Dawson Or Dawson City
Dawson Or Dawson City, Capital Of The Yukon Terri Tory, Canada, On The Bank Of The Yukon River, And In The Middle Of The Klondike Gold Region, Of Which It Is The Distributing Centre. It Is In Beautiful Mountainous Country, 1,049 Ft. Above The Sea, And 1,5oo M. From The ...
Dax
Dax, A Town Of South-western France, Capital Of An Arrondisse Ment In The Department Of Landes, 92 M. S.s.w. Of Bordeaux, On The Southern Railway Between That City And Bayonne. Pop. (1931), 9,87o. It Lies On The Left Bank Of The Adour, And Its Suburb, Le Sablar, On The Right. ...
Day Bed
Day-bed, A Small Type Of French Couch Bed, Intended To Serve As A Bed At Night And As A Sofa During The Day. The Standard Day-bed Is Narrow, With Foot And Head Pieces Identical In Size And Appearance. Because Of The Convenience Of Its Size The Day Bed Has Come ...
Day Nurseries
Day Nurseries. These Institutions, Of A Semi-philan Thropic Nature, Formerly Known As "creches" (from The Fr. Creche —crib) But Now As "day Nurseries," Form An Integral Part Of The Public Health Work Of Great Britain, The United States, And Other Industrial Countries. Their Original Intention Was To Assist Widows, And ...
Day
Day, In Astronomy, The Interval Of Time In Which A Revolu Tion Of The Earth On Its Axis Is Performed. Days Are Distinguished As Solar, Sidereal Or Lunar, According As The Revolution Is Taken Relatively To The Sun, The Stars Or The Moon. The Solar Day Is The Fundamental Unit ...
Daylesford
Daylesford, A Town Of Talbot County, Victoria, Aus Tralia. Pop. C. 5,000. It Lies On The Flank Of The Great Dividing Range, At An Elevation Of 2,03o Ft. Much Wheat Is Grown In The District; Gold-mining, Both Quartz And Alluvial, Is Carried On, And There Is A Mining School. Near ...
Daylight Saving
Daylight Saving. In The Second Year Of The World War Nearly Every Country In Europe Adopted The Device Of Putting The Clock Forward An Hour During The Spring, Summer And Autumn Months. The Motive Was To Get People To Bed An Hour Earlier And Out Of Bed An Hour Earlier, ...
Days Of Grace
Days Of Grace. The Extra Time Allowed To Meet The Payment Of A Bill Of Exchange After Its Due Date. In English Law, Three Days Grace Are Thus Allowed. No Extra Time Is Allowed, How Ever, For A Bill Payable At Sight. In The Case Of Insurance Pre Miums, Also, ...
Dayton
Dayton, A City Of Campbell County, Kentucky, U.s.a., On The Ohio River, Opposite Cincinnati; Served By The Chesapeake And Ohio Railway. The Population Was 7,646 In I920 (95% Native White) And Was 9,o7i In 193o By The Federal Census. There Is A Watch-case Factory, But The City Is Primarily A ...
Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, A City Of Volusia County, Fla., U.s.a., On The Halifax River, 50m. Below St. Augustine; On The Dixie And Atlantic Coast Highways And The Ocean Shore Boulevard, And Served By The Florida East Coast Railway. It Was Formed In 1925 By The Consolidation Of The City Of Daytona ...
Dayton_2
Dayton, A City Of South-western Ohio, U.s.a., On The Great Miami River, 55m. N.n.e. Of Cincinnati; A Port Of Entry, The County Seat Of Montgomery County, And A Leading Centre Of Avia Tion Research. It Is Served By The Baltimore And Ohio, The Big Four, The Erie, The Pennsylvania, And ...
Dayton_3
Dayton, A City Of South-eastern Tennessee, U.s.a., 38m. N.n.e. Of Chattanooga, At The Foot Of The Cumberland Escarp Ment; The County Seat Of Rhea County. It Is Served By The South Ern Railway. The Population In 1930 Was 2,006. In July 1925 The Little Country Town Was The Scene Of ...
