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il, so as to wet or befoul; to make wet and limp; to moisten. The warrior's very plume, I say, Was daggled by the dashing spray. Sir W. Scott.

he date of a letter, of a will, of a deed, of a coin. etc. And bonds without a date, they say, are void. Dryden.

To flatter excessively or glossy. [R.] I can safely say, however, that, without any daubing at all, I am very sincerely your very affectionate, humble servant. Smollett.

mechanical advantage, as from levers, pulleys, etc.; hence, an extreme emergency. "(As we say) at a dead lift." Robynson (More's Utopia). -- Dead line (Mil.), a line drawn within or around a military prison, to cross which involves for a prisoner the penalty of being instantly shot. -- Dead load (Civil Engin.), a con…

pinion, from what precedes or from premises; to infer; -- with from or out of. O goddess, say, shall I deduce my rhymes From the dire nation in its early times Pope. Reasoning is nothing but the faculty of deducing unknown truths from principles already known. Locke. See what regard will be paid to the pedigree which d…

To make a demand; to inquire. The soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do Luke iii. 14.

The act of gainsaying, refusing, or disowning; negation; -- the contrary of affirmation. You ought to converse with so much sincerity that your bare affirmation or denial may be sufficient. Bp. Stillingfleet.

To declare not to be true; to gainsay; to contradict; -- opposed to affirm, allow, or admit.

deputation, by delegated authority; as substitute; through the medium of a deputy. [Obs.] Say to great Cæsar this: In deputation I kiss his conquering hand. Shak.

f; 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.

To say; to relate; to describe. [Obs.] Chaucer.

To express as in dialogue. [R.] And dialogued for him what he would say. Shak.

To say; to utter; to communicate authoritatively; to deliver (a command) to a subordinate; to declare with authority; to impose; as, to dictate the terms of a treaty; a general dictates orders to his troops. Whatsoever is dictated to us by God must be believed. Watts.

An authoritative statement; a dogmatic saying; an apothegm. A class of critical dicta everywhere current. M. Arnold.

onveying instruction; preceptive; instructive; teaching some moral lesson; as, didactic essays. "Didactical writings." Jer. Taylor. The finest didactic poem in any language. Macaulay.

To eat according to prescribed rules; to ear sparingly; as, the doctor says he must diet.

[Colloq.] You should have seen children . . . dig and push their mothers under the sides, saying thus to them: Look, mother, how great a lubber doth yet wear pearls. Robynson (More's Utopia). To dig down, to undermine and cause to fall by digging; as, to dig down a wall. -- To dig from, out of, out, or up, to get out…

tinguished 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. -- Diogenes' tub, the tub which the philosopher Diogenes is said to have carr…

Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous. He howhere, that I know, says it in direct words. Locke. A direct and avowed interference with elections. Hallam.

To set aside; to annul; to dismiss. We say such an order was "discharged on appeal." Mozley & W. The order for Daly's attendance was discharged. Macaulay.