Chapter CXXXIII: Conclusion: Con*clu"sion, n. Etym: F., fr. L. conclusio. See Conclude (42)

2. Distracted; perplexed. "Distraught twixt fear and pity." Spenser. As if thou wert distraught and mad with terror. Shak. To doubt betwixt our senses and our souls Which are the most distraught and full of pain. Mrs. Browning.

DISTRAUGHTED Dis*traught"ed, a.

Defn: Distracted. [Obs.] Spenser.

DISTREAM Dis*tream", v. i. Etym: [Pref. dis- (intens.) + stream.]

Defn: To flow. [Poetic] Yet o'er that virtuous blush distreams a tear. Shenstone.

DISTRESS Dis*tress", n. Etym: [OE. destresse, distresse, OF. destresse, destrece, F. détresse, OF. destrecier to distress, (assumed) LL. districtiare, fr. L. districtus, p. p. of distringere. See Distrain, and cf. Stress.]

1. Extreme pain or suffering; anguish of body or mind; as, to suffer distress from the gout, or from the loss of friends. Not fearing death nor shrinking for distress. Shak.

2. That which occasions suffering; painful situation; misfortune; affliction; misery. Affliction's sons are brothers in distress. Burns.

3. A state of danger or necessity; as, a ship in distress, from leaking, loss of spars, want of provisions or water, etc.

4. (Law) (a) The act of distraining; the taking of a personal chattel out of the possession of a wrongdoer, by way of pledge for redress of an injury, or for the performance of a duty, as for nonpayment of rent or taxes, or for injury done by cattle, etc. (b) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction. Bouvier. Kent. Burrill. If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle. Spenser. The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for. Blackstone. Abuse of distress. (Law) See under Abuse.

Syn. -- Affliction; suffering; pain; agony; misery; torment; anguish; grief; sorrow; calamity; misfortune; trouble; adversity. See Affliction.

DISTRESS Dis*tress", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Distressing.] Etym: [Cf. OF. destrecier. See Distress, n.]

1. To cause pain or anguish to; to pain; to oppress with calamity; to afflict; to harass; to make miserable. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. 2 Cor. iv. 8.

2. To compel by pain or suffering. Men who can neither be distressed nor won into a sacrifice of duty. A. Hamilton.

3. (Law)

Defn: To seize for debt; to distrain.

Syn. -- To pain; grieve; harass; trouble; perplex; afflict; worry; annoy.

DISTRESSEDNESS Dis*tress"ed*ness, n.

Defn: A state of being distressed or greatly pained.

DISTRESSFUL Dis*tress"ful, a.

Defn: Full of distress; causing, indicating, or attended with, distress; as, a distressful situation. "Some distressful stroke." Shak. "Distressful cries." Pope. -- Dis*tress"ful*ly, adv.

DISTRESSING Dis*tress"ing, a.

Defn: Causing distress; painful; unpleasant.

DISTRESSING Dis*tress"ing, adv.

Defn: In a distressing manner.

DISTRIBUTABLE Dis*trib"u*ta*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being distributed. Sir W. Jones.

DISTRIBUTARY Dis*trib"u*ta*ry, a.

Defn: Tending to distribute or be distributed; that distributes; distributive.

DISTRIBUTE Dis*trib"ute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Distributing.] Etym: [L. distributus, p. p. of distribuere to divide, distribute; dis- + tribuere to assign, give, allot. See Tribute.]

1. To divide among several or many; to deal out; to apportion; to allot. She did distribute her goods to all them that were nearest of kindred. Judith xvi. 24.

2. To dispense; to administer; as, to distribute justice. Shak.

3. To divide or separate, as into classes, orders, kinds, or species; to classify; to assort, as specimens, letters, etc.

4. (Printing) (a) To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases. (b) To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table.

5. (Logic)

Defn: To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise. A term is said to be distributed when it is taken universal, so as to stand for everything it is capable of being applied to. Whately.

Syn. -- To dispense; deal out; apportion; allot; share; assign; divide.

DISTRIBUTE Dis*trib"ute, v. i.

Defn: To make distribution. Distributing to the necessity of saints. Rom. xii. 13.

DISTRIBUTER Dis*trib"u*ter, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, distributes or deals out anything; a dispenser. Addison.

DISTRIBUTING Dis*trib"u*ting, a.

Defn: That distributes; dealing out. Distributing past office, an office where the mails for a large district are collected to be assorted according to their destination and forwarded.

DISTRIBUTION Dis`tri*bu"tion, n. Etym: [L. distributio: cf. F. distribution.]

1. The act of distributing or dispensing; the act of dividing or apportioning among several or many; apportionment; as, the distribution of an estate among heirs or children. The phenomena of geological distribution are exactly analogous to those of geography. A. R. Wallace.

2. Separation into parts or classes; arrangement of anything into parts; disposition; classification.

3. That which is distributed. "Our charitable distributions." Atterbury.

4. (Logic)

Defn: A resolving a whole into its parts.

5. (Print.)

Defn: The sorting of types and placing them in their proper boxes in the cases.

6. (Steam Engine)

Defn: The steps or operations by which steam is supplied to and withdrawn from the cylinder at each stroke of the piston; viz., admission, suppression or cutting off, release or exhaust, and compression of exhaust steam prior to the next admission. Geographical distribution, the natural arrangements of animals and plants in particular regions or districts.

Syn. -- Apportionments; allotment; dispensation; disposal; dispersion; classification; arrangement.

DISTRIBUTIONAL Dis`tri*bu"tion*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to distribution. Huxley.

DISTRIBUTIONIST Dis`tri*bu"tion*ist, n.

Defn: A distributer. [R.] Dickens.

DISTRIBUTIVE Dis*trib"u*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. distributif.]

1. Tending to distribute; serving to divide and assign in portions; dealing to each his proper share. "Distributive justice." Swift.

2. (Logic)

Defn: Assigning the species of a general term.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: Expressing separation; denoting a taking singly, not collectively; as, a distributive adjective or pronoun, such as each, either, every; a distributive numeral, as (Latin) bini (two by two). Distributive operation (Math.), any operation which either consists of two or more parts, or works upon two or more things, and which is such that the result of the total operation is the same as the aggregated result of the two or more partial operations. Ordinary multiplication is distributive, since a × (b + c) = ab + ac, and (a + b) × c = ac + bc. -- Distributive proportion. (Math.) See Fellowship.

DISTRIBUTIVE Dis*trib"u*tive, n. (Gram.)

Defn: A distributive adjective or pronoun; also, a distributive numeral.

DISTRIBUTIVELY Dis*trib"u*tive*ly, adv.

Defn: By distribution; singly; not collectively; in a distributive manner.

DISTRIBUTIVENESS Dis*trib"u*tive*ness, n.

Defn: Quality of being distributive.

DISTRIBUTOR Dis*trib"u*tor, n. [L.] One that distributes; a distributer; specif.: (a) A machine for distributing type. (b) An appliance, as a roller, in a printing press, for distributing ink. (c) An apparatus for distributing an electric current, either to various points in rotation, as in some motors, or along two or more lines in parallel, as in a distributing system.

DISTRICT Dis"trict, a. Etym: [L. districtus, p. p.]

Defn: Rigorous; stringent; harsh. [Obs.] Punishing with the rod of district severity. Foxe.

