device for checking vibration, as of piano strings

dam· sel (damʹ zәl), n. girl; maiden. [< OF dameisele, ult. < L domina dame]

damsel fl y or dam· sel· fl y (damʹ zәl fl ī´), insect similar to the dragonfl y, but smaller; devil’s-darning-needle.

dam· son (damʹ zәn), n. 1 a small, dark-purple plum. 2 tree that it grows on.

[< L (prunum) damascenum (plum) of Damascus]

Dan (dan), n. a Hebrew tribe that migrated to N Palestine.

Dan., 1 Daniel. 2 Danish.

Da· na· i· des (dә nāʹ ә dēz), n. pl. Gk. Leg-end. the fi ft y daughters of Danaus (danʹ-i әs), a Greek k(danʹ-ing. All but one k(danʹ-illed their husbands on their wedding night, and were condemned to draw water with a sieve forever in Hades.

dance (dans; däns), v., danced, danc· ing, n., adj. —v. 1 move in rhythm, usually in time with music. 2 do or take part in (a dance). 3 jump up and down; move in a lively way. 4 bob up and down.

—n. 1 movement in rhythm, usually in time with music. 2 some special group of steps, etc. 3 one round of dancing.

4 piece of music for dancing. 5 party where people dance. 6 movement up and down; lively movement. —adj. of or for dancing. [< OF danser, prob.

< Gmc.] —danʹ ce· a· ble, adj. —dancʹ er, n. —dancʹ ing· ly, adv.

dance· hall (dansʹ hôl, dänsʹ –), n. dance music composed of various styles that are electronically mixed and accompa-nied by rapping.

dance hall, a public hall or room in which dances are held.

dan· de· li· on (danʹ dә lī´ әn), n. weed with deeply notched leaves and bright-yellow

fl owers. [< F dent de lion lion’s tooth;

from toothed leaves]

dan· der (danʹ dәr), n. Informal. temper;

anger.

get one’s dander up, get angry.

dan· di· fy (danʹ dә fī), v., –fi ed, –fy· ing.

make dandylike or foppish. —dan´ di-fi · caʹ tion, n.

dan· dle (danʹ dәl), v., –dled, –dling. 1 move (a child) up and down on one’s knees or in one’s arms. 2 pet; pamper.

—danʹ dler, n.

dan· druff (danʹ drәf), n. small, whitish scales of dry skin that form on the scalp.

dan· dy (danʹ di), n., pl. –dies, adj., –di· er, –di· est. —n. 1 man who is too careful of his dress and appearance. 2 an excellent or fi rst-rate thing. —adj. 1 of a dandy;

too carefully dressed. 2 excellent; fi rst-rate. —danʹ dy· ism, n.

Dane (dān), n. 1 native or inhabitant of Denmark. 2 person of Danish descent.

Dane· law (dānʹ lô´ ), n. 1 set of laws enforced by the Danes when they held NE England in the 9th and 10th centuries a.d. 2 part of England under these laws.

dan· ger (dānʹ jәr), n. 1 chance of harm;

nearness to harm; risk; peril. 2 thing that may cause harm. [< OF dangier

< L dominium sovereignty < dominus master]

dan· ger· ous (dānʹ jәr әs), adj. likely to cause harm; not safe; risky. —danʹ ger-ous· ly, adv. —danʹ ger· ger-ous· ness, n.

dan· gle (dangʹ gәl), v., –gled, –gling, n.

—v. 1 hang and swing loosely. 2 hold or carry (a thing) so that it swings loosely.

3 hang about; follow. 4 cause to dangle.

—n. 1 act or fact of dangling. 2 some-thing that dangles. [< Scand. (Dan.)]

—danʹ gler, n.

dan· gling participle (dangʹ gling), partici-ple not clearly connected with the word it modifi es, as in “lying in bed, crickets chirp loudly,” lying is a dangling participle.

Dan· iel (danʹ yәl), n. 1 Hebrew prophet in the Bible. 2 book of the Bible that tells about him.

