Century Dictionary 9781463211226

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia, edited by William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E. Smith, comprises twelve volumes

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Century Dictionary
 9781463211226

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THE

CENTURY DICTIONARY AN E N C Y C L O P E D I C LEXICON OF T H E E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E t

PREPARED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF

IAM D W I G H T WHITNEY, PH.D., L L . D . PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY AND SANSKRIT IN YALE UNIVERSITY

VOLUME III

A

«

GORGIAS PRESS 2006

First Gorgias Press Edition, 2006. Copyright © 2006 by Gorgias Press LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the LTnited States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey.

ISBN 1-59333-375-7 (SET) ISBN 1-59333-376-5 (Atlas) ISBN 1-59333-377-3 (Vol 1) ISBN 1-59333-378-1 (Vol 2) ISBN 1-59333-379-X (Vol 3) ISBN 1-59333-380-3 (Vol 4) ISBN 1-59333-381-1 (Vol 5) ISBN 1-59333-382-X (Vol 6) ISBN 1-59333-383-8 (Vol 7) ISBN 1-59333-384-6 (Vol 8) ISBN 1-59333-385-4 (Vol 9) ISBN 1-59333-386-2 (Vol 10) ISBN 1-59333-387-0 (Vol 11) ISBN 1-59333-388-9 (Vol 12)

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GORGIAS PRESS 46 Orris Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com Printed in the LTnited States of America

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE ETYMOLOGIES AND DEFINITIONS. a., adj abbr abl acc accom act adv AF agri AL alg Amer. an at anc antiq aor appar Ar arch archœ ol arith art AS astrol astron attrib aug Bav Beng biol Bohem bot Braz Bret bryol Bulg carp Cat Cath caus ceram cf ch Chal chem Chin chron colloq nom comp compar conch conj contr Corn cranio! craniom crystal D Dan dat def deriv dial diff dim distrib dram dynam E E eccl., eccles econ e. g Egypt E. Ind elect embryol Eng

adjective. abbreviation. ablative. accusative. accommodated, accommodation. active. adverb. Anglo-French, agriculture. Anglo-Latin. algebra. American. anatomy. ancient. antiquity. aoiist. apparently. Arabic. architecture. archaeology. arithmetic. article. Anglo-Saxon. astrology. astronomy. attributive. augmentative. Bavarian. Bengali. biology. Bohemian. botany. Brazilian. Breton. bryology. Bulgarian. carpentry. Catalan. Catholic. causative. ceramics. L. confer, compare. church. Chaldee. chemical, chemistry. Chinese. chronology. colloquial, colloquially. commerce, commercial. composition, compound. comparative. conchology. conjunction. contracted, contraction. Cornish. crariiology. craniometry. crystallography. Dutch. Danish. dative. definite, definition. derivative, derivation. dialect, dialectal. different. diminutive. distributive. dramatic. dynamics. "East. English (uwallif meanîX'/moderiiEnglish). ecclesiastical. economy. L. exempli gratia, for example. Egyptian. East Indian. electricity. embryology. English.

engin entom Epis equiv esp Eth ethnog ethnol etym Eur exclam f.. fem F Flem fort freq Fries f ut G

Gael galv gen geos geom Goth Gr gram gun Hcb herpet Hind hist horol

engineering. entomology. Episcopal. equivalent. especially. Ethiopic. ethnography. ethnology. etymology. European. exclamation. feminine. French {usually meaning modern French). Flemish. fortification. frequentative. Friesic. future. German {usually meaning New High German). . . . .Gaelic. . . . .genitive. . . . .geography. geometry, Gothic (Mcesogothic). . . . .Greek. . . . .grammar.

mech med mensur metal metaph meteor Mex MGr MEG milit mineral ML MLG mod mycol myth i) n., lieut N N N. Amer. nat naut nav. NGr NHG

NL . . . .heraldry. herpetology.

