Search the Dictionary

A prefix from Latin de down, from, away; as in debark, decline, decease, deduct, decamp. In words from the French it is equivalent to Latin dis- apart, away; or sometimes to de. Cf. Dis-. It is negative and opposite in derange, deform, destroy, etc. It is intensive in deprave, despoil, declare, desolate, etc.…

The European siskin (Carduelis spinus), a small green and yellow finch, related to the goldfinch.

An officer selected by a general to carry orders, also to assist or represent him in correspondence and in directing movements.

Same as Auto-da-fé.

A rustic wedding feast; a bridal. See Ale. The man that 's bid to bride-ale, if he ha' cake, And drink enough, he need not fear his stake. B. Jonson.

a breach, or impede the advance of cavalry, etc. Obstructions of chain, boom, and cheval-de-frise. W. Irving.

A passage with only one outlet, as a street closed at one end; a blind alley; hence, a trap.

One who deliberately puts an end to his own existence, or loses his life while engaged in the commission of an unlawful or malicious act; a suicide. Burrill.

A large, venomous serpent (Trigonocephalus lanceolatus) of Brazil and the West Indies. It is allied to the rattlesnake, but has no rattle.

The iris. See Flower-de-luce.

A genus of perennial herbs (Iris) with swordlike leaves and large three-petaled flowers often of very gay colors, but probably white in the plant first chosen for the royal French emblem.

The venereal disease; -- often used as a mild oath. [Obs.] Shak.

A city hall or townhouse.

An old name for a pilot boat.

A circular or oval window; -- generally used of architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. A famous room in the palace of Versailles bears this name, from the oval window opening into it.

Having a brownish red color; -- used esp. of light-colored red wine.

The ground story of a building, either on a level with the street or raised slightly above it; -- said esp. of buildings on the continent of Europe.

A dressing gown, or morning gown.

A theory proposed by Ehrlich as a chemical explanation of immunity phenomena. In brief outline it is as follows: Animal cells and bacteria are complex aggregations of molecules, which are themselves complex. Complex molecules react with one another through certain of their side chains, but only when these side chains h…

See Skid, below.