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, who becomes obliged in his stead to the creditor, or to the person appointed by him. Pothier.

A chief or ruler of a deme or district in Greece.

A lord's chief manor place, with that part of the lands belonging thereto which has not been granted out in tenancy; a house, and the land adjoining, kept for the proprietor's own use. [Written also demain.] Wharton's Law Dict. Burrill. Ancient demesne. (Eng. Law) See under Ancient.

The chief magistrate in some of the Greek states.

common people; -- opposed to aristocratic. The Democratic party, the name of one of the chief political parties in the United States.

turies before Christ, for books, deeds, and other such writings; a simplified form of the hieratic character; -- called also epistolographic character, and enchorial character. See Enchorial.

hed bill; -- applied to a group of passerine birds, having the bill notched, and feeding chiefly on insects, as the shrikes and vireos. See Illust. (N) under Beak.

delineate in words; to depict. [Obs.] And do unwilling worship to the saint That on his shield depainted he did see. Spenser. In few words shall see the nature of many memorable persons . . . depainted. Holland.

bring about ruin, death, or devastation; ruinous; fatal; productive of serious evil; mischievous; pernicious; -- often with of or to; as, intemperance is destructive of health; evil examples are destructive to the morals of youth. Time's destructive power. Wordsworth. Destructive distillation. See Distillation. -- De…

A minute portion; one of the small parts; a particular; an item; - - used chiefly in the plural; as, the details of a scheme or transaction. The details of the campaign in Italy. Motley.

tecting; the laying open what was concealed or hidden; discovery; as, the detection of a thief; the detection of fraud, forgery, or a plot. Such secrets of guilt are never from detection. D. Webster.

That which injures or causes damage; mischief; harm; diminution; loss; damage; -- used very generically; as, detriments to property, religion, morals, etc. I can repair That detriment, if such it be. Milton.

, an heraldic bearing. Knights-errant used to distinguish themselves by devices on their shields. Addison. A banner with this strange device -Excelsior. Longfellow.

Diabolical conduct; malignant mischief; devilry. C. Reade.

On the right-hand side of a shield, i. e., towards the right hand of its wearer. To a spectator in front, as in a pictorial representation, this would be the left side. Dexter chief, or Dexter point (Her.), a point in the dexter upper corner of the shield, being in the dexter extremity of the chief, as A in the cut. -…

ed by the inversion of cane sugar or sucrose, and hence called invert sugar. Dextrose is chiefly obtained by the action of heat and acids on starch, and hence called also starch sugar. It is also formed from starchy food by the action of the amylolytic ferments of saliva and pancreatic juice.

Devilry; sorcery or incantation; a diabolical deed; mischief.

A woman who dictates or commands. Earth's chief dictatress, ocean's mighty queen. Byron.

h occasions labor or perplexity, and requires skill perseverance to overcome, solve, or achieve; a hard enterprise; an obstacle; an impediment; as, the difficulties of a science; difficulties in theology. They lie under some difficulties by reason of the emperor's displeasure. Addison.

The elongation, or angular distance from the sun; -- said chiefly of the inferior planets. [R.]