DEC 



[ 69] 



DBF 



ten stamens ; it includes cassia, ruta, 

 saxifraga, &c. 



DECA'NDRIAN. Belonging to the class 

 Decandria ; having ten stamens. 



DECAPHY'LLOUS. (from deica, and QvXXov, 

 Gr.) A calyx which hath ten leaves. 



DECA'PODA. (from dsica, ten, and TTOVQ, 

 foot.) The first order of Crustacea. This 

 order includes the lobster, crab, craw- 

 fish, shrimp, &c. 



DECA'PODAL. Belonging to the order De- 

 capoda ; having ten feet. Synonymous 

 with decempedal. 



DECE'MFID. (from decem andjissus, Lat.) 

 Ten-cleft ; in botany, a term for a calyx, 

 cleft, or divided, into ten parts. 



DECEMLO'CULAR. (from decem and locu- 

 lus, Lat.) Ten-celled ; in botany, an epi- 

 thet for a pericarp divided into ten loculi 

 or cells. 



DECI'DUOUS. (deciduus, Lat.) 



1. In botany, falling off; plants which 

 lose their leaves in autumn are called 

 deciduous ; applied also to stipules falling 

 in the autumn ; to calyces falling soon 

 after the expansion of the corolla ; and to 

 the corolla when falling with the sta- 

 mens. 



2. In conchology, to shells having a ten- 

 dency in the apex of the spire to fall off ; 

 to crustaceans, annually casting their 

 shells. 



DECLE'NSION. (from declinatio, Lat.) 

 Declination ; descent ; slope from or 

 downwards. 



DECLINA'TION. (declinatio, Lat.) Devia- 

 tion from a right line. 



DECLI'VITY. (declivitas, Lat. declivitt, 

 Fr.) Gradual descent of land, as distin- 

 guished from precipitous or perpendi- 

 cular. 



DECLI'VOUS. ) (declivis, Lat.) Gradually 

 DECLI'VITOUS. $ descending, as distin- 

 guished from sudden and precipitous 

 descent. 



DECOMPOSABLE. That may be resolved 

 into its constituent elements ; capable ol 

 being decomposed. 

 DE'COMPOSE. (decomposer, Fr. R6duire 

 un corps a ses principes, ou stparer les 

 parties dont il est compost. ) To resolve a 

 body into its constituent elements ; to 

 overcome the power of affinity, anc 

 thereby to separate elementary particles. 

 DECOMPOSITION. (decomposition, Fr." 

 Separation of parts previously united 

 Decomposition may be effected by vari- 

 ous methods ; it is of two kinds, simple 

 or single, and complex, or double. 

 DE'COMPOUND. Doubly compound. Leaves 

 are so called when the petioles, instead o 

 bearing leaflets, branch out into othei 

 petioles to which the leaflets are at 

 tached. 

 DECO'KTICATE. (decortico, Lat.) To de 



prive of the bark or husk ; to peel ; to 

 strip off. 



DECO'RTICATED. (decorticatus,~L*.t.} Worn 

 or divested of the epidermis, bark, husk, 

 or skin. 



DECORTICA'TION. The stripping off the 

 bark or peel. 



DECREMENT, (decrementum, Lat.) Gra- 

 dual waste, or wearing away, as of rocks 

 by the action of water ; gradual diminu- 

 tion. 



DECRE'PITATE. (from decrepo, Lat.) To 

 fall into pieces with a crackling noise. 



DECREPITA'TION. (dtcrpitation,~Fr.) The 

 crackling noise made by certain sub- 

 stances in falling to pieces when heated. 



DECRE'SCENT. (decrescent, Lat.) Gra- 

 dually becoming less. 



DECU'RRENT. (from decurro, Lat.) Run- 

 ning downwards. Applied to sessile 

 leaves when the base runs down the 

 stem and forms a border or wing ; applied 

 also to stipules when extending down- 

 wards along the stem. In some plants, 

 as in some of the thistles, the margins of 

 sessile leaves run down on each side of 

 the stem, so as to appear to be of one 

 piece with it ; these leaves are called 

 decurrent. 



DECU'RSION. The act of running down, as 

 of a stream of water. 



DECU'RSIVE. Running down. 



DECU'RSIVELY PINNATE. Applied to leaves 

 having their leaflets decurrent, or run- 

 ning along the petiole. 



DECU'SSATE. (decusso, Lat.) To inter- 

 sect at acute angles ; to cross each other 

 at right angles. Applied to branches 

 growing in pairs, and alternately crossing 

 each other at right angles ; applied also 

 to leaves alternately opposite. In con- 

 chology, applied to striae, crossing or in- 

 tersecting each other at acute angles. 



DECUSSA'TION. The act of crossing at 

 unequal angles ; the crossing of two lines, 

 rays, or threads, when they meet in a 

 point, and then proceed separately. 



DEDENTI'TION. (from de and dentitio, 

 Lat.) The loss or shedding of the teeth, 

 as distinguished from dentition or the 

 appearing of the teeth. 



DEFLAGRABI'LITY. (from deflagro, Lat.) 

 Combustibility ; the property of igniting, 

 and entirely consuming away. 



DEFLA'GRABLE. That may be entirely 

 consumed by fire. 



DE'FLAGRATE. To entirely consume by 

 fire. 



DEFLAGRA'TION. (deflagratio, Lat. defla- 

 gration, Fr.) The operation by which a 

 body is wholly consumed by fire. 



DEFLE'CT. (deflccto, Lat.) To turn 



aside. 



DEFLE'CTED. Turned aside ; bent aside 

 from its straight course. 



