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refusal, as of submission to a charge or sentence. Blackstone. Declinatory plea (O. Eng. Law), the plea of sanctuary or of benefit of clergy, before trial or conviction; -- now abolished.

beautify; to embellish; as, to decorate the person; to decorate an edifice; to decorate a lawn with flowers; to decorate the mind with moral beauties; to decorate a hero with honors. Her fat neck was ornamented with jewels, rich bracelets decorated her arms. Thackeray.

a determination by one having power, deciding what is to be done or to take place; edict, law; authoritative ru "The decrees of Venice." Sh There went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. Luke ii. 1. Poor hand, why quiverest thou at this decree Shak.

al decrement of life. (a) The decrease of life in a group of persons in which the assumed law of mortality is such that of a given large number of persons, all being now of the same age, an equal number shall die each consecutive year. (b) The decrease of life in a group of persons in which the assumed law of mortality…

e; especially, a letter of the pope, determining some point or question in ecclesiastical law. The decretals form the second part of the canon law.

A neglect of, or failure to take, some step necessary to secure the benefit of law, as a failure to appear in court at a day assigned, especially of the defendant in a suit when called to make answer; also of jurors, witnesses, etc. In default of, in case of failure or lack of. Cooks could make artificial birds and fis…

To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault. Sharp reasons to defeat the law. Shak.

aintiff in regard to (the suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to contest, as a suit. Burrill.

One who dares and defies; a contemner; as, a defier of the laws.

-- Definite inflorescence. (Bot.) See Determinate inflorescence, under Determinate. -- Law of definite proportions (Chem.), the essential law of chemical combination that every definite compound always contains the same elements in the same proportions by weight; and, if two or more elements form more than one compo…

at which is chosen as the flower or choicest part; careful culling or selection. [R.] The laws of Normandy are, in a great measure, the defloration of the English laws. Sir M. Hale.

ace, or propriety; irregularity; absurdity; gross deviation from other or the established laws of propriety; as, deformity in an edifice; deformity of character. Confounded, that her Maker's eyes Should look so near upon her foul deformities. Milton.

Italy, that third cousins might marry, being in the seventh degree according to the civil law. Hallam.

gement of another; to transfer; to assign; to commit. The delegated administration of the law. Locke. Delegated executive power. Bancroft. The power exercised by the legislature is the people's power, delegated by the people to the legislative. J. B. Finch.

An offense or transgression against law; (Scots Law) an offense of a lesser degree; a misdemeanor. Every regulation of the civil code necessarily implies a delict in the event of its violation. Jeffrey.

d 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.

ther, assuming the truth of the matter alleged by the opposite party, it is sufficient in law to sustain the action or defense, and hence whether the party resting is bound to answer or proceed further. Demurrer to evidence, an exception taken by a party to the evidence offered by the opposite party, and an objecting t…

degraded, was again a power of the first rank. Macaulay. Dependent covenant or contract (Law), one not binding until some connecting stipulation is performed. -- Dependent variable (Math.), a varying quantity whose changes are arbitrary, but are regarded as produced by changes in another variable, which is called the…

To take unwares or by surprise; to seize, as a person commiting an unlawful act; to catch; to apprehend. The deprehended adulteress.Jer. Taylor.

The operation of deducing one function from another according to some fixed law, called the law of derivation, as the of differentiation or of integration.