Digoin
Digoin, A Town Of East-central France, In The Department Of Saone-et-loire, On The Right Bank Of The Loire, 55 M. W.n.w. Of Macon On The Paris-lyon Railway. Pop. (1931) 5,918. It Is Situated At The Meeting Places Of The Loire, The Lateral Canal Of The I Loire And The Canal ...
Dijon
Dijon, A Town Of Eastern France, Capital Of The Department Of Cote D'or And Formerly Capital Of Burgundy, 195 M. S.e. Of Paris On The Paris-lyon Railway. Pop. (193r) 82,12o. Under The Romans Dijon (divonense Castrum) Was A Vicus In The Civitas Of Langres. In The 2nd Century It Was ...
Dike Or Dyke
Dike Or Dyke, A Trench Dug Out Of The Earth For Defen Sive And Other Purposes (cf. Dutch Dijk, Ger. Teich). Water Naturally Collects In Such Trenches, And Hence The Word Is Applied To Natural And Artificial Channels Filled With Water, As Appears In The Names Of Many Narrow Waterways ...
Dikka
Dikka, In Architecture, A Raised Tribune Or Platform In A Mohammedan Mosque, From Which The Service Is Directed And The Koran Read. ...
Dilapidation
Dilapidation, A Term Meaning In General A Falling Into Decay, But More Particularly Used In The Plural In English Law For (i) The Waste Committed By The Incumbent Of An Ecclesiastical Living; (2) The Disrepair For Which A Tenant Is Usually Liable When He Has Agreed To Give Up His ...
Dilatation
Dilatation, A Widening Or Enlarging; A Term Used In Physiology, Etc. In Pathology The Process Is Of Great Importance As It May Be Compatible With Health Or The Cause Of Changes So Severe That They Menace Life. In The Case Of Blood Vessels Dilata Tion Of Arteries Occurs In Blushing ...
Dilatory
Dilatory, Delaying, Or Slow; In Law A "dilatory Plea" Is One Made Merely To Delay The Suit. ...
Dilemma
Dilemma Is The Name Of A Special Type Of Reasoning. In Its Commonest Form Its Conclusion Presents One With Two Alternatives. When Employed In Debate The Usual Aim Is To Present Alternatives Both Of Which Are Unpalatable To The Opponent. Thus, E.g. In Answer To The Contention Of A Protectionist ...
Dilettante
Dilettante, An Italian Word For One Who Delights In The Fine Arts, Especially In Music And Painting. Properly The Word Re Fers To An "amateur" As Opposed To A "professional" Cultivation Of The Arts, But Is Often Used In A Depreciatory Sense Of One Who Is Only A Dabbler. The ...
Diligence
Diligence, In Common Law, A Term Which Is Substantially Equivalent To "care." In Scots Law It Is A General Term For The Process By Which Persons, Lands Or Effects Are Attached On Execu Tion, Or In Security For Debt. (see Negligence.) ...
Dill
Dill (anethum Graveolens), A Herb Of The Family Umbelli Ferae, Native To The South Of Europe, Egypt And The Cape Of Good Hope. It Resembles Fennel In Appearance. The Leaves Are Used In Soups And Sauces, And, As Well As The Umbels, For Flavouring Pickles. The Seeds Are Employed For ...
Dillen
Dillen (dillenius), Johann Jakob English Botanist, Was Born At Darmstadt And Educated At The University Of Giessen, Where He Printed In 1719 His Catalogus Plantarum Sponte Circa Gissam Nascentium. In 1721 He Came To England, And In 1724 Published A New Edition Of Ray's Synopsis Stirpium Britannicarum. In I732 Appeared ...
Dillenburg
Dillenburg, A Town Of Hesse-nassau, Prussia, Germany, In Wooded Country, On The Dill, 25 M. N.w. From Giessen On The Railway To Tr O I S D O R F. Pop. On An Eminence Above It Lie The Ruins Of The Castle Of Dillenburg, Founded By Count Henry The Rich ...
Dillingen
Dillingen, A Town Of Germany, In The Land Of Bavaria, On The Left Bank Of The Danube, 25 M. N.e. From Ulm By Rail. Pop. (1925), 6,091. Dillingen Became The Residence Of The Bishops Of Augsburg; Was Taken By The Swedes In 1632 And 1648, By The Austrians In 1702, ...
