Search the Dictionary

A clumsy craft, having one mast with a long sail, used for trading purposes on the coasts of Coromandel and Ceylon. [Written also dhony, doney, and done.]

Up, or ahead, as many holes as remain to be played; -- said of a player or side.

To pass around or by; to march or sail round, so as to reverse the direction of motion. Sailing along the coast, the doubled the promontory of Carthage. Knolles.

Having both sashes hung with weights and cords; -- said of a window.

Twice milled or fulled, to render more compact or fine; -- said of cloth; as, double-milled kerseymere.

Having two surfaces; -- said specif. of aëroplane wings or aërocurves which are covered on both sides with fabric, etc., thus completely inclosing their frames.

Having two screw threads instead of one; -- said of a screw in which the pitch is equal to twice the distance between the centers of adjacent threads.

g spirits, to improve the strength and flavor. Doubling a cape, promontory, etc. (Naut.), sailing around or passing beyond a cape, promontory, etc.

To strike or lower in haste; to slacken suddenly; as, douse the topsail.

Hence: Towards the mouth of a river; towards the sea; as, to sail or swim down a stream; to sail down the sound. Down the country, toward the sea, or toward the part where rivers discharge their waters into the ocean. -- Down the sound, in the direction of the ebbing tide; toward the sea.

ward; directed to the ground, from bashfulness, modesty, dejection, or guilt. 'T is love, said she; and then my downcast eyes, And guilty dumbness, witnessed my surprise. Dryden. - Down"cast`ly, adv. -- Down"cast`ness, n.

A sudden fall; a body of things falling. Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid. Holland. Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour. Dryden.

A rope to haul down, or to assist in hauling down, a sail; as, a staysail downhaul; a trysail downhaul.

A piece of canvas fastened by lacing to the bonnet of a sail, to give it a greater depth, or more drop.

raconian laws, a code of laws made by Draco. Their measures were so severe that they were said to be written in letters of blood; hence, any laws of excessive rigor.

To serve as a clog or hindrance; to hold back. A propeller is said to drag when the sails urge the vessel faster than the revolutions of the screw can propel her. Russell.

irectly from the barrel, or other receptacle, in distinction from bottled; on draught; -- said of ale, cider, and the like.

To require (so great a depth, as of water) for floating; -- said of a vessel; to sink so deep in (water); as, a ship draws ten feet of water.

, drift currents; drift ice; drift mud. Kane. Drift anchor. See Sea anchor, and also Drag sail, under Drag, n. -- Drift epoch (Geol.), the glacial epoch. -- Drift net, a kind of fishing net. -- Drift sail. Same as Drag sail. See under Drag, n.

To pass away; -- said of time. [Obs.] Chaucer.