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A writing acknowledging a debt; a writing or certificate signed by a public officer, as evidence of a debt due to some person; the sum thus due.

squids, cuttlefishes, and others having ten arms or tentacles; -- called also Decapoda. [Written also Decacera.] See Dibranchiata.

cennium; as, a decade of years or days; a decade of soldiers; the second decade of Livy. [Written also decad.] During this notable decade of years. Gladstone.

A writer of a book divided into decades; as, Livy was a decadist. [R.]

A solid figure or body inclosed by ten plane surfaces. [Written also, less correctly, decaedron.]

The Ten Commandments or precepts given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, and originally written on two tables of stone.

A celebrated collection of tales, supposed to be related in ten days; -- written in the 14th century, by Boccaccio, an Italian.

to sixteen leaves; hence, indicating, more or less definitely, a size of book; -- usually written 16mo or 16º.

slate from secret characters or ciphers into intelligible terms; as, to decipher a letter written in secret characters.

Capable of being deciphered; as, old writings not decipherable.

With decreasing volume of sound; -- a direction to performers, either written upon the staff (abbreviated Dec., or Decresc.), or indicated by the sign.

A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, as to examine a witness, etc. Bouvier.

A sealed instrument in writing, on paper or parchment, duly executed and delivered, containing some transfer, bargain, or contract.

Profoundly book-learned. "Great writers and deep-read men." L'Estrange.

ortant features or portions of; as, to deface a monument; to deface an edifice; to deface writing; to deface a note, deed, or bond; to deface a record. "This high face defaced." Emerson. So by false learning is good sense defaced. Pope.

Act of injuring another's reputation by any slanderous communication, written or oral; the wrong of maliciously injuring the good name of another; slander; detraction; calumny; aspersion.

mation; injurious to reputation; calumnious; slanderous; as, defamatory words; defamatory writings.

To furnish with defenses; to fortify. [Obs.] [Written also defence.] Better manned and more strongly defensed. Hales.

Pertaining to, savoring of, or consisting in, deism; as, a deistic writer; a deistical book. The deistical or antichristian scheme. I. Watts.

A mine; a quarry; a pit dug; a ditch. [Written also delft, and delve.] [Obs.] The delfts would be so flown with waters, that no gins or machines could . . . keep them dry. Ray.