history. horology. horticulture. Hungarian. Hung hydraulics. hydraul. .. hydrostatics. hydros . . . . Icelandic {usually Icel rneaning Old Icelandic, other ivise called Old Norse). .. ichthyology. ichth . .L. id eat, that is. . .impersonal. .. imperfect. impf . .imperative. . improperly. improp .. Indian. Ind . .indicative. ind . Indo-European. Indo-Eur . indefinite. indef. . .infinitive. inf . .instrumental. instr . interjection. interj intr,, in trans.. . .intransitive. ..Irish. Ir .. irregular, irregularly. irreg .. Italian. It . .Japanese. ..Latin (usually meanL. ing classical Latin). .. Lettish. Lett . .Low German. LG .. liclienology. lichenol .. literal, literally. lit . .literature. lit . .Lithuanian. Lith .. lithography. lithog Iithol . .lithology. .. Late Latin. LL . .masculine. m., niasc ..Middle. M . machinery. mach .. mammalogy. mammal . .manufacturing. rnanuf math . .mathematics. .. .Middle Dutch. MD , . . Middle English {otherME wise called Old English).

nom Norm north Norw numis 0 obs obstet OBulg

OCat OD ODan odontog odontol OF OFlem OGael OHG Olr Olt. OL OLG ONorth OPruss orig ornith OS OSp osteol OSw OTeut p. a paleon part pass pathol perf Pers pers persp Peruv petrog Pg phar Phen philol philos phonog

mechanics, mechanical. medicine. mensuration. metallurgy. metaphysics. meteorology. Mexican. Middle Greek, medieval Greek. Middle High German. military. mineralogy. Middle Latin, medieval Latin. Middle Low German. modern. mycology. mythology. noun. neuter. New. North. North America. natural. nautical. navigation. New Greek, modern Greek. New High German (-usually simply G., German). New Latin, modern Latin. nominative. Norman. northern. Norwegian. numismatics. Old. obsolete, obstetrics. Old Bulgarian {otherwise called Church Slavonic, Old Slavic, Old Slavonic). Old Catalan. Old Dutch. Old Danish. odontography. odontology. Old French, Old Flemish. Old Gaelic. Old High German. Old Irish. Old Italian. Old Latin. Old Low German. Old Northumbrian Old Prussian. original, originally. ornithology. Old Saxon. Old Spanish. osteology. Old Swedish. Old Teutonic. participial adjective. paleontology. participle. passive. pathology. perfect. Persian. person. perspective. Peruvian. petrography. Portuguese. pharmacy. Phenician. philology. philosophy. phonography.

photog phren pliys physiol pi., plur poet polit Pol poss pp ppr Pr

pref prep près prêt. priv prob pron pron prop pros Prot prov psycliol q. v refl reg repr rhet Rom Rom Russ S S. Amer se Sc Scand Scrip sculp Serv sing Skt Slav Sp subj superl surg surv Sw Byn Syr. technol teleg teratol term Teut theat theol therap toxiool tr., trans trigon. Turk typog ult v var vet. v. i v. t W. Wall Wallach W. Ind zoogeog zool zoôt

photography. phrenology. physical. physiology. plural. poetical. political. Polish. possessive. past participle. present participle, Provencal {usually meaning Old Provençal), prefix. preposition. present, preterit. privative. probably, probable. pronoun. pronounced, pronunciation. properly. prosody. Protestant. provincial. psychology. L. quod (or pi. quce) vide, which see. reflexive. regular, regularly. representing. rhetoric. Roman. Romanic, Romance (languages). Russian. South. South American. L. scilicet, understand, supply. Scotch, Scandinavian. Scripture. sculpture. Servian. singular. Sanskrit, Slavic, Slavonic. Spanish. subjunctive. superlativ e. surgery. surveying. Swedish. synonymy. Syriac. technology. telegraphy. teratology. termination. Teutonic. theatrical. theology. therapeutics. toxicology. transitive. trigonometry. Turkish. typography. ultimate, ultimately. verb. variant. veterinary. intransitive verb. transitive verb. Welsh. Walloon. Wallachian. West Indian. zoogeography. zoblogy. zootomy.

