Desultory
Des″ul‐to‐ry (?), a. [L. desultorius, fr. desultor a leaper, fr. desilire, desultum, to leap down; de + salire to leap. See Saltation.] 1. Leaping or skipping about.I shot at it...
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913.
6.741 entries
Des″ul‐to‐ry (?), a. [L. desultorius, fr. desultor a leaper, fr. desilire, desultum, to leap down; de + salire to leap. See Saltation.] 1. Leaping or skipping about.I shot at it...
De‐sume″ (?), v. t. [L. desumere; de + sumere to take.] To select; to borrow. Sir. M. Hale.
De′syn‐on′y‐mi‐za″tion (?), n. The act of desynonymizing.
De′syn‐on″y‐mize (?), v. t. To deprive of synonymous character; to discriminate in use; — applied to words which have been employed as synonyms. Coleridge. Trench.
De‐tach″ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Detached (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Detaching.] [F. détacher (cf. It. distaccare, staccare); pref. dé (L. dis) + the root found also in E. attach. See ...
De‐tach″, v. i. To push asunder; to come off or separate from anything; to disengage.detaching, fold by fold,From those still heights. Tennyson.
De‐tach″a‐ble (?), a. That can be detached.
De‐tached″ (?), a. Separate; unconnected, or imperfectly connected; as, detached parcels. “Extensive and detached empire.” Burke.Detached escapement. See Escapement.
De‐tach″ment (?), n. [Cf. F. détachement.] 1. The act of detaching or separating, or the state of being detached.2. That which is detached; especially, a body of troops or part ...
De″tail (dē″tāl or dē̍‐tāl″; 277), n. [F. détail, fr. détailler to cut in pieces, tell in detail; pref. dé- (L. de or dis-) + tailler to cut. See Tailor.] 1. A minute portion; o...
De″tail (dē̍‐tāl″), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Detailed (–tāld″); p. pr. & vb. n.Detailing.] [Cf. F. détailler to cut up in pieces, tell in detail. See Detail, n.] 1. To relate in parti...
De‐tail″, n.(Arch. & Mach.) (a) A minor part, as, in a building, the cornice, caps of the buttresses, capitals of the columns, etc., or (called larger details) a porch, a gable ...
De‐tail″er (?), n. One who details.
De‐tain″ (dē̍‐tān″), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Detained (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Detaining.] [F. détenir, L. detinere, detentum; de + tenere to hold. See Tenable.] 1. To keep back or from; ...
De‐tain″, n. Detention. Spenser.
De‐tain″der (–dẽr), n.(Law) A writ. See Detinue.
De‐tain″er (–ẽr), n. 1. One who detains.2. (Law) (a) The keeping possession of what belongs to another; detention of what is another's, even though the original taking may have ...
De‐tain″ment (?), n. [Cf. OF. detenement.] Detention. Blackstone.
De‐tect″ (dē̍‐tĕkt″), a. [L. detectus, p. p. of detegere to uncover, detect; de + tegere to cover. See Tegument.] Detected. Fabyan.
De‐tect″ (dē̍‐tĕkt″), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Detected; p. pr. & vb. n.Detecting.] 1. To uncover; to discover; to find out; to bring to light; as, to detect a crime or a criminal; to...
{ De‐tect″a‐ble (–ȧ‐b'l), De‐tect″i‐ble (?), } a. Capable of being detected or found out; as, parties not detectable. “Errors detectible at a glance.” Latham.
De‐tect″er (?), n. One who, or that which, detects or brings to light; one who finds out what another attempts to conceal; a detector.
De‐tec″tion (?), n. [L. detectio an uncovering, revealing.] The act of detecting; the laying open what was concealed or hidden; discovery; as, the detection of a thief; the dete...
De‐tect″ive (?), a. Fitted for, or skilled in, detecting; employed in detecting crime or criminals; as, a detective officer.
De‐tect″ive, n. One who business it is so detect criminals or discover matters of secrecy.
De‐tect″or (?), n. One who, or that which, detects; a detecter. Shak.A deathbed's detector of the heart. Young.Bank-note detector, a publication containing a description of genu...
De‐tect″or, n. Specifically: (a) An indicator showing the depth of the water in a boiler. (b) (Elec.) A galvanometer, usually portable, for indicating the direction of a current...