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Given up or forsaken by the natural owner or guardian; left and abandoned; as, derelict lands. The affections which these exposed or derelict children bear to their mothers, have no grounds of nature or assiduity but civility and opinion. Jer. Taylor.

eetness on the desert air. Gray. Desert flora (Bot.), the assemblage of plants growing naturally in a desert, or in a dry and apparently unproductive place. -- Desert hare (Zoöl.), a small hare (Lepus sylvaticus, var. Arizonæ) inhabiting the deserts of the Western United States. -- Desert mouse (Zoöl.), an American m…

The natural longing that is excited by the enjoyment or the thought of any good, and impels to action or effort its continuance or possession; an eager wish to obtain or enjoy. Unspeakable desire to see and know. Milton.

nion or contemptuous dislike of. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Prov. i. 7. Men naturally despise those who court them, but respect those who do not give way to them. Jowett (Thucyd. ).

an absolute or irresponsible ruler or sovereign. Irresponsible power in human hands so naturally leads to it, that cruelty has become associated with despot and tyrant. C. J. Smith.

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.

To go through a process of natural evolution or growth, by successive changes from a less perfect to a more perfect or more highly organized state; to advance from a simpler form of existence to one more complex either in structure or function; as, a blossom develops from a bud; the seed develops into a plant; the embr…

Duty; service owed; hence, due act of civility or respect; -- now usually in the plural; as, they paid their devoirs to the ladies. "Do now your devoid, young knights!" Chaucer.

That branch of natural philosophy which treats of the properties of sound as affected by passing through different mediums; -- called also diaphonics. See the Note under Acoustics.

as crystalloids and colloids, by means of their unequal diffusion, especially through natural or artificial membranes.

A figure by which a syllable naturally short is made long.

Embarrassment of affairs, especially financial affairs; -- usually in the plural; as, to be in difficulties. In days of difficulty and pressure. Tennyson.

readth, height, thickness, or circumference; extension; measurement; -- usually, in the plural, measure in length and breadth, or in length, breadth, and thickness; extent; size; as, the dimensions of a room, or of a ship; the dimensions of a farm, of a kingdom. Gentlemen of more than ordinary dimensions. W. Irving. Sp…

A slight natural depression or indentation on the surface of some part of the body, esp. on the cheek or chin. Milton. The dimple of her chin. Prior.

In a dioecious manner. Dioeciously hermaphrodite (Bot.), having flowers structurally perfect, but practically dioecious, -- those on one plant producing no pollen, and those on another no ovules.

zon (Astron.), the angular depression of the seen or visible horizon below the true or natural horizon; the angle at the eye of an observer between a horizontal line and a tangent drawn from the eye to the surface of the ocean. -- Dip of the needle, or Magnetic dip, the angle formed, in a vertical plane, by a freely s…

To alter the natural hue or color of; to change to a different color; to stain; to tinge; as, a drop of wine will discolor water; silver is discolored by sea water.

range of reasoning faculty. [Obs.] Difficult, strange, and harsh to the discourses of natural reason. South. Sure he that made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and godlike reason To fust in us unused. Shak.

To break the natural order and relations of; to make incoherent; as, a disjointed speech.

Deprived or destitute of natural feelings; unnatural. [Obs.] Shak.