KEY TO a a & & a a e e 6 i I o o 9 6 u U

as in fat, man, pang, as in fate, mane, dale. as in far, father, guard. as in fall, talk, naught, as in ask, fast, ant. as in fare, hair, bear, as in met, pen, bless, as in mete, meet, meat. as in her, fern, heard, as in pin, it, biscuit. as in pine, fight, file, as in not, on, frog, as in note, poke, floor. as in move, spoon, room. as in nor, song, off. as in tub, son, blood. as in mute, acute, few (also new, tube, duty: see Preface, pp. ix, x).

£l li oi ou

PRONUNCIATION.

as in pull, book, could. German ü, French u. as in oil, joint, boy. as in pound, proud, now.

A single dot under a vowel in an unaccented syllable indicates its abbreviation and lightening, without absolute loss of its distinctive quality. See Preface, p. xi. Thus: jj. § q ü

as in as in as in as in

prelate, courage, captain. ablegate, episcopal. abrogate, eulogy, democrat, singular, education.

A double dot under a vowel in an unaccented syllable indicates that,

even in the mouths of the best speakers, its sound is variable to, and in ordinary utterance actually becomes, the short ?«-sound (of but, pun, etc.). See Preface, p. xi. Thus: a e i o ji jj fl

as in errant, republican, as in prudent, difference, as in charity, density, as in valor, actor, idiot, as in Persia, peninsula, as in the book, as in nature, feature.

A mark under the consonants t, d, 8, z indicates that they in like manner are variable to ch, j, sh, zh. Thus:

t (j. g g

as as as as

in in in in

nature, adventure, arduous, education, pressure, seizure.

th as in thin. tit as in then. ch as in German ach, Scotch loch, ii French nasalizing n, as in ton, en. Iy (in French words) French liquid (mouillé) 1. ' denotes a primary, " a secondary accent. (A secondary accent is not marked if at its regular interval of two syllables from the primary, or from another secondary.)

SIGNS. < > + = y * t

read from; i. e., derived from. read whence; i. e., from which is derived. read and; i. e., compounded with, or with suffix. read cognate with; i. e,, etymologically parallel with. read root. read theoretical or alleged; i. e., theoretically assumed, or asserted but unverified, form, read obsolete.

SPECIAL A superior figure placed after a title-word indicates that the word so marked is distinct etymologically from other words, following or preceding it, spelled in the same manner and marked with different numbers. Thus:

b a c k ! (bak), n. The posterior part, etc. b a c k 1 (bak), a. Lying or being behind, etc. b a c k 1 (bak), v. To furnish with a back, etc. b a c k * (bak), adv. Behind, etc. b a c k s t (bak), n. The earlier form of bat-2. b a c k 8 (bak), n. A large flat-bottomed boat> etc.

Various abbreviations have been used in the credits to the quotations, as " N o . " for number, " s t . " f o r stanza, " p . " for page, "1." for line, If for paragraph, " f o l . " for folio. The method used in indicating the subdivisions of books will be understood by reference to the following plan :

Section only.. Chapter only.

EXPLANATIONS.

Canto only Book only Book and chapter Part and chapter Book and line Book and page Act and scene Chapter and verse Ko. and page Volume and page Volume and chapter Part, book, and chapter Part, canto, and stanza Chapter and section or % Volume, part, and section or 1 " . . . . Book, chapter, and section or % . . .

I I . 34. IV, iv. I I . iv. 12. I I . iv. 12. vii. § or If S. I. i. § or *T 6. I. i. § or li 6.

Different grammatical phases of the same word are grouped under one head, and distinguished by the Roman numerals I., I I . , I I I . , etc. This applies to transitive and intransitive uses of the same verb, to adjectives used also as nouns, to nouns used also as adjectives, to adverbs used also as prepositions or conjunctions, etc.

The capitalizing and italicizing of certain or all of the words in a synonym-list indicates that the words so distinguished are discriminated in the text immediately following, or under the title referred to. The figures by which the synonym-lists are sometimes divided indicate the senses or definitions with which they are connected. The title-words begin with a small (lower-case) letter, or with a capital, according to usage. When usage differs, in this matter, with the different senses of a word, the abbreviations for "capital "and [I. c.Jfor "lowercase" are used to indicate this variation. The difference observed in regard to the capitalizing of the second element in zoological and botanical terms is in accordance with the existing usage in the two sciences. Thus, in zoology, in a scientific name consisting of two words the second of which is derived from a proper name, only the first would be capitalized. But a name of similar derivation in botany would have the second element also capitalized. The names of zoological and botanical classes, orders, families, genera, etc., have been uniformly Italicized, in accordance with the present usage of scientific writers.

