Dicynodont - Difference

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Dicynodont (?), n. [Gr. di- = dis- twice + � dog + 'odoys, 'odontos, tooth.] (Paleon.) One of a group of extinct reptiles having the jaws armed with a horny beak, as in turtles, and in the genus Dicynodon, supporting also a pair of powerful tusks. Their remains are found in triassic strata of South Africa and India.
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Did (?), imp. of .

{ Didactic (?), Didactical (?), } a. [Gr. �, fr. � to teach; akin to L. docere to teach: cf. F. didactique. See .] 1. Fitted or intended to teach; conveying instruction; preceptive; instructive; teaching some moral lesson; as, didactic essays. “Didactical writings.” Jer. Taylor.
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The finest didactic poem in any language. Macaulay.
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2. excessively prone to instruct, even those who do not wish to be instructed; -- of people. [Pejorative]
Syn. -- didactic.
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Didactic, n. A treatise on teaching or education. [Obs.] Milton.
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Didactically, adv. In a didactic manner.
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Didacticism (?), n. The didactic method or system.
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Didacticity (?), n. Aptitude for teaching. Hare.
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Didactics (?), n. The art or science of teaching.
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Didactyl (?), n. [Gr. di- = dis- twice + � finger, toe: cf. F. didactyle.] (Zoöl.) An animal having only two digits.
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Didactylous (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having only two digits; two-toed.
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Didal (?), n. A kind of triangular spade. [Obs.]
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Didapper (?), n. [For divedapper. See , , , and cf. .] (Zoöl.) See .
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Didascalar (?), a. Didascalic. [R.]
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Didascalic (?), a. [L. didascalius, Gr. �, fr. � to teach: cf. F. didascalique.] Didactic; preceptive. [R.] Prior.
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Diddle (?), v. i. [Cf. .] To totter, as a child in walking. [Obs.] Quarles.
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Diddle, v. t. [Perh. from AS. dyderian to deceive, the letter r being changed to l.] To cheat or overreach. [Colloq.] Beaconsfield.
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Diddler (?), n. A cheat. [Colloq.]
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Coloq. Jeremy Diddler , a character in a play by James Kenney, entitled “Raising the wind.” The name is applied to any needy, tricky, constant borrower; a confidence man.
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Didelphia (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. � = � matrix, uterus.] (Zoöl.) The subclass of Mammalia which includes the marsupials. See .
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Didelphian (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or relating to the Didelphia. -- n. One of the Didelphia.
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Didelphic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having the uterus double; of or pertaining to the Didelphia.
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Didelphid (?), a. (Zoöl.) Same as .
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Didelphid, n. (Zoöl.) A marsupial animal.
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Didelphous (?), a. (Zoöl.) Didelphic.
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Didelphyc (?), a. (Zoöl.) Same as .
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Didelphys (?), n. [NL. See .] (Zoöl.) Formerly, any marsupial; but the term is now restricted to an American genus which includes the opossums, of which there are many species. See . [Written also Didelphis.] See Illustration in Appendix. Cuvier.
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Didine (?), a. (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to the genus Didus, or the dodo.
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Dido (?), n.; pl. Didos (�). A shrewd trick; an antic; a caper.
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Coloq. To cut a dido , to play a trick; to cut a caper; -- perhaps so called from the trick of Dido, who having bought so much land as a hide would cover, is said to have cut it into thin strips long enough to inclose a spot for a citadel.
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Didonia (?), n. [NL. So called in allusion to the classical story of Dido and the bull's hide.] (Geom.) The curve which on a given surface and with a given perimeter contains the greatest area. Tait.

