Daff - Dalliance

Prev Next

Daff (dȧf), v. i. To act foolishly; to be foolish or sportive; to toy. [Scot.] Jamieson.
[ Webster]

Daff, v. t. To daunt. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
[ Webster]

Daffodil (dăff�dĭl), n. [OE. affodylle, prop., the asphodel, fr. LL. affodillus (cf. D. affodille or OF. asphodile, aphodille, F. asphodèle), L. asphodelus, fr. Gr. 'asfodelos. The initial d in English is not satisfactorily explained. See .] (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Asphodelus. (b) A plant of the genus Narcissus (Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus). It has a bulbous root and beautiful flowers, usually of a yellow hue. Called also daffodilly, daffadilly, daffadowndilly, daffydowndilly, etc.
[ Webster]

With damask roses and daffadillies set. Spenser.
[ Webster]

Strow me the ground with daffadowndillies,
And cowslips, and kingcups, and loved lilies. Spenser.
[ Webster]

A college gown
That clad her like an April daffodilly. Tennyson
[ Webster]

And chance-sown daffodil. Whittier.
[ Webster]

Daft (dȧft), a. [OE. daft, deft, deft, stupid; prob. the same word as E. deft. See .] 1. Stupid; foolish; idiotic; also, delirious; insane; as, he has gone daft.
[ Webster]

Let us think no more of this daft business Sir W. Scott.
[ Webster]

2. Gay; playful; frolicsome. [Scot.] Jamieson.
[ Webster]

Daftness, n. The quality of being daft.
[ Webster]

Dag (dăg), n. [Cf. F. dague, LL. daga, D. dagge (fr. French); all prob. fr. Celtic; Cf. Gael. dag a pistol, Armor. dag dagger, W. dager, dagr, Ir. daigear. Cf. .] 1. A dagger; a poniard. [Obs.] Johnson.
[ Webster]

2. A large pistol formerly used. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

The Spaniards discharged their dags, and hurt some. Foxe.
[ Webster]

A sort of pistol, called dag, was used about the same time as hand guns and harquebuts. Grose.
[ Webster]

3. (Zoöl.) The unbranched antler of a young deer.
[ Webster]

Dag, n. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. dagg, Icel. dögg. √71. See .] A misty shower; dew. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Dag, n. [OE. dagge (cf. ); or cf. AS. dāg what is dangling.] A loose end; a dangling shred.
[ Webster]

Daglocks, clotted locks hanging in dags or jags at a sheep's tail. Wedgwood.
[ Webster]

Dag, v. t. [1, from dew. 2, from a loose end.] 1. To daggle or bemire. [Prov. Eng.] Johnson.
[ Webster]

2. To cut into jags or points; to slash; as, to dag a garment. [Obs.] Wright.
[ Webster]

Dag, v. i. To be misty; to drizzle. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

dagame n. the lemonwood tree (Calycophyllum candidissimum); -- it is a tropical American tree which is source of a tough elastic wood.
Syn. -- lemonwood tree, Calycophyllum candidissimum.
[WordNet 1.5]

Dagan prop. n. the Mesopotanian god of agriculture and earth; it is a counterpart of Phoenician and Philistine Dagon. See references to Dagon in the Bible and in the opera .
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

Dagda n. in Irish legend, chief god of the Tuatha De Danann; father of Angus Og and Brigit.
[WordNet 1.5]

dagga n. a relatively nontoxic South African herb (Leonotis leonurus) smoked like tobacco.
Syn. -- Cape dagga, red dagga, wilde dagga, Leonotis leonurus.
[WordNet 1.5]

Dagger (-gẽr), n. [Cf. OE. daggen to pierce, F. daguer. See a dagger.] 1. A short weapon used for stabbing. This is the general term: cf. , , , , , .
[ Webster]

2. (Print.) A mark of reference in the form of a dagger [†]. It is the second in order when more than one reference occurs on a page; -- called also obelisk.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Dagger moth (Zoöl.), any moth of the genus Apatalea. The larvæ are often destructive to the foliage of fruit trees, etc. -- Coloq. Dagger of lath , the wooden weapon given to the Vice in the old Moralities. Shak. -- Coloq. Double dagger , a mark of reference [‡] which comes next in order after the dagger. -- Coloq. To look daggers , or Coloq. To speak daggers , to look or speak fiercely or reproachfully.
[ Webster]