Dan· ish (dānʹ ish), adj. of or having to do with the Danes, their language, or Den-mark. —n. language of the Danes.

dank (dangk), adj. unpleasantly damp; moist; wet. —dankʹ ly, adv.

—dankʹ ness, n.

dan· seur (dän sœrʹ), n. male dancer, esp.

in a ballet. [< F]

dan· seuse (dän sœzʹ ), n., pl. –seuses (–sœzʹ ). a woman dancer in a ballet.

[< F]

Dan· ube (danʹ ūb), n. river fl owing from SW Germany into the Black Sea. —Dan-uʹ bi· an, adj.

dap· per (dapʹ әr), adj. 1 neat; trim;

spruce. 2 small and active. [cf. MDu.

dapper agile, strong] —dapʹ per· ly, adv.

—dapʹ per· ness, n.

dap· ple (dapʹ әl), adj., n., v., –pled, –pling.

—adj. spotted: a dapple horse. —n. 1 a spotted appearance or condition. 2

ani-mal with a spotted or mottled skin. —v.

mark or become marked with spots. [cf.

Scand. depill spot]

DAR or D.A.R., Daughters of the Ameri-can Revolution.

Dar· da· nelles (där´ dә nelzʹ ), n. strait between Europe and Asia, connecting the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea. In ancient times it was called the Hellespont.

dare (dãr), v., dared or durst, dared, dar-ing, n. —v. 1 have courage; be bold; be bold enough. 2 have courage for; not be afraid of; be bold enough for. 3 meet and resist; face and defy. 4 challenge. —n.

a challenge. [OE dearr (inf., durran)]

—darʹ er, n.

dare· dev· il (dãrʹ dev´ әl), n. a reckless per-son. —adj. reckless.

dar· ing (dãrʹ ing), n. courage to take risks; boldness. —adj. courageous; bold.

—darʹ ing· ly, adv. —darʹ ing· ness, n.

Da· ri· us I (dә rīʹ әs), 558?–486? b.c., king of Persia from 521 to 486? b.c.

dark (därk), adj. 1 without light; with very little light. 2 not light-colored: a dark complexion. 3 nearly black. 4 hard to understand. 5 secret; hidden. 6 igno-rant. 7 evil. 8 gloomy —n. 1 absence of light. 2 night. 3 a dark color. 4 secrecy.

5 ignorance.

aft er dark, aft er night has fallen.

in the dark, without knowledge or information.

keep dark, not tell about.

whistle in the dark, try to be brave or hopeful in a frightening or diffi -cult situation. [OE deorc] —darkʹ ish, adj. —darkʹ ish· ness, n. —darkʹ ly, adv.

—darkʹ ness, n.

Dark Ages or dark ages, the early part of the Middle Ages, from about a.d. 500 to about 1000.

dark· en (därʹ kәn), v. make or become dark or darker. —darkʹ en· er, n.

dark horse, an unexpected winner that little is known about.

dark· room (därkʹ rüm´ ; –r˙um´ ), n. room arranged for developing photographs.

dar· ling (därʹ ling), n. person very dear to another; person much loved. —adj.

very dear; much loved. [OE dēorling

< dēore dear]

darn¹ (därn), v. mend by making rows of stitches back and forth across a hole, torn place, etc. —n. 1 act of darning.

2 place so mended. [< dial. F darner mend < darne piece < Breton darn]

—darnʹ er, n.

darn² (därn), v. damn; curse.

not give a darn, be completely indiff er-ent. [< damn; infl . by tarnal (informal for eternal)] —darned, adj., adv.

dart (därt), n. 1 a slender, pointed weapon to be thrown or shot. 2 a sudden, swift movement. 3 stinger of an insect. 4 seam to make a garment fi t better. —v.

1 throw or shoot suddenly and swift ly. 2 move suddenly and swift ly. 3 send sud-denly. [< OF < Gmc.]

164 damnedest

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dart· er (därʹ tәr), n. 1 animal or person that moves suddenly and swift ly. 2 a small freshwater fi sh, somewhat like a perch, that darts away very rapidly. 3 a swimming bird that has a long neck and darts at its prey.