Dillon
Dillon, A City Of South-western Montana, U.s.a., On The Beaverhead River, The Oregon Short Line Railroad And Federal Highway 91; The County-seat Of Beaverhead County. The Popula Tion In 193o Was 2,422. It Has A Very Beautiful Location On A Tableland 5,2ooft. Above Sea-level, With Mountains Rising In Every Direction, ...
Diluvium
Diluvium, A Term In Geology For Superficial Deposits Formed By Flood-like Operations Of Water, And So Contrasted With Alluvium (q.v.) Or Alluvial Deposits Formed By Slow And Steady Aqueous Agencies. The Term (lat. For "deluge," From Diluere, To Wash Away) Was Formerly Given To The "boulder Clay" Deposits, Supposed To ...
Dime
Dime, The Tenth Part, The Tithe Paid As Church Dues, Or As Tribute To A Temporal Power. In This Sense It Is Obsolete, But Is Found In Wyclif's Translation Of The Bible—"he Gave Him Dymes Of Alle Thingis" (gen. Xiv. 2o). A Dime Is A Silver Coin Of The United ...
Dimension
Dimension, A Term Used In Geometry To Denote A Magni Tude Measured In A Specified Direction, As, For Instance, Along A Diameter Or A Principal Axis Or An Edge. A Point Is Said To Be With Out Dimension; A Line Has The One Dimension Of Length, A Surface Has The ...
Diminishing Returns
Diminishing Returns, In Economics, Represents The Special Application To Land Of The More Generalized "law Of Dimin Ishing Productivity." This Latter Law May Be Stated As Follows: "the Size Of The Product Obtained In A Given Productive Process Varies Greatly According To The Way In Which The Various Agents Of ...
Diminuendo
Diminuendo (it.), Diminishing, I.e., As Used In Music (abbr. Dim.), In Loudness, Othervvise Getting Softer. Decrescendo And The Sign -.. — Have The Same Meaning. ...
Diminution
Diminution, A Term In Music Applying When A Given Theme, Or Passage Is Played In A "diminished" Form, I.e., In Notes Of Shorter Duration; "augmentation" Signifying The Converse Procedure. ...
Dimitrievic
Dimitrievic, Colonel Dragutin (1876-1917), Serbian Soldier And Conspirator, Was Born On Aug. 17, 1876, And Was The Principal Organiser Of The Conspiracy Which Ended In The Murder (1903) Of King Alexander Obrenovic Of Serbia (q.v.) And His Wife Draga. He Was At First Treated With Great Consideration By King Peter ...
Dimity
Dimity, Derived From The Gr. B4µctos "double Thread," Through The Ital. Dimito, "a Kind Of Course Linzie-wolzie" (florio, 161 I) ; A Cloth Commonly Employed For Bed Upholstery And Cur Tains, And Usually White, Though Sometimes A Pattern Is Printed On It In Colours. It Is Stout In Texture, And ...
Dimorphism
Dimorphism, The Property Of Assuming Two Forms. In Crystallography (q.v.), Two Substances Which Are Identical In Chemical Composition But Different In Crystalline Form, And Conse Quently In Others Of Their Physical Properties, Are Dimorphous. In Biology The Word Is Used When There Are Two Distinct Vari Eties Of An Organism ...
Dinajpur
Dinajpur, A Town And District Of British India, In The Rajshah Division Of Bengal. The Population Of The Town In 1931 Was 19,156. The District Has An Area Of 3,946 Sq.m. And A Popula Tion Of 1,755,432. It Is A Flat Alluvial Plain Broken In The South By A Slightly ...
Dinan
Dinan, A Town Of North-western France, Capital Of An Arrondissement In The Department Of Cotes-du-nord, 37 M. E. Of St. Brieuc On The Ouest-etat Railway. Pop. Dinan, A Stronghold Of The Dukes Of Brittany, Was Besieged By The English Under The Duke Of Lancaster In 1359, During Which Siege Du ...
Dinant
Dinant, An Ancient Town In The Province Of Namur, Bel Gium, On The Meuse, With The Station And The Suburb Of St. Medard. Pop. (193o) 7,003. As Early As The 7th Century It Was A Dependency Of The Bishopric Of Tongres. From The Loth Century To The French Revolution It ...
