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To grow less, -- opposed to increase; to be diminished gradually, in size, degree, number, duration, etc., or in strength, quality, or excellence; as, they days decrease in length from June to December. He must increase, but I must decrease. John iii. 30.

in a group of persons in which the assumed law of mortality is such that of a given large number of persons, all being now of the same age, an equal number shall die each consecutive year. (b) The decrease of life in a group of persons in which the assumed law of mortality is such that the ratio of those dying in a yea…

A number ten times repeated. [R.]

adical, C10H21, never existing alone, but regarded as the characteristic constituent of a number of compounds of the paraffin series.

To take away, separate, or remove, in numbering, estimating, or calculating; to subtract; -- often with from or out of. Deduct what is but vanity, or dress. Pope. Two and a half per cent should be deducted out of the pay of the foreign troops. Bp. Burnet. We deduct from the computation of our years that part of our tim…

ule of his contemporaries. Buckle. Deficiency of a curve (Geom.), the amount by which the number of double points on a curve is short of the maximum for curves of the same degree.

ient in judgment. The style was indeed deficient in ease and variety. Macaulay. Deficient number. (Arith.) See under Abundant. -- De*fi"cient-ly, adv.

The number ten; a division into ten.

to abstract; thus, 7 feet is a denominate quantity, while 7 is mere abstract quantity or number. See Compound number, under Compound.

That number placed below the line in vulgar fractions which shows into how many parts the integer or unit is divided.

dental letters. Dental formula (Zoöl.), a brief notation used by zoölogists to denote the number and kind of teeth of a mammal. -- Dental surgeon, a dentist.

A small square block or projection in cornices, a number of which are ranged in an ornamental band; -- used particularly in the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders.

cending line makes with a horizontal plane. -- Depression of the dewpoint (Meteor.), the number of degreees that the dew-point is lower than the actual temperature of the atmosphere. -- Depression of the pole, its apparent sinking, as the spectator goes toward the equator. -- Depression of the visible horizon. (Astr…

The number of simple elements which an abstract conception or notion includes; the comprehension or content.

rmission, before the expiration of one's term; to abscond. The soldiers . . . deserted in numbers. Bancroft.

The sum of a series of products of several numbers, these products being formed according to certain specified laws; thus, the determinant of the nine numbers. a, b, c,a', b', c',a'\'b7, b'\'b7, c'\'b7, is a b' c'\'b7 -- a b'\'b7 c' + a' b'\'b7 c] -- a' b c'\'b7 + a'\'b7 b' c. The determinant is written by placing the…

uncertain or arbitrary; fixed; established; definite. Quantity of words and a determinate number of feet. Dryden.

n to other related species. -- Dial lock, a lock provided with one or more plates having numbers or letters upon them. These plates must be adjusted in a certain determined way before the lock can be operated. -- Dial plate, the plane or disk of a dial or timepiece on which lines and figures for indicating the time a…

The number or quantity of ten, particularly ten hides or skins; a dakir; as, a dicker of gloves. [Obs.] A dicker of cowhides. Heywood.

rates which competing railroad lines, in establishing a common tariff, allow one of their number to make, in order to get a fair share of the business. The lower rate is called a differential rate. Differentials are also sometimes granted to cities.