Deacon
Deacon, A Minister Or Officer Of The Christian Church. The Status And Functions Of The Office Have Varied In Different Ages And Churches, And The Name Is The Gr. 6clekovos, Minister, Servant. (a) The Ancient Church.—the Office Of Deacon Is Almost As Old As Christianity Itself. Tradition Connects Its Origin ...
Deaconess
Deaconess, A Woman Set Apart For Special Service In The Christian Church. The Origin And Early History Of The Office Are Obscure. The Arguments For Its Existence In Apostolic Times, Based On Rom. Xvi. 1 (where Phoebe Is Called 8utkovos)and I Tim. Iii. 1 R, And On Pliny's Mention Of ...
Dead Reckoning
Dead Reckoning, The Computation Of A Ship's Position Derived From The Latitude And Longitude Last Determined, From The Direction Of The Compass And Rate And Time Of Sailing According To The Log, Reference Also Being Made To Astronomical Observation For Correction And Comparison Of This Method. See Navigation, And Aerial ...
Dead Rent
Dead Rent. The Fixed Rent Payable Under The Leases Of Mines Or Quarries And Paid In Addition To The Stipulated Royalties. This Payment Secures To The Owner Of The Mineral A Certain In Come, And Ensures That The Mine Or Quarry Is Worked In His Interest, Since If The Property ...
Dead Sea
Dead Sea, The Lake In Southern Palestine In Which The River Jordan Terminates. It Is Bounded On The North By The Jordan Valley—at That Point Broad, Arid And Forbidding, On The East By The Escarpment Of The Moabite Plateau, On The South By The Desert Of The Arabah, And On ...
Deadwood
Deadwood, A City In The Black Hills Of Western South Dakota, U.s.a., 2m. N.e. Of Lead, The County Seat Of Lawrence County. It Lies In A Narrow Canyon 4,53oft. Above The Sea, On Federal Highway 85, And Is Served By The Burlington And The Chicago And North-western Railways. The Population ...
Deal Fish
Deal-fish, The Name Applied To Marine Fishes Of The Genus Trachypterus, Which, Together With The Oar-fish (q.v.), Comprises The Family Trachypteridae, Or Ribbon-fish. Deal-fish Inhabit The Middle Waters, Probably Not Below 200 Fathoms, And Are Charac Terized By Their Long, Laterally Compressed Bodies, Short Head, Narrow Mouth And Feeble Dentition. ...
Deal
Deal, A Market Town, Seaport And Municipal Borough In The Dover Parliamentary Division Of Kent, England, 914- M. N.e. By N. Of Dover On The Southern Railway. Pop. (1931) 13,680. It Con Sists Of Lower Deal, On The Coast ; Middle Deal; And, About A Mile Inland, Though Formerly On ...
Dealer
Dealer, One Who Sells At Retail To The Public. This Term Is Used To Cover Nearly All Retailers Except Department And Chain Stores, And In The Loose Parlance Of Trade It Is Sometimes Applied To The Individual Units Of Chain-store Systems. The Term "dealer" Formerly Meant One Who Bought And ...
Deal_2
Deal. A British Term Commonly Used To Designate The Soft Woods Derived From The Scotch Pine (pinus Sylvestris) Which Is Called Yellow Or Red Deal, And The Spruce Fir (abies Excelsa) Which Is Called White Deal. The Former Is By Far The Better Timber. Deal Is Freely Imported Into The ...
Dean
Dean, Primarily One Having Authority Over Ten; The Title Of An Ecclesiastical Dignitary, Or Of A University Or Civil Official (lat. Decanus, From Gr. Bka, Ten). The Original Use Of The Word Decanus Was Evidently To Denote A Military Grade: It Occurs In This Sense In The De Re Militari ...
Dearborn
Dearborn, A City Of Wayne County, Michigan, U.s.a., Iom. W. Of Detroit, On The Michigan Central Railroad. The Popu Lation Was 2,47o In 192o And Was 50,358 In 193o By The Federal Census. It Is A Residential Suburb, The Detroit Terminus Of The Ford Air Service, And The Home Of ...