Dagger, v. t. To pierce with a dagger; to stab. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Dagger, n. [Perh. from diagonal.] A timber placed diagonally in a ship's frame. Knight.
[ Webster]

Dagges (dăgz), n. pl. [OE. See a loose end.] An ornamental cutting of the edges of garments, introduced about a. d. 1346, according to the Chronicles of St Albans. [Obs.] Halliwell.
[ Webster]

Daggle (dăgg'l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daggled (-g'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Daggling (-glĭng).] [Freq. of dag, v. t., 1.] To trail, so as to wet or befoul; to make wet and limp; to moisten.
[ Webster]

The warrior's very plume, I say,
Was daggled by the dashing spray. Sir W. Scott.
[ Webster]

Daggle, v. i. To run, go, or trail one's self through water, mud, or slush; to draggle.
[ Webster]

Nor, like a puppy [have I] daggled through the town. Pope.

{ Daggle-tail (dăgg'l-tāl), Daggle-tailed (-tāld), } a. Having the lower ends of garments defiled by trailing in mire or filth; draggle-tailed.
[ Webster]

Daggle-tail (-tāl), n. A slovenly woman; a slattern; a draggle-tail.
[ Webster]

Daglock (-lŏk), n. [Dag a loose end + lock.] A dirty or clotted lock of wool on a sheep; a taglock.
[ Webster]

Dago (dāg�), n.; pl. Dagos (-gōz). [Cf. Sp. Diego, E. James.] A nickname given to a person of Spanish (or, by extension, Portuguese or Italian) descent. [U. S.]
[ Webster]

Dagoba (dȧgōbȧ), n. [Singhalese dāgoba.] A dome-shaped structure built over relics of Buddha or some Buddhist saint. [East Indies]
[ Webster]

Dagon (dāgŏn), [Heb. Dāgon, fr. dag a fish: cf. Gr. Dagwn.] The national god of the Philistines, represented with the face and hands and upper part of a man, and the tail of a fish. W. Smith.
[ Webster]

This day a solemn feast the people hold
To Dagon, their sea idol. Milton.
[ Webster]

They brought it into the house of Dagon. 1 Sam. v. 2.
[ Webster]

Dagon (dăgŏn), n. [See a loose end.] A slip or piece. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Dagswain (?), n. [From a loose end?] A coarse woolen fabric made of daglocks, or the refuse of wool. “Under coverlets made of dagswain.” Holinshed.
[ Webster]

Dag-tailed (?), a. [Dag a loose end + tail.] Daggle-tailed; having the tail clogged with daglocks. “Dag-tailed sheep.” Bp. Hall.

{ Daguerrean (dȧgĕrĭ�n), Daguerreian (?), } a. Pertaining to Daguerre, or to his invention of the daguerreotype.
[ Webster]

Daguerreotype (dȧgĕr�tīp), n. [From Daguerre the inventor + -type.] 1. An early variety of photograph, produced on a silver plate, or copper plate covered with silver, and rendered sensitive by the action of iodine, or iodine and bromine, on which, after exposure in the camera, the latent image is developed by the vapor of mercury.
[ Webster]

2. The process of taking such pictures.
[ Webster]

Daguerreotype (dȧgĕr�tīp), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daguerreotyped (-tīpt); p. pr. & vb. n. Daguerreotyping (-tīpĭng).] 1. To produce or represent by the daguerreotype process, as a picture.
[ Webster]

2. To impress with great distinctness; to imprint; to imitate exactly.

{ Daguerreotyper (?), Daguerreotypist (?), } n. One who takes daguerreotypes.
[ Webster]

Daguerreotypy (?), n. The art or process of producing pictures by method of Daguerre.
[ Webster]

Dahabeah (dähȧbēȧ), n. [Ar.] A Nile boat constructed on the model of a floating house, having large lateen sails.
[ Webster]

Dahlia (dälyȧ or dālyȧ; 277, 106), n.; pl. Dahlias (#). [Named after Andrew Dahl a Swedish botanist.] (Bot.) A genus of plants native to Mexico and Central America, of the order Compositæ; also, any plant or flower of the genus. The numerous varieties of cultivated dahlias bear conspicuous flowers which differ in color.
[ Webster]