DISTRICT Dis"trict, n. Etym: [LL. districtus district, fr. L. districtus, p. p. of distringere: cf. F. district. See Distrain.]

1. (Feudal Law)

Defn: The territory within which the lord has the power of coercing and punishing.

2. A division of territory; a defined portion of a state, town, or city, etc., made for administrative, electoral, or other purposes; as, a congressional district, judicial district, land district, school district, etc. To exercise exclusive legislation . . . over such district not exceeding ten miles square. The Constitution of the United States.

3. Any portion of territory of undefined extent; a region; a country; a tract. These districts which between the tropics lie. Blackstone. Congressional district. See under Congressional. -- District attorney, the prosecuting officer of a district or district court. -- District court, a subordinate municipal, state, or United States tribunal, having jurisdiction in certain cases within a judicial district. -- District judge, one who presides over a district court. -- District school, a public school for the children within a school district. [U.S.]

Syn. -- Division; circuit; quarter; province; tract; region; country.

DISTRICT Dis"trict, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Districted; p. pr. & vb. n. Districting.]

Defn: To divide into districts or limited portions of territory; as, legislatures district States for the choice of representatives.

DISTRICTION Dis*tric"tion, n. Etym: [L. districtio a stretching out.]

Defn: Sudden display; flash; glitter. [R.] A smile . . . breaks out with the brightest distriction. Collier.

DISTRICTLY Dis"trict*ly, adv.

Defn: Strictly. [Obs.] Foxe.

DISTRINGAS Dis*trin"gas, n. Etym: [L., that you distrain, fr. distringere. See Distrain.] (Law)

Defn: A writ commanding the sheriff to distrain a person by his goods or chattels, to compel a compliance with something required of him.

DISTROUBLE Dis*trou"ble, v. t. Etym: [Pref. dis- (intens.) + trouble.]

Defn: To trouble. [Obs.] Spenser.

DISTRUST Dis*trust", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distrusted; p. pr. & vb. n. Distrusting.] Etym: [Cf. Mistrust.]

Defn: To feel absence of trust in; not to confide in or rely upon; to deem of questionable sufficiency or reality; to doubt; to be suspicious of; to mistrust. Not distrusting my health. 2 Mac. ix. 22. To distrust the justice of your cause. Dryden. He that requireth the oath doth distrust that other. Udall. Of all afraid, Distrusting all, a wise, suspicious maid. Collins.

Note: Mistrust has been almost wholly driven out by distrust. T. L. K. Oliphant.

DISTRUST Dis*trust", n.

1. Doubt of sufficiency, reality, or sincerity; want of confidence, faith, or reliance; as, distrust of one's power, authority, will, purposes, schemes, etc.

2. Suspicion of evil designs. Alienation and distrust . . . are the growth of false principles. D. Webster.

3. State of being suspected; loss of trust. Milton.

DISTRUSTER Dis*trust"er, n.

Defn: One who distrusts.

DISTRUSTFUL Dis*trust"ful, a.

1. Not confident; diffident; wanting confidence or thrust; modest; as, distrustful of ourselves, of one's powers. Distrustful sense with modest caution speaks. Pope.

2. Apt to distrust; suspicious; mistrustful. Boyle. -- Dis*trust"ful*ly, adv. -- Dis*trust"ful*ness, n.

DISTRUSTING Dis*trust"ing, a.

Defn: That distrusts; suspicious; lacking confidence in. -- Dis*trust"ing*ly, adv.

DISTRUSTLESS Dis*trust"less, a.

Defn: Free from distrust. Shenstone.

DISTUNE Dis*tune", v. t.

Defn: To put out of tune. [Obs.]

DISTURB Dis*turb", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disturbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Disturbing.] Etym: [OE. desturben, destourben, OF. destorber, desturber, destourber, fr. L. disturbare, disturbatum; dis- + turbare to disturb, trouble, turba disorder, tumult, crowd. See Turbid.]

1. To throw into disorder or confusion; to derange; to interrupt the settled state of; to excite from a state of rest. Preparing to disturb With all-cofounding war the realms above. Cowper. The bellow's noise disturbed his quiet rest. Spenser. The utmost which the discontented colonies could do, was to disturb authority. Burke.

2. To agitate the mind of; to deprive of tranquillity; to disquiet; to render uneasy; as, a person is disturbed by receiving an insult, or his mind is disturbed by envy.

3. To turn from a regular or designed course. [Obs.] And disturb His inmost counsels from their destined aim. Milton.

Syn. -- To disorder; disquiet; agitate; discompose; molest; perplex; trouble; incommode; ruffle.

DISTURB Dis*turb", n.

Defn: Disturbance. [Obs.] Milton.

DISTURBANCE Dis*turb"ance, n. Etym: [OF. destorbance.]

1. An interruption of a state of peace or quiet; derangement of the regular course of things; disquiet; disorder; as, a disturbance of religious exercises; a disturbance of the galvanic current.

2. Confusion of the mind; agitation of the feelings; perplexity; uneasiness. Any man . . . in a state of disturbance and irritation. Burke.

3. Violent agitation in the body politic; public commotion; tumult. The disturbance was made to support a general accusation against the province. Bancroft.

4. (Law)

Defn: The hindering or disquieting of a person in the lawful and peaceable enjoyment of his right; the interruption of a right; as, the disturbance of a franchise, of common, of ways, and the like. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Tumult; brawl; commotion; turmoil; uproar; hubbub; disorder; derangement; confusion; agitation; perturbation; annoyance.

DISTURBATION Dis`tur*ba"tion, n. Etym: [L. disturbatio.]

Defn: Act of disturbing; disturbance. [Obs.] Daniel.

DISTURBER Dis*turb"er, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. destorbeor.]

1. One who, or that which, disturbs of disquiets; a violator of peace; a troubler. A needless disturber of the peace of God's church and an author of dissension. Hooker.

2. (Law)

Defn: One who interrupts or incommodes another in the peaceable enjoyment of his right.

DISTURN Dis*turn", v. t. Etym: [OF. destourner, F. détourner. See Detour.]

Defn: To turn aside. [Obs.] Daniel.

DISTYLE Dis"tyle, a. Etym: [Gr. distyle.] (Arch.)

Defn: Having two columns in front; -- said of a temple, portico, or the like. Distyle in antis, having columns between two antæ. See Anta.

DISULPHATE Di*sul"phate, n. Etym: [Pref. di- + sulphate.] (Chem.) (a) A salt of disulphuric or pyrosulphuric acid; a pyrosulphate. (b) An acid salt of sulphuric acid, having only one equivalent of base to two of the acid.

DISULPHIDE Di*sul"phide (; 104), n. Etym: [Pref. di- + sulphide.] (Chem.)

Defn: A binary compound of sulphur containing two atoms of sulphur in each molecule; -- formerly called disulphuret. Cf. Bisulphide.

DISULPHURET Di*sul"phu*ret, n. Etym: [Pref. di- + sulphuret.] (Chem.)

Defn: See Disulphide.

DISULPHURIC Di`sul*phu"ric, a. Etym: [Pref. di- + sulphuric.] (Chem.)

Defn: Applied to an acid having in each molecule two atoms of sulphur in the higher state of oxidation. Disulphuric acid, a thick oily liquid, H2S2O7, called also Nordhausen acid (from Nordhausen in the Harts, where it was originally manufactured), fuming sulphuric acid, and especially pyrosulphuric acid. See under Pyrosulphuric.