Dar· win (därʹ wәn), n. Charles, 1809–82, English scientist, famous for his theory of evolution. —Dar· winʹ i· an, adj., n.

Dar· win· ism (därʹ wәn iz әm), n. doctrine maintained by Charles Darwin respect-ing the origin of species as derived by descent, with variation, from parent forms through the natural selection of those best adapted to survive in the struggle for existence. —Darʹ win· ist, n., adj.

dash (dash), v. 1 throw. 2 splash. 3 rush.

4 strike violently against something. 5 ruin: our hopes were dashed. 6 discour-age; abash. —n. 1 a splash. 2 a rush. 3 a smash. 4 thing that discourages. 5 a small amount. 6 a short race. 7 mark (—) used in writing or printing. 8 a long sound used in sending messages by telegraph. 9 energy; spirit; liveliness. 10

=dashboard.

dash off , do, make, go, write, etc. quickly.

[ME dasche(n)] —dashʹ er, n.

dash· board (dashʹ bôrd´ ; –bōrd´ ), n. 1 the panel with instruments and gauges in an automobile, airplane, etc. 2 protection on the front of a boat, etc., that prevents mud or water from being splashed into it.

dash· er (dashʹ әr), n. 1 person or thing that dashes. 2 paddle for stirring cream in an ice cream freezer or butter churn.

da· shi· ki (dә shēʹ ki), n. loose garment like a shirt, oft en embroidered or of printed fabric, put on by pulling over the head.

[< W African word]

dash· ing (dashʹ ing), adj. 1 full of energy and spirit; lively. 2 stylish; showy.

—dashʹ ing· ly, adv.

das· tard (dasʹ tәrd), n. a mean coward;

sneak. —adj. mean and cowardly;

sneaking. [ME, orig., a dullard, appar.

< dased, pp. of daze] —dasʹ tard· ly, adj.

—dasʹ tard· li· ness, n.

dat., dative.

da· ta (dāʹ tә; datʹ ә; däʹ tә), n. 1 pl. of da-tum. 2 things known or granted; facts. 3 information stored in a computer.

da· ta· bank (dāʹtә bangk´ ; datʹ ә–;

däʹ tә–), or data bank. 1 large collection of records stored on a computer system from which data can be selected and extracted for use on another computer or computer system. 2 such a computer system with its data. 3 place where such a data storage system is located. 4 any data storage system.

da· ta· base (dāʹ tә bās´ ; datʹ ә–; däʹ tә–), n.

or data base. 1 collection of records or information, stored on a computer and arranged so that they are accessible to the user. 2 =databank.

data processing, creation, arrangement, and storage of electronic records and information on a computer.

date¹ (dāt), n., v., dat· ed, dat· ing. —n. 1 time when something happens. 2 state-ment of time. 3 period of time. 4 appoint-ment for a certain time. 5 person of the opposite sex with whom an appoint-ment is made. —v. 1 put a date on. 2 give a date to. 3 have a date on it. 4 have its origin: that house dates from the 18th century. 5 make a social appointment with (a person of the opposite sex).

out of date, old; not presently in use.

to date, till now; yet.

up to date, a in fashion; modern. b up to the present time; current. [< F < Med.L data, pp. fem. of L dare give] —datʹ a· ble, dateʹ a· ble, adj.

date² (dāt), n. 1 the sweet fruit of a kind of palm tree. 2 date palm. [< OF < L < Gk.

daktylos date, fi nger]

dat· ed (dātʹ id), adj. 1 showing a date on it. 2 out-of-date.

date· less (dātʹ lis), adj. 1 without a date.