Death Valley
Death Valley, A Depressed Basin In Inyo County, Calif. The Name Commemorates The Fate Of A Party Of "forty-niners" Who Perished Here, By Thirst Or By Starvation And Exposure. The Ex Ceedingly Arid Death Valley Region Lies Immediately North Of The Mojave Desert And Then Stretches East From The Sierra ...
Death Watch
Death-watch, A Popular Name Given To Insects Of Two Distinct Families Which Burrow And Live In Old Furniture, And Pro Duce A Mysterious "ticking" Sound Vulgarly Supposed To Foretell The Death Of An Inmate Of The House. The Name Is Often Applied To Two Small Beetles Xestobium Rufovillosum And Anobium ...
Death
Death, The Permanent Cessation Of The Vital Functions In The Bodies Of Animals And Plants, The End Of Life Or Act Of Dying. The Word Is The English Representative Of The Substantive Com Mon To Teutonic Languages, As "dead" Is Of The Adjective, And "die" Of The Verb ; The ...
Deborah
Deborah, The Name Of Two Women Mentioned In The Old Testament (heb. For "bee"). (i) Foster-mother Of Rebecca, Buried Under The "oak Of Weeping" Below Bethel (gen. Xxxv. 8). It Has Been Suggested That This Tree Is Connected With The "palm Tree Of Deborah," Between Bethel And Ramah (judges Iv. ...
Debreczen
Debreczen, One Of The Largest Towns In Hungary (pop. To3,000), Is Situated At The Junction Of Three Contrasted Regions, Viz.:—the Extensive Hortobagy Pastures Or Puszta, The Nyirseg Sandy Plateau And The Marshes Of The Berettyo. In Early Times It Commanded Two Important Routes, The Salt Way From Szat.nar To Western ...
Debt Conversion
Debt Conversion. Conversion Is The Term Applied To The Exchange Of Any Form Of Security For Another Form Of Security. Though The Exchange Is Usually Connected With A Decrease In Cost To The Borrower Of The Security In Question, This Is Not Always The Case. It Is Sometimes Necessary, More ...
Debt
Debt, A Definite Sum Due By One Person To Another. Putting Aside Those Created By Statute, Recoverable By Civil Process, Debts May Be Divided Into Three Classes: (i) Judgment Debts (see Judgment Debtor), (2) Specialty Debts, (3) Simple Contract Debts. As To Judgment Debts, It Is Sufficient To Say That, ...
Decapolis
Decapolis, A League Of Ten Cities Situated With One Excep Tion On The Eastern Side Of The Upper Jordan And The Sea Of Tiberias. The Names Of The Ten Cities Are Damascus, Philadelphia, Raphana, Scythopolis ( = Beth-shan, Now Beisan, W. Of Jordan), Gadara, Hippos, Dion, Pella, Gerasa And Kanatha. ...
Decastyle
Decastyle, The Architectural Term Given To A Portico That Has Ten Columns, As In The Temple Of Apollo Didymaeus At Miletus; Also Applied To A Building With Such A Portico (see Temple). ...
Decatur
Decatur, A City Of Northern Alabama, U.s.a., On The Tennessee River, 75m. N. Of Birmingham, Served By The Louisville And Nashville And The Southern Railways ; The County Seat Of Mor Gan County. It Was Formed In 1927 By The Consolidation Of Albany, Formerly Called New Decatur (pop. 7,652 In ...
Decatur_2
Decatur, A Town Of Georgia, On The Georgia Railroad, Im. E. Of The City Limits Of Atlanta, At An Altitude Of 1,000f T.; The County Seat Of Dekalb County. The Population Was 6,15o In 1920 (21% Negroes) And Was 13,276 In 1930 By The Federal Census. It Is A Residential ...
Decatur_3
Decatur, A City In The Central Part Of Illinois, U.s.a., On The Sangamon River ; The County Seat Of Macon County. It Is On Federal Highways 36 And 51, And Is Served By The Baltimore And Ohio, The Illinois Central, The Illinois Traction (electric), The Pennsylvania And The Wabash Railways. ...
Decatur_4
Decatur, A City Of Eastern Indiana, U.s.a., On St. Mary's River, Loom. N.e. Of Indianapolis; The County Seat Of Adams County. It Is On Federal Highway 27, And Is Served By The Erie, The Nickel Plate And The Pennsylvania Railways. The Population Was 4,762 In 1920 (97% Native White) And ...