DISUNIFORM Dis*u"ni*form, a.

Defn: Not uniform. [Obs.]

DISUNION Dis*un"ion, n. Etym: [Pref. dis- + union: cf. F. désunion.]

1. The termination of union; separation; disjunction; as, the disunion of the body and the soul.

2. A breach of concord and its effect; alienation. Such a disunion between the two houses as might much clouClarendon.

3. The termination or disruption of the union of the States forming the United States. I have not accustomed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion. D. Webster.

DISUNIONIST Dis*un"ion*ist, n.

Defn: An advocate of disunion, specifically, of disunion of the United States.

DISUNITE Dis`u*nite", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disunited; p. pr. & vb. n. Disuniting.]

1. To destroy the union of; to divide; to part; to sever; to disjoin; to sunder; to separate; as, to disunite particles of matter.

2. To alienate in spirit; to break the concord of. Go on both in hand, O nations, never be disunited, be the praise . . . of all posterity! Milton.

DISUNITE Dis`u*nite", v. i.

Defn: To part; to fall asunder; to become separated. The joints of the body politic do separate and disunite. South.

DISUNITER Dis`u*nit"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, disjoins or causes disunion.

DISUNITY Dis*u"ni*ty, n.

Defn: A state of separation or disunion; want of unity. Dr. H. More.

DISUSAGE Dis*us"age, n.

Defn: Gradual cessation of use or custom; neglect of use; disuse. [R.] Hooker.

DISUSE Dis*use" (; see Dis-), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disused; p. pr. & vb. n. Disusing.]

1. To cease to use; to discontinue the practice of.

2. To disaccustom; -- with to or from; as, disused to toil. "Disuse me from . . . pain." Donne.

DISUSE Dis*use", n.

Defn: Cessation of use, practice, or exercise; inusitation; desuetude; as, the limbs lose their strength by disuse. The disuse of the tongue in the only . . . remedy. Addison. Church discipline then fell into disuse. Southey.

DISUTILIZE Dis*u"til*ize, v. t.

Defn: To deprive of utility; to render useless. [R.] Mrs. Browning.

DISVALUATION Dis*val`u*a"tion, n.

Defn: Disesteem; depreciation; disrepute. Bacon.

DISVALUE Dis*val"ue (; see Dis-), v. t.

Defn: To undervalue; to depreciate. Shak.

DISVALUE Dis*val"ue, n.

Defn: Disesteem; disregard. B. Jonson.

DISVANTAGEOUS Dis`van*ta"geous, a. Etym: [Pref. dis- + vantage.]

Defn: Disadvantageous. [Obs.] "Disadvantageous ground." Drayton.

DISVELOP Dis*vel"op, v. t.

Defn: To develop. [Obs.]

DISVENTURE Dis*ven"ture, n.

Defn: A disadventure. [Obs.] Shelton.

DISVOUCH Dis*vouch", v. t.

Defn: To discredit; to contradict. [Obs.] Shak.

DISWARN Dis*warn", v. t. Etym: [Pref. dis- (intens.) + warn.]

Defn: To dissuade from by previous warning. [Obs.]

DISWITTED Dis*wit"ted, a.

Defn: Deprived of wits or understanding; distracted. [Obs.] Drayton.

DISWONT Dis*wont", v. t.

Defn: To deprive of wonted usage; to disaccustom. [R.] Bp. Hall.

DISWORKMANSHIP Dis*work"man*ship, n.

Defn: Bad workmanship. [Obs.] Heywood.

DISWORSHIP Dis*wor"ship, v. t.

Defn: To refuse to worship; to treat as unworthy. [Obs.] Sir T. More.

DISWORSHIP Dis*wor"ship, n.

Defn: A deprivation of honor; a cause of disgrace; a discredit. [Obs.] Milton.

DISWORTH Dis*worth", v. t.

Defn: To deprive of worth; to degrade. [Obs.] Feltham.

DISYOKE Dis*yoke", v. t.

Defn: To unyoke; to free from a yoke; to disjoin. [Poetic] R. Browning.

DIT Dit, n. Etym: [Ditty.]

1. A word; a decree. [Obs.]

2. A ditty; a song. [Obs.]

DIT Dit, v. t. Etym: [AS. dyttan, akin to Icel. ditta.]

Defn: To close up. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

DITATION Di*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. ditare to enrich, fr. dis, ditis, same as dives, rich.]

Defn: The act of making rich; enrichment. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

DITCH Ditch (; 224), n.; pl. Ditches. Etym: [OE. dich, orig. the same word as dik. See Dike.]

1. A trench made in the earth by digging, particularly a trench for draining wet land, for guarding or fencing inclosures, or for preventing an approach to a town or fortress. In the latter sense, it is called also a moat or a fosse.

2. Any long, narrow receptacle for water on the surface of the earth.

DITCH Ditch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ditched; p. pr. & vb. n. Ditching.]

1. To dig a ditch or ditches in; to drain by a ditch or ditches; as, to ditch moist land.

2. To surround with a ditch. Shak.

3. To throw into a ditch; as, the engine was ditched and turned on its side.

DITCH Ditch, v. i.

Defn: To dig a ditch or ditches. Swift.

DITCHER Ditch"er, n.

Defn: One who digs ditches.

DITE Dite, v. t. Etym: [See Dight.]

Defn: To prepare for action or use; to make ready; to dight. [Obs.] His hideous club aloft he dites. Spenser.

DITEREBENE Di*ter"e*bene, n. Etym: [Pref. di- + terebene.] (Chem.)

Defn: See Colophene.

DITHECAL; DITHECOUS Di*the"cal, Di*the"cous, a. Etym: [Pref. di- + theca.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having two thecæ, cells, or compartments.

DITHEISM Di"the*ism, n. Etym: [Pref. di- + theism: cf. F. dithéisme.]

Defn: The doctrine of those who maintain the existence of two gods or of two original principles (as in Manicheism), one good and one evil; dualism.

DITHEIST Di"the*ist, n.

Defn: One who holds the doctrine of ditheism; a dualist. Cudworth.

DITHEISTIC; DITHEISTICAL Di`the*is"tic, Di`the*is"tic*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to ditheism; dualistic.

DITHIONIC Di`thi*on"ic, a. Etym: [Pref. di- + -thionic.] (Chem.)

Defn: Containing two equivalents of sulphur; as, dithionic acid. Dithionic acid (Chem.), an unstable substance, H2S2O6, known only in its solutions, and in certain well-defined salts.

DITHYRAMB Dith"y*ramb, n. Etym: [L. dithyrambus, Gr. dithyrambe.]

Defn: A kind of lyric poetry in honor of Bacchus, usually sung by a band of revelers to a flute accompaniment; hence, in general, a poem written in a wild irregular strain. Bentley.

DITHYRAMBIC Dith`y*ram"bic, a. Etym: [L. dithyrambicus, Gr. dithyrambique.]

Defn: Pertaining to, or resembling, a dithyramb; wild and boisterous. "Dithyrambic sallies." Longfellow. -- n.

Defn: A dithyrambic poem; a dithyramb.

DITHYRAMBUS Dith`y*ram"bus, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: See Dithyramb.

DITION Di"tion, n. Etym: [L. ditio, dicio: cf. F. dition.]

Defn: Dominion; rule. [Obs.] Evelyn.

