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n; reduction to an unpolarized condition. Depolarization of light (Opt.), a change in the plane of polarization of rays, especially by a crystalline medium, such that the light which had been extinguished by the analyzer reappears as if the polarization had been anulled. The word is inappropriate, as the ray does not r…

Angle of depression (Geod.), one which a descending line makes with a horizontal plane. -- Depression of the dewpoint (Meteor.), the number of degreees that the dew-point is lower than the actual temperature of the atmosphere. -- Depression of the pole, its apparent sinking, as the spectator goes toward the equator.…

nto disorder, confusion, or embarrassment; to disorder; to disarrange; as, to derange the plans of a commander, or the affairs of a nation.

Nascent epidermis, or external cuticle of plants in a forming condition.

; moving downwards. Descending constellations or signs (Astron.), those through which the planets descent toward the south. -- Descending node (Astron.), that point in a planet's orbit where it intersects the ecliptic in passing southward. -- Descending series (Math.), a series in which each term is numerically small…

To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out; as, to describe a circle by the compasses; a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle.

c solution of problems involving three dimensions, by means of projections upon auxiliary planes. Davies & Peck (Math. Dict. ) -- De*scrip"tive*ly, adv. -- De*scrip"tive*ness, n.

, And waste its sweetness on the desert air. Gray. Desert flora (Bot.), the assemblage of plants growing naturally in a desert, or in a dry and apparently unproductive place. -- Desert hare (Zoöl.), a small hare (Lepus sylvaticus, var. Arizonæ) inhabiting the deserts of the Western United States. -- Desert mouse (Zoö…

To create or produce, as a work of art; to form a plan or scheme of; to form in idea; to invent; to project; to lay out in the mind; as, a man designs an essay, a poem, a statue, or a cathedral.

One who designs, marks out, or plans; a contriver.

The act of making designs or sketches; the act of forming designs or plans.

A microscopic plant of the family Desmidiæ, a group of unicellular algæ in which the species have a greenish color, and the cells generally appear as if they consisted of two coalescing halves.

To leave destitute; to forsake; to abandon. [Obs.] To forsake or destitute a plantation. Bacon.

Destructible. [R.] Plants . . . scarcely destroyable by the weather. Derham.

ning the relations of an object, as regards genus and species; the referring of minerals, plants, or animals, to the species to which they belong; classification; as, I am indebted to a friend for the determination of most of these shells.

Determinative tables (Nat. Hist.), tables presenting the specific character of minerals, plants, etc., to assist in determining the species to which a specimen belongs.

o assign to its true place in a system; as, to determine an unknown or a newly discovered plant or its name.

ents; to bring to view. To develop a curved surface on a place (Geom.), to produce on the plane an equivalent surface, as if by rolling the curved surface so that all parts shall successively touch the plane.

sitions of the generator intersect each other. Hence, the surface can be developed into a plane.

g that which is unknown; a gradual unfolding process by which anything is developed, as a plan or method, or an image upon a photographic plate; gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive changes; also, the result of developing, or a developed state. A new development of imagination, taste, and poetr…