Dinapore
Dinapore, A Subdivisional Town And Cantonment Of British India, In The Patna District Of Behar And Orissa, On The Right Bank Of The Ganges. Pop. (1931) 81,367. In 1857 The Sepoy Regiments Here Who Had Been Allowed To Retain Their Arms Broke Into Open Mutiny When An Attempt Was Made ...
Dinar
Dinar. The Monetary Unit Of Serbia, And Since The War Of Yugoslavia, Divided Into Ioo Paras. At Par, The Dinar Is Equiva Lent To 2.982 Cents In The Currency Of The United States. Gold Coins Are Of 20 And Io Dinars In Denomination, And Silver Is Coined Into Pieces Of ...
Dinard
Dinard, A Seaside Town Of North-western France, In The Department Of Ille-et-vilaine Pop. (1931), 7,612. The Town, The Chief Watering-place Of Brittany, Stands On A Rocky Promontory At The Mouth Of The Rance Opposite St. Malo, Which Is About 1 M. Distant. It Is A Favourite Resort Of English And ...
Dindigul
Dindigul, A Town Of British India, In The Madura District Of Madras, 88o Ft. Above The Sea, 4o M. From Madura By Rail. Pop. Dindigul Is A Trade Centre, And Has A Consid Erable Manufacture Of Tobacco, A Large Cotton Ginning And Press Ing Factory, And Tanneries. The Town Has ...
Dineir Or Geyikler
Dineir Or Geyikler, A Kaza In The Vilayet Of Afiun Qarahisar In Asia Minor, Built Amidst The Ruins Of Celaenae-apamea, Near The Sources Of The Maeander. Pop. (1927), 36,117. It Lies On The Smyrna-egerdir Railway (see Apamea). ...
Dinghy
Dinghy, A Boat Of Greatly Varying Size And Shape, Used On The Rivers Of India; The Term Is Applied Also, In Certain Districts, To A Larger Boat Used For Coasting Purposes. The Name Was Adopted By The Merchantmen Trading With India, And Is Now Generally Used To Designate The Small ...
Dingle
Dingle, A Seaport And Market Town Of Co. Kerry, Ireland, On The Fine Natural Harbour Of Dingle Bay. Pop. (1926), 1,998. The Town, A Mackerel-fishing Cen Tre, Was Important In The I6th Century As A Seaport, And Had Also A Noted Manufacture Of Linen. It Was Incorporated By Queen Eliza ...
Dingo
Dingo (canis Dingo) , The Native Australian Dog, A Stoutly Built, Short-legged Animal, Inter Mediate In Size Between A Jackal And A Wolf. It Is Very Similar In Appearance To The Pariah Dogs Of India And Egypt, From Which It Is Probably Derived. The Dingo Occurs Both Wild And Tame, ...
Dingwall
Dingwall, Royal Burgh, County Town And Parish, Shire Of Ross And Cromarty, Scotland. Pop. (1931) It Is Near The Head Of Cromarty Firth Where The Valley Of The Peffery Unites With The Alluvial Lands At The Mouth Of The Conon, 181 M. N.w. Of Inverness By The L.m.s.r. Its Name, ...
Dinkelsbuhl
Dinkelsbuhl, A Town Of Germany, In The Land Of Bavaria, On The Wornitz, 16 M. N. From Nordlingen By Rail. Pop. (1925) 5,067. Fortified By The Emperor Henry I., Dinkels Biihl Received In 1305 The Same Municipal Rights As Ulm, And Obtained In 1351 The Position Of A Free Imperial ...
Dinner
Dinner, The Chief Meal Of The Day, Eaten Either In The Middle Of The Day Or In The Evening. The Word "dine" Comes Through Fr. From Med. Lat. Disnare, For Dis Je Junare, To Break One's Fast (je Junium) ; It Is, Therefore, The Same Word As Fr. De Jeuner, ...
Dinoflagellata
Dinoflagellata, Single-celled Organisms (class Flag Ellata), With Plant-like Metabolism, Which Are Present As Part Of The Floating Fauna (plankton) Of Pools, Lakes And The Sea. They Form A Certain Part Of The Food-supply Of Other Animals (e.g., Of Fish Larvae) . (see Protozoa.) ...
Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument, A Reservation (8o Ac. In Area) In Uintah County, Utah, U.s.a., About 12 M. East By North Of Vernal. The Reservation, Created Oct. 4, 1915, Contains Deposits Of Fossil Remains Of Prehistoric Animal Life Of Great Scientific Interest. ...
Dinosauria
Dinosauria, A Sub-class Or Order Of Mesozoic Reptiles. The Term Dinosaur Is In Current Use For The Members Of Two Groups Of Extinct Reptiles, Most Members Of Which Are Character Ized By Their Gigantic Size. The First Group, The Saurischia, First Appears In The Trias, The Earliest Known Remains Being ...
Dinotherium
Dinotherium, An Extinct Mammal, Fossil Remains Of Which Occur In The Miocene Beds Of France, Germany, Greece And Northern India. An Entire Skull, Obtained From The Lower Pliocene Beds Of Eppelsheim, Hesse-darmstadt, Measured 41ft. In Length And 3ft. In Breadth, And Indicates An Animal Exceeding The Elephant In Size. The ...
Dio Cassius
Dio Cassius (more Correctly Cassius Dio) Coc Ceianus (c. A.d. Roman Historian, Born At Nicaea In Bithynia. His Father Was Cassius Apronianus, Governor Of Dal Matia And Cilicia Under Marcus Aurelius, And On His Mother's Side He Was The Grandson Of Dio Chrysostom. After His Father's Death Dio Cassius Went ...
Dio Chrysostom
Dio Chrysostom (the "golden-mouthed"), (c. A.d. 40 Greek Sophist And Rhetorician, Was Born At Prusa (mod. Brusa), A Town At The Foot Of Mount Olympus In Bithynia. Al Though He Did Much To Promote The Welfare Of His Native Place, He Became So Unpopular There That He Migrated To Rome, ...
Diocese
Diocese, The Sphere Of A Bishop's Jurisdiction (from Gr. Bco1kr70 Ts, "house-keeping," "administration"). In This, Its Sole Modern Sense, The Word Diocese (dioecesis) Has Only Been Regu Larly Used Since The 9th Century. The Greek Word Scolkaocs, From Meaning "administration," Came To Be Applied To The Territorial Circumscription In Which ...
Diocletian Gaius Aurelius Valerius
Diocletian (gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus) (a.d. 245-313), Roman Emperor 284-305, Is Said To Have Been Born At Dioclea, Near Salona, In Dalmatia. His Original Name Was Diocles. Of Humble Origin, He Held Important Military Com Mands Under The Emperors Probus And Aurelian, And Accom Panied Carus To The Persian War. ...
Diode
Diode, In Radio, A Type Of Vacuum Tube Containing Two Elec Trodes, Which Passes Current Wholly Or Predominantly In One Direction, And Which, Therefore, May Be Used As A Rectifier. ...
Diodorus Cronus
Diodorus Cronus (4th Century B.c.), Greek Philos Opher Of The Megarian School. Practically Nothing Is Known Of His Life. Diogenes Laertius (ii. 1 1 1) Tells A Story That, While Stay Ing At The Court Of Ptolemy Soter, Diodorus Was Asked To Solve A Dialectical Subtlety By Stilpo. Not Being ...
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus, Greek Historian, Born At Agyrium In Sicily, Lived In The Times Of Julius Caesar And Augustus. From His Own Statements We Learn That He Travelled In Egypt Between 6o-57 B.c. And That He Spent Several Years In Rome. The Latest Event Mentioned By Him Belongs To The Year ...
Diodotus
Diodotus, Seleucid Satrap Of Bactria, Who Rebelled Against Antiochus Ii. (about 255) And Became The Founder Of The Graeco Bactrian Kingdom (trogus Prol. 41; Justin Xli. 4, 5, Where He Is Wrongly Called Theodotus ; Strabo Xi. 515) . His Power Seems To Have Extended Over The Neighbouring Provinces. Arsaces, ...
Diogenes Apolloniates
Diogenes Apolloniates (c. 46o B.c.), Greek Natural Philosopher, Was A Native Of Apollonia In Crete. Although Of Dorian Stock, He Wrote In The Ionic Dialect, Like All The Physi Ologi (physical Philosophers). He Moved To Athens, Where His Opinions Once Endangered His Life. It Is His Theories That Are Ridi ...