Dahlin (dälĭn), n. [From .] (Chem.) A variety of starch extracted from the dahlia; -- called also inulin. See .
[ Webster]

Dahoon (dȧh�n), [Origin unknown.] An evergreen shrub or small tree (Ilex cassine) of the southern United States, bearing red drupes and having soft, white, close-grained wood; -- called also Coloq. dahoon holly .
[Webster Suppl.]

daikon n. a radish of Japan (Raphanus sativus longipinnatus) with a long hard durable root eaten raw or cooked.
Syn. -- Japanese radish, Raphanus sativus longipinnatus.
[WordNet 1.5]

Dail n. the lower house of the parliament of the Republic of Ireland; -- also called the Dail Eirann. From its members is selected the , or prime minister.
Syn. -- Dail Eireann.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

Dailiness (?), n. Daily occurence. [R.]
[ Webster]

Daily (dāl�), a. [AS. dæglīc; dæg day + -līc like. See .] Happening, or belonging to, each successive day; diurnal; as, daily labor; a daily bulletin.
[ Webster]

Give us this day our daily bread. Matt. vi. 11.
[ Webster]

Bunyan has told us . . . that in New England his dream was the daily subject of the conversation of thousands. Macaulay.

Syn. -- , . Daily is Anglo-Saxon, and diurnal is Latin. The former is used in reference to the ordinary concerns of life; as, daily wants, daily cares, daily employments. The latter is appropriated chiefly by astronomers to what belongs to the astronomical day; as, the diurnal revolution of the earth.
[ Webster]

Man hath his daily work of body or mind
Appointed, which declares his dignity,
And the regard of Heaven on all his ways. Milton.
[ Webster]

Half yet remains unsung, but narrower bound
Within the visible diurnal sphere. Milton.
[ Webster]

Daily, n.; pl. Dailies (�). A publication which appears regularly every day; as, the morning dailies.
[ Webster]

Daily, adv. Every day; day by day; as, a thing happens daily.
[ Webster]

Daimio (?), n.; pl. Daimios (#). [Jap., fr. Chin. tai ming great name.] The title of the feudal nobles of Japan.
[ Webster]

The daimios, or territorial nobles, resided in Yedo and were divided into four classes. Am. Cyc.
[ Webster]

Daint (?), n. [See , n.] Something of exquisite taste; a dainty. [Obs.] -- a. Dainty. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

To cherish him with diets daint. Spenser.
[ Webster]

Daintify (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Daintified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Daintifying.] [Dainty + -fy.] To render dainty, delicate, or fastidious. “Daintified emotion.” Sat. rev.
[ Webster]

Daintily, adv. In a dainty manner; nicely; scrupulously; fastidiously; deliciously; prettily.
[ Webster]

Daintiness, n. The quality of being dainty; nicety; niceness; elegance; delicacy; deliciousness; fastidiousness; squeamishness.
[ Webster]

The daintiness and niceness of our captains Hakluyt.
[ Webster]

More notorious for the daintiness of the provision . . . than for the massiveness of the dish. Hakewill.
[ Webster]

The duke exeeded in the daintiness of his leg and foot, and the earl in the fine shape of his hands, Sir H. Wotton.
[ Webster]

Daintrel (?), n. [From daint or dainty; cf. OF. daintier.] Adelicacy. [Obs.] Halliwell.
[ Webster]

Dainty (?), n.; pl. Dainties (#). [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See , and cf. .] 1. Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

I ne told no deyntee of her love. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

2. That which is delicious or delicate; a delicacy.
[ Webster]

That precious nectar may the taste renew
Of Eden's dainties, by our parents lost. Beau. & Fl.
[ Webster]

3. A term of fondness. [Poetic] B. Jonson.

Syn. -- , . These words are here compared as denoting articles of food. The term delicacy as applied to a nice article of any kind, and hence to articles of food which are particularly attractive. Dainty is stronger, and denotes some exquisite article of cookery. A hotel may be provided with all the delicacies of the season, and its table richly covered with dainties.
[ Webster]