KEY TO a a & & a a e e 6 i I o o 9 6 u U

as in fat, man, pang, as in fate, mane, dale. as in far, father, guard. as in fall, talk, naught, as in ask, fast, ant. as in fare, hair, bear, as in met, pen, bless, as in mete, meet, meat. as in her, fern, heard, as in pin, it, biscuit. as in pine, fight, file, as in not, on, frog, as in note, poke, floor. as in move, spoon, room. as in nor, song, off. as in tub, son, blood. as in mute, acute, few (also new, tube, duty: see Preface, pp. ix, x).

£l li oi ou

PRONUNCIATION.

as in pull, book, could. German ü, French u. as in oil, joint, boy. as in pound, proud, now.

A single dot under a vowel in an unaccented syllable indicates its abbreviation and lightening, without absolute loss of its distinctive quality. See Preface, p. xi. Thus: jj. § q ü

as in as in as in as in

prelate, courage, captain. ablegate, episcopal. abrogate, eulogy, democrat, singular, education.

A double dot under a vowel in an unaccented syllable indicates that,

even in the mouths of the best speakers, its sound is variable to, and in ordinary utterance actually becomes, the short ?«-sound (of but, pun, etc.). See Preface, p. xi. Thus: a e i o ji jj fl

as in errant, republican, as in prudent, difference, as in charity, density, as in valor, actor, idiot, as in Persia, peninsula, as in the book, as in nature, feature.

A mark under the consonants t, d, 8, z indicates that they in like manner are variable to ch, j, sh, zh. Thus:

t (j. g g

as as as as

in in in in

nature, adventure, arduous, education, pressure, seizure.

th as in thin. tit as in then. ch as in German ach, Scotch loch, ii French nasalizing n, as in ton, en. Iy (in French words) French liquid (mouillé) 1. ' denotes a primary, " a secondary accent. (A secondary accent is not marked if at its regular interval of two syllables from the primary, or from another secondary.)

SIGNS. < > + = y * t

read from; i. e., derived from. read whence; i. e., from which is derived. read and; i. e., compounded with, or with suffix. read cognate with; i. e,, etymologically parallel with. read root. read theoretical or alleged; i. e., theoretically assumed, or asserted but unverified, form, read obsolete.

SPECIAL A superior figure placed after a title-word indicates that the word so marked is distinct etymologically from other words, following or preceding it, spelled in the same manner and marked with different numbers. Thus:

b a c k ! (bak), n. The posterior part, etc. b a c k 1 (bak), a. Lying or being behind, etc. b a c k 1 (bak), v. To furnish with a back, etc. b a c k * (bak), adv. Behind, etc. b a c k s t (bak), n. The earlier form of bat-2. b a c k 8 (bak), n. A large flat-bottomed boat> etc.

Various abbreviations have been used in the credits to the quotations, as " N o . " for number, " s t . " f o r stanza, " p . " for page, "1." for line, If for paragraph, " f o l . " for folio. The method used in indicating the subdivisions of books will be understood by reference to the following plan :

Section only.. Chapter only.

EXPLANATIONS.

Canto only Book only Book and chapter Part and chapter Book and line Book and page Act and scene Chapter and verse Ko. and page Volume and page Volume and chapter Part, book, and chapter Part, canto, and stanza Chapter and section or % Volume, part, and section or 1 " . . . . Book, chapter, and section or % . . .

I I . 34. IV, iv. I I . iv. 12. I I . iv. 12. vii. § or If S. I. i. § or *T 6. I. i. § or li 6.

Different grammatical phases of the same word are grouped under one head, and distinguished by the Roman numerals I., I I . , I I I . , etc. This applies to transitive and intransitive uses of the same verb, to adjectives used also as nouns, to nouns used also as adjectives, to adverbs used also as prepositions or conjunctions, etc.

