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ecoil; deadbeat. Dead-stroke hammer (Mach.), a power hammer having a spring interposed between the driving mechanism and the hammer head, or helve, to lessen the recoil of the hammer and reduce the shock upon the mechanism.

termediary in business or any affairs; to manage; to make arrangements; -- followed by between or with. Sometimes he that deals between man and man, raiseth his own credit with both, by pretending greater interest than he hath in either. Bacon.

on or dispute; as, a debatable question. The Debatable Land or Ground, a tract of land between the Esk and the Sark, claimed by both England and Scotland; the Batable Ground.

A heap or store. [Obs.] Who . . . hath such trinkets Ready in the deck. Massinger. Between decks. See under Between. -- Deck bridge (Railroad Engineering), a bridge which carries the track upon the upper chords; -- distinguished from a through bridge, which carries the track upon the lower chords, between the girders.…

The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south.

in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks, etc.

A work constructed beyond the main ditch of a fortress, and in front of the curtain between two bastions, intended to defend the curtain; a ravelin. See Ravelin.

A half wolf; a mongrel dog, between a dog and a wolf.

A spirit, or immaterial being, holding a middle place between men and deities in pagan mythology. The demon kind is of an inSydenham.

Having a form intermediate between dentate and sinuate.

A group of lemuroid mammals having a parachutelike web of skin between the fore and hind legs, of which the colugo (Galeopithecus) is the type. See Colugo.

class to which a certain representation is applicable; kind; sort. A difference . . . between them and another description of public creditors. A. Hamilton. The plates were all of the meanest description. Macaulay.

nt." Pope. Dessert spoon, a spoon used in eating dessert; a spoon intermediate in size between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. -- Dessert-spoonful, n., pl. Dessert-spoonfuls, as much as a dessert spoon will hold, usually reckoned at about two and a half fluid drams.

tion of genuine and counterfeit bank notes, designed to enable persons to discriminate between them. -- Detector l. See under Lock.

A bar, connected with a switch, longer than the distance between any two consecutive wheels of a train (45 to 50 feet), laid inside a rail and operated by the wheels so that the switch cannot be thrown until all the train is past the switch.

The determinant is written by placing the numbers from which it is formed in a square between two vertical lines. The theory of determinants forms a very important branch of modern mathematics.

the iron parts of the ship. -- Deviation of the line of the vertical, the difference between the actual direction of a plumb line and the direction it would have if the earth were a perfect ellipsoid and homogeneous, -- caused by the attraction of a mountain, or irregularities in the earth's density.…

A double-walled glass vessel for holding liquid air, etc., having the space between the walls exhausted so as to prevent conduction of heat, and sometimes having the glass silvered to prevent absorption of radiant heat; -- called also, according to the particular shape, Dewar bulb, Dewar tube, etc.

A prefix denoting through; also, between, apart, asunder, across. Before a vowel dia- becomes di-; as, diactinic; dielectric, etc.

ferential diagnosis (Med.), the determination of the distinguishing characteristics as between two similar diseases or conditions.