{ Didrachm (?), Didrachma (?), } n. [Gr. �; di- = dis- twice + � a drachm.] A two-drachma piece; an ancient Greek silver coin, worth nearly forty cents.
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Didst (?), the 2d pers. sing. imp. of .
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Diducement (?), n. Diduction; separation into distinct parts. Bacon.
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Diduction (?), n. [L. diductio, fr. diducere, diductum, to draw apart; di- = dis- + ducere to lead, draw.] The act of drawing apart; separation.
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Didym (?), n. (Chem.) See .
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Didymium (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. � twin.] (Chem.) A rare metallic substance usually associated with the metal cerium; -- hence its name. It was formerly supposed to be an element, but has since been found to consist of two simpler elementary substances, neodymium and praseodymium. See , and .
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Didymous (dĭdĭmŭs), a. [Gr. didymos twofold, twin.] (Bot.) Growing in pairs or twins.
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Didynamia (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. di- = dis- twice + � power.] (Bot.) A Linnæan class of plants having four stamens disposed in pairs of unequal length.
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Didynamian (?), a. Didynamous.
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Didynamous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the Didynamia; containing four stamens disposed in pairs of unequal length.
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Die (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Died (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dying.] [OE. deyen, dien, of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. deyja; akin to Dan. döe, Sw. dö, Goth. diwan (cf. Goth. afd�jan to harass), OFries. d�ia to kill, OS. doian to die, OHG. touwen, OSlav. daviti to choke, Lith. dovyti to torment. Cf. , .] 1. To pass from an animate to a lifeless state; to cease to live; to suffer a total and irreparable loss of action of the vital functions; to become dead; to expire; to perish; -- said of animals and vegetables; often with of, by, with, from, and rarely for, before the cause or occasion of death; as, to die of disease or hardships; to die by fire or the sword; to die with horror at the thought.
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To die by the roadside of grief and hunger. Macaulay.
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She will die from want of care. Tennyson.
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2. To suffer death; to lose life.
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In due time Christ died for the ungodly. Rom. v. 6.
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3. To perish in any manner; to cease; to become lost or extinct; to be extinguished.
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Letting the secret die within his own breast. Spectator.
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Great deeds can not die. Tennyson.
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4. To sink; to faint; to pine; to languish, with weakness, discouragement, love, etc.
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His heart died within, and he became as a stone. 1 Sam. xxv. 37.
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The young men acknowledged, in love letters, that they died for Rebecca. Tatler.
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5. To become indifferent; to cease to be subject; as, to die to pleasure or to sin.
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6. To recede and grow fainter; to become imperceptible; to vanish; -- often with out or away.
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Blemishes may die away and disappear amidst the brightness. Spectator.
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7. (Arch.) To disappear gradually in another surface, as where moldings are lost in a sloped or curved face.
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8. To become vapid, flat, or spiritless, as liquor.
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Coloq. To die in the last ditch , to fight till death; to die rather than surrender.
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“There is one certain way,” replied the Prince [William of Orange] “ by which I can be sure never to see my country's ruin, -- I will die in the last ditch.” Hume (Hist. of Eng. ).
-- Coloq. To die out , to cease gradually; as, the prejudice has died out.

Syn. -- To expire; decease; perish; depart; vanish.
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Die, n.; pl. in 1 and (usually) in 2, Dice (dīs); in 4 & 5, Dies (dīz). [OE. dee, die, F. dé, fr. L. datus given, thrown, p. p. of dare to give, throw. See a point of time.] 1. A small cube, marked on its faces with spots from one to six, and used in playing games by being shaken in a box and thrown from it. See .
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2. Any small cubical or square body.
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Words . . . pasted upon little flat tablets or dies. Watts.
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3. That which is, or might be, determined, by a throw of the die; hazard; chance.
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Such is the die of war. Spenser.
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4. (Arch.) That part of a pedestal included between base and cornice; the dado.
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5. (Mach.) (a) A metal or plate (often one of a pair) so cut or shaped as to give a certain desired form to, or impress any desired device on, an object or surface, by pressure or by a blow; used in forging metals, coining, striking up sheet metal, etc. (b) A perforated block, commonly of hardened steel used in connection with a punch, for punching holes, as through plates, or blanks from plates, or for forming cups or capsules, as from sheet metal, by drawing. (c) A hollow internally threaded screw-cutting tool, made in one piece or composed of several parts, for forming screw threads on bolts, etc.; one of the separate parts which make up such a tool.
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Coloq. Cutting die (Mech.), a thin, deep steel frame, sharpened to a cutting edge, for cutting out articles from leather, cloth, paper, etc. -- Coloq. The die is cast , the hazard must be run; the step is taken, and it is too late to draw back; the last chance is taken.