The capitalizing and italicizing of certain or all of the words in a synonym-list indicates that the words so distinguished are discriminated in the text immediately following, or under the title referred to. The figures by which the synonym-lists are sometimes divided indicate the senses or definitions with which they are connected. The title-words begin with a small (lower-case) letter, or with a capital, according to usage. When usage differs, in this matter, with the different senses of a word, the abbreviations for "capital "and [I. c.Jfor "lowercase" are used to indicate this variation. The difference observed in regard to the capitalizing of the second element in zoological and botanical terms is in accordance with the existing usage in the two sciences. Thus, in zoology, in a scientific name consisting of two words the second of which is derived from a proper name, only the first would be capitalized. But a name of similar derivation in botany would have the second element also capitalized. The names of zoological and botanical classes, orders, families, genera, etc., have been uniformly Italicized, in accordance with the present usage of scientific writers.

KEY TO a a & & a a e e 6 i I o o 9 6 u U

as in fat, man, pang, as in fate, mane, dale. as in far, father, guard. as in fall, talk, naught, as in ask, fast, ant. as in fare, hair, bear, as in met, pen, bless, as in mete, meet, meat. as in her, fern, heard, as in pin, it, biscuit. as in pine, fight, file, as in not, on, frog, as in note, poke, floor. as in move, spoon, room. as in nor, song, off. as in tub, son, blood. as in mute, acute, few (also new, tube, duty: see Preface, pp. ix, x).

£l li oi ou

PRONUNCIATION.

as in pull, book, could. German ü, French u. as in oil, joint, boy. as in pound, proud, now.

A single dot under a vowel in an unaccented syllable indicates its abbreviation and lightening, without absolute loss of its distinctive quality. See Preface, p. xi. Thus: jj. § q ü

as in as in as in as in

prelate, courage, captain. ablegate, episcopal. abrogate, eulogy, democrat, singular, education.

A double dot under a vowel in an unaccented syllable indicates that,

even in the mouths of the best speakers, its sound is variable to, and in ordinary utterance actually becomes, the short ?«-sound (of but, pun, etc.). See Preface, p. xi. Thus: a e i o ji jj fl

as in errant, republican, as in prudent, difference, as in charity, density, as in valor, actor, idiot, as in Persia, peninsula, as in the book, as in nature, feature.

A mark under the consonants t, d, 8, z indicates that they in like manner are variable to ch, j, sh, zh. Thus:

t (j. g g

as as as as

in in in in

nature, adventure, arduous, education, pressure, seizure.

th as in thin. tit as in then. ch as in German ach, Scotch loch, ii French nasalizing n, as in ton, en. Iy (in French words) French liquid (mouillé) 1. ' denotes a primary, " a secondary accent. (A secondary accent is not marked if at its regular interval of two syllables from the primary, or from another secondary.)

SIGNS. < > + = y * t

read from; i. e., derived from. read whence; i. e., from which is derived. read and; i. e., compounded with, or with suffix. read cognate with; i. e,, etymologically parallel with. read root. read theoretical or alleged; i. e., theoretically assumed, or asserted but unverified, form, read obsolete.

SPECIAL A superior figure placed after a title-word indicates that the word so marked is distinct etymologically from other words, following or preceding it, spelled in the same manner and marked with different numbers. Thus:

b a c k ! (bak), n. The posterior part, etc. b a c k 1 (bak), a. Lying or being behind, etc. b a c k 1 (bak), v. To furnish with a back, etc. b a c k * (bak), adv. Behind, etc. b a c k s t (bak), n. The earlier form of bat-2. b a c k 8 (bak), n. A large flat-bottomed boat> etc.

Various abbreviations have been used in the credits to the quotations, as " N o . " for number, " s t . " f o r stanza, " p . " for page, "1." for line, If for paragraph, " f o l . " for folio. The method used in indicating the subdivisions of books will be understood by reference to the following plan :

Section only.. Chapter only.

EXPLANATIONS.

