damned 
ami in sound often ihorteMd to ilnm. In lit- 
erary use often printed <l (I. 
\Vli;it it 'I'liitnxl Kpicnreiin rascal is tilts! 
filitik., M. W. of W., ii. 2. 
damnific (dain-nif ik), it. [= OF. 
L. ilamnifinix, < ilituiHiiui, harm, loss, 
+ /<<)', do, make. C'l'. damnify. \ Procuring 
or causing loss or injury ; mischievous. 
damnificable (ilam-nif'i-ka-bl), a, [< damnify 
(cf. iltiiiniijir) + -ablv.~\ Maine as iliiiiinific. 
God ittnl nature liavr nirn ami leasts tlirsi- natural! in- 
stincts iir inclinations to provide for tlirniHi-lven all those 
things that art' profitable ami to avoyde all those things 
which arc eUmuMeath. 
' T. H'ritihl, Passions of the Mind, ii. 5. 
damnification (dain*ni-fi-ka'hon), n. [< iliini- 
ii if //: see -/;/ iind -<itinn.~\ Damage inllieieil; 
that which causes damage or loss. 
damnify (dam'ni-fi), r. /. ; pret. and pp. damni- 
fied, ppr. damnifying. [< OK. damnifii-r, dnm- 
nejier = It. ittimiifirnre, < LL. damniflcare, in- 
jure, harm, < L. damiiijicux, doing injury: see 
<ln in nijic."] To cause loss or damage to; hurt in 
person, estate, or interest; injure; endainage; 
ini|i:iir. [Now rare except in legal use.] 
lh i- citie hath heene very much damnified at two sever- 
al) times; first l>y Attila, . . . who destroyed it ; secondly 
by Egilolphus. Coryat, Cnulitles, I. 139. 
If such ail one be not our neighbor, then we have no 
relation to him by any command of the second table, for 
that requires us to love onr neighbor only, and then we 
may decei 
sin. 
They acknowledge the power of the Englishman's God 
. because they could never yet have power ... to 
ods. 
1449 
It Is clitdcnt that a <///> In-inn Init a breuth or va|mur, 
and not to lie discerned by the eye, ought not lohaue this 
i-pitlirlc (ditrkc). I' >'ft> liltniu. Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 214. 
Ni^-lit . . . with black air 
Accompanied ; with dau>i" and -li adful gloom. 
Mili'in, P. L, X. 848. 
2. A poisonous vapor ; specifically, in mini/ii/, 
;i slitliiiK or poisonous gas. See blarl;-<laiiip. 
Jin -tin in /i. 
IxMik not IIIHIII me, as ye love your honours ! 
I am so trold a coward, my infection 
Will choke your virtues like a damp else. 
f-'ti'tr-tirr, liondilca, Iv. 3. 
3. A fog. 
And, when a il'niij. 
Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand 
Tin- '1 bini,' became a trnmjM.-t ; whence he blew 
Soul-animating strains alas ! too few. 
U'onl*u-<,rtl,, Mi>c. Sonnets, II. 1. 
4. A check ; a discouragement. 
This made a dampe in y blisines, and caused some dis- 
traction. llrad,ford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 2M. 
'lo have owned any fixed scheme of religious principles, 
would hav>- lit-fii a mighty <l<i, nft to their iHeorners'] Ima- 
ginations. /.';<. Alter/jury, Sermons, I. v. 
5. Depression of spirits ; dejection. 
The disappointments which naturally attend the great 
promises we make ourselves in expected enjoyments strike 
no il.iuip upon such men. Steele, Tatler, No. 211. 
The damps, dampness. 
My 1-ady Yarmouth is fmced to keep a constant lire in 
her room against ttif damp*. Walptte, Letters, II. 177. 
,....,., w .W v ... ............ .....j, ~..... ...^.. .. * dSJDlp (damp), a. [\ damp, /(.; cf. C. (InmfiJ. 
ive, beat, and otherwise damnify him, and not T\ J nnln i,. HmT> nnrlBT tVin nnnn 1 1 Mnist 
n-iuthrop. Hist. New England, II. 136. " "ompt'J, aiimp W un.J 1. JH 
humid ; moderately wet : as, a damp cloth ; 
damp air. 
Wide anarchy of Chaos damp and dark. 
Hilton, V. L., x. 288. 
In some of the dampent ravines tree-ferns flourished in an 
extraordinary manner. Darwin, Voyage of Beagle, II. 238. 
The air is damp, and hush'd, and close. Tennyson, Song. 
2. Clammy. 
She said no more : the trembling Trojans hear, 
O'erspread with a damp sweat and holy fear. 
Dryden, Kneid vi. 85. 
3. Dejected; depressed. [Rare.] 
. . . 
damnify the English either in body or goods. 
Boyle, Works, III. 320. 
damning (dam'uing), p. a. [Ppr. of damn, r.] 