Diecian (?), a., Diecious (�), a. (Bot.) See , and .
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Diedral (?), a. The same as .
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Dieffenbachia n. a genus of evergreen perennial herbs of tropical America with lush foliage and poisonous sap; often cultivated as houseplants.
Syn. -- genus Dieffenbachia.
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Diegesis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. �, fr. � to narrate; dia through + � to lead.] A narrative or history; a recital or relation.
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diehard (dīhärd), n. 1. one who stubbornly adheres to traditional and outdated views.
Syn. -- traditionalist.
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2. one who vigorously defends an apparently hopeless position, a lost cause, etc.
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diehard (dīhärd), a. stubbornly and vigorously resisting in the face of seemingly hopeless odds; as, diehard opposition.
Syn. -- never-say-die. [PJC]

Dielectric (?), n. [Pref. dia- + electric.] (Elec.) Any substance or medium that transmits the electric force by a process different from conduction, as in the phenomena of induction; a nonconductor, separating a body electrified by induction, from the electrifying body.
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Dielytra (?), n. (Bot.) See .
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Diencephalon (?), n. [NL. See , and .] (Anat.) The interbrain or thalamencephalon; -- sometimes abbreviated to dien. See .
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Dieresis (?), n. [NL.] Same as .
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Diervilla n. small genus of low deciduous shrubs; the bush honeysuckles.
Syn. -- genus Diervilla.
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{ Diesel, Diesel engine or Diesel motor (dēz�l) }. [After Dr. Rudolf Diesel, of Munich, the inventor.] A type of internal-combustion engine in which the air drawn in by the suction stroke is so highly compressed that the heat generated ignites the fuel (usually a heavy oil), the fuel being automatically sprayed into the cylinder under pressure. The Diesel engine has a very high thermal efficiency.
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dieses n. plural of .
Syn. -- double daggers, double obelisks.
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Diesinker (?), n. An engraver of dies for stamping coins, medals, etc.
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Diesinking, n. The process of engraving dies.
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Dies Iræ (?). Day of wrath; -- the name and beginning of a famous mediæval Latin hymn on the Last Judgment.
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Diesis (?), n.; pl. Dieses (#). [NL., fr. Gr. �, fr. � to let go through, dissolve; dia through + � to let go, send.] 1. (Mus.) A small interval, less than any in actual practice, but used in the mathematical calculation of intervals.
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2. (Print.) The mark ‡; -- called also double dagger. It is used in printing to indicate a cross reference or footnote
Syn. -- double obelisk.
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Dies juridicus (?); pl. Dies juridici (#). [L.] (Law) A court day.
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Dies non (?). [L. dies non juridicus.] (Law) A day on which courts are not held, as Sunday or any legal holiday.
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Diestock (?), n. A stock to hold the dies used for cutting screws.
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diestrous diestrual adj. in a period of sexual inactivity; -- of animals that have several estrous cycles in one breeding season.
Syn. -- dioestrous, dioestrual.
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diestrum n. same as .
Syn. -- diestrus.
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diestrus n. a state or interval of sexual inactivity or quiescence between periods of activity; -- of animals having several estrous cycles in one breeding season.
Syn. -- diestrum.
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Diet (?), n. [F. diète, L. diaeta, fr. Gr. � manner of living.] 1. Course of living or nourishment; what is eaten and drunk habitually; food; victuals; fare. “No inconvenient diet.” Milton.
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2. A course of food selected with reference to a particular state of health; prescribed allowance of food; regimen prescribed.
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To fast like one that takes diet. Shak.
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Coloq. Diet kitchen , a kitchen in which diet is prepared for invalids; a charitable establishment that provides proper food for the sick poor.
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Diet, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dieted; p. pr. & vb. n. Dieting.] 1. To cause to take food; to feed. [R.] Shak.
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2. To cause to eat and drink sparingly, or by prescribed rules; to regulate medicinally the food of.
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She diets him with fasting every day. Spenser.
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Diet, v. i. 1. To eat; to take one's meals. [Obs.]
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Let him . . . diet in such places, where there is good company of the nation, where he traveleth. Bacon.
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2. To eat according to prescribed rules; to ear sparingly; as, the doctor says he must diet.
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Diet, n. [F. diète, LL. dieta, diaeta, an assembly, a day's journey; the same word as diet course of living, but with the sense changed by L. dies day: cf. G. tag day, and .] A legislative or administrative assembly in Germany, Poland, and some other countries of Europe; a deliberative convention; a council; as, the Diet of Worms, held in 1521. Specifically: Any of various national or local assemblies; as, (a) Occasionally, the Reichstag of the German Empire, Reichsrath of the Austrian Empire, the federal legislature of Switzerland, etc. (b) The legislature of Denmark, Sweden, Japan, or Hungary. (c) The state assembly or any of various local assemblies in the states of the German Empire, as the legislature (Landtag) of the kingdom of Prussia, and the Diet of the Circle (Kreistag) in its local government. (d) The local legislature (Landtag) of an Austrian province. (e) The federative assembly of the old Germanic Confederation (1815 -- 66). (f) In the old German or Holy Roman Empire, the great formal assembly of counselors (the Imperial Diet or Reichstag) or a small, local, or informal assembly of a similar kind (the Court Diet, or Hoftag). The most celebrated Imperial Diets are the three following, all held under Charles V.: Coloq. Diet of Worms , 1521, the object of which was to check the Reformation and which condemned Luther as a heretic; Coloq. Diet of Spires , or Coloq. Diet of Speyer , 1529, which had the same object and issued an edict against the further dissemination of the new doctrines, against which edict Lutheran princes and deputies protested (hence Protestants): Coloq. Diet of Augsburg , 1530, the object of which was the settlement of religious disputes, and at which the Augsburg Confession was presented but was denounced by the emperor, who put its adherents under the imperial ban.
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Dietarian (?), n. One who lives in accordance with prescribed rules for diet; a dieter.
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Dietary (?), a. Pertaining to diet, or to the rules of diet.
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Dietary, n.; pl. Dietaries (�). A rule of diet; a fixed allowance of food, as in workhouse, prison, etc.
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Dieter (?), n. One who diets; one who prescribes, or who partakes of, food, according to hygienic rules.

