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The act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline. "The declination of monarchy." Bacon. Summer . . . is not looked on as a time Of declination or decay. Waller.

The act of declining or refusing; as, the declinature of an office.

ver or hang down, as from weakness, weariness, despondency, etc.; to condescend. "With declining head." Shak. He . . . would decline even to the lowest of his family. Lady Hutchinson. Disdaining to decline, Slowly he falls, amidst triumphant cries. Byron. The ground at length became broken and declined rapidly. Sir W.…

Reclining on the ground, as if too weak to stand, and tending to rise at the summit or apex; as, a decumbent stem. Gray.

on; as, the denial of a fault charged on one; a denial of God. Denial of one's self, a declining of some gratification; restraint of one's appetites or propensities; self-denial.

The act of inclining downward.

Leaning; fitted for a reclining posture. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

The act of reclining at table according to the manner of the ancients at their meals. Sir T. Browne.

Want of esteem; low estimation, inclining to dislike; disfavor; disrepute. Disesteem and contempt of the public affairs. Milton.

To make concave, or depress in the middle, like a dish; as, to dish a wheel by inclining the spokes.

The lining of the mantle borne about the shield or escutcheon.

The art of declining and conjugating words.

The membrane lining the cavities of the heart.

The membrane lining the inner surface of the uterus, or womb.

The layer of vascular connective tissue lining the medullary cavities of bone.

The inner lining of an another cell.

The thin epithelium lining the blood vessels, lymphatics, and serous cavities. See Epithelium.

The epithelial lining of the ventricles of the brain and the canal of the spinal cord; endyma; ependymis.

The superficial layer of cells lining the alimentary canal and all its appendages, all glands and their ducts, blood vessels and lymphatics, serous cavities, etc. It often includes the epidermis (i. e., keratin-producing epithelial cells), and it is sometimes restricted to the alimentary canal, the glands and their app…

Evenly balanced; not unduly inclining to either side; characterized by fairness; unbiased; impartial; equitable; just. Are not my ways equal Ezek. xviii. 29. Thee, O Jove, no equal judge I deem. Spenser. Nor think it equal to answer deliberate reason with sudden heat and noise. Milton.