These delicacies
I mean of taste, sight, smell, herbs, fruits, and flowers,
Walks and the melody of birds. Milton.
[ Webster]

[A table] furnished plenteously with bread,
And dainties, remnants of the last regale. Cowper.
[ Webster]

Dainty, a. [Compar. Daintier (?); superl. Daintiest.] 1. Rare; valuable; costly. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Full many a deynté horse had he in stable. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

☞ Hence the proverb “dainty maketh dearth,” i. e., rarity makes a thing dear or precious.
[ Webster]

2. Delicious to the palate; toothsome.
[ Webster]

Dainty bits
Make rich the ribs. Shak.
[ Webster]

3. Nice; delicate; elegant, in form, manner, or breeding; well-formed; neat; tender.
[ Webster]

Those dainty limbs which nature lent
For gentle usage and soft delicacy. Milton.
[ Webster]

I would be the girdle.
About her dainty, dainty waist. Tennyson.
[ Webster]

4. Requiring dainties. Hence: Overnice; hard to please; fastidious; squeamish; scrupulous; ceremonious.
[ Webster]

Thew were a fine and dainty people. Bacon.
[ Webster]

And let us not be dainty of leave-taking,
But shift away. Shak.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To make dainty , to assume or affect delicacy or fastidiousness. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Ah ha, my mistresses! which of you all
Will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty,
She, I'll swear, hath corns. Shak.
[ Webster]

daiquiri n. an alcoholic beverage containing rum and lime or lemon juice, usually mixed with a fruit juice or fruit extract and often blended with crushed ice; as, a strawberry daiquiri.
Syn. -- rum cocktail.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

Daïra (dä�rä), n. [Turk. daire circuit, department, fr. Ar. daïrah circle.] Any of several valuable estates of the Egyptian khedive or his family. The most important are the Daira Sanieh (sänĭĕ), or Daira Saniyeh, and the Daira Khassa, administered by the khedive's European bondholders, and known collectively as the Daira, or the Daira estates.
[Webster Suppl.]

Dairy (dār�), n.; pl. Dairies (-rĭz). [OE. deierie, from deie, daie, maid; of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. deigja maid, dairymaid, Sw. deja, orig., a baking maid, fr. Icel. deig. √66. See .] 1. The place, room, or house where milk is kept, and converted into butter or cheese.
[ Webster]

What stores my dairies and my folds contain. Dryden.
[ Webster]

2. That department of farming which is concerned in the production of milk, and its conversion into butter and cheese.
[ Webster]

Grounds were turned much in England either to feeding or dairy; and this advanced the trade of English butter. Temple.
[ Webster]

3. A dairy farm. [R.]
[ Webster]

☞ Dairy is much used adjectively or in combination; as, dairy farm, dairy countries, dairy house or dairyhouse, dairyroom, dairywork, etc.
[ Webster]

Dairying, n. The business of conducting a dairy.
[ Webster]

Dairymaid (?), n. A female servant whose business is the care of the dairy.
[ Webster]

Dairyman (?), n.; pl. Dairymen (�). A man who keeps or takes care of a dairy.
[ Webster]

Dairywoman (?), n.; pl. Dairywomen (�). A woman who attends to a dairy.
[ Webster]

Dais (dāĭs), n. [OE. deis, des, table, dais, OF. deis table, F. dais a canopy, L. discus a quoit, a dish (from the shape), LL., table, fr. Gr. � a quoit, a dish. See .] 1. The high or principal table, at the end of a hall, at which the chief guests were seated; also, the chief seat at the high table. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

2. A platform slightly raised above the floor of a hall or large room, giving distinction to the table and seats placed upon it for the chief guests.
[ Webster]

3. A canopy over the seat of a person of dignity. [Obs.] Shiply.
[ Webster]

Daisied (?), a. Full of daisies; adorned with daisies. “The daisied green.” Langhorne.
[ Webster]

The grass all deep and daisied. G. Eliot.
[ Webster]

Daisy (dāz�), n.; pl. Daisies (dāzĭz). [OE. dayesye, AS. dæges-eáge day's eye, daisy. See , and .] (Bot.) (a) A genus of low herbs (Bellis), belonging to the family Compositæ. The common English and classical daisy is Bellis perennis, which has a yellow disk and white or pinkish rays. (b) The whiteweed (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum), the plant commonly called daisy in North America; -- called also oxeye daisy. See .
[ Webster]