Deceleia
Deceleia (gr...lecextia), An Attic Deme. En Pass Which Ea=-_ Cf Parles Towards And Chalcis, Plain_ Its Decelus, To The Tyr_'_!_aridae, And Pollux, W.:71-r- Had Hidden Fii..:c.27 Helen At Aphid ; Azd H.-- -z-a.s A Tracii-:- F-'-- 'z'aip Between The Dece7e..-.1.ans (herori:-_,-.1-...s. Ix_ 7,3). This Tradition, Togeth:,7 ":" 71-7'; 7:"z, Lee ...
Decemviri
Decemviri, "the Ten Men," The Name Applied By The Ro Mans To Any Official Commission Of Ten, Followed By A Statement Of The Purpose For Which The Commission Was Appointed, E.g., Xviri Stlitibus Iudicandis, Sacris Faciundis, Etc. I. 'usually, It Signified The Temporary Commission Which Super Seded All The Ordinary ...
Deception Test
Deception Test, A Name Given To The Measurement Of Certain Bodily Changes Caused By The Effort Of Lying, Or By Fear Due To A Sense Of Guilt. Working At Graz, Austria, In 1914, Vittorio Benussi Devised A Test Based On The Idea That The Rate Of Breathing Is Affected By ...
Decerebrate Rigidity
Decerebrate Rigidity: See Equilibrium, Ani Mal. De Cesare, Carlo (1824-1882), Italian Political Econ Omist And Legislator, Was Born At Spinazzola. He Studied At Naples And Was Successively Inspector-general Of The Banks Of Issue, Secre Tary-general Of Agriculture, Industry And Commerce In 1868, And Counsellor Of The "cour Des Comptes." In ...
Deciduous
Deciduous, A Botanical And Zoological Term For "falling In Season," As Of Petals After Flowering, Leaves In Autumn, The Teeth Or Horns Of Animals, Or The Wings Of Insects. ...
Decimal Coinage
Decimal Coinage, Any Currency In Which The Various Denominations Of Coin Are Arranged In Multiples Or Submultiples Of Ten (lat. Decem) With Reference To A Standard Unit. Thus If The Standard Unit Be 1 The Higher Coins Will Be Io, I Oo, I,000, Etc., The Lower •1, •oi, •001, Etc. ...
Decin
Decin, A Town On The Right Bank Of The Elbe In Czecho Slovakia ; It Owes Its Chief Importance, Past And Present, To The Fact That It Shares With The Sister-town Of Podmokly (q.v.) The Guardianship Of The Entrance To Bohemia From Saxony. In Addi Tion To Being A Customs ...
Decize
Decize, A Town Of Central France, In The Department Of Nievre, On An Island In The Loire, 24 M. S.e. Of Nevers By The Paris-lyon Railway. Pop. Julius Caesar Mentions It As Decetia, Stronghold Of The Aedui, And In 52 B.c. Held There A Meeting Of The Senate To Settle ...
Declaration Of Independence
Declaration Of Independence In United States History, The Act (or Document) By Which The 13 Original States Of The Union Broke Their Colonial Allegiance To Great Britain In 1776. The Controversy Preceding The War (see American Rev Olution) Gradually Shifted From One Primarily Upon Economic Policy To One Upon Issues ...
Declaration Of Paris
Declaration Of Paris (1856) Owes Its Origin To The Diametrically Opposing Views Of Great Britain And France On The Carriage Of Property At Sea At The Time Of The Crimean War. In 1854 France Allowed Enemy Goods In Neutral Vessels To Go Free, But Confiscated Neutral Goods In Enemy Vessels, ...
Declaration
Declaration, Formerly, In An Action At English Law, A Precise Statement Of The Cause Of Action. Under The System Of Pleading Established By The Judicature Act 1875, The Declaration Has Been Superseded By A Statement Of Claim Setting Forth The Facts On Which The Plaintiff Relies. Declarations Are Now In ...