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius (or Laertius Diogenes), The Biographer Of The Greek Philosophers, Is Supposed By Some To Have Received His Surname From The Town Of Laerte In Cilicia, And By Others From The Roman Family Of The Laertii. Of The Circum Stances Of His Life We Know Nothing. It Is Probable ...
Diogenes
Diogenes, "the Cynic," Greek Philosopher, Was Born At Sinope About 412 B.c., And Died In 323 At Corinth, According To Diogenes Laertius, On The Day On Which Alexander The Great Died At Babylon. When His Father Was Exiled Diogenes Was In Cluded In The Charge And Went To Athens. Attracted ...
Diogenianus
Diogenianus, Of Heraclea On The Pontus (or In Caria), Greek Grammarian, Flourished During The Reign Of Hadrian. He Was The Author Of A Lexicon (sometimes Known As Reptenorbmres For "industrious Poor Students") Which Was Perhaps Abridged From The Great Lexicon Of Pamphilus Of Alexandria (fl. A.d. 50) And Other Similar ...
Diomedes
Diomedes, Latin Grammarian, Flourished At The End Of The 4th Century A.d. He Was The Author Of An Extant Ars Grammatica In Three Books. The Third Book Is The Most Important, As Contain Ing Extracts From Suetonius' De Poetis. Diomedes Wrote About The Same Time As Charisius (q.v.) And Used ...
Diomedes_2
Diomedes, In Greek Legend, Son Of Tydeus (q.v.) ; In Homer One Of The Bravest Of The Heroes Of The Trojan War. In The Post-homeric Story, He And Odysseus Steal The Palladium, The Presence Of Which Within The Walls Secured Troy Against Capture (virgil, Aeneid, 164). On His Return To ...
Dion
Dion B.c.), Tyrant Of Syracuse, The Son Of Hip Parinus, And Brother-in-law Of Dionysius The Elder. He Was A Friend Of Plato, Who Had Visited The Court Of The Elder Dionysius, And Whom Dion Now Summoned To Teach The Theory Of Govern Ment To Dionysius' Son. But The Historian Philistus ...
Dione
Dione, Cult-partner Of Zeus Of Dodona (strabo Vii, 329). As The Partner And Wife Of Zeus Is Normally Hera, Dione Was Variously Described: In The Iliad (v. 37o) As Mother By Zeus Of Aphrodite; In Hesiod (theog. 353) As A Daughter Of Oceanus. ...
Dionne Quintuplets
Dionne Quintuplets, Five Phenomenal Daughters Of Oliva And Elzire Dionne, Born Near Callander, Ontario, May 28th, 1934. The Attending Physician Was Dr. Allan Dafoe. These Chil Dren, Weighing Collectively But Pounds Six Days After Their Premature Birth, Were Rescued From The Hazards And Handicaps Of Freak Exploitation By The Government ...
Dionysia
Dionysia, Festivals Of Dionysus (q.v.). These Were Nu Merous And Widespread, The Most Famous Being Those Of Attica, Which Were (i) The Little Or Rustic Dionysia, A Festival Held In Various Country Places In The Month Poseideon (december), Char Acterized By Simple, Old-fashioned Rites; (2) The Lenaea ("fes Tival Of ...
Dionysius Areopagiticus
Dionysius Areopagiticus (or "the Areopagite"), Named In Acts Xvii. 34 As One Of Those Athenians Who Believed When They Had Heard Paul Preach On Mars Hill. Beyond This Men Tion Our Only Knowledge Of Him Is The Statement Of Dionysius, Bishop Of Corinth (fl. 171), Recorded By Eusebius (church Hist. ...
Dionysius Exiguus
Dionysius Exiguus, A Scholar Of The 6th Century, Was, According To The Statement Of His Friend Cassiodorus, A Scythian By Birth. He Was Living At Rome In The First Half Of The 6th Century, And Is Usually Spoken Of As Abbot Of A Roman Monastery Though Cassiodorus Calls Him Simply ...
Dionysius Halicarnassensis
Dionysius Halicarnassensis ("of Halicarnas Sus"), Greek Historian And Teacher Of Rhetoric, Flourished During The Reign Of Augustus. He Went To Rome After The End Of The Civil Wars And Spent 22 Years In Studying Latin And Preparing Materials For His History. The Date Of His Death Is Unknown. His Great ...
