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to its dominion; a colony; as, Great Britain has its dependencies in Asia, Africa, and America.

s may look upon fastidiously, or undervalue and depreciate. Cudworth. To prove that the Americans ought not to be free, we are obliged to depreciate the value of freedom itself. Burke.

ic in passing southward. -- Descending series (Math.), a series in which each term is numerically smaller than the preceding one; also, a series arranged according to descending powers of a quantity.

zonæ) inhabiting the deserts of the Western United States. -- Desert mouse (Zoöl.), an American mouse (Hesperomys eremicus), living in the Western deserts.

preached; also (esp. in the United States), a pulpit. Hence, used symbolically for "the clerical profession."

A member of a group of South American blood-sucking bats, of the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire.

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.

e with stout branches. [Prov. Eng., Irish & Scot.] -- Devil's riding-horse (Zoöl.), the American mantis (Mantis Carolina). -- The Devil's tattoo, a drumming with the fingers or feet. "Jack played the Devil's tattoo on the door with his boot heels." F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.). -- Devil worship, worship of the power of…

A kind of tree (Osmanthus Americanus), allied to the European olive.

of bramble (Rubus); in England, the fruit of R. cæsius, which has a glaucous bloom; in America, that of R. canadensis and R. hispidus, species of low blackberries.

The American black-throated bunting (Spiza Americana).

Formerly, any marsupial; but the term is now restricted to an American genus which includes the opossums, of which there are many species. See Opossum. [Written also Didelphis.] See Illustration in Appendix. Cuvier.

Formerly, any marsupial; but the term is now restricted to an American genus which includes the opossums, of which there are many species. See Opossum. [Written also Didelphis.] See Illustration in Appendix. Cuvier.

The American dipper or ouzel (Cinclus Mexicanus). The Dipper (Astron.), the seven principal stars in the constellation of the Great Bear; popularly so called from their arrangement in the form of a dipper; -- called also Charles's Wain. See Ursa Major, under Ursa.

overy and conquest. Prescott. We speak of the "invention" of printing, the discovery of America. Trench.

other; -- often used in the plural; as, a messenger has arrived with dispatches for the American minister; naval or military dispatches.

; distribution; often used of the distribution of good and evil by God to man, or more generically, of the acts and modes of his administration. To respect the dispensations of Providence. Burke.

der; bursting and opening with an elastic force; dehiscing explosively; as, a dissilient pericarp.

In America, the Cunila Mariana, a fragrant herb of the Mint family.

A small tree of tropical America (Cæsalpinia coriaria), whose legumes contain a large proportion of tannic and gallic acid, and are used by tanners and dyers.