DITIONARY Di"tion*a*ry, a.

Defn: Under rule; subject; tributary. [Obs.] Chapman.

DITIONARY Di"tion*a*ry, n.

Defn: A subject; a tributary. [Obs.] Eden.

DITOKOUS Di"to*kous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.) (a) Having two kinds of young, as certain annelids. (b) Producing only two eggs for a clutch, as certain birds do.

DITOLYL Di*tol"yl, n. Etym: [Pref. di- + tolyl.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white, crystalline, aromatic hydrocarbon, C14H14, consisting of two radicals or residues of toluene.

DITONE Di"tone`, n. Etym: [Gr. (Mus.)

Defn: The Greek major third, which comprehend two major tones (the modern major third contains one major and one minor whole tone).

DITRICHOTOMOUS Di`tri*chot"o*mous, a. Etym: [Pref. di- + trichotomous.]

1. Divided into twos or threes.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Dividing into double or treble ramifications; -- said of a leaf or stem. [R.] Loudon.

DITROCHEAN Di`tro*che"an, a. (Pros.)

Defn: Containing two trochees.

DITROCHEE Di*tro"chee, n. Etym: [L. ditrochaeus, Gr. (Pros.)

Defn: A double trochee; a foot made up of two trochees.

DITROITE Dit"ro*ite, n. Etym: [Named from Ditro in Transylvania.] (Min.)

Defn: An igneous rock composed of orthoclase, elæolite, and sodalite.

DITT Ditt, n.

Defn: See Dit, n.,

2. [Obs.] Spenser.

DITTANDER Dit*tan"der, n. Etym: [See Dittany.] (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of peppergrass (Lepidium latifolium).

DITTANY Dit"ta*ny, n. Etym: [OE. dytane, detane, dytan, OF. ditain, F. dictame, L. dictamnum, fr. Gr. Dicte in Crete. Cf. Dittander.] (Bot.) (a) A plant of the Mint family (Origanum Dictamnus), a native of Crete. (b) The Dictamnus Fraxinella. See Dictamnus. (c) In America, the Cunila Mariana, a fragrant herb of the Mint family.

DITTIED Dit"tied, a. Etym: [From Ditty.]

Defn: Set, sung, or composed as a ditty; -- usually in composition. Who, with his soft pipe, and smooth-dittied song. Milton.

DITTO Dit"to, n.; pl. Dittos (. Etym: [It., detto, ditto, fr. L. dictum. See Dictum.]

Defn: The aforesaid thing; the same (as before). Often contracted to do., or to two "turned commas" ("), or small marks. Used in bills, books of account, tables of names, etc., to save repetition. A spacious table in the center, and a variety of smaller dittos in the corners. Dickens.

DITTO Dit"to, adv.

Defn: As before, or aforesaid; in the same manner; also.

DITTOLOGY Dit*tol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: A double reading, or twofold interpretation, as of a Scripture text. [R.]

DITTY Dit"ty, n.; pl. Ditties. Etym: [OE. dite, OF. ditié, fr. L. dictatum, p. p. neut. of dictare to say often, dictate, compose. See Dictate, v. t.]

1. A saying or utterance; especially, one that is short and frequently repeated; a theme. O, too high ditty for my simple rhyme. Spenser.

2. A song; a lay; a little poem intended to be sung. "Religious, martial, or civil ditties." Milton.ditties sing. Sandys.

DITTY Dit"ty, v. i.

Defn: To sing; to warble a little tune. Beasts fain would sing; birds ditty to their notes. Herbert.

DITTY-BAG Dit"ty-bag`, n.

Defn: A sailor's small bag to hold thread, needles, tape, etc.; -- also called sailor's housewife.

DITTY-BOX Dit"ty-box`, n.

Defn: A small box to hold a sailor's thread, needless, comb, etc.

DIUREIDE Di*u"re*ide, n. Etym: [Di- + ureide.] (Chem.)

Defn: One of a series of complex nitrogenous substances regarded as containing two molecules of urea or their radicals, as uric acid or allantoin. Cf. Ureide.

DIURESIS Di`u*re"sis, n. Etym: [NL. See Diuretic.] (Med.)

Defn: Free excretion of urine.

DIURETIC Di`u*ret"ic, a. Etym: [L. diureticus, Gr. diurétique.] (Med.)

Defn: Tending to increase the secretion and discharge of urine. -- n.

Defn: A medicine with diuretic properties. Diuretic salt (Med.), potassium acetate; -- so called because of its diuretic properties.

DIURETICAL Di`u*ret"ic*al, a.

Defn: Diuretic. [Obs.] Boyle.

DIURETICALNESS Di`u*ret"ic*al*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being diuretical; diuretic property.

DIURNA Di*ur"na, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. diurnus belonging to the day.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of Lepidoptera, including the butterflies; -- so called because they fly only in the daytime.

DIURNAL Di*ur"nal, a. Etym: [L. diurnalis, fr. dies day. See Deity, and cf. Journal.]

1. Relating to the daytime; belonging to the period of daylight, distinguished from the night; -- opposed to Ant: nocturnal; as, diurnal heat; diurnal hours.

2. Daily; recurring every day; performed in a day; going through its changes in a day; constituting the measure of a day; as, a diurnal fever; a diurnal task; diurnal aberration, or diurnal parallax; the diurnal revolution of the earth. Ere twice the horses of the sun shall bring Their fiery torcher his diurnal ring. Shak.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: Opening during the day, and closing at night; -- said of flowers or leaves.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Active by day; -- applied especially to the eagles and hawks among raptorial birds, and to butterflies (Diurna) among insects. Diurnal aberration (Anat.), the aberration of light arising from the effect of the earth's rotation upon the apparent direction of motion of light. -- Diurnal arc, the arc described by the sun during the daytime or while above the horizon; hence, the arc described by the moon or a star from rising to setting. -- Diurnal circle, the apparent circle described by a celestial body in consequence of the earth's rotation. -- Diurnal motion of the earth, the motion of the earth upon its axis which is described in twentyfour hours. -- Diurnal motion of a heavenly body, that apparent motion of the heavenly body which is due to the earth's diurnal motion. -- Diurnal parallax. See under Parallax. -- Diurnal revolution of a planet, the motion of the planet upon its own axis which constitutes one complete revolution.

Syn. -- See Daily.

DIURNAL Di*ur"nal, n. Etym: [Cf. F. diurnal a prayerbook. See Diurnal, a.]

1. A daybook; a journal. [Obs.] Tatler.

2. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A small volume containing the daily service for the "little hours," viz., prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers, and compline.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A diurnal bird or insect.

DIURNALIST Di*ur"nal*ist, n.

Defn: A journalist. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

DIURNALLY Di*ur"nal*ly, adv.

Defn: Daily; every day.

DIURNALNESS Di*ur"nal*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being diurnal.

DIURNATION Di`ur*na"tion, n.

1. Continuance during the day. [Obs.]

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The condition of sleeping or becoming dormant by day, as is the case of the bats.

DIUTURNAL Di`u*tur"nal, a. Etym: [L. diuturnus, fr. diu a long time, by day; akin to dies day.]

Defn: Of long continuance; lasting. [R.] Milton.

DIUTURNITY Di`u*tur"ni*ty, n. Etym: [L. diuturnitas.]

Defn: Long duration; lastingness. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

DIVA Di"va (de"va), n.; It. pl. Dive (de"va). [It., prop. fem. of divo divine, L. divus.]