Declarator
Declarator, In Scots Law, A Form Of Action By Which Some Right Of Property, Or Of Servitude, Or Of Status, Or Some In Ferior Right Or Interest, Is Sought To Be Judicially Declared. ...
Declination
Declination, In Magnetism Is The Angle Between True North And Magnetic North, I.e., The Variation Between The True (geographic) Meridian And The Magnetic Meridian. It Is Derived From Lat. Declinare, To Decline. In 1596 At London The Angle Of Declination Was Ii° E. Of N., In 1652 Magnetic North Was ...
Decolorizing
Decolorizing, In Practical Chemistry And Chemical Tech Nology, The Removal Of Coloured Impurities From A Substance. Charcoal, Preferably Prepared From Blood, Is Frequently Used; When Shaken With A Coloured Solution It Often Retains The Coloured Substances, Leaving The Solution Clear. Thus The Red Colour Of Wines May Be Removed By ...
Decorah
Decorah, A City Of North-eastern Iowa, U.s.a., On The Upper Iowa River ; The County Seat Of Winneshiek County. It Is On Federal Highway 55, And Is Served By The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul And Pacific And The Rock Island Railways. The Population In 193o Federal Census Was 4,581. It ...
Decorated Period
Decorated Period, In Architecture, The Name Of The Second Of The Three Periods Into Which The English Gothic Was Usually Divided, Generally Embracing The First Three Quarters Of The 14th Century. It May Itself Be Divided Into Two, The Earlier Half Being Known As The Geometric Period, And The Later ...
Decoration Day
Decoration Day, A Holiday, Known Also As Memorial Day, Observed In The Northern States Of The United States On May 3o, Originally In Honour Of Soldiers Killed In The American Civil War, But Subsequently Also In Honour Of Those Who Fell In Later Wars. Before The Close Of The Civil ...
Decorative Art
Decorative Art, That Art Which Is Concerned With The Decoration Of Objects Which In Themselves Are Not Necessarily Beautiful, Hence Practically The Same Meaning As Applied Art Or The Arts And Crafts. Decorative Art May Concern Itself With The Treatment Of Architectural Units, Furniture, Textiles Or Any Other Object Which ...
Decoy
Decoy, A Contrivance For The Capture Or Enticing Of Duck And Other Wild Fowl Within Range Of A Gun, Hence Any Trap Or Enticement Into A Place Or Situation Of Danger. Decoys Are Usually Made On The Following Plan : Long Tunnels Leading From The Sea, Channel Or Estuary Into ...
Decree
Decree, In Earlier Form Decreet, An Authoritative Decision Having In Some Places The Force Of Law; Also The Judgment Of A Court Of Justice. In Roman Law, A Decree (decretum) Was The Decision Of The Emperor, As The Supreme Judicial Officer, Settling A Case Which Had Been Referred To Him. ...
Decrescendo
Decrescendo (it.), Abbr. Decresc., Lit. "decreasing," I.e., As Used In The Familiar Musical Direction, Diminishing In Loudness. The Sign _ — Conveys The Same Meaning. ...
Decretals
Decretals (epistolae Decretales), The Name (see Decree Above), Which Is Given In Canon Law To Those Letters Of The Pope Which Formulate Decisions In Ecclesiastical Law; They Are Generally Given In Answer To Consultations, But Are Sometimes Due To The Initiative Of The Popes. These Furnish, With The Canons Of ...
Decurio
Decurio, A Roman Official Title, Used In Three Connections. (i ) A Member Of The Senatorial Order In The Italian Towns, And In Provincial Towns Organized On The Italian Model. The Number Of Decuriones Was Usually 1 Oo. The Qualifications For The Office Were Fixed In Each Town By A ...
Dedeagatch
Dedeagatch, Officially Known As Alexandroupolis, A Sea Port Of Western Thrace In The Hebros Province, 10 M. N.w. Of The Maritsa Estuary, On The Gulf Of Enos, An Inlet Of The Aegean Sea. Pop. About 3,000, Greeks And Armenians. A Monastic Community Of Dervishes, Of The Dede Sect, Which Was ...