Dionysius Of Alexandria
Dionysius Of Alexandria (c. Bishop Of Alexandria, Called "dionysius The Great," Became A Christian When Young And Studied Under Origen. In 231 He Was Made Head Of The Catechetical School Of Alexandria, And In 247 Bishop Of That City. During The Decian Persecution In 251 He Fled To The Libyan ...
Dionysius Periegetes
Dionysius Periegetes, Author Of A Ilfpcipyrlells Oucovilivns, A Description Of The Habitable World In Greek Hexa Meters. There Is Some Reason For Believing That The Author Was An Alexandrian, Who Wrote In The Time Of Hadrian (some Put Him As Late As The End Of The 3rd Century). The Work ...
Dionysius Telmaharensis
Dionysius Telmaharensis ("of D. 848, Patriarch Or Supreme Head Of The Syrian Jacobite Church During 818-848, Was Born At Tell-mahre Near Rakka (ar-rakkah ) On The Balikh. He Was The Author Of An Important Historical Work, Which Has Perished Except For Some Passages Quoted By Barhe Braeus And An Extract ...
Dionysius Thrax
Dionysius Thrax (so Called Because His Father Was A Thracian), The Author Of The First Greek Grammar, Flourished About 100 B.c. He Was A Native Of Alexandria, Where He Attended The Lectures Of Aristarchus, And Afterwards Taught Rhetoric In Rhodes And Rome. His Grammar, Which We Possess (though Probably Not ...
Dionysius
Dionysius, Pope From 259 To 268. To Dionysius Fell The Task Of Reorganizing The Church After The Persecution Of Valerian. At The Protest Of Some Of The Faithful At Alexandria, He Demanded From Their Bishop (also Called Dionysius) Explanations Touching His Doctrine. He Died On Dec. 26, 268. ...
Dionysius_2
Dionysius (c. B.c.), Tyrant Of Syracuse, Began Life As A Clerk In A Public Office, But Took Advantage Of War With Car Thage To Seize The Tyranny (405) . The Next Eight Years Were Spent In Strengthening His Power. He Fortified Epipolae (402), Defeated His Political Opponents, And Removed The ...
Dionysus
Dionysus, In Greek Mythology Originally A Nature God Of Fruitfulness And Vegetation, Especially Of The Vine ; Hence, Dis Tinctively, The God Of Wine. [gr. Atovvaos, Accwvvaos; Thracian, Zonnyxos ; Phrygian, Diounsis : Etymology Doubtful ; ?dio-, Name Of Thraco-phrygian Sky-god Resembling Zeus ; Nys-, Possibly Akin To Lat. Nurus, ...
Diophantine Equations
Diophantine Equations. About The Middle Of The Third Century, A.d., The Greek Mathematician Diophantus Wrote An Epoch-making Book Entitled Arithmetica. It Was Important In At Least Three Respects :—essentially An Algebra Rather Than An Arithmetic, It Was The First Book To Be Recognized As An Algebra; It Contained Problems Requiring ...
Diophantus
Diophantus, Of Alexandria, Greek Algebraist, Probably Flourished About The Middle Of The 3rd Century. Not That This Date Rests On Positive Evidence. But We Gather From A Passage Of Michael Psellus (diophantus, Ed. P. Tannery, Ii. P. 38) That He Was Not Later Than Anatolius, Bishop Of Laodicea From A.d. ...
Diopside
Diopside, An Important Member Of The Pyroxene Group Of Rock-forming Minerals. It Is Colourless, White, Pale Green To Dark Green Or Nearly Black In Colour, The Depth Of The Colour Depend Ing On The Amount Of Iron Present, And Is A Calcium-magnesium Metasilicate, Crystallizing In The Monoclinic System. Usually Some ...
Diopter
Diopter. A Unit Of Measurement Used In Optics To Measure The Power Of A Lens Or Lens System. The Power Of A Lens Is The Reciprocal Of Its Focal Length, And When The Focal Length Is Ex Pressed In Metres The Power Of The Lens Is In Diopters. Thus A ...
Diorite
Diorite, The Name Given By Flatly To A Family Of Rocks Of Granitic Texture, Composed Of Plagioclase Felspar And Hornblende. As They Are Richer In The Dark Coloured Ferromagnesian Minerals They Are Usually Grey Or Dark Grey, And Have A Higher Specific Gravity Than Granite. They Also Rarely Show Visible ...
