Deadener - Dearborn
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As harper lays his open palm
Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations.
Longfellow.
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2. To lessen the velocity or momentum of; to retard; as, to deaden a ship's headway.
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3. To make vapid or spiritless; as, to deaden wine.
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4. To deprive of gloss or brilliancy; to obscure; as, to deaden gilding by a coat of size.
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5. To render impervious to sound, as a wall or floor; to deafen.
[Webster Suppl.]
Deadener (dĕd'nẽr), n. One who, or that which, deadens or checks.
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deadening adj. [p. pr. of verb {3}.] Rendering less lively, intense, or vigorous; as, the deadening effect of some routine tasks.
[WordNet 1.5]
2. So lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; as, the deadening effect of some routine tasks.
Syn. -- boring, dreary, ho-hum, irksome, tedious, tiresome, wearisome.
[WordNet 1.5]
deadening n. The act of making something futile and useless (as by routine).
Syn. -- stultification, impairment.
[WordNet 1.5]
Dead-eye (dĕdī), n. (Naut.) A round, flattish, wooden block, encircled by a rope, or an iron band, and pierced with three holes to receive the lanyard; -- used to extend the shrouds and stays, and for other purposes. Called also deadman's eye. Totten.
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Deadhead (?), n. 1. One who receives free tickets for theaters, public conveyances, etc. [Colloq. U. S.]
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2. (Naut.) A buoy. See under , a.
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Dead-hearted (?), a. Having a dull, faint heart; spiritless; listless. -- Dead-heartedness, n. Bp. Hall.
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Deadhouse (?), n. A morgue; a place for the temporary reception and exposure of dead bodies.
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Deadish, a. Somewhat dead, dull, or lifeless; deathlike.
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The lips put on a deadish paleness.
A. Stafford.
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Deadlatch (?), n. A kind of latch whose bolt may be so locked by a detent that it can not be opened from the inside by the handle, or from the outside by the latch key. Knight.
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Deadlight (?), n. (Naut.) A strong shutter, made to fit open ports and keep out water in a storm.
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Deadlihood (?), n. State of the dead. [Obs.]
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Deadliness, n. The quality of being deadly.
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deadlock (?), n. 1. A lock which is not self-latching, but requires a key to throw the bolt forward.
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2. A counteraction of things, which produces an entire stoppage; a complete obstruction of action.
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Things are at a deadlock.
London Times.
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The Board is much more likely to be at a deadlock of two to two.
The Century.
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deadlocked adj. at a complete standstill because of opposition of two unrelenting forces or factions.
Syn. -- stalemated, blocked.
[WordNet 1.5]
deadly (?), a. 1. Capable of causing death; mortal; fatal; destructive; certain or likely to cause death; as, a deadly blow or wound.
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2. Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile; flagitious; as, deadly enemies.
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Thy assailant is quick, skillful, and deadly.
Shak.
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3. Subject to death; mortal. [Obs.]
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The image of a deadly man.
Wyclif (Rom. i. 23).
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Coloq. Deadly nightshade (Bot.), a poisonous plant; belladonna. See under .
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deadly, adv. 1. In a manner resembling, or as if produced by, death; deathly. “Deadly pale.” Shak.
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2. In a manner to occasion death; mortally.
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The groanings of a deadly wounded man.
Ezek. xxx. 24.
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3. In an implacable manner; destructively.
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4. Extremely. [Obs.] “Deadly weary.” Orrery. “So deadly cunning a man.” Arbuthnot.
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Deadness, n. The state of being destitute of life, vigor, spirit, activity, etc.; dullness; inertness; languor; coldness; vapidness; indifference; as, the deadness of a limb, a body, or a tree; the deadness of an eye; deadness of the affections; the deadness of beer or cider; deadness to the world, and the like.
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dead-on adj. precisely accurate and to the point; as, a dead-on feel for characterization. [prenominal and informal]
Syn. -- precise.
[WordNet 1.5]
She avoids big scenes . . . preferring to rely on small gestures and dead-on dialogue.
Peter S. Prescott
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Dead-pay (?), n. Pay drawn for soldiers, or others, really dead, whose names are kept on the rolls.
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O you commanders,
That, like me, have no dead-pays.
Massinger.
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Dead-reckoning (?), n. (Naut.) See under , a.
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Deads (?), n. pl. (Mining) The substances which inclose the ore on every side.