Dedham
Dedham, A Town Of Massachusetts, U.s.a., On The Charles River, Iom. S.w. Of Boston; The County Seat Of Norfolk County. It Is Served By The New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad. The Population Was 10,792 In 1920 (26% Foreign-born White) And 15,136 In 1930. The Principal Manufactures Are Woollens, ...
Dedication
Dedication, The Setting Apart Of Anything For A Special Object; Especially The Consecration Of Altars, Temples And Churches; Also The Inscription Prefixed To A Book, Etc., And Ad Dressed To Some Particular Person, Formerly Designed To Gain The Patronage Of The Person Addressed. In Law, The Setting Apart By A ...
Dedifferentiation
Dedifferentiation, A Biological Term Meaning The Reverse Of Differentiation, I.e., For Processes Which Lead To Organ Isms Or Their Parts Reverting To Greater Simplicity; The Term Reduction Has Also Been Employed, But Is Unsatisfactory As It Is In Demand For Chromosome-reduction. (see Cytology.) Dedif Ferentiation In Its Strict Sense Should ...
Dee
Dee, River, South Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Flowing Generally Eastwards From Its Source In The West Of The County Till It Reaches The North Sea At The City Of Aberdeen. It Rises In The Wells Of Dee, A Spring On Ben Braeriach, One Of The Cairngorms, At A Height Of 4,061 Ft. ...
Deed
Deed, In Law, A Contract In Writing, Sealed And Delivered By The Party Bound To The Party Intended To Benefit. Contracts Or Obligations Under Seal Are Called In English Law Specialties, And Down To 1869 They Took Precedence In Payment Over Simple Con Tracts, Whether Written Or Not. Writing, Sealing ...
Deemster Or Doomster
Deemster Or Doomster, The Former Title Of An Officer Attached To The High Court Of Justice In Scotland Who Pronounced The Doom Or Sentence On Condemned Persons. Mention Of This Office Is Made In The Doomsday Book. Deemster Is The Title Proper To Each Of The Two Justices Of The ...
Deer Park
Deer Park, An Enclosure Of Pastureland For Deer. The Largest Existing Deer Park In England Is At Savernake (4,000ac.). De Falla, Manuel ), Spanish Composer, Was Born At Cadiz On Nov. 23, 1876. He Studied Piano With Jose Trago And Composition With Felipe Pedrell In Madrid. In 19o5 He Won ...
Deer
Deer, Originally The Name Of One Of Two British Species, The Red-deer Or The Fallow Deer, But Now Extended To All The Family Cervidae (see Pecora, Artiodactyla, Ungulata). Briefly, Deer May Be Defined As Pecora, In Which Antlers Are Usually Present In The Male; When No Antlers Are Developed, The ...
Deerfield
Deerfield, A Town Of Franklin County, Massachusetts, U.s.a., On The Connecticut And The Deerfield Rivers, 33m. N. Of Springfield; Served By The Boston And Maine And The New York, New Haven And Hartford Railways. The Population In 193o Was 2,882. The Greater Part Of The Population Is Centred About The ...
Dee_2
Dee, A River Of Wales And England. It Rises In Bala Lake, Merionethshire. Leaving The Lake Near Bala, It Flows North-east To Corwen And Turns East Past Llangollen To Near Overton, And Then Bends Nearly North To Chester, And Thereafter North-west Through A Great Estuary Into The Irish Sea. In ...
Defamation
Defamation, The Publication Concerning A Person Of Matter Which Is Untrue And Tends To Lower Him In The Estimation Of Right-thinking Men, Or Causes Him To Be Shunned Or Avoided, Or Exposes Him To Hatred, Contempt Or Ridicule. (see Libel And Slander.) ...
Default
Default, In Common Law, A Failure To Do Some Act Required By Law Either As A Regular Step In Procedure Or As Being A Duty Imposed. Default In Compliance With A Statute Renders The De Faulter Liable To Action By The Person Aggrieved Or To Indictment If The Matter Of ...
Defeasance
Defeasance, In Law, An Instrument Which Defeats The Force Or Operation Of Some Other Deed Or Estate. ...
