·plo"ma noun ; plural Diplomas . [ Latin , from Greek ..., from ... to double, from ... twofold. See Double .] A letter or writing, usually under seal, conferring some privilege, honor, or power; a document bearing record of a degree conferred by a literary society or educational institution.

Diplomacy Di·plo"ma·cy noun [ French diplomatie . This word, like supremacy , retains the accent of its original. See Diploma .] 1. The art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations (particularly in securing treaties), including the methods and forms usually employed.

2. Dexterity or skill in securing advantages; tact.

3. The body of ministers or envoys resident at a court; the diplomatic body. [ R.] Burke.

Diplomat, Diplomate Dip"lo·mat, Dip"lo·mate noun [ French diplomate .] A diplomatist.

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 70 of 135.
« Previous ¦62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 ¦ Next »