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Dead-stroke (?), a. (Mech.) Making a stroke without recoil; deadbeat.
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Coloq. Dead-stroke hammer (Mach.), a power hammer having a spring interposed between the driving mechanism and the hammer head, or helve, to lessen the recoil of the hammer and reduce the shock upon the mechanism.
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Deadwood (?), n. 1. (Naut.) A mass of timbers built into the bow and stern of a vessel to give solidity.
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2. Dead trees or branches; useless material.
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3. [fig.] People who are unproductive; -- used especially in reference to employees.
[PJC]
Deadworks (?), n. pl. (Naut.) The parts of a ship above the water when she is laden.
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Deaf (dĕf or dēf; 277), a. [OE. def, deaf, deef, AS. deáf; akin to D. doof, G. taub, Icel. daufr, Dan. döv, Sw. döf, Goth. daubs, and prob. to E. dumb (the original sense being, dull as applied to one of the senses), and perh. to Gr. tyflos (for qyflos) blind, ty^fos smoke, vapor, folly, and to G. toben to rage. Cf. b.] 1. Wanting the sense of hearing, either wholly or in part; unable to perceive sounds; hard of hearing; as, a deaf man.
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Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf.
Shak.
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2. Unwilling to hear or listen; determinedly inattentive; regardless; not to be persuaded as to facts, argument, or exhortation; -- with to; as, deaf to reason.
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O, that men's ears should be
To counsel deaf, but not to flattery!
Shak.
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3. Deprived of the power of hearing; deafened.
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Deaf with the noise, I took my hasty flight.
Dryden.
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4. Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened. [R.]
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A deaf murmur through the squadron went.
Dryden.
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5. Decayed; tasteless; dead; as, a deaf nut; deaf corn. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
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If the season be unkindly and intemperate, they [peppers] will catch a blast; and then the seeds will be deaf, void, light, and naught.
Holland.
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Deaf (?; 277), v. t. To deafen. [Obs.] Dryden.
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deaf-aid n. an electronic device which amplifies sound and is worn to compensate for poor hearing.
Syn. -- hearing aid.
[WordNet 1.5]
deaf and dumb, deaf-and-dumb adj. both deaf and unable to speak; without the sense of hearing or the faculty of speech. Same as .
[ Webster +PJC]
Deafen (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deafened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deafening.] [From .] 1. To make deaf; to deprive of the power of hearing; to render incapable of perceiving sounds distinctly.
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Deafened and stunned with their promiscuous cries.
Addison.
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2. (Arch.) To render impervious to sound, as a partition or floor, by filling the space within with mortar, by lining with paper, etc.
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deafened adj. rendered deaf.
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deafening, n. The act or process of rendering impervious to sound, as a floor or wall; also, the material with which the spaces are filled in this process; pugging; sound insulation.
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deafening, a. extremely loud; so loud as to cause deafness; as, a disco with rock music played at a deafening volume.
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Deafly, adv. Without sense of sounds; obscurely.
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Deafly, a. Lonely; solitary. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
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Deaf-mute (?), n. A person who is deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it. [See Illust. of .]
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Deaf-mutes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly.
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deaf-muteness, deaf-mutism n. the condition of being a deaf-mute; a congenital deafness that results in inability to speak.
[ Webster WordNet 1.5]
Deafness (?), n. 1. Incapacity of perceiving sounds; the state of the organs which prevents the impression which constitute hearing; want of the sense of hearing.
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2. Unwillingness to hear; voluntary rejection of what is addressed to the understanding.
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Coloq. Nervous deafness , a variety of deafness dependent upon morbid change in some portion of the nervous system, especially the auditory nerve.
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Deal (dēl), n. [OE. del, deel, part, AS. dǣl; akin to OS. dēl, D. & Dan. deel, G. theil, teil, Icel. deild, Sw. del, Goth. dails. √65. Cf. 3d .] 1. A part or portion; a share; hence, an indefinite quantity, degree, or extent, degree, or extent; as, a deal of time and trouble; a deal of cold.
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Three tenth deals [parts of an ephah] of flour.
Num. xv. 9.
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As an object of science it [the Celtic genius] may count for a good deal . . . as a spiritual power.
M. Arnold.
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She was resolved to be a good deal more circumspect.
