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The quality or state of being shoaly; little depth of water; shallowness.

the signs or indications of, falsely; to counterfeit; to feign. The Puritans, even in the depths of the dungeons to which she had sent them, prayed, and with no simulated fervor, that she might be kept from the dagger of the assassin. Macaulay.

n the flux and reflux of the tide. -- Slack-water navigation, navigation in a stream the depth of which has been increased, and the current diminished, by a dam or dams.

usually carries a centerboard, and depends for stability upon breadth of beam rather than depth of keel. The two types have rapidly approximated since 1880. One radical distinction is that a slop may carry a centerboard. See Cutter, and Illustration in Appendix. Sloop of war, formerly, a vessel of war rigged either as…

To measure the depth of; to fathom; especially, to ascertain the depth of by means of a line and plummet.

measurement by sounding; also, the depth so ascertained.

The depth to which a spade goes in digging; a spade; a spadeful. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

It follows in the furrow made by an ordinary plow, and loosens the soil to an additional depth without bringing it to the surface. Knight.

nd harbors, the entrances of rivers, with the position of islands, rocks, and shoals, the depth of water, etc. -- Plane surveying. See under Plane, a. -- Topographical surveying, that branch of surveying which involves the process of ascertaining and representing upon a plane surface the contour, physical features, e…

The root of a plant which penetrates the earth directly downward to a considerable depth without dividing.

Having more depth or extent from one surface to its opposite than usual; not thin or slender; as, a thick plank; thick cloth; thick paper; thick neck.

Slight; small; slender; flimsy; wanting substance or depth or force; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering; as, a thin disguise. My tale is done, for my wit is but thin. Chaucer.

ered way. -- Trench plow, or Trench plough, a kind of plow for opening land to a greater depth than that of common furrows.

To plow with deep furrows, for the purpose of loosening the land to a greater depth than usual.

rging pus. It is distinguished from an abscess, which has its beginning, at least, in the depth of the tissues.

lace or space beneath the surface of the ground; subterranean space. A spirit raised from depth of underground. Shak.

A perpendicular shaft sunk to cut the lode at any required depth. Weale.

ed to measure the time of a watch on deck.(Chem.) A round concavo-convex glass of shallow depth used for certain manipulations of chemicals in a laboratory. -- Watch guard, a chain or cord by which a watch is attached to the person. -- Watch gun (Naut.), a gun sometimes fired on shipboard at 8 p. m., when the night w…

An instrument for measuring or ascertaining the depth or quantity of water, or for indicating the height of its surface, as in the boiler of a steam engine. See Gauge.

A pit or hole sunk into the earth to such a depth as to reach a supply of water, generally of a cylindrical form, and often walled with stone or bricks to prevent the earth from caving in. The woman said unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. John iv. 11.