2 endless; unlimited. 3 so old that it cannot be given a date. 4 old but still interesting. 5 without a companion for a social engagement.

date line, 1 an imaginary line agreed upon as the place where each calendar day fi rst begins. It runs north and south through the Pacifi c, mostly along the 180th meridian. 2 line in a letter, news-paper, etc., giving the date when it was written or issued.

date palm, a palm tree on which dates grow.

da· tive (dāʹ tiv), adj. showing the indirect object of a verb. In “Give me the book,”

me is in the dative case. —n. 1 the dative case. 2 word in this case. [< L dativus of giving < datus, pp. of dare give]

—daʹ tive· ly, adv.

da· tum (dāʹ tәm; datʹ әm; däʹ tәm), n., pl.

da· ta. fact from which conclusions can be drawn. [< L, (thing) given, pp. of dare]

daub (dôb), v. 1 coat or cover with plaster, clay, mud, etc. 2 make dirty; soil; stain.

3 paint unskillfully. —n. 1 anything daubed on. 2 act of daubing. 3 a badly painted picture. [< F < L, < de– + albus white] —daubʹ er, n.

daugh· ter (dôʹ tәr), n. 1 a female child. 2 a female descendant. 3 girl or woman related in the same way that a child is related to its parents. 4 anything thought of as a daughter in relation to its origin. [OE dohtor —daughʹ ter-ly, adj.

daughter cell, one of two new cells formed when an old cell divides.

daughter chromosome, one of the two chromosomes which come from equal division of a single chromosome in a mother cell.

daugh· ter-in-law (dôʹ tәr in lô´ ), n., pl.

daugh· ters-in-law. wife of one’s son.

daunt (dônt; dänt), v. 1 frighten. 2 dis-courage. [< OF danter < L domitare

< domare tame]

daunt· less (dôntʹ lis; däntʹ –), adj. not to be frightened or discouraged;

brave. —dauntʹ less· ly, adv. —dauntʹ less-ness, n.

dau· phin (dôʹ fәn), n. title of the oldest son of the king of France, from 1349 to 1830. [< F, orig. a family name]

Da· vid (dāʹ vid), n. the second king of Israel.

da Vin· ci (dә vinʹ chi), Leonardo, 1452–1519, Italian painter, architect, and scientist.

dav· it (davʹ it; dāʹ vit), n. a curved arm at the side of a ship, used to hold or lower a small boat, anchor, etc. [< AF daviot]

Da· vy Jones (dāʹ vi jōnzʹ), the sailor’s devil.

Da· vy Jones’s locker, grave of those who die at sea; bottom of the ocean.

daw (dô), n. =jackdaw. [ME dawe]

daw· dle (dôʹ dәl), v., –dled, –dling. waste time; idle; loiter. —dawʹ dler, n.

dawn (dôn), n. 1 the fi rst light in the east; daybreak. 2 beginning. —v. 1 grow bright or clear. 2 grow clear to the eye or mind. 3 begin; appear: a new era is dawning. [< dawning, prob. < Scand.

(Dan.) dagning]

day (dā), n. 1 time between sunrise and sunset. 2 the 24 hours of day and night (called a mean solar day). 3 hours for work: an eight-hour day. 4 time taken by some specifi ed celestial body to make one complete turn on its axis: the moon’s day. 5 time; period: in days of old; he has had his day. 6 confl ict; contest.

any day, Informal. a every time; always.

b in every way.

call it a day, Informal. stop work or other activity.

day aft er (or by) day, each day;

daily.

day in, day out, every day;

continuously.

from day to day, each day.

in this day and age, at the present time.

that’ll be the day, Informal. it will never happen. [OE dœg]

day· break (dāʹ brāk´), n. time when it fi rst begins to get light in the morning.

day· dream (dāʹ drēm´), n. 1 dreamy thought about pleasant things. 2 a pleas-ant plan or fancy, unlikely to come true. —v. think dreamily about pleasant things. —dayʹ dream´ er, n.

Day-Glo (dāʹ glō´ ), n. trademark for color, esp. in marking pens, that is fl uorescent and vivid. —adj. having such brilliant, fl uorescent color.

day laborer, manual worker paid by the day.

day· light (dāʹ līt´ ), n. 1 light of day. 2 daytime. 3 dawn; daybreak. 4 publicity;

openness.

daylights, Slang. vital parts; insides:

scared the daylights out of me.

day· light-sav· ing time (dāʹ līt´ sāvʹ ing), time that is one hour faster than stan-dard time, usually used during the

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summer to give more daylight aft er working hours.

Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

day school, a private school for students who live at home.

day· time (dāʹ tīm´), n. time when it is day.

daze (dāz), v., dazed, daz· ing, n. —v. 1 confuse and bewilder; cause to feel stu-pid; stun. 2 dazzle. —n. a dazed condi-tion; bewilderment; stupor. [ME dase(n).

Cf. Scand. dasa make tired.] —dazʹ ed-ly, adv.

daz· zle (dazʹ әl), v., –zled, –zling, n. —v. 1 hurt (the eyes) with too bright light or with quick-moving lights. 2 overcome (the sight or the mind) by brightness, display, etc. —n. act or fact of daz-zling; bewildering brightness. [< daze]

—dazʹ zler, n. —dazʹ zling· ly, adv.

dB or db, decibel.

DBA or dba, doing business as.

DC, 1 (zip code) District of Columbia. 2 direct current.

D.C., 1 also, d.c. direct current. 2 District of Columbia.

D-day (dēʹ dā´), n. 1 day on which a previously planned military attack is to be made, or on which any important undertaking is to begin. 2 June 6, 1944, the day Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy in World War II.

DE, (zip code) Delaware.

de–, prefi x. 1 do the opposite of, as in decentralize, demobilize. 2 down, as in depress, descend. 3 away; off , as in deport.

4 entirely; completely, as in despoil. [< L de from, away]

de· ac· ces· sion (di´ ak seshʹ әn), v. sell off or auction paintings, sculpture, etc. from a museum collection, usually to raise funds. Also, deaccess.

dea· con (dēʹ kәn), n. 1 offi cer of a church who helps the minister in church duties not connected with the preaching. 2 member of the clergy next below a priest in rank. [< L < Gk. diakonos servant]

—deaʹ con· ry, deaʹ con· ship, n.

dea· con· ess (dēʹ kәn is), n. 1 woman who is an offi cial assistant in church work, esp. in caring for the sick and poor. 2 a female deacon.

de· ac· ti· vate (di akʹ t vāt), v., –vat· ed, –vat-ing. 1 =demobilize. 2 make inactive. 3 stop the use of. –de· ac´ ti· vaʹ tion, n.

dead (ded), adj. 1 no longer living. 2 without life. 3 not active; dull; quiet. 4 without force, power, spirit, or feeling. 5 no longer in use. 6 out of play. 7 worn-out. 8 sure; certain. 9 complete; absolute:

dead silence. —adv. 1 completely; abso-lutely: dead wrong. 2 directly; straight.

—n. 1 dead person or persons. 2 time of greatest darkness, cold, etc.: the dead of night. [OE dēad] —deadʹ ness, n.

dead beat, Slang. 1 person who avoids payment of obligations. 2 loafer. –deadʹ- beat´ , adj.

dead· en (dedʹ әn), v. 1 make dull or weak:

some drugs deaden pain. 2 make sound-proof. —deadʹ en· er, n.

dead end, 1 street, passage, etc., closed at one end. 2 Fig. point at which any prog-ress, advancement, etc. is impossible.

—deadʹ -endʹ , adj., v.

dead heat, race that ends in a tie.

dead letter, 1 letter that cannot be delivered. 2 law, rule, etc., that is not enforced.

dead· line (dedʹ līn´ ), n. the latest possible time to do something.

dead· lock (dedʹ lok´), n. a complete stand-still. —v. bring or come to a deadlock.

dead· ly (dedʹ li), adj., –li· er, –li· est, adv.

—adj. 1 causing death; fatal. 2 like death.

3 until death: deadly enemies. 4 extreme;

intense. —adv. 1 extremely. 2 like death.

3 as if dead. —deadʹ li· ness, n.

dead pan, an expressionless face.

dead reckoning, fi nding one’s position by means of a compass and calculations based on speed, time elapsed, and direc-tion from a known posidirec-tion.

