DEE 



267 



DRF 



or law made by a council for regulating 

 any business within their jurisdiction, as 

 the decrees of the ecclesiastical courts. 



DECRE'ET. In Scotch law, the decree of 

 a court. 



DEC'REMEST, Lat. decrementum, gradual 

 decrease, the quantity lost by decreasing. 

 In mathematics, the small parts by which 

 a quantity decreases. In crystallography, 

 when the additions do not cover the whole 

 surface of a primary crystalline form, 

 rows of molecules being omitted on the 

 angles or edges of the superimposed la- 

 minae, such omission is called decrement, 

 and gives rise to the secondary forms of 

 crystals. Decrement, equal of life, is a 

 phrase employed in the doctrine of annu- 

 ities, signifying that of a given number 

 of lives the periodical decrease conforms to 

 certain data, and may therefore be made 

 the subject of arithmetical calculation. 



DECRESCEN'DO. In music, an Italian 

 term, the opposite of crescendo (q.v.). 



DECHE'TAL, a letter from the pope, de- 

 termining some point or question in eccle- 

 siastical polity. The decretals form the 

 second part of the canon law. 



DECCM'BENT, Lat. decumbens, lying 

 down, drooping. A term applied to flow- 

 ers which incline to one side a"nd down- 

 wards. 



DECUR'RENT, Lat. decurrens, running 

 down. Applied to leaves which run down 

 the stem in a leafy border or wing, as in 

 many thistles ; and to leaf-stalks, as in 

 Pimm ochrus. 



DECUR'SIVE, Lat. decursivus, extending 

 downwards. Applied to leaves ^ which 

 the middle nerve only runs down the 

 stem ; also to a style, the base of which 

 descends on one side of the ovary. 



DECUR'SIVF.LY PINNATE, a term applied 

 to leaves having their leaflets decurrent, 

 or running along the petiole. 



DECUS'SATE, Lat. decussatus, crossed 

 after the manner of an X. Applied to 

 leaves and spines which are in pairs, 

 alternately crossing each other; and to 

 striae intersecting each other at acute 

 angles. 



DED'ALUS, from D&dalus, the Athenian, 

 who invented sails or wings. Having a 

 margin with various windings and turn- 

 ings, of a beautiful texture. Applied to 

 leaves of plants. 



DED'IMUS POTESTA'TEM. In law, a com- 



mission for the speeding of an act, apper- 

 taining to a judge or court. 



DEED. In law, a written contract, 

 signed, attested, sealed, and delivered. 



DEEM'STER, a judge in the Isle of Man 

 and in Jersey. The deemsters decide on 

 life and property, and, with the advice of 

 the keys, declare what is law on common 

 emergencies. 



DEEP SEA-LINE, a small line, with a 

 plummet at the end of it, to sound with. 



The plummet is hollow at the head, and 

 has a quantity of tallow put into it to 

 bring up gravel, shells, &c. from the bot- 

 tom, to ascertain the nature of the ground. 



DEEP-WAISTED, the distinguishing fabric 

 of a ship's decks, when the quarter-deck 

 and forecastle are elevated from four to 

 six feet above the level of the upper 

 maindeck, so as to leave a vacant space 

 called the waist, on the middle of the 

 upper deck. 



DEER, from Sax. deor,an untamed beast. 

 A name common to all the species of the 

 genus Cervus, Lin., but especially applied 

 to the fallow-deer, common stag, rein- 

 deer, axis, and roebuck. The flesh is 

 called venison, and is highly valued. 



DE FACTO (Lat.), in deed or fact, in con- 

 tradistinction to de jure, where a thing is 

 only so in law or justice. A king de facto 

 has possession of the crown, a king de 

 jure has a right to it, but may never pos- 

 sess it. 



DEFATJ'LT. In law, non-appearance ia 

 court on the day assigned ; also extended 

 to omission of that which ought to have 

 been done. The term is Fr. defaut, from 

 defftillir, to fail. 



DEFEASANCE (Norm.), from defaire, to 

 undo, a rendering null. In law, a con- 

 dition relating to a deed, which being 

 performed, the deed is defeated and ren- 

 dered void. 



DEFECTIVE FIFTH. In music, an inter- 

 val containing a semitone less than the 

 perfect fifth. 



DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, a title as- 

 sumed by the sovereigns of England, 

 bestowed originally on Henry VIII. 



DEF'ERENT, Lat. deferens, carrying; a 

 term employed in ancient astronomy, to 

 denote a circle invented to account for 

 the eccentricity, perigee, and apogee of 

 the planets. 



DEFICIENT NUMBERS, are such that the 

 sum of their aliquot parts is less than the 

 numbers themselves. Thus 8 is a defi- 

 cient number, as the sum of its aliquot 

 parts, 1, 2, 4, is only 7. 



DEFLAGRA'TION , from deflagro, to burn ; 

 a rapid combustion, as that which takes 

 place when sulphur or powdered charcoal 

 is thrown into melted nitre. 



DEFLAGRA'TOR, a galvanic instrument 

 for producing intense light and heat. 



DE'FLORATE, Lat. defioratus, from deflo- 

 resco, to shed the blossoms ; a term ap- 

 plied to the anthers of flowers when they 

 have shed their pollen, and to plants 

 when their flowers are fallen. 



DEFLCX'ION, Lat. deftuxio, a flowing 

 down ; a term used by the humoral patho- 

 logists to express a descent of the humoura 

 from a superior to an inferior part. 



DEFOLIA'TION, from de and folium, a 

 leaf; the shedding of leaves, 

 technically to the autumnal seaa 