Canto only Book only Book and chapter Part and chapter Book and line Book and page Act and scene Chapter and verse Ko. and page Volume and page Volume and chapter Part, book, and chapter Part, canto, and stanza Chapter and section or % Volume, part, and section or 1 " . . . . Book, chapter, and section or % . . .

I I . 34. IV, iv. I I . iv. 12. I I . iv. 12. vii. § or If S. I. i. § or *T 6. I. i. § or li 6.

Different grammatical phases of the same word are grouped under one head, and distinguished by the Roman numerals I., I I . , I I I . , etc. This applies to transitive and intransitive uses of the same verb, to adjectives used also as nouns, to nouns used also as adjectives, to adverbs used also as prepositions or conjunctions, etc.

The capitalizing and italicizing of certain or all of the words in a synonym-list indicates that the words so distinguished are discriminated in the text immediately following, or under the title referred to. The figures by which the synonym-lists are sometimes divided indicate the senses or definitions with which they are connected. The title-words begin with a small (lower-case) letter, or with a capital, according to usage. When usage differs, in this matter, with the different senses of a word, the abbreviations for "capital "and [I. c.Jfor "lowercase" are used to indicate this variation. The difference observed in regard to the capitalizing of the second element in zoological and botanical terms is in accordance with the existing usage in the two sciences. Thus, in zoology, in a scientific name consisting of two words the second of which is derived from a proper name, only the first would be capitalized. But a name of similar derivation in botany would have the second element also capitalized. The names of zoological and botanical classes, orders, families, genera, etc., have been uniformly Italicized, in accordance with the present usage of scientific writers.

droop

drop

1777 It was a loathsome herd, . . . half bestial, half human, dropping with wine, bloated with gluttony, and reeling in obscene dances. Macaulay, Milton.

droop (drop), v. [< ME. droupen, rarely dropen, drwpen, droop, esp. from sorrow, < Ieel. drupa, droop, esp. from sorrow, a secondary verb, < 3. To fall; descend; sink to a lower position drjupa = AS.* dreopan, drop: see drop and drip.'] or level. 1. intrans. 1. To sink or hang down; bend or From morn hang downward, as from weakness or exhausTo noon he fell, . . . and with the setting sun Dropp'd from the zenith like a falling star. tion. Wel cowde he dresse his takel yemanly ; His arwes drowvede nought with fe the res lowe. Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 107. The evening comes, and every little flower Droops now, as well as I. Beau, and FL, Coxcomb, iii. 3. Hampden, with his head drooping, and his hands leaning on his horse's neck, moved feebly out of the battle. Macaiday, Nagent's Hampden, Kear the lakeLong where drooped time ago. the willow, G. P. Morris.

Milton, P. L., i. 745. The curtain drops on the drama of Indian history about the year 650, or a little later. J. Fergusxon, Hist. Indian Arch., p. 209.

4. Specifically, to lie down, as a dog.—5. To die, especially to die suddenly; fall dead, as in battle.

It was your presurmise, That in the dole of blows your son might drop. Shak., 2 Hen. IV., i. 1. They see indeed many drop, but then they see many more alive. Steele, Spectator, Wo. 152.

2. To languish from grief or other cause; fall into a state of physical weakness. 6. To come to an end; be allowed to cease; Conceiving the dishonour of his mother, be neglected and come to nothing. He straight declin'd,

took it deeply. Shak., W. T., ii. 3. After this King Leir, more and more drooping with Years, became an easy prey to his Daughtei-s and thir Husbands. Milton, Ilist. Eng., i. We had not been at Sea long before our Men began to droop, in a sort of a Distemper that stole insensibly on them, Dampier, Voyages, I. 524. One day she drooped, and the next she died ; nor was there the distance of many hours between her being very easy in this world, and very happy in another. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. vi. droop'd,

I heard of threats, occasioned by my v e r s e s I sent to acquaint them where I was to be found, and so it dropped. Pope.

7f. To fall short of a mark. Often it drops or overshoots.

[Rare.] Collier.

