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ear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. There came a dearth over all the land of Egypt. Acts vii. 11. He with her press'd, she faint with dearth. Shak. Dearth of plot, and narrowness of imagination. Dryden.

ck again, And thankfully rest debtor for the first. Shak. In Athens an insolvent debtor became slave to his creditor. Mitford. Debtors for our lives to you. Tennyson.

ntest or controversy; final; conclusive. "A decisive, irrevocable doom." Bates. "Decisive campaign." Macaulay. "Decisive proof." Hallam.

ining to decline, Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries. Byron. The ground at length became broken and declined rapidly. Sir W. Scott.

especially, a wild animal. [Obs.] Chaucer. Mice and rats, and such small deer. Shak. The camel, that great deer. Lindisfarne MS.

Same as Decameter.

A special breed of the dromedary used for rapid traveling; the swift camel; -- called also herire, and maharik.

; request; as, a demand for certain goods; a person's company is in great demand. In 1678 came forth a second edition [Pilgrim's Progress] with additions; and the demand became immense. Macaulay.

To linger; to stay; to tarry. [Obs.] Yet durst not demur nor abide upon the camp. Nicols.

speak ill of; to depreciate; to malign; to revile. [Obs.] And thou knowest, conscience, I came not to chide Nor deprave thy person with a proud heart. Piers Plowman.

fall; to incline downward; -- the opposite of ascend. The rain descended, and the floods came. Matt. vii. 25. We will here descend to matters of later date. Fuller.

The state of being destroyed, demolished, ruined, slain, or devastated. This town came to destruction. Chaucer. Thou castedst them down into destruction. Ps. lxxiii. 18.

sed chiefly in the plural; as, the details of a scheme or transaction. The details of the campaign in Italy. Motley.

by the action of which the latent image upon a photographic plate, after exposure in the camera, or otherwise, is developed and visible.

e; to languish, with weakness, discouragement, love, etc. His heart died within, and he became as a stone. 1 Sam. xxv. 37. The young men acknowledged, in love letters, that they died for Rebecca. Tatler.

property by an incumbent, through neglect or by intention. The business of dilapidations came on between our bishop and the Archibishop of York. Strype.

, and it is difficult to determine what course to pursue; a vexatious alternative or predicament; a difficult choice or position. A strong dilemma in a desperate case! To act with infamy, or quit the place. Swift. Horns of a dilemma, alternatives, each of which is equally difficult of encountering.

of Jesus; -- also called the apostles. -- Disciples of Christ. See Christian, n., 3, and Campbellite.

To discourage; to deject. His funeral shall not be in our camp, Lest it discomfort us. Shak.

Not They came in two and two, though matched in the most dissociable manner. Spectator.