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Power of devising; invention; contrivance. I must have instruments of my own device. Landor.

e door with his boot heels." F. Hardman (Blackw. Mag.). -- Devil worship, worship of the power of evil; -- still practiced by barbarians who believe that the good and evil forces of nature are of equal power. -- Printer's devil, the youngest apprentice in a printing office, who runs on errands, does dirty work (as wa…

nerally with upon, sometimes with to or into. They devolved a considerable share of their power upon their favorite. Burke. They devolved their whole authority into the hands of the council of sixty. Addison.

Disposal; power of disposal. [Obs.] They are entirely at our devotion, and may be turned backward and forward, as we please. Godwin.

Readiness in the use or control of the mental powers; quickness and skill in managing any complicated or difficult affair; adroitness. His wisdom . . . was turned . . . into a dexterity to deliver himself. Bacon. He had conducted his own defense with singular boldness and dexterity. Hallam.

us; nefarious; outrageously wicked; as, a diabolic or diabolical temper or act. "Diabolic power." Milton. "The diabolical institution." Motley. -- Di`a*bol"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Di`a*bol"ic*al*ness, n.

Regal power; sovereignty; empire; -- considered as symbolized by the crown.

e amount of electricity transmitted by different bodies, or to determine their conducting power. Nichol.

lass is corrected by a smaller concave lens, or combination of lenses, of high dispersive power, placed at a distance in the narrower part of the converging cone of rays, usually near the middle of the tube.

Having power to transmit light; transparent; diaphanous.

Having the power to increase perspiration.

A form of government in which the supreme power is vested in two persons.

An instrument for examining the thermal resistance or heat- conducting power of liquids.

ally, a magistrate created in times of exigence and distress, and invested with unlimited power. Invested with the authority of a dictator, nay, of a pope, over our language. Macaulay.

Pertaining or suited to a dictator; absolute. Military powers quite dictatorial. W. Irving.

The office, or the term of office, of a dictator; hence, absolute power.

d with a horny beak, as in turtles, and in the genus Dicynodon, supporting also a pair of powerful tusks. Their remains are found in triassic strata of South Africa and India.

ratus, the same in principle as the differential windlass. (b) A hoisting pulley to which power is applied through a differential gearing. -- Differential screw, a compound screw by which a motion is produced equal to the difference of the motions of the component screws. -- Differential thermometer, a thermometer us…

The state of being diffident; distrust; want of confidence; doubt of the power, ability, or disposition of others. [Archaic] That affliction grew heavy upon me, and weighed me down even to a diffidence of God's mercy. Donne.

Wanting confidence in one's self; distrustful of one's own powers; not self-reliant; timid; modest; bashful; characterized by modest reserve. The diffident maidens, Folding their hands in prayer. Longfellow.