Defence Mechanisms
Defence Mechanisms, A Psychological Term, Refer Ring To Various Devices Unconsciously Adopted By The Human Mind To Escape Attack Or To Avoid Unpleasant Experience. The Same Mental Mechanisms Of Defence Which Are Employed By Normal Minds, Appear In Extreme Form In The Mental Processes Of The Insane. ...
Defendant
Defendant, In Law, A Person Against ,whom Proceedings Are Instituted Or Directed; One Who Is Called Upon To Answer In Legal Proceeding. (see Practice And Procedure.) ...
Defender Of The Faith
Defender Of The Faith (lat. Fidei De F Ensor), A Title Belonging To The Sovereign Of England In The Same Way As Christianissimus (most Christian) Belonged To The King Of France, And Catholicus (catholic) Belongs To The Ruler Of Spain. It Seems To Have Been Suggested In 1516, And Although ...
Deferent
Deferent, In Ancient Astronomy, The Mean Orbit Of A Planet, Which Carried The Epicycle In Which The Planet Revolved. (lat. De F Erens, Bearing Down.) ...
Deferred Annuity
Deferred Annuity, A Periodic Fixed Money Payment, Generally Arranged On An Annual, Semi-annual Or Quarterly Basis, But Upon Which Payments Do Not Begin Until The Expiration Of A Certain Time Or The Occurrence Of Some Certain Event. It Is Quite Customary For Insurance Companies To Sell Deferred Annuities Whose Payments ...
Deferred Assets
Deferred Assets, Also Known As Deferred Charges To Expense, And Prepaid Expenses, Are Items Of Expense Which Have Been Paid Or For Which Liability Has Been Assumed, But Which Are Not Properly Chargeable To The Current Accounting Period. The Charging Of Such Items To Current Operating Costs Is Deferred Until ...
Defiance
Defiance, A City Of North-western Ohio, U.s.a., At The Confluence Of The Auglaize And The Tiffin Rivers With The Maumee: The County Seat Of Defiance County. It Is On Federal Highway 24 And Several State Roads, And Is Served By The Baltimore And Ohio And The Wabash Railways. The Population ...
Defile
Defile, A Military Expression For A Passage, To March Through Which Troops Are Compelled To "defile," Or Narrow Their Front (from The Fr. Defiler, To March In A Line, Or By "files") . The Word Is Usually Applied To A Ravine Or Gorge In A Range Of Hills, But A ...
Definition
Definition, A Logical Term Used Popularly For The Process Of Explaining, Or Giving The Meaning Of, A Word, And Also In The Concrete For The Proposition Or Statement In Which That Explana Tion Is Expressed (lat. Definitio, From De-finire, To Set Limits To, Describe). In Logic, Definition Consists In Determining ...
Deflation
Deflation. A Diminution Of The Volume Of Currency, Causing A Rise In The Value Of Money Per Unit And A Fall In Prices. Its Effect Varies With The Degree Of Inflation Which Preceded It And Which It Is Concerned To Reduce. For A Full Discussion See Inflation And Deflation ; ...
Degeneration
Degeneration. This Term Is Used In Several Ways In Biology. It Is Applied By Sir E. Ray Lankester (189o) To A Racial Change In The Direction Of Simplification, As Contrasted With Elabor Ation Or With Persistent Balance. An Ascidian Is In Some Respects Degenerate, E.g., In Its Nervous System, As ...
Degree
Degree, A Step Or Stage. In Academic Usage, A Degree Is A Title Conferred By A University As A Mark Of Proficiency In Scholar Ship. The Word Was First Applied To The Preliminary Steps To The Mastership Or Doctorate; Viz., The Baccalaureate And Bicentiate. "the Use Of Academic Degrees, As ...
Dehra Dun
Dehra Dun, A District Of British India, In The Meerut Division Of The United Provinces, With An Area Of About 1,189 Sq.m. The Dun Proper Is A Beautiful Valley Lying Between The Siwalik Range And The Foot-hills Of The Himalayas. The Administra Tive District Runs Up Into The Latter And ...
Dehra
Dehra, A Town Of British India, Headquarters Of The Dehra Dun (q.v.) District In The United Provinces. It Lies At An Elevation Of 2,30o Ft., At The Terminus Of The Hardwar-dehra Railway. Dehra Is The Headquarters Of The Trigonometrical Survey And Of The Forest Department, Besides Being A Cantonment For ...