Defn: A prima donna.

DIVAGATION Di`va*ga"tion, n. Etym: [L. divagari to wander about; di- = dis- + vagari to stroll about: cf. F. divagation. See Vagary.]

Defn: A wandering about or going astray; digression. Let us be set down at Queen's Crawley without further divagation. Thackeray.

DIVALENT Div"a*lent, a. Etym: [Pref. di- + L. valens, valentis, p. pr. See Valence.] (Chem.)

Defn: Having two units of combining power; bivalent. Cf. Valence.

DIVAN Di*van", n. Etym: [Per. diwan a book of many leaves, an account book, a collection of books, a senate, council: cf. Ar. daiwan, F. divan.]

1. A book; esp., a collection of poems written by one author; as, the divan of Hafiz. [Persia]

2. In Turkey and other Oriental countries: A council of state; a royal court. Also used by the poets for a grand deliberative council or assembly. Pope.

3. A chief officer of state. [India]

4. A saloon or hall where a council is held, in Oriental countries, the state reception room in places, and in the houses of the richer citizens. Cushions on the floor or on benches are ranged round the room.

5. A cushioned seat, or a large, low sofa or couch; especially, one fixed to its place, and not movable.

6. A coffee and smoking saloon. [Colloq.]

DIVARICATE Di*var"i*cate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Divaricated; p. pr. & vb. n. Divaricating.] Etym: [L. divaricatus, p. p. of divaricare to stretch apart; di- = dis- + varicare to straddle, fr. varicus straddling, fr. varus stretched outwards.]

1. To part into two branches; to become bifid; to fork.

2. To diverge; to be divaricate. Woodward.

DIVARICATE Di*var"i*cate, v. t.

Defn: To divide into two branches; to cause to branch apart.

DIVARICATE Di*var"i*cate, a. Etym: [L. divaricatus, p. p.]

1. Diverging; spreading asunder; widely diverging.

2. (Biol.)

Defn: Forking and diverging; widely diverging; as the branches of a tree, or as lines of sculpture, or color markings on animals, etc.

DIVARICATELY Di*var"i*cate*ly, adv.

Defn: With divarication.

DIVARICATION Di*var`i*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. divarication.]

1. A separation into two parts or branches; a forking; a divergence.

2. An ambiguity of meaning; a disagreement of difference in opinion. Sir T. Browne.

3. (Biol.)

Defn: A divergence of lines of color sculpture, or of fibers at different angles.

DIVARICATOR Di*var`i*ca"tor, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the muscles which open the shell of brachiopods; a cardinal muscle. See Illust. of Brachiopoda.

DIVAST Di*vast", a.

Defn: Devastated; laid waste. [Obs.]

DIVE Dive, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dived, colloq. Dove (, a relic of the AS. strong forms deáf, dofen; p. pr. & vb. n. Diving.] Etym: [OE. diven, duven, AS. d to sink, v. t., fr. d, v. i.; akin to Icel. d, G. taufen, E. dip, deep, and perh. to dove, n. Cf. Dip.]

1. To plunge into water head foremost; to thrust the body under, or deeply into, water or other fluid. It is not that pearls fetch a high price because men have dived for them. Whately.

Note: The colloquial form dove is common in the United States as an imperfect tense form. All [the walruses] dove down with a tremendous splash. Dr. Hayes. When closely pressed it [the loon] dove . . . and left the young bird sitting in the water. J. Burroughs.

2. Fig.: To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore. South.

DIVE Dive, v. t.

1. To plunge (a person or thing) into water; to dip; to duck. [Obs.] Hooker.

2. To explore by diving; to plunge into. [R.] The Curtii bravely dived the gulf of fame. Denham. He dives the hollow, climbs the steeps. Emerson.

DIVE Dive, n.

1. A plunge headforemost into water, the act of one who dives, literally or figuratively.

2. A place of low resort. [Slang] The music halls and dives in the lower part of the city. J. Hawthorne.

DIVEDAPPER Dive"dap`per, n. Etym: [See Dive, Didapper.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A water fowl; the didapper. See Dabchick.

DIVEL Di*vel", v. t. Etym: [L. divellere; dit- = dis- + vellere to pluck.]

Defn: To rend apart. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

DIVELLENT Di*vel"lent, a. Etym: [L. divellens, p. pr.]

Defn: Drawing asunder. [R.]

DIVELLICATE Di*vel"li*cate, v. t. Etym: [L. di- = vellicatus, p. p. of vellicare to pluck, fr. vellere to pull.]

Defn: To pull in pieces. [Obs. or R.]

DIVER Div"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, dives. Divers and fishers for pearls. Woodward.

2. Fig.: One who goes deeply into a subject, study, or business. "A diver into causes." Sir H. Wotton.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any bird of certain genera, as Urinator (formerly Colymbus), or the allied genus Colymbus, or Podiceps, remarkable for their agility in diving.

Note: The northern diver (Urinator imber) is the loon; the black diver or velvet scoter (Oidemia fusca) is a sea duck. See Loon, and Scoter.

DIVERB Di"verb, n. Etym: [L. diverbium the colloquial part of a comedy, dialogue; di- = dis- + verbum word.]

Defn: A saying in which two members of the sentence are contrasted; an antithetical proverb. [Obs.] Italy, a paradise for horses, a hell for women, as the diverb goes. Burton.

DIVERBERATE Di*ver"ber*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. diverberatus, p. p. of diverberare to strike asunder; di- = dis- + verberare. See Verberate.]

Defn: To strike or sound through. [R.] Davies (Holy Roode).

DIVERBERATION Di*ver`ber*a"tion, n.

Defn: A sounding through.

DIVERGE Di*verge", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Diverged; p. pr. & vb. n. Diverging.] Etym: [L. di- = dis- + vergere to bend, incline. See Verge.]

1. To extend from a common point in different directions; to tend from one point and recede from each other; to tend to spread apart; to turn aside or deviate (as from a given direction); -- opposed to converge; as, rays of light diverge as they proceed from the sun.

2. To differ from a typical form; to vary from a normal condition; to dissent from a creed or position generally held or taken.

DIVERGEMENT Di*verge"ment, n.

Defn: Divergence.

DIVERGENCE; DIVERGENCY Di*ver"gence, Di*ver"gen*cy, n. Etym: [Cf. F. divergence.]

1. A receding from each other in moving from a common center; the state of being divergent; as, an angle is made by the divergence of straight lines. Rays come to the eye in a state of divergency.

2. Disagreement; difference. Related with some divergence by other writers. Sir G. C. Lewis.

DIVERGENT Di*ver"gent, a. Etym: [Cf. F. divergent. See Diverge.]

1. Receding farther and farther from each other, as lines radiating from one point; deviating gradually from a given direction; -- opposed to convergent.

2. (Optics)

Defn: Causing divergence of rays; as, a divergent lens.

3. Fig.: Disagreeing from something given; differing; as, a divergent statement. Divergent series. (Math.) See Diverging series, under Diverging.

DIVERGING Di*ver"ging, a.

Defn: Tending in different directions from a common center; spreading apart; divergent. Diverging series (Math.), a series whose terms are larger as the series is extended; a series the sum of whose terms does not approach a finite limit when the series is extended indefinitely; -- opposed to a converging series.

DIVERGINGLY Di*ver"ging*ly, adv.

