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Delineation; sketch; design; ideal; invention. [Obs.] For though that some mean artist's skill were shown In mingling colors, or in placing light, Yet still the fair designment was his own. Dryden.

To peel off in the form of scales; to scale off, as the skin in certain diseases.

of want; needy; without possessions or resources; very poor. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented. Heb. xi. 37.

Leaping or skipping about. [Obs.] I shot at it [a bird], but it was so desultory that I missed my aim. Gilbert White.

Fitted for, or skilled in, detecting; employed in detecting crime or criminals; as, a detective officer.

A substance which cleanses the skin, as water or soap; a medicine to cleanse wounds, ulcers, etc.

Of determined purpose; resolute. [Obs.] More determinate to do than skillful how to do. Sir P. Sidney. Determinate inflorescence (Bot.), that in which the flowering commences with the terminal bud of a stem, which puts a limit to its growth; -- also called centrifugal inflorescence. -- Determinate problem (Math.), a p…

The pendulous skin under the neck of an ox, which laps or licks the dew in grazing.

Readiness and grace in physical activity; skill and ease in using the hands; expertness in manual acts; as, dexterity with the chisel. In youth quick bearing and dexterity. Shak.

Ready and expert in the use of the body and limbs; skillful and active with the hands; handy; ready; as, a dexterous hand; a dexterous workman.

In a dexterous manner; skillfully.

do with ascertaining the nature of diseases by means of their symptoms or signs. His rare skill in diagnostics. Macaulay.

e work. See Herringbone, a. -- Diagonal built (Shipbuilding), built by forming the outer skin of two layers of planking, making angles of about 45º with the keel, in opposite directions. -- Diagonal cleavage. See under Cleavage. -- Diagonal molding (Arch.), a chevron or zigzag molding. -- Diagonal rib. (Arch.) See…

One skilled in dialectics.

A maker of dials; one skilled in dialing.

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

compose literary works; to tell what shall be written or said by another. Sylla could not skill of letters, and therefore knew not how to dictate. Bacon.

One skilled in dietetics. [R.]

thing hard to do or to understand; that which 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…

Dexterity or skill in securing advantages; tact.