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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,147 words match “PURPOSE”

DOG n.
ling iron, with a claw or claws, for fastening into wood or other heavy articles, for the purpose of raising or moving them.
DOGWOOD n.
ge shrubs or small trees, the wood of which is exceedingly hard, and serviceable for many purposes.
DOMINICAL a.
r the Lord's day (dies Domini). The first seven letters of the alphabet are used for this purpose, the same letter standing for Sunday during a whole year (except in leap year, when the letter is changed at the end of February). After twenty-eight years the same letters return in the same order. The dominical letters g…
DONI n.
A clumsy craft, having one mast with a long sail, used for trading purposes on the coasts of Coromandel and Ceylon. [Written also dhony, doney, and done.]
DONKEY n.
d for propelling, but for pumping water into the boilers, raising heavy weights, and like purposes. -- Donkey pump, a steam pump for feeding boilers, extinguishing fire, etc.; -- usually an auxiliary. -- Donkey's eye (Bot.), the large round seed of the Mucuna pruriens, a tropical leguminous plant.
DOPE n.
Any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as of opium for medicinal purposes, of grease for a lubricant, etc.
DRAPERY n.
A textile fabric used for decorative purposes, especially when hung loosely and in folds carefully disturbed; as: (a) Garments or vestments of this character worn upon the body, or shown in the representations of the human figure in art. (b) Hangings of a room or hall, or about a bed. Like one that wraps the drapery of…
DRAWING KNIFE; DRAWKNIFE n.
A tool used for the purpose of making an incision along the path a saw is to follow, to prevent it from tearing the surface of the wood.
DRESS v.
cifically: (a) To prepare for use; to fit for any use; to render suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready; as, to dress a slain animal; to dress meat; to dress leather or cloth; to dress or trim a lamp; to dress a garden; to dress a horse, by currying and rubbing; to dress grain, by cleansing it; in mining and me…
DRIFT v.
to make a drift; to examine a vein or ledge for the purpose of ascertaining the presence of metals or ores; to follow a vein; to prospect. [U.S.]
DRIFTLESS a.
Having no drift or direction; without aim; purposeless.
DRINK v. 2 definitions
To swallow anything liquid, for quenching thirst or other purpose; to imbibe; to receive or partake of, as if in satisfaction of thirst; as, to drink from a spring. Gird thyself, and serve me, till have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink. Luke xvii. 8. He shall drink of the wrath the Almighty. Jo…
DRUGGET n.
By extension, any material used for the same purpose.
DRUM n.
A cylinder on a revolving shaft, generally for the purpose of driving several pulleys, by means of belts or straps passing around its periphery; also, the barrel of a hoisting machine, on which the rope or chain is wound.
DUNDER n.
the distillation of rum. [West Indies] The use of dunder in the making of rum answers the purpose of yeast in the fermentation of flour. B. Edwards.
DURANCE n.
In modern manufacture, a worsted of one color used for window blinds and similar purposes.
DYSTELEOLOGY n.
The doctrine of purposelessness; a term applied by Haeckel to that branch of physiology which treats of rudimentary organs, in view of their being useless to the life of the organism. To the doctrine of dysteleology, or the denial of final causes, a proof of the real existence of such a thing as instinct must necessari…
ECBATIC a.
ing a mere result or consequence, as distinguished from telic, which denotes intention or purpose; thus the phrase so that it was fulfilled," is ecbatic; if rendered "in order that it might be." etc., is telic.
ECCENTRIC n.
he shaft do not coincide. It is used for operating valves in steam engines, and for other purposes. The motion derived is precisely that of a crank having the same throw. Back eccentric, the eccentric that reverses or backs the valve gear and the engine. -- Fore eccentric, the eccentric that imparts a forward motion t…
ECHOPATHY n.
A morbid condition characterized by automatic and purposeless repetition of words or imitation of actions.
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