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The act of passing by osmosis through animal membranes, as in the distribution of poisons, gases, etc., through the body. Unlike absorption, diffusion may go on after death, that is, after the blood ceases to circulate.

r comfortably or patiently; to be reconciled to; to brook. I never can digest the loss of most of Origin's works. Coleridge.

ators; to contend fiercely; to dispute violently. [Obs.] Digladiating like Æschines and Demosthenes. Hales.

The state of being dimpled, or marked with gentle depressions. [R.] The ground's most gentle dimplement. Mrs. Browning.

The principal meal of the day, eaten by most people about midday, but by many (especially in cities) at a later hour.

An order of extinct mesozoic reptiles, mostly of large size (whence the name). Notwithstanding their size, they present birdlike characters in the skeleton, esp. in the pelvis and hind limbs. Some walked on their three-toed hind feet, thus producing the large "bird tracks," so-called, of mesozoic sandstones; others wer…

A subclass of gastropod mollusks in which the sexes are separate. It includes most of the large marine species, like the conchs, cones, and cowries.

ve order of insects having only two functional wings and two balancers, as the house fly, mosquito, etc. They have a suctorial proboscis, often including two pairs of sharp organs (mandibles and maxillæ) with which they pierce the skin of animals. They undergo a complete metamorphosis, their larvæ (called maggots) bein…

Straightforwardly; honestly. I have dealt most directly in thy affair. Shak.

judged wrong, unsuitable, or inexpedient; feeling of censure. We have ever expressed the most unqualified disapprobation of all the steps. Burke.

ted; as, a disastrous day; a disastrous termination of an undertaking. Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances. Shak. -- Dis*as"trous*ly, adv. -- Dis*as"trous*ness, n.

Subjection to rule; submissiveness to order and control; habit of obedience. The most perfect, who have their passions in the best discipline, are yet obliged to be constantly on their guard. Rogers.

A division of acalephs or jellyfishes, including most of the large disklike species. -- Dis*coph"o*rous, a.

To utter or give forth; to speak. It will discourse mosShak.

One who discourse; a narrator; a speaker; an haranguer. In his conversation he was the most clear discourser. Milward.

Discordant; at variance; disagreeing; contrary; different. The Egyptians were . . . the most oddly discrepant from the rest in their manner of worship. Cudworth.

To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exculpate. I almost fear you think I begged it, but I can disculpate myself. Walpole.

That which is worthy to be disdained or regarded with contempt and aversion. [Obs.] Most loathsome, filthy, foul, and full of vile disdain. Spenser.

range the vital functions of; to afflict with disease or sickness; to disorder; -- used almost exclusively in the participle diseased. He was diseased in body and mind. Macaulay.

o fall to pieces, as a rock, by blows of a hammer, frost, rain, and other mechanical or atmospheric influences. Marlites are not disintegrated by exposure to the atmosphere, at least in six years. Kirwan.