{ Dietetic (?), Dietetical (?), } a. [Gr. �: cf. F. diététique. See .] Of or performance to diet, or to the rules for regulating the kind and quantity of food to be eaten.
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Dietetically, adv. In a dietetical manner.
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Dietetics (?), n. That part of the medical or hygienic art which relates to diet or food; rules for diet.
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To suppose that the whole of dietetics lies in determining whether or not bread is more nutritive than potatoes. H. Spencer.
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Dietetist, n. A physician who applies the rules of dietetics to the cure of diseases. Dunglison.
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Diethylamine (?), n. [Pref. di- + ethylamine.] (Chem.) A colorless, volatile, alkaline liquid, NH(C2H5)2, having a strong fishy odor resembling that of herring or sardines. Cf. .
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Dietic (?), a. Dietetic.
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Dietical (?), a. Dietetic. [R.] Ferrand.
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Dietine (?), n. [Cf. F. diétine.] A subordinate or local assembly; a diet of inferior rank.

{ Dietist (?), Dietitian (?), } n. One skilled in dietetics. [R.]
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Diffame (?), n. [See .] Evil name; bad reputation; defamation. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Diffarreation (?), n. [L. diffarreatio; dif- = farreum a spelt cake. See .] A form of divorce, among the ancient Romans, in which a cake was used. See .
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Differ (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Differed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Differing.] [L. differre; dif- = dis- + ferre to bear, carry: cf. F. différer. See 1st , and cf. , .] 1. To be or stand apart; to disagree; to be unlike; to be distinguished; -- with from.
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One star differeth from another star in glory. 1 Cor. xv. 41.
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Minds differ, as rivers differ. Macaulay.
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2. To be of unlike or opposite opinion; to disagree in sentiment; -- often with from or with.
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3. To have a difference, cause of variance, or quarrel; to dispute; to contend.
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We 'll never differ with a crowded pit. Rowe.

Syn. -- To vary; disagree; dissent; dispute; contend; oppose; wrangle. -- To , . Both differ from and aiffer with are used in reference to opinions; as, “I differ from you or with you in that opinion.”” In all other cases, expressing simple unlikeness, differ from is used; as, these two persons or things differ entirely from each other.
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Severely punished, not for differing from us in opinion, but for committing a nuisance. Macaulay.
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Davidson, whom on a former occasion we quoted, to differ from him. M. Arnold.
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Much as I differ from him concerning an essential part of the historic basis of religion. Gladstone.
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I differ with the honorable gentleman on that point. Brougham.
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If the honorable gentleman differs with me on that subject, I differ as heartily with him, and shall always rejoice to differ. Canning.
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Differ, v. t. To cause to be different or unlike; to set at variance. [R.]
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But something 'ts that differs thee and me. Cowley.
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Difference (?), n. [F. différence, L. differentia.] 1. The act of differing; the state or measure of being different or unlike; distinction; dissimilarity; unlikeness; variation; as, a difference of quality in paper; a difference in degrees of heat, or of light; what is the difference between the innocent and the guilty?
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Differencies of administration, but the same Lord. 1 Cor. xii. 5.
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2. Disagreement in opinion; dissension; controversy; quarrel; hence, cause of dissension; matter in controversy.
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What was the difference? It was a contention in public. Shak.
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Away therefore went I with the constable, leaving the old warden and the young constable to compose their difference as they could. T. Ellwood.
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