W. Black.
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☞ It was formerly limited by some, every, never a, a thousand, etc.; as, some deal; but these are now obsolete or vulgar. In general, we now qualify the word with great or good, and often use it adverbially, by being understood; as, a great deal of time and pains; a great (or good) deal better or worse; that is, better by a great deal, or by a great part or difference.
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2. The process of dealing cards to the players; also, the portion disturbed.
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The deal, the shuffle, and the cut.
Swift.
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3. Distribution; apportionment. [Colloq.]
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4. An arrangement to attain a desired result by a combination of interested parties; -- applied to stock speculations and political bargains. [Slang]
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5. [Prob. from D. deel a plank, threshing floor. See .] The division of a piece of timber made by sawing; a board or plank; particularly, a board or plank of fir or pine above seven inches in width, and exceeding six feet in length. If narrower than this, it is called a batten; if shorter, a deal end.
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☞ Whole deal is a general term for planking one and one half inches thick.
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6. Wood of the pine or fir; as, a floor of deal.
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Coloq. Deal tree , a fir tree. Dr. Prior.
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Deal, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dealt (dĕlt); p. pr. & vb. n. Dealing.] [OE. delen, AS. dǣlan, fr. dǣl share; akin to OS. dēlian, D. deelen, G. theilen, teilen, Icel. deila, Sw. dela, Dan. dele, Goth. dailjan. See , n.] 1. To divide; to separate in portions; hence, to give in portions; to distribute; to bestow successively; -- sometimes with out.
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Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?
Is. lviii. 7.
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And Rome deals out her blessings and her gold.
Tickell.
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The nightly mallet deals resounding blows.
Gay.
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Hissing through the skies, the feathery deaths were dealt.
Dryden.
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2. Specifically: To distribute, as cards, to the players at the commencement of a game; as, to deal the cards; to deal one a jack.
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Deal, v. i. 1. To make distribution; to share out in portions, as cards to the players.
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2. To do a distributing or retailing business, as distinguished from that of a manufacturer or producer; to traffic; to trade; to do business; as, he deals in flour.
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They buy and sell, they deal and traffic.
South.
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This is to drive to wholesale trade, when all other petty merchants deal but for parcels.
Dr. H. More.
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3. To act as an intermediary in business or any affairs; to manage; to make arrangements; -- followed by between or with.
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Sometimes he that deals between man and man, raiseth his own credit with both, by pretending greater interest than he hath in either.
Bacon.
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4. To conduct one's self; to behave or act in any affair or towards any one; to treat.
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If he will deal clearly and impartially, . . . he will acknowledge all this to be true.
Tillotson.
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5. To contend (with); to treat (with), by way of opposition, check, or correction; as, he has turbulent passions to deal with.
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Coloq. To deal by , to treat, either well or ill; as, to deal well by servants. “Such an one deals not fairly by his own mind.” Locke. -- Coloq. To deal in . (a) To have to do with; to be engaged in; to practice; as, they deal in political matters. (b) To buy and sell; to furnish, as a retailer or wholesaler; as, they deal in fish. -- Coloq. To deal with . (a) To treat in any manner; to use, whether well or ill; to have to do with; specifically, to trade with. “Dealing with witches.” Shak. (b) To reprove solemnly; to expostulate with.
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The deacons of his church, who, to use their own phrase, “dealt with him” on the sin of rejecting the aid which Providence so manifestly held out.
Hawthorne.
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Return . . . and I will deal well with thee.
Gen. xxxii. 9.
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Dealbate (?), v. t. [L. dealbatus, p. p. of dealbare. See .] To whiten. [Obs.] Cockeram.
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Dealbation (?), n. [L. dealbatio: cf. F. déalbation.] Act of bleaching; a whitening. [Obs.]
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Dealer (?), n. 1. One who deals; one who has to do, or has concern, with others; esp., a trader, a trafficker, a shopkeeper, a broker, or a merchant; as, a dealer in dry goods; a dealer in stocks; a retail dealer.
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2. One who distributes cards to the players.
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Dealfish (?), n. [From deal a long, narrow plank.] (Zoöl.) A long, thin fish of the arctic seas (Trachypterus arcticus).
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Dealing, n. The act of one who deals; distribution of anything, as of cards to the players; method of business; traffic; intercourse; transaction; as, to have dealings with a person.
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Coloq. Double dealing , insincere, treacherous dealing; duplicity. -- Coloq. Plain dealing , fair, sincere, honorable dealing; honest, outspoken expression of opinion.
