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off; a diminution; abatement; deficit. Specifically: Reduction of a claim by deducting a counterclaim; set-off. Abbott.

Originally, a double song; a melody or counterpoint sung above the plain song of the tenor; a variation of an air; a variation by ornament of the main subject or plain song.

e heart. Young. Bank-note detector, a publication containing a description of genuine and counterfeit bank notes, designed to enable persons to discriminate between them. -- Detector l. See under Lock.

e place. Swift. Horns of a dilemma, alternatives, each of which is equally difficult of encountering.

In counterpoint, the imitation of, or reply to, a subject, in notes of half the length or value of those the subject itself.

scriminate; to distinguish. To discern such buds as are fit to produce blossoms. Boyle. A counterfeit stone which thine eye can not discern from a right stone. Robynson (More's Utopia).

To hide by a counterfeit appearance; to cloak by a false show; to mask; as, to disguise anger; to disguise one's sentiments, character, or intentions. All God's angels come to us disguised. Lowell.

one who is displeased; irritation or uneasiness of the mind, occasioned by anything that counteracts desire or command, or which opposes justice or a sense of propriety; disapprobation; dislike; dissatisfaction; disfavor; indignation. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Ps.…

A spiritual or ghostly double or counterpart; esp., an apparitional double of a living person; a cowalker.

Something precisely equal or counterpart to another; a counterpart. Hence, a wraith. My charming friend . . . has, I am almost sure, a double, who preaches his afternoon sermons for him. Atlantic Monthly.

A counterfeit gem, composed of two pieces of crystal, with a color them, and thus giving the appearance of a naturally colored gem. Also, a piece of paste or glass covered by a veneer of real stone.

The grain from the mashing tub; as, brewers' drains. [Eng.] Halliwell. Box drain, Counter drain. See under Box, Counter. -- Right of drain (Law), an easement or servitude by which one man has a right to convey water in pipes through or over the estate of another. Kent.

A thick, ill-shapen piece; a clumsy leaden counter used by boys in playing chuck farthing. [Eng.] Smart.

g on one's credulity; to gull; as, dupe one by flattery. Ne'er have I duped him with base counterfeits. Coleridge.

ds to something else; another, correspondent to the first; hence, a copy; a transcript; a counterpart. I send a duplicate both of it and my last dispatch. Sir W. Temple.

To bring or draw out; to cause to appear; to produce against counter agency or influence; to extract; to evolve; as, to educe a form from matter. The eternal art educing good from ill. Pope. They want to educe and cultivate what is best and noblest in themselves. M. Arnold.

of an agent or force; production of the effect intended; as, the efficacy of medicine in counteracting disease; the efficacy of prayer. "Of noxious efficacy." Milton.

To enter into contest with; to encounter; to bring to conflict. A favorable opportunity of engaging the enemy. Ludlow.

Involved; esp., involved in a hostile encounter; as, the engaged ships continued the fight. Engaged column. (Arch.) Same as Attached column. See under Attach, v. t.

To meet or encounter, as an enemy. [Obs.] Shak.