Defn: In a diverging manner.

DIVERS Di"vers, a. Etym: [F. divers, L. diversus turned in different directions, different, p. p. of divertere. See Divert, and cf. Diverse.]

1. Different in kind or species; diverse. [Obs.] Every sect of them hath a divers posture. Bacon. Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds. Deut. xxii. 9.

2. Several; sundry; various; more than one, but not a great number; as, divers philosophers. Also used substantively or pronominally. Divers of Antonio's creditors. Shak.

Note: Divers is now limited to the plural; as, divers ways (not divers way). Besides plurality it ordinarily implies variety of kind.

DIVERSE Di"verse, a. Etym: [The same word as divers. See Divers.]

1. Different; unlike; dissimilar; distinct; separate. The word . . . is used in a sense very diverse from its original import. J. Edwards. Our roads are diverse: farewell, love! said she. R. Browning.

2. Capable of various forms; multiform. Eloquence is a great and diverse thing. B. Jonson.

DIVERSE Di*verse", adv.

Defn: In different directions; diversely.

DIVERSE Di*verse", v. i.

Defn: To turn aside. [Obs.] The redcross knight diverst, but forth rode Britomart. Spenser.

DIVERSELY Di"verse*ly, adv.

1. In different ways; differently; variously. "Diversely interpreted." Bacon. How diversely love doth his pageants play. Spenser.

2. In different directions; to different points. On life's vast ocean diversely we sail. Pope.

DIVERSENESS Di*verse"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being diverse.

DIVERSIFIABILITY Di*ver`si*fi`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or capacity of being diversifiable. Earle.

DIVERSIFIABLE Di*ver"si*fi`a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being diversified or varied. Boyle.

DIVERSIFICATION Di*ver`si*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [See Diversify.]

1. The act of making various, or of changing form or quality. Boyle.

2. State of diversity or variation; variegation; modification; change; alternation. Infinite diversifications of tints may be produced. Adventurer.

DIVERSIFIED Di*ver"si*fied, a.

Defn: Distinguished by various forms, or by a variety of aspects or objects; variegated; as, diversified scenery or landscape.

DIVERSIFIER Di*ver"si*fi`er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, diversifies.

DIVERSIFORM Di*ver"si*form, a. Etym: [L. diversus diverse + -form.]

Defn: Of a different form; of varied forms.

DIVERSIFY Di*ver"si*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diversified; p. pr. & vb. n. Diversifying.] Etym: [F. diversifier, LL. diversificare, fr. L. diversus diverse + ficare (in comp.), akin to facere to make. See Diverse.]

Defn: To make diverse or various in form or quality; to give variety to; to variegate; to distinguish by numerous differences or aspects. Separated and diversified on from another. Locke. Its seven colors, that diversify all the face of nature. I. Taylor.

DIVERSILOQUENT Di`ver*sil"o*quent, a. Etym: [L. diversus diverse + loquens, p. pr. of loqui to speak.]

Defn: Speaking in different ways. [R.]

DIVERSION Di*ver"sion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. diversion. See Divert.]

1. The act of turning aside from any course, occupation, or object; as, the diversion of a stream from its channel; diversion of the mind from business.

2. That which diverts; that which turns or draws the mind from care or study, and thus relaxes and amuses; sport; play; pastime; as, the diversions of youth. "Public diversions." V. Knox. Such productions of wit and humor as expose vice and folly, furnish useful diversion to readers. Addison.

3. (Mil.)

Defn: The act of drawing the attention and force of an enemy from the point where the principal attack is to be made; the attack, alarm, or feint which diverts.

Syn. -- Amusement; entertainment; pastime; recreation; sport; game; play; solace; merriment.

DIVERSITY Di*ver"si*ty, n.; pl. Diversities. Etym: [F. diversité, L. diversitas, fr. diversus. See Diverse.]

1. A state of difference; dissimilitude; unlikeness. They will prove opposite; and not resting in a bare diversity, rise into a contrariety. South.

2. Multiplicity of difference; multiformity; variety. "Diversity of sounds." Shak. "Diversities of opinion." Secker.

3. Variegation. "Bright diversities of day." Pope.

Syn. -- See Variety.

DIVERSIVOLENT Di`ver*siv"o*lent, a. Etym: [L. diversus diverse + volens, -entis, p. pr. of velle to wish.]

Defn: Desiring different things. [Obs.] Webster (White Devil).

DIVERSORY Di*ver"so*ry, a.

Defn: Serving or tending to divert; also, distinguishing. [Obs.]

DIVERSORY Di*ver"so*ry, n. Etym: [L. diversorium, deversorium, an inn or lodging.]

Defn: A wayside inn. [Obs. or R.] Chapman.

DIVERT Di*vert", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diverted; p. pr. & vb. n. Diverting.] Etym: [F. divertir, fr. L. divertere, diversum, to go different ways, turn aside; di- = dis- + vertere to turn. See Verse, and cf. Divorce.]

1. To turn aside; to turn off from any course or intended application; to deflect; as, to divert a river from its channel; to divert commerce from its usual course. That crude apple that diverted Eve. Milton.

2. To turn away from any occupation, business, or study; to cause to have lively and agreeable sensations; to amuse; to entertain; as, children are diverted with sports; men are diverted with works of wit and humor. We are amused by a tale, diverted by a comedy. C. J. Smith.

Syn. -- To please; gratify; amuse; entertain; exhilarate; delight; recreate. See Amuse.

DIVERT Di*vert", v. i.

Defn: To turn aside; to digress. [Obs.] I diverted to see one of the prince's palaces. Evelyn.

DIVERTER Di*vert"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, diverts, turns off, or pleases.

DIVERTIBLE Di*vert"i*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being diverted.

DIVERTICLE Di*ver"ti*cle, n. Etym: [L. diverticulum, deverticulum, a bypath, fr. divertere to turn away.]

1. A turning; a byway; a bypath. [Obs.] Hales.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: A diverticulum.

DIVERTICULAR Div`er*tic"u*lar, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining to a diverticulum.

DIVERTICULUM Div`er*tic"u*lum, n.; pl. Diverticula. Etym: [L. See Diverticle.] (Anat.)

Defn: A blind tube branching out of a longer one.

DIVERTIMENTO Di*ver`ti*men"to, n.; pl. -ti. Etym: [It.] (Mus.

Defn: ) A light and pleasing composition.

DIVERTING Di*vert"ing, a.

Defn: Amusing; entertaining. -- Di*vert"ing*ly, adv. -- Di*vert"ing*ness, n.

DIVERTISE Di*vert"ise, v. t. Etym: [F. divertir, p. pr. divertissant.]

Defn: To divert; to entertain. [Obs.] Dryden.

DIVERTISEMENT Di*vert"ise*ment, n. Etym: [Cf. the next word.]

Defn: Diversion; amusement; recreation. [R.]

DIVERTISSEMENT Di`ver`tisse`ment", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A short ballet, or other entertainment, between the acts of a play. Smart.

DIVERTIVE Di*vert"ive, a. Etym: [From Divert.]

Defn: Tending to divert; diverting; amusing; interesting. Things of a pleasant and divertive nature. Rogers.

DIVES Di"ves, n. Etym: [L., rich.]

Defn: The name popularly given to the rich man in our Lord's parable of the "Rich Man and Lazarus" (Luke xvi. 19-31). Hence, a name for a rich worldling.