Dioscoreaceae
Dioscoreaceae, A Family Of Monocotyledonous Plants Which Includes The Yam (q.v.), The Black Bryony (tames Com Munis), And The Elephant's-foot (q.v.). There Are Nine Genera And About 220 Species, All Climbing Herbs Or Shrubs With Tubers Or Rhizomes At The Base. The Flowers Are Usually Regular, Unisexual, Inconspicuous ; The ...
Dip
Dip, In Magnetism (see Terrestrial Magnetism), The Angle Made By The Direction Of The Earth's Magnetic Field And The Hori Zontal Is The Angle Of Dip, Commonly Called The Dip. In Astronomy (q.v.) And Surveying (q.v.) The Dip Of The Horizon Is The Angular Distance Between The True Horizon And ...
Dipavamsa
Dipavamsa, A Poem ("history Of The Island") Composed In-ceylon In The Pali Language, Relating The History Of Buddhism In India And Its Propagation In Ceylon. It Belongs To The 4th Century A.d., And Is The Earliest Example Of A Purely Historical Composition Relating To India. It Contains 22 Chapters, And ...
Diphenyl
Diphenyl (phenylbenzene), An Aromatic Hydrocarbon Found In That Fraction Of The Coal-tar Distillate Boiling Between 24o°-3oo°c., From Which It May Be Obtained By Warming With Sulphuric Acid, Separating The Acid Layer And Strongly Cooling The Undissolved Oil. It Crystallizes In Plates (from Alcohol) Melting At 7o-71° C. And Boiling At ...
Diphilus
Diphilus, Of Sinope, Poet Of The New Attic Comedy And Contemporary Of Menander (342-291 B.c.). Most Of His Plays Were Written And Acted At Athens, But He Led A Wandering Life, And Died At Smyrna (athenaeus Xiii. Pp. 579, 583). He Is Said To Have Written Oo Comedies, The Titles ...
Diphtheria
Diphtheria, An Acute Infectious Disease, Accompanied By A Membranous Exudation On A Mucous Surface, Generally The Tonsils And Back Of The Throat Or Pharynx. As A Rule, Early Symptoms Are Comparatively Slight, Viz., Chilliness And Depression. A Slight Feeling Of Uneasiness In The Throat Is Experienced Along With Some Stiffness ...
Diplodocus
Diplodocus, A Gigantic Extinct Reptile, About 6oft. Long, Found In The Upper Jurassic Rocks Along The East Side Of The Rocky Mountains. It Is A Member Of The Sauropoda, A Division Of The Dinosaurs (q.v.). See Illustration Above. ...
Diplomacy
Diplomacy, The Art Of Conducting International Negotia Tions. The Word Is Derived Ultimately, Through The French Diplo Matic, From The Greek Word Diploma, I.e., The Duplicate Or Copy Of An Act Emanating From The Sovereign Of Which The Original Is Retained. Diplomacy Has Thus Been Defined As "the Science Of ...
Diplomatic
Diplomatic Is The Science Of The Critical Study Of Official As Opposed To Literary Sources Of History ; That Is To Say, Of Charters, Acts, Treaties, Contracts, Judicial Records, Rolls, Chartu Laries, Registers And Kindred Documents. The Employment Of The Word "diploma" As A General Term To Designate An Historical ...
Diplopia
Diplopia, Seeing A Single Object As Double, Occurs When Ever One Of The Two Eyes Leaves The Correct Position Of Fixation, I.e., When One Eye Cannot Focus On An Object Simultaneously With The Other Eye. An Object Clearly Seen By The Normal Eye Gives Rise To An Image In The ...
Dipoenus
Dipoenus And Scyllis, Early Greek Sculptors, Who Worked Together, And Are Said To Have Been Pupils Of Daedalus. Pliny Assigns To Them The Date 58o B.c., And Says That They Worked At Sicyon, Which City From Their Time Onwards Became One Of The Great Schools Of Sculpture. They Also Made ...
Dipper Or Water Ousel
Dipper Or Water-ousel, A Bird About The Size Of A Thrush, Squatly Built And Of An Active Disposition. The Dipper (cinclus Cinclus) Haunts The Rocky Streams Of Europe And North Asia. The Dipper, Belonging To A Small Family Of Its Own, The Cinclidae, Feeds Upon Small Fresh-water Molluscs And Crustacea, ...
