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Play; sport; pastime; diversion; playfulness. Milton.

Act of disporting; diversion; play. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Contrariety of nature; diversity in quality. [Obs.] The dissent of the metals. Bacon.

To divert by persuasion; to turn from a purpose by reasons or motives; -- with from; as, I could not dissuade him from his purpose. I have tried what is possible to dissuade him. Mad. D' Arblay.

Tending to dissuade or divert from a measure or purpose; dehortatory; as, dissuasive advice. -- n.

Marked; variegated. [Obs.] The which [place] was dight With divers flowers distinct with rare delight. Spenser.

One who, or that which, distinguishes or separates one thing from another by marks of diversity. Sir T. Browne.

That which diverts attention; a diversion. "Domestic distractions." G. Eliot.

To diverge; to be divaricate. Woodward.

A separation into two parts or branches; a forking; a divergence.

To mark or diversify with small detached objects; as, a landscape dotted with cottages.

Marked with, or made of, dots or small spots; diversified with small, detached objects. Dotted note (Mus.), a note followed by a dot to indicate an increase of length equal to one half of its simple value; thus, a dotted semibreve is equal to three minims, and a dotted quarter to three eighth notes. -- Dotted rest, a…

A grebe or diver; -- applied also to the golden-eye, pochard, scoter, and other ducks. [Written also ducker.] [Prov. Eng.]

One who, or that which, ducks; a plunger; a diver.

), the hooded crow; -- so called from its color; -- also called hoody, and hoddy. -- Dun diver (Zoöl.), the goosander or merganser.

ive a new and permanent color to, as by the application of dyestuffs. Cloth to be dyed of divers colors. Trench. The soul is dyed by its thoughts. Lubbock. To dye in the grain, To dye in the wool (Fig.), to dye firmly; to imbue thoroughly. He might truly be termed a legitimate son of the revenue system dyed in the wool…

The loon or great northern diver. See Loon. [Written also emmer-goose and imber-goose.]

Diversified ornaments, especially by contrasted figures and colors; variegated decoration. Fields in spring's embroidery are dressed. Addison. A mere rhetorical embroidery of phrases. J. A. Symonds.

ong the sides of the body, branchial openings for the branchial sacs, which are formed by diverticula of the alimentary canal. Balanoglossus is the only known genus. See Illustration in Appendix.

e the attention of agreeably; to amuse with that which makes the time pass pleasantly; to divert; as, to entertain friends with conversation, etc. The weary time she can not entertain. Shak.