8. To fall lower in state or condition; sink; be depressed; come into a state of collapse or quiescence.

Upon my credit, sir, were I in your place, and found my father such very bad company, I should certainly drop his acquaintance. Sheridan, The .Rivals, ii. 1. It [the cave] has also a semicircular «pen-work moulding, like basket-work, which . . . is evidently so unsuited for stone-work that it is no wonder it was dropped, very early. J. Fcrgutson, Ilist. Indian Arch., p. 116. The member, whether church or minister, can be tried, expelled, dropped, or transferred to a co-ordinate body, as facts may warrant. Bibliotheca Sacra, XLIII. 418.

7. To utter as if casually: as, to drop a word in favor of a friend.

They [the Arabs] had dropt some expressions as if they would* assault the boat by night if I staid, which, without doubt, they said that they might make ine go away. Pococke, Description of the East, I. ii. 105. To my great surprise, not a syllable was dropped on the subject. Lamb, Imperfect Sympathies.

8. To write and send (a note) in an offhand manner: as, drop me a line.—9. To set down from a carriage. When Lord Howe came over from Twickenham to see him [the Kingl, he said the Queen was going out driving, and should "drop him " at his own bouse. Greoille, Memoirs, July 18, 1S30. To d r o p a courtesy, to courtesy. The girls, with an attempt at Kimultancousness, dropped "curcheys " of respect. The Century, XXXVI. 85. To d r o p a line. («) To fish with a line, (fr) To write a letter or note.—To d r o p anchor, to anchor.—To d r o p

the curtain. See curtain.- To drop or weep mill-

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down. stones. See millstone. Coleridge, Ancient Mariner, ii. d r o p (drop), n. [Early mod. E. also droppe;
M L . drossatus), drotIn a drought tlie thirsty creatures cry, lar viscid hairs. Of the 6 genera, Drosera (which see) zete, druczete, droste, druste, L G . droste = O H G . And gape upon the gathcr'd clouds for rain. is by far the largest. Of the others, Dion&a is character- *truhtsdzo, truhsdzo, truisazo, truhsazzo, MHG. Dry dm, Annus Mirabilis. ized by having foliaceous petioles bearing a two-Iobed lam- truhtseze, truhtsceze, trochtsaze, truhsceze, truchIn the dust and drouth of London life ina which closes quickly when touched, and Aldrovanda seze, G . b'uehsess = I c e l . drottseti = S w . drotShe moves among my visions of the lake. by having pitcher-shaped leaves. See cut under Dioncea. tsaty drozet, drozt, drots — D a n . drost ( < L G . ) , Tennyson, Edwin Morris. droshky, drosky (drosh'-, dros'ki), n.; pi. an officer whose duty it was to set the meat on 3. Thirst; want of drink. droshkies, droskies (-kiz). [Also written drozh- the table of his prince or sovereign, a steward, , As one, whose drouth Y e t scarce aliay'd, still eyes the current stream, hi, e t c . ; = F . droschki = D . droschke = D a n . server, grand master of the kitchen, hence in Milton, V. X., vii. 66. droske = S w . droska, < G-. droschke, a d r o s h k y , extended use a steward, bailiff, constable, prec a b , e t c . , = P o l . drozhka, dorozhka, < K u s s . fect, chief officer, appar. (as best shown in 4. Figuratively, scarcity; lack. drozhki ( = Little Kuss. drozhky), a droshky, O H G . ) < O H G . tnd)t{O S . druht = A S . dryht, A drought of Christian writers caused a dearth of all hisdim. of drogi, a carriage, a hearse, prop. pi. of driht), the people, multitude, company, follow- tory. Fuller. droga, the pole or shaft of a carriage. Not con- i n g ( s e e dright), + O H G . sdzo ( = A S . sceta, e t c . : drought 2 ,«. A dialectal form of draft*-, draught1. nected with Russ. doroga, a road ( = Pol. droga see cotset)} one who sits or settles: the com- droughtiness, drouthiness (drou'ti-nes, -thi= Bohem. draga, drdha, a road, = OBulg. Serv. pound appar. meaning orig. the officer who as- nes), n. The state of being droughty; drydraguj a v a l l e y ) , d i m .dorozhka (>Pol. dorozhka), signed a prince's guests or followers their seats ness; aridness. a little road, though the second Pol. form simu- at table. Less prob. the first element is OHG. droughty, drouthy (drou'ti, -thi), a. 1. Charlates such a connection.] A kind of light four- truht, a load, draught, provisions (akin to E. acterized by drought; dry. wheeled carriage used in Kussia and Prussia. drafts, draught1), the lit. m e a n i n g of the comOh! can the clouds weep over thy decay, The droshky proper is without a top, and consists of a kind pound suiting then its first known actual use, Yet not one drop fall from thy drauffhty eyes? of long narrow bench, on which the passengers ride as on one who sets the meat on the table.] A stewDrayton, The Barons' Wars, ii. a saddle; but the name is now applied to various kinds of ard ; a bailiff; a prefect. When the man of God calls to her tl Fetch me a little vehicles, as to the common cabs plying in the streets of some German cities, etc.