☞ The word daisy is also used for composite plants of other genera, as Erigeron, or fleabane.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Michaelmas daisy (Bot.), any plant of the genus Aster, of which there are many species. -- Coloq. Oxeye daisy (Bot.), the whiteweed. See (b).
[ Webster]

daisybush, daisy bush n. any of various mostly Australian attractively shaped shrubs of the genus Olearia grown for their handsome and sometimes fragrant evergreen foliage and profusion of daisy flowers with white or purple or blue rays.
Syn. -- .
[WordNet 1.5]

Dak (d�k or däk), n. [Hind. ḍāk.] Post; mail; also, the mail or postal arrangements; -- spelt also dawk, and dauk. [India]
[ Webster]

Coloq. Dak boat , a mail boat. Percy Smith. -- Coloq. Dak bungalow , a traveler's rest-house at the end of a dak stage. -- Coloq. To travel by dak , to travel by relays of palanquins or other carriage, as fast as the post along a road.

{ Daker (?), Dakir (?), } n. [See .] (O. Eng. & Scots Law) A measure of certain commodities by number, usually ten or twelve, but sometimes twenty; as, a daker of hides consisted of ten skins; a daker of gloves of ten pairs. Burrill.
[ Webster]

Daker hen (?). [Perh. fr. W. crecial the daker hen; crec a sharp noise (creg harsh, hoarse, crechian to scream) + iar hen; or cf. D. duiken to dive, plunge.] (Zoöl.) The corncrake or land rail.

Dakoit, n., Dakoity, n. See , .
[ Webster]

Dakota group (?). (Geol.) A subdivision at the base of the cretaceous formation in Western North America; -- so named from the region where the strata were first studied.
[ Webster]

Dakotas (?), n. pl.; sing. Dacota (�). (Ethnol.) An extensive race or stock of Indians, including many tribes, mostly dwelling west of the Mississippi River; -- also, in part, called Sioux. [Written also Dacotahs.]
[ Webster]

Dal (däl), n. [Hind.] Split pulse, esp. of Cajanus Indicus. [East Indies]
[ Webster]

Dalbergia n. a large genus of tropical trees having pinnate leaves and paniculate flowers and cultivated commercially for their dramatically grained and colored timbers.
Syn. -- genus Dalbergia.
[WordNet 1.5]

Dale (dāl), n. [AS. dæl; akin to LG., D., Sw., Dan., OS., & Goth. dal, Icel. dalr, OHG. tal, G. thal, and perh. to Gr. qolos a rotunda, Skr. dhāra depth. Cf. .] 1. A low place between hills; a vale or valley.
[ Webster]

Where mountaines rise, umbrageous dales descend. Thomson.
[ Webster]

2. A trough or spout to carry off water, as from a pump. Knight.
[ Webster]

Dalea n. a genus of plants including the indigo bush.
Syn. -- genus Dalea.
[WordNet 1.5]

Dalesman (dālzm�n), n.; pl. Dalesmen (dālzm�n). One living in a dale; -- a term applied particularly to the inhabitants of the valleys in the north of England, Norway, etc. Macaulay.
[ Webster]

daleth (?), the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
[PJC]

Dalf (?), imp. of . [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Dalles (dălz), n. pl. [F. dalle a tube, gutter, trough.] A rapid, esp. one where the channel is narrowed between rock walls. [Northwestern U. S. & Canada]

The place below, where the compressed river wound like a silver thread among the flat black rocks, was the far-famed Dalles of the Columbia. F. H. Balch.
[Webster Suppl.]

Dalliance (?), n. [From .] 1. The act of dallying, trifling, or fondling; interchange of caresses; wanton play.
[ Webster]

Look thou be true, do not give dalliance
Too much the rein. Shak.
[ Webster]

O, the dalliance and the wit,
The flattery and the strife! Tennyson.
[ Webster]

2. Delay or procrastination. Shak.
[ Webster]

3. Entertaining discourse. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Prev Next

Concept Explore Home

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