Dead Sea, salt lake between Israel and Jordan.

dead· wood (dedʹ w˙ud´ ), n. 1 dead branches or trees. 2 Fig. useless people or things. 3 Fig. conventional word or phrase that adds nothing to the meaning of a sentence.

deaf (def), adj. 1 not able to hear. 2 not able to hear well. 3 Fig. not willing to hear; heedless: deaf to all requests.

deaf and dumb, unable to hear and speak. [OE dēaf] —deafʹ ly, adv.

—deafʹ ness, n.

deaf· en (defʹ әn), v. 1 make deaf. 2 stun with noise. 3 drown out by a louder sound. 4 make soundproof. —deafʹ en-ing· ly, adv.

deaf-mute (defʹ mūt´ ), n. person who cannot hear or speak.

deal¹ (dēl), v., dealt (delt), deal· ing, n.

—v. 1 have to do: arithmetic deals with numbers. 2 act; behave. 3 do business:

a butcher deals in meat. 4 give: one fi ghter dealt the other a blow. 5 give a share of; distribute. —n. 1 a business arrangement. 2 arrangement; plan. 3 in cardplaying, the distribution of cards. 4 quantity; amount.

a good (or great) deal, a a large part, portion, or amount (of something). b to a great extent or degree. [OE dœ¯lan]

—dealʹ er, dealʹ er· ship, n.

deal² (dēl), n. board of pine or fi r wood.

[< MLG or MDu. dele]

deal· ing (dēlʹ ing), n. Usually, dealings. a business relations. b friendly relations.

dean (dēn), n. 1 member of the faculty of a college or university who has charge of the studies of the students. 2 head of a division or school in a college or uni-versity. 3 a high offi cial of a church, oft en one in charge of a cathedral. 4 member who has belonged to a group longest.

[< OF < LL decanus master of ten

< decem ten] —deanʹ ship, n.

dean· er· y (dēnʹ әr i), n., pl. –er· ies. 1 posi-tion or authority of a dean. 2 residence of a dean.

dear (dir), adj. 1 much loved; precious.

2 (as a form of address at the begin-ning of letters) much valued; highly esteemed. 3 high-priced; costly. —n. a dear one. —adv. 1 with aff ection; fondly.

2 at a high price. —interj. exclamation of surprise. [OE dēore] —dearʹ ly, adv.

—dearʹ ness, n.

dearth (dėrth), n. 1 scarcity; lack. 2 scar-city of food; famine. [ME derthe < dere hard]

dear· y or dear· ie (dirʹ ē), n. pl. dear· ies.

Informal. dear one; darling.

death (deth), n. 1 the ending of any form of life. 2 any ending that is like dying. 3 being dead. 4 any condition like being dead.

at death’s door, almost dead; dying.

be death on, be well-equipped to han-dle; able to deal with fi rmly.

catch one’s death, Informal. catch a bad cold.

in at the death, Fig. present at the end of something.

put to death, a kill or execute. b killed.

to death, beyond endurance; excessively.

to the death, to the last extremity; to the bitter end. [OE dēath] —deathʹ like´ , adj.

death· bed (dethʹ bed´ ), n. 1 bed on which a person dies. 2 the last hours of life.

—adj. during the last hours of life: a deathbed confession.

death· blow (dethʹ blō´), n. 1 blow that kills. 2 thing that puts an end (to some-thing).

death cup, a poisonous mushroom that has a cuplike enlargement at the base of the stem.

death· less (dethʹ lis), adj. never dying;

living forever; immortal; eternal.

—deathʹ less· ly, adv. —deathʹ less· ness, n.

death· ly (dethʹ li), adj. 1 like that of death.

2 causing death; deadly. 3 Poetic. of death. —adv. 1 as if dead. 2 extremely.

death rate, proportion of the number of deaths per year to the total population or to some other stated number.

death row, block or row of cells where criminals condemned to death are held.

death’s-head (dethsʹ hed´ ), n. a human skull used as a symbol of death.

death’s-head (dethsʹ hed´ ), n. a human skull used as a symbol of death.

In document Students Dictionary of American English (Page 175-178)