Droskies—the smallest carriages in the world, mere sledges on wheels, with drivers like old women in lowcrowned hats and long blue dressing-gowns buttoned from their throats to their feet. A. J. C. Hare, Russia, ii. Begovuiya droshki—an extremely light vehicle, composed of two pairs of wheels joined together by a single hoard, on which the driver sits stride-legged. D. M. Wallace, Russia, p. 235.

There is . . . a drossard of Limbnrgh near this place (to whom I gave an Exemplar of R. B.'s Apology) very desirous to speak with some of the friends. Penn, Travels in Holland, ctc.

drosselt (dros'el), n. [Also written drazcl; perhaps the same as drolckel, appar. < Sc. drutch, dretch = E.

dretch2,

loiter, d e l a y : see

A n idle wench; a slut.

dretch2.]

That when the time's expir'd, the drazels

drosnet, [ME.: see dross.] Dregs; dross. For ever may become his vassals. S. Butler, Hudibras, I I I . i. 987. drosometer (dro-som'e-ter), n. [< GT. ¿poaog, Now dwels ech drossel in her glass. dew, + fii-poVf'& measure.] A n instrument Warner, Albion's England, ix. 47. for ascertaining the quantity of dew that condenses on a body which has been exposed to drosser (dros'er), n. See the extract. the open air during the night. It consists of a The weight of so many tables pressing one against anbalance, one end of which is furnished with a plate fitted to receive the dew, and the other with a weight protected from it.

other would cause the hindermost to bend; but this is prevented by the invention of iron frames or drawers, which divide the tables into sets. Glass-making, p. 125.

c o p a t e d p i . drosna ( o r *drosna) ( = M D . droessem, D . droesem = M L G . druse = O H G . trusana, trusna, drusena, drusina, M H G . drusene, drusine, drussene, O H G . a l s o traosana, truosena, truosina, trmsen, druosana, M H G . truosen, druosene, G. drusen). l e e s , d r e g s , < drcosan ( p p . droren for *drosen) = O S . driosan- = N o r w . drjosa = G o t h . driusun ( L G . drusen, e t c . ) , f a l l : s e e drizzle, a n d

So doth the fire the drossy gold refine. Sir J. Davies, immortal, of Soul. Int.

water/' . . . it was no easy suit in so droitghtie a season. Bp. IT all, Elijah. The sun of a drouthy summer . . . was shining on the heath. R. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., xv.

2. Thirsty; dry; requiring drink. If the former years Exhibit no supplies, alas ! thou must With tasteless water wash thy droughty throat. Philips. And at his elbow Souter Johnny, His ancient, trusty, drouthy eronie. Burns, Tam o' Shanter. There are capital points in the second [picturej, which depicts the consternation excited in a village inn on discovering the single ale-cask dry, and the house full of drouthy customers. Saturday Rev., July 8, 1865. The rustic politicians would gather round Philip, and smoke and drink, and then question and discuss till they were drouthy again. Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, xli.

drouk, drook (drok), v. t. [Sc., < ME. *drouken, Drosophila (dro-sof'i-la), n. [ N L . , < Gr. dpoooq, drossiness (dros'i-nes), n. The quality or state *drouknen ( s e e droukening), < I c e l . drulcna = dew, +