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Dealth (?), n. Share dealt. [Obs.]
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Deambulate (?), v. i. [L. deambulare, deambulatum; de- + ambulare to walk.] To walk abroad. [Obs.] Cockeram.
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Deambulation (?), n. [L. deambulatio.] A walking abroad; a promenading. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.
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Deambulatory (?), a. [Cf. LL. deambulator a traveler.] Going about from place to place; wandering; of or pertaining to a deambulatory. [Obs.] “Deambulatory actors.” Bp. Morton.
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Deambulatory, n. [L. deambulatorium.] A covered place in which to walk; an ambulatory.
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Dean (?), n. [OE. dene, deene, OF. deien, dien, F. doyen, eldest of a corporation, a dean, L. decanus the chief of ten, one set over ten persons, e. g., over soldiers or over monks, from decem ten. See , and cf. .] 1. A dignitary or presiding officer in certain ecclesiastical and lay bodies; esp., an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop.
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Coloq. Dean of cathedral church , the chief officer of a chapter; he is an ecclesiastical magistrate next in degree to bishop, and has immediate charge of the cathedral and its estates. -- Coloq. Dean of peculiars , a dean holding a preferment which has some peculiarity relative to spiritual superiors and the jurisdiction exercised in it. [Eng.] -- Coloq. Rural dean , one having, under the bishop, the especial care and inspection of the clergy within certain parishes or districts of the diocese.
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2. The collegiate officer in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England, who, besides other duties, has regard to the moral condition of the college. Shipley.
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3. The head or presiding officer in the faculty of some colleges or universities.
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4. A registrar or secretary of the faculty in a department of a college, as in a medical, or theological, or scientific department. [U.S.]
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5. The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony; as, the dean of the diplomatic corps; -- so called by courtesy.
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Coloq. Cardinal dean , the senior cardinal bishop of the college of cardinals at Rome. Shipley. -- Coloq. Dean and chapter , the legal corporation and governing body of a cathedral. It consists of the dean, who is chief, and his canons or prebendaries. -- Coloq. Dean of arches , the lay judge of the court of arches. -- Coloq. Dean of faculty , the president of an incorporation or barristers; specifically, the president of the incorporation of advocates in Edinburgh. -- Coloq. Dean of guild , a magistrate of Scotch burghs, formerly, and still, in some burghs, chosen by the Guildry, whose duty is to superintend the erection of new buildings and see that they conform to the law. -- Coloq. Dean of a monastery , Coloq. Monastic dean , a monastic superior over ten monks. -- Coloq. Dean's stall . See Decanal stall, under .
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Deanery (?), n.; pl. Deaneries (�). 1. The office or the revenue of a dean. See the Note under , n., 3.
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2. The residence of a dean. Shak.
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3. The territorial jurisdiction of a dean.
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Each archdeaconry is divided into rural deaneries, and each deanery is divided into parishes.
Blackstone.
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Deanship, n. The office of a dean.
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I dont't value your deanship a straw.
Swift.
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Dear (dēr), a. [Compar. Dearer (dērẽr); superl. Dearest (dērĕst).] [OE. dere, deore, AS. deóre; akin to OS. diuri, D. duur, OHG. tiuri, G. theuer, teuer, Icel. dȳrr, Dan. & Sw. dyr. Cf. , .] 1. Bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive.
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The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear.
Shak.
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2. Marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price; as, a dear year.
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3. Highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious. “Hear me, dear lady.” Shak.
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Neither count I my life dear unto myself.
Acts xx. 24.
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And the last joy was dearer than the rest.
Pope.
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Dear as remember'd kisses after death.
Tennyson.
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4. Hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind; engaging the attention. (a) Of agreeable things and interests.
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[I'll] leave you to attend him: some dear cause
Will in concealment wrap me up awhile.
Shak.
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His dearest wish was to escape from the bustle and glitter of Whitehall.
Macaulay.
(b) Of disagreeable things and antipathies.
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In our dear peril.
Shak.
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Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day.
Shak.
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Dear, n. A dear one; lover; sweetheart.
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That kiss I carried from thee, dear.
Shak.
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Dear, adv. Dearly; at a high price.
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If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear.
Shak.
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Dear, v. t. To endear. [Obs.] Shelton.
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Dearborn (?), n. A four-wheeled carriage, with curtained sides.
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Dear-bought (?), a. Bought at a high price; as, dear-bought experience.
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