DIVEST Di*vest", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Divested; p. pr. & vb. n. Divesting.] Etym: [LL. divestire (di- = dis- + L. vestire to dress), equiv. to L. devestire. It is the same word as devest, but the latter is rarely used except as a technical term in law. See Devest, Vest.]

1. To unclothe; to strip, as of clothes, arms, or equipage; -- opposed to invest.

2. Fig.: To strip; to deprive; to dispossess; as, to divest one of his rights or privileges; to divest one's self of prejudices, passions, etc. Wretches divested of every moral feeling. Goldsmith. The tendency of the language to divest itself of its gutturals. Earle.

3. (Law)

Defn: See Devest. Mozley & W.

DIVESTIBLE Di*vest"i*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being divested.

DIVESTITURE Di*vest"i*ture, n.

Defn: The act of stripping, or depriving; the state of being divested; the deprivation, or surrender, of possession of property, rights, etc.

DIVESTMENT Di*vest"ment, n.

Defn: The act of divesting. [R.]

DIVESTURE Di*ves"ture, n.

Defn: Divestiture. [Obs.]

DIVET Div"et, n.

Defn: See Divot.

DIVIDABLE Di*vid"a*ble, a. Etym: [From Divide.]

1. Capable of being divided; divisible.

2. Divided; separated; parted. [Obs.] Shak.

DIVIDANT Di*vid"ant, a.

Defn: Different; distinct. [Obs.] Shak.

DIVIDE Di*vide", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Divided; p. pr. & vb. n. Dividing.] Etym: [L. dividere, divisum; di- = dis- + root signifying to part; cf. Skr. vyadh to pierce; perh. akin to L. vidua widow, and E. widow. Cf. Device, Devise.]

1. To part asunder (a whole); to sever into two or more parts or pieces; to sunder; to separate into parts. Divide the living child in two. 1 Kings iii. 25.

2. To cause to be separate; to keep apart by a partition, or by an imaginary line or limit; as, a wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns. Let it divide the waters from the waters. Gen. i. 6.

3. To make partition of among a number; to apportion, as profits of stock among proprietors; to give in shares; to distribute; to mete out; to share. True justice unto people to divide. Spenser. Ye shall divide the land by lot. Num. xxxiii. 54.

4. To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance. If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand. Mark iii. 24. Every family became now divided within itself. Prescott.

5. To separate into two parts, in order to ascertain the votes for and against a measure; as, to divide a legislative house upon a question.

6. (Math.)

Defn: To subject to arithmetical division.

7. (Logic)

Defn: To separate into species; -- said of a genus or generic term.

8. (Mech.)

Defn: To mark divisions on; to graduate; as, to divide a sextant.

9. (Music)

Defn: To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations. [Obs.] Spenser.

Syn. -- To sever; dissever; sunder; cleave; disjoin; disunite; detach; disconnect; part; distribute; share.

DIVIDE Di*vide", v. i.

1. To be separated; to part; to open; to go asunder. Milton. The Indo-Germanic family divides into three groups. J. Peile.

2. To cause separation; to disunite. A gulf, a strait, the sea intervening between islands, divide less than the matted forest. Bancroft.

3. To break friendship; to fall out. Shak.

4. To have a share; to partake. Shak.

5. To vote, as in the British Parliament, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the noes. The emperors sat, voted, and divided with their equals. Gibbon.

DIVIDE Di*vide", n.

Defn: A dividing ridge of land between the tributaries of two streams; a watershed.

DIVIDED Di*vid"ed, a.

1. Parted; disunited; distributed.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Cut into distinct parts, by incisions which reach the midrib; - - said of a leaf.

DIVIDEDLY Di*vid"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: Separately; in a divided manner.

DIVIDEND Div"i*dend, n. Etym: [L. dividendum thing to be divided, neut. of the gerundive of dividere: cf. F. dividende.]

1. A sum of money to be divided and distributed; the share of a sum divided that falls to each individual; a distribute sum, share, or percentage; -- applied to the profits as appropriated among shareholders, and to assets as apportioned among creditors; as, the dividend of a bank, a railway corporation, or a bankrupt estate.

2. (Math.)

Defn: A number or quantity which is to be divided.

DIVIDENT Div"i*dent, n.

Defn: Dividend; share. [Obs.] Foxe.

DIVIDER Di*vid"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, divides; that which separates anything into parts.

2. One who deals out to each his share. Who made me a judge or a divider over you Luke xii. 14.

3. One who, or that which, causes division. Hate is of all things the mightiest divider. Milton. Money, the great divider of the world. Swift.

4. pl.

Defn: An instrument for dividing lines, describing circles, etc., compasses. See Compasses.

Note: The word dividers is usually applied to the instrument as made for the use of draughtsmen, etc.; compasses to the coarser instrument used by carpenters.

DIVIDING Di*vid"ing, a.

Defn: That divides; separating; marking divisions; graduating. Dividing engine, a machine for graduating circles (as for astronomical instruments) or bars (as for scales); also, for spacing off and cutting teeth in wheels. -- Dividing sinker. (Knitting Mach.). See under Sinker.

DIVIDINGLY Di*vid"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: By division.

DIVI-DIVI Di"vi-di"vi, n. Etym: [Native name.] (Bot.)

Defn: A small tree of tropical America (Cæsalpinia coriaria), whose legumes contain a large proportion of tannic and gallic acid, and are used by tanners and dyers.

DIVIDUAL Di*vid"u*al, a. Etym: [See Dividuous.]

Defn: Divided, shared, or participated in, in common with others. [R.] Milton.

DIVIDUALLY Di*vid"u*al*ly, adv.

Defn: By dividing. [R.]

DIVIDUOUS Di*vid"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. dividuus divisible, divided, fr. dividere.]

Defn: Divided; dividual. [R.] He so often substantiates distinctions into dividuous, selfsubsistent. Coleridge.

DIVINATION Div`i*na"tion, n. Etym: [L. divinatio, fr. divinare, divinatum, to foresee, foretell, fr. divinus: cf. F. divination. See Divine.]

1. The act of divining; a foreseeing or foretelling of future events; the pretended art discovering secret or future by preternatural means. There shall not be found among you any one that . . . useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter. Deut. xviii. 10.

Note: Among the ancient heathen philosophers natural divination was supposed to be effected by a divine afflatus; artificial divination by certain rites, omens, or appearances, as the flight of birds, entrails of animals, etc.

2. An indication of what is future or secret; augury omen; conjectural presage; prediction. Birds which do give a happy divination of things to come. Sir T. North.

DIVINATOR Div"i*na`tor, n. Etym: [L. See Divination.]

Defn: One who practices or pretends to divination; a diviner. [R.] Burton.

DIVINATORY Di*vin"a*to*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. divinatoire.]

Defn: Professing, or relating to, divination. "A natural divinatory instinct." Cowley.

DIVINE Di*vine", a. Etym: [Compar. Diviner (; superl. Divinest.] Etym: [F. divin, L. divinus divine, divinely inspired, fr. divus, dius, belonging to a deity; akin to Gr. deus, God. See Deity.]

1. Of or belonging to God; as, divine perfections; the divine will. "The immensity of the divine nature." Paley.

2. Proceeding from God; as, divine judgments. "Divine protection." Bacon.

3. Appropriated to God, or celebrating his praise; religious; pious; holy; as, divine service; divine songs; divine worship.

