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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



331 words match “GREEK”

D n.
English alphabet, and a vocal consonent. The English letter is from Latin, which is from Greek, which took it from Phoenician, the probable ultimate origin being Egyptian. It is related most nearly to t and th; as, Eng. deep, G. tief; Eng. daughter, G. tochter, Gr. duhitr. See Guide to Pronunciation, sq. root178, 179,…
DEAD a.
longer spoken or in common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. -- Dead letter. (a) A letter which, after lying for a certain fixed time uncalled for at the post office to which it was directed, is then sent to the general post office to be opened. (b) That which has lost it…
DECACHORD; DECACHORDON n.
An ancient Greek musical instrument of ten strings, resembling the harp.
DELECTUS n.
A name given to an elementary book for learners of Latin or Greek. G. Eliot.
DELTOID a.
Shaped like the Greek Deltoid leaf (Bot.), a leaf in the form of a triangle with the stem inserted at the middle of the base. -- Deltoid muscle (Anat.), a triangular muscle in the shoulder which serves to move the arm directly upward.
DEMIURGE n.
The chief magistrate in some of the Greek states.
DEPONENT a.
Having a passive form with an active meaning, as certain latin and Greek verbs.
DIANA n.
virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade. Pope. Diana monkey (Zoöl.), a handsome, white-bearded monkey of West Africa (Cercopithecus Diana).
DIDRACHM; DIDRACHMA n.
A two-drachma piece; an ancient Greek silver coin, worth nearly forty cents.
DIGAMMATE; DIGAMMATED a.
or its representative letter or sound; as, the Latin word vis is a digammated form of the Greek . Andrews.
DIOGENES n.
A Greek Cynic philosopher (412-323 B. C.) who lived much in Athens and was distinguished for contempt of the common aims and conditions of life, and for sharp, caustic sayings. Diogenes' crab (Zoöl.), a species of terrestrial hermit crabs (Cenobita Diogenes), abundant in the West Indies and often destructive to crops.…
DIONYSIAN a.
of the sun, or 28 years, and the cycle of the moon, or 19 years; -- sometimes called the Greek paschal cycle, or Victorian period.
DIOPHANTINE a.
Originated or taught by Diophantus, the Greek writer on algebra. Diophantine analysis (Alg.), that branch of indeterminate analysis which has for its object the discovery of rational values that satisfy given equations containing squares or cubes; as, for example, to find values of x and y which make x2 + y2 an exact s…
DIRECTOIRE STYLE n.
of the French Directory, characterized by great extravagance of design and imitating the Greek and Roman costumes.
DISCONTINUE v.
iscontinued. Bp. Burnet. I have discontinued school Above a twelvemonth. Shak. Taught the Greek tongue, discontinued before in these parts the space of seven hundred years. Daniel. They modify and discriminate the voice, without appearing to discontinue it. Holder.
DITONE n.
The Greek major third, which comprehend two major tones (the modern major third contains one major and one minor whole tone).
DORIAN a.
Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks of Doris; Doric; as, a Dorian fashion.
DORIC a. 2 definitions
o, or resembling, the oldest and simplest of the three orders of architecture used by the Greeks, but ranked as second of the five orders adopted by the Romans. See Abacus, Capital, Order.
DOTAGE n.
e man, now in his dotage. Capable of distinguishing between the infancy and the dotage of Greek literature. Macaulay.
DRACHMA n. 2 definitions
A silver coin among the ancient Greeks, having a different value in different States and at different periods. The average value of the Attic drachma is computed to have been about 19 cents.
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