Dehydration
Dehydration, In Chemistry, The Removal Of Molecules Of Water From A Chemical Compound. The Water May Be Present In The Form Of Water Of Crystallization (see Hydrate) In Which Case It Is Removed By Heating The Crystals, Or By Placing Them In An Evacuated Desiccator In The Presence Of A ...
Dehydrogenation
Dehydrogenation, The Removal Of Hydrogen From The Molecule Of A Chemical Compound, Which May Be Effected In The Case Of An Organic Compound By Heating It In The Presence Of A Metal, Which Acts As A Catalyst (see Catalysis) ; E.g., The Alcohols (q.v.) Lose Hydrogen And Yield Aldehydes (q.v. ...
Deinarchus
Deinarchus, Last Of The "ten" Attic Orators, Son Of Sostratus (or, According To Suidas, Socrates), Born At Corinth About 361 B.c. He Settled At Athens Early In Life, And When Not More Than Twenty-five Was Already Active As A Writer Of Speeches For The Law Courts. In 324 The Areopagus, ...
Deinocrates
Deinocrates, A Famous And Original Greek Architect, Of The Time Of Alexander The Great. He Tried To Captivate The Ambi Tious Fancy Of That King With A Design For Carving Mount Athos Into A Gigantic Seated Statue. This Plan Was Not Carried Out, But Deinocrates Designed For Alexander The Plan ...
Deioces
Deioces (anancos) According To Herodotus (i. 96 Ff.) The First King Of The Medes. He Narrates That, When The Medes Had Rebelled Against The Assyrians About 71 O B.c., According To His Chronology (cf. Diodor, 32), They Lived In Villages Without Any Political Organization. Then Deioces, Son Of Phraortes, Was ...
Deir Or Deir
Deir Or Deir A Town In The State Of Syria (french Mandated Territory), On The Right Bank Of The Euphrates, 271 M. Above Its Junction With The Khabar : Pop. About 8,000. The Chief Town Of A Considerable Area It Boasts A Hotel, Bazaar And Many Shops. It Has A ...
Deira
Deira, The Southern Of The Two English Kingdoms Afterwards United As Northumbria. According To Simeon Of Durham It Ex Tended From The Humber To The Tyne, But The Land Was Waste North Of The Tees. York Was The Capital Of Its Kings. The Date Of Its First Settlement Is Quite ...
Deirdre
Deirdre, In Older Irish Derdriu, The Heroine Of The Tale Of The Fate Of The Sons Of Uisnech, One Of The "three Sorrowful Tales" Of Ireland. According To The Story, She Was The Daughter Of Feid Limid, Son Of Dall, The King's Story-teller. When The Ultonian Braves Were A-drinking In ...
Deism
Deism Is A Theological Term Bearing Two Accepted Meanings. 1. It Is The Technical Name For A Particular Philosophical Doc Trine Concerning The Relation Of God To The World. Deism Is Then Contrasted With Theism (q.v.), Though Etymologically The Two Words Are Equivalent. Whereas Theism Asserts God To Be Continu ...
Deister
Deister, A Chain Of Hills In Germany, In The Prussian Province Of Hanover, About 15 M. S.w. Of The City Of Hanover. It Runs From Springe In The South Of Rodenberg In The North. It Has A Total Length Of 14 M. And Rises In The Hof Eler To A ...
Dekker
Dekker (or Decker), Thomas (c. 1572-c. 1632), Eng Lish Dramatist, Was Born In London, And A Thomas Decker, Who May Probably Be Identified With The Poet, Was Buried At St. James's, Clerkenwell, On Aug. 25, 1632. Ben Jonson Drew Him As Demetrius Fannius, The "dresser Of Plays," In The Poetaster. ...
Del Credere
Del Credere. A "del Credere Agent," In Common Law, Is One Who, In Consideration Of Additional Remuneration Called A Del Credere Commission, Undertakes That Persons With Whom He Con Tracts On His Principal's Behalf Shall Duly Pay Any Sums Due From Them To The Principal Under The Contracts. His Position ...