4. Pertaining to, or proceeding from, a deity; partaking of the nature of a god or the gods. "The divine Apollo said." Shak.

5. Godlike; heavenly; excellent in the highest degree; supremely admirable; apparently above what is human. In this application, the word admits of comparison; as, the divinest mind. Sir J. Davies. "The divine Desdemona." Shak. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king. Prov. xvi. 10. But not to one in this benighted age Is that diviner inspiration given. Gray.

6. Presageful; foreboding; prescient. [Obs.] Yet oft his heart, divine of something ill, Misgave him. Milton.

7. Relating to divinity or theology. Church history and other divine learning. South.

Syn. -- Supernatural; superhuman; godlike; heavenly; celestial; pious; holy; sacred; preëminent.

DIVINE Di*vine", n. Etym: [L. divinus a soothsayer, LL., a theologian. See Divine, a.]

1. One skilled in divinity; a theologian. "Poets were the first divines." Denham.

2. A minister of the gospel; a priest; a clergyman. The first divines of New England were surpassed by none in extensive erudition. J. Woodbridge.

DIVINE Di*vine", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Divined; p. pr. & vb. n. Divining.] Etym: [L. divinare: cf. F. deviner. See Divination.]

1. To foresee or foreknow; to detect; to anticipate; to conjecture. A sagacity which divined the evil designs. Bancroft.

2. To foretell; to predict; to presage. Darest thou . . . divine his downfall Shak.

3. To render divine; to deify. [Obs.] Living on earth like angel new divined. Spenser.

Syn. -- To foretell; predict; presage; prophesy; prognosticate; forebode; guess; conjecture; surmise.

DIVINE Di*vine", v. i.

1. To use or practice divination; to foretell by divination; to utter prognostications. The prophets thereof divine for money. Micah iii. 11.

2. To have or feel a presage or foreboding. Suggest but truth to my divining thoughts. Shak.

3. To conjecture or guess; as, to divine rightly.

DIVINELY Di*vine"ly, adv.

1. In a divine or godlike manner; holily; admirably or excellently in a supreme degree. Most divinely fair. Tennyson.

2. By the agency or influence of God. Divinely set apart . . . to be a preacher of righteousness. Macaulay.

DIVINEMENT Di*vine"ment, n.

Defn: Divination. [Obs.]

DIVINENESS Di*vine"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being divine; superhuman or supreme excellence. Shak.

DIVINER Di*vin"er, n.

1. One who professes divination; one who pretends to predict events, or to reveal occult things, by supernatural means. The diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain. Zech. x. 2.

2. A conjecture; a guesser; one who makes out occult things. Locke.

DIVINERESS Di*vin"er*ess, n.

Defn: A woman who divines. Dryden.

DIVING Div"ing, a.

Defn: That dives or is used or diving. Diving beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle of the family Dytiscidæ, which habitually lives under water; - - called also water tiger. -- Diving bell, a hollow inverted vessel, sometimes bell-shaped, in which men may descend and work under water, respiration being sustained by the compressed air at the top, by fresh air pumped in through a tube from above. -- Diving dress. See Submarine armor, under Submarine. -- Diving stone, a kind of jasper.

DIVINIFY Di*vin"i*fy, v. t. Etym: [L. divinus divine + -fy.]

Defn: To render divine; to deify. [Obs.] "Blessed and divinified soul." Parth. Sacra (1633).

DIVINING Di*vin"ing, a.

Defn: That divines; for divining. Divining rod, a rod, commonly of witch hazel, with forked branches, used by those who pretend to discover water or metals under ground.

DIVININGLY Di*vin"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a divining manner.

DIVINISTRE Div`i*nis"tre, n.

Defn: A diviner. [Obs.] " I am no divinistre." Chaucer.

DIVINITY Di*vin"i*ty, n.; pl. Divinities. Etym: [F. divinité, L. divinitas. See Divine, a.]

1. The state of being divine; the nature or essence of God; deity; godhead. When he attributes divinity to other things than God, it is only a divinity by way of participation. Bp. Stillingfleet.

2. The Deity; the Supreme Being; God. This the divinity that within us. Addison.

3. A pretended deity of pagans; a false god. Beastly divinities, and droves of gods. Prior.

4. A celestial being, inferior to the supreme God, but superior to man. God . . . employing these subservient divinities. Cheyne.

5. Something divine or superhuman; supernatural power or virtue; something which inspires awe. They say there is divinity in odd numbers. Shak. There's such divinity doth hedge a king. Shak.

6. The science of divine things; the science which treats of God, his laws and moral government, and the way of salvation; theology. Divinity is essentially the first of the professions. Coleridge. , casuistry.

DIVINITY CALF Di*vin"i*ty calf`. (Bookbinding)

Defn: Calf stained dark brown and worked without gilding, often used for theological books.

DIVINIZATION Div`i*ni*za"tion, n.

Defn: A making divine. M. Arnold.

DIVINIZE Div"i*nize, v. t.

Defn: To invest with a divine character; to deify. [R.] M. Arnold. Man had divinized all those objects of awe. Milman.

DIVISIBILITY Di*vis`i*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. divisibilité.]

Defn: The quality of being divisible; the property of bodies by which their parts are capable of separation. Divisibility . . . is a primary attribute of matter. Sir W. Hamilton.

DIVISIBLE Di*vis"i*ble, a. Etym: [L. divisibilis, fr. dividere: cf. F. divisible. See Divide.]

Defn: Capable of being divided or separated. Extended substance . . . is divisible into parts. Sir W. Hamilton. Divisible contract (Law), a contract containing agreements one of which can be separated from the other. -- Divisible offense (Law), an offense containing a lesser offense in one of a greater grade, so that on the latter there can be an acquittal, while on the former there can be a conviction. -- Di*vis"i*ble*ness, n. -- Di*vis"i*bly, adv.

DIVISIBLE Di*vis"i*ble, n.

Defn: A divisible substance. Glanvill.

DIVISION Di*vi"sion, n. Etym: [F. division, L. divisio, from dividere. See Divide.]

1. The act or process of diving anything into parts, or the state of being so divided; separation. I was overlooked in the division of the spoil. Gibbon.

2. That which divides or keeps apart; a partition.

3. The portion separated by the divining of a mass or body; a distinct segment or section. Communities and divisions of men. Addison.

4. Disunion; difference in opinion or feeling; discord; variance; alienation. There was a division among the people. John vii. 43.

5. Difference of condition; state of distinction; distinction; contrast. Chaucer. I will put a division between my people and thy people. Ex. viii. 23.

6. Separation of the members of a deliberative body, esp. of the Houses of Parliament, to ascertain the vote. The motion passed without a division. Macaulay.

7. (Math.)

Defn: The process of finding how many times one number or quantity is contained in another; the reverse of multiplication; also, the rule by which the operation is performed.

8. (Logic)

Defn: The separation of a genus into its constituent species.

9. (Mil.) (a) Two or more brigades under the command of a general officer. (b) Two companies of infantry maneuvering as one subdivision of a battalion. (c) One of the larger districts into which a country is divided for administering military affairs.

10. (Naut.)

Defn: One of the groups into which a fleet is divided.

11. (Mus.)

Defn: A course of notes so running into each other as to form one series or chain, to be sung in one breath to one syllable.

12. (Rhet.)