Dipsacaceae
Dipsacaceae, A Family Of Dicotyledonous Plants, The Best-known Member Of Which Is The Teasel (q.v.). The Family Includes Ten Genera And 15o Species. The Scabiouses (scabiosa Knautia) Also Belong To This Family. ...
Dipsomania
Dipsomania, A Term Formerly Applied To The Attacks Of Delirium (q.v.) Caused By Alcoholic Poisoning. It Is Now Some Times Loosely Used As Equivalent To The Condition Of Incurable Inebriates, But Strictly Should Be Confined To The Pathological And Insatiable Desire For Alcohol, Sometimes Occurring In Par Oxysms. ...
Diptera
Diptera, The Term Used In Zoological Classification For The Two-winged Or True Flies Which Form One Of The Largest Orders Of Insects. Their Chief Character Is Expressed In The Name Of The Order (gr. His Double, And Rrepa Wing) And, With Certain Aberrant Exceptions, Flies Possess A Single Pair Of ...
Dipteral
Dipteral, The Term Applied To Temples That Have A Double Range Of Columns In The Peristyle, As In The Temple Of Diana At Ephesus. ...
Dir
Dir, An Independent State In The North-west Frontier Province Of India, Lying To The North-east Of Swat. It Commands The Greater Part Of The Route Between Chitral And The Peshawar Frontier. The Trouble Between The Khan Of Dir And Umra Khan Of Jandol Were Factors That Led Up To The ...
Dirce
Dirce, In Greek Legend, Daughter Of Helios The Sun-god, The Second Wife Of Lycus, King Of Thebes. After Her Death (see Antiope) Her Body Was Cast Into A Spring Near Thebes Afterwards Called By Her Name. ...
Direct Action
Direct Action. The Use Of Trade Union Action For Po Litical Ends, A Theory Imported Into Britain From French Syndi Calist Sources. Theoretically, Trade Union Action For Political Ends Can Include Other Methods Than The Strike, And Was Originally In Tended To Do So—as, For Example, Sabotage (q.v.) On A ...
Direct Advertising
Direct Advertising, A Type Of Advertising Distin Guished By The Fact That It Is Conducted By Delivering By Post (mail), By Person Or Otherwise The Announcement Of An Adver Tiser Directly To Specific Individuals Instead Of By Publishing It In A Newspaper Or Magazine To The Public In General. Direct ...
Directional Antenna
Directional Antenna. An Antenna Having The Property Of Radiating Or Receiving Radio Waves In Larger Proportion Along Some Directions Than Others. A Directional Antenna Used As A Transmitting Antenna Is Sometimes Called A "directive Antenna." If The Angle Within Which The Radiation Is Substantially Confined Is A Small One, The ...
Directoire Style
Directoire Style, A Loose Term Designating, In Archi Tecture, Furniture, Etc., The Transitional Work Between The Restrained Classicism Of The Louis Xvi. Style (see Louis Styles) And The Roman Heaviness Of The Empire Style (q.v.); So-called From The French Directory Which Was In Power 1795-99. The Style Is Char Acterized ...
Directory
Directory, Literally, That Which Guides Or Directs, And Hence A Book Giving Directions For Public Worship, E.g., The Direc Torium Or Ordo Of The Roman Church. The Term Now Usually Signifies A Book Containing The Names, Addresses And Occupations, Etc., Of The Inhabitants Of A Town Or District, A List ...
Dirge
Dirge, A Song Sung At Funerals Or In Commemoration Of The Dead ; Derived From The Antiphon, Dirige, Domine, Deus Rneus, In Conspectu Tuo Viam Meam (adapted From Ps. V. 9), Of The Open Ing Psalm In Matins For The Dead In The Roman Catholic Church. Dirichlet, Peter Gustav Lejeune ...
Dirk
Dirk, A Dagger, Particularly The Heavy Dagger Carried By The Highlanders Of Scotland. The Dirk As Worn In Full Highland Costume Is An Elaborately Ornamented Weapon, With Cairngorms Or Other Stones Set In The Head Of The Handle, Which Has No Guard. Inserted In The Sheath There May Be Two ...