DEH 



117 



DEM 



act of swallowing food after mastic- 

 ation. 



dehisce, v., de-his' (L. dehisco, I 

 split open, I part asunder from 

 de, down, from ; hisco, I open, I 

 gape), in bot., to open or part 

 asunder, as the seed -pods of 

 plants . dehiscence, n. , de- his' 8ns, 

 the mode of opening an organ, as 

 of the seed vessel and anther, 

 generally along a determinate 

 line : dehiscing, a., dS-htittng, 

 splitting into regular parts. 



Delesseria, n., d&l'e'S'Ser'i-a (in 

 honour of Delessert, a French 

 Dotanist), a beautiful genus of 

 mostly deep-green Algae, found in 

 the ocean and on the sea-shore. 



Delima, n., d&l-im'a (L. delimo, I 

 file or shave off from de, down ; 

 limo, I file), a genus of very fine 

 climbing plants, Ord. Dilleniacese, 

 so called from their leaves being 

 used for polishing. 



deliquesce, v., del'-i-lcwes' (L. deli- 

 quesco, I dissolve from de, down; 

 liqueo, I am fluid), to melt or 

 become liquid by attracting 

 moisture from the air : deli- 

 quescent, a., dZl'-i'Tcwes'-Znt, lique- 

 fying by contact with the air : 

 deliquescence, n., del'i'kwes'Zns, 

 the melting by absorbing moisture 

 from the air, as certain substances 

 do. 



delirium, n., d&lir'-i-tim (L. de- 

 lirium, madness), that condition 

 of the mind in acute disease in 

 which the mind wanders, result- 

 ing in incoherent speech : de- 

 lirium tremens, trem'-enz (L. 

 tr$mens, shaking, quivering), 

 temporary insanity accompanied 

 with a tremulous condition of the 

 body and limbs, a disease of 

 habitual drinkers : d. traumatic- 

 urn, trdwm-at'ik'tim (Gr. traum- 

 alikos, L. traumdticus, fit for 

 healing wounds), a similar disease 

 which may follow serious accidents 

 or surgical operations. 

 delitescence, n., del'it-es'Zns (L. 

 delilescens, lying hid from de, 



down ; latescens, hiding one- 

 self), in med., the period during 

 which morbid poisons, as small- 

 pox, lie hid in the system ; the 

 sudden termination of an inflam- 

 mation. 



Delphinium, n., cfel-fln't-tim (L. 

 delphin, a dolphin from a sup- 

 posed resemblance in the nectary 

 of the plant to the imaginary 

 figure of the dolphin), a genus of 

 showy plants, Ord. Ranunculaceae: 

 Delphinium staphysagria, stcif'i- 

 sdg'ri-d (Gr. staphis, a dried 

 grape ; agria, belonging to the 

 country, rustic), the plant Staves- 

 acre, whose seeds are irritant 

 and narcotic, used for destroying 

 vermin : D. glaciale, glas'i'dl'& 

 (L. gldcidlis, icy, frozen), a species 

 which grows at the height of 16,000 

 feet on the Himalayas : D. ajacis, 

 adj-ds'is (from Switzerland); and 

 D. consolida, Icon-sdl'-id-a (L. 

 consftlido, I make very solid or 

 firm from cow, together; solidus, 

 whole, complete), two species 

 universally grown among border 

 annuals ; the latter is regarded as 

 a simple astringent. 

 deltoid, a., delt'-oyd (the Gr. letter 

 A, called delta ; eidos, resem- 

 blance), shaped somewhat like a 

 delta ; triangular in the outline 

 or section ; denoting a large, 

 thick, triangular muscle, which 

 forms the convexity of the 

 shoulder, and pulls the arm 

 directly outwards and upwards ; 

 deltoids, n. plu., also deltoides, 

 n. plu., d&lt-oyd'ez : deltoid liga- 

 ment, the internal lateral liga- 

 ment of the ankle joint, consist- 

 ing of a triangular layer of fibres. 

 dementia, n., de-men'shi-a (L. 

 dementia, the being out of one's 

 mind from de, down ; mens, the 

 mind), that form of insanity in 

 which the powers of the mind 

 gradually fade away, or become a 

 perfect blank : dementia senilis, 

 sen-ll'-is (L. senilis, aged, senile), 

 the loss of intellect in old age. 