That condemns or exposes to condemnation or 
damnation: as, damning proof ; damning criti- 
cism. 
damningness (dam'ning-nes), . Tendency to 
bring damnation. 
lie may vow never to return to those sins which he hath 
had surh experience of. for the emptyness and damning 
lie** of them, and so think himself a complete penitent. 
Hammond, Works, I. 20. 
damnoset (dam'nos), a. [< L. damnosiis, full of 
injury, injurious, also passively, injured, < dani- 
HH/H, injury.] Hurtful; harmful. Bailey, 1727. 
damnosityt (dam-nos'i-ti), n. [< damnose + 
-ity.] Hurtfulness. Bailey, 1727. 
damnum (dam'num), . ; pi. damna (-na). [L. : 
see 'lini/iii/i ,\ In law, a loss, damage, or harm, 
irrespective of whether the cause is a legal 
wrong or not Damnum absque injuria, damage 
without wrong, as the harm caused by an accident for 
which no one is legally resiM>nsible. 
Damoclean (dam-o-kle'an), a. Relating to 
Damocles, a flatterer, who, having extolled the 
happiness of Diouysius, tyrant of Syracuse, 
was placed by the latter at a magnificent ban- 
quet, with a sword suspended over his head by 
a single hair, to show nim the perilous nature 
of that happiness : hence applied to any con- 
dition, especially one of eminence, threatened 
with extreme danger. 
damoisellet, . See da </'. 
damon, ". Same as daman. 
damonicot (da-mo-ne'ko), n. A pigment con- 
sisting of a compound of burnt sienna and Ro- 
man ocher. It is more russet in color than Mars orange, 
is quite transparent, and is durable. Also called monicmi. 
H'fiilf. 
damosel, . See damscfl. 
damouch (da-moch'), n. The Arab name for 
Mlrnrin Iriilriitata, believed by some to be the 
lotus-tree of the ancients. 
damourite (da-mor'lt), . [After a French 
chemist, Damaur.'] A variety of muscovite or 
potash mica, containing considerable combined 
water, which is given off upon ignition. See 
mica. 
damozel, See (la m.-ii-n. 
damp (damp), . [< ME. "damp (inferred from 
the verb) = D. damp = MLG. LG. damp, vapor, 
smoke, steam, = MHG. tampf, dampf, vapor, 
smoke, G. dampf, vapor, steam, = Dan. damp, 
vapor, = Sw. dial, damp-en, damp, Sw. dam (for 
'damp), dust (Icel. dampi: ilanpr, steam, is 
mod. and borrowed); akin to Icel. dumba = 
Norw. demha, mist, fog, = Sw. dimma, former- 
ly dimlin, mist, liaze; also to G. dumpf, damp, 
dull, (of sound) low, heavy, muffled, D. dompig, 
damp, hazy. misty: all from the verb repr. by 
MUG. ilimpfni (pret. dampf), reek, smoke, = 
Sw. dial, dimba. reek, steam. Cf. Gr. rr^r/r, 
smoke, rii^of, smoke, vapor, ru0<jv, a storm, 
Skt. ill/iipa, incense.] 1. Moist air; humidity ; 
moisture. 
All these and more came Hocking, but with li>oks 
Downcast and <iini>i>. Milton, P. I... i. 523. 
= 8yn. 1. Humid, Dank, etc. See moist. 
damp (damp), r. [(a) In more lit. sense 
'moisten' first in mod. E. (= D. dampen = G. 
dampfen = Dan. dampe, reek, smoke); from 
the noun, (b) < ME. dampen, extinguish (= 
D. dempen = MLG. dampen, dempen = MHG. 
dcmpfen, G. dampfen = Dan. dawipe = Sw. 
dampa, extinguish, smother, deaden), a secon- 
dary verb, causal of the orig. verb whence the 
noun damp is derived: see damp, n. Cf. damp- 
en.] I. tratif. 1. To moisten; make humidor 
moderately wet ; dampen . 
In vain the riouds combine to damp the sky, 
If thon thy Face's sunshine dost display. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, i. 180. 
He died, the sword in his mailed hand. 
On the holiest spot of the Blessed Land, 
Where the cross was damped with his dying breath. 
II, ill.. -k. Alnwlck Castle. 
2. To extinguish ; smother; suffocate. 
Al wat3 datnpped & dun, & drowned by theune. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 989. 
3. To suffocate with damp or fool air in a mine. 
[Eng.] 4. To check or retard the force or 
action of: as, to damp a fire bv covering it 
with ashes ; especially, to diminish the range 
or amplitude of vibrations in, as a piano-string, 
by causing a resistance to the motions of the 
vibrating body. Both the vibrations and the vibrating 
Inidy are said to ne damped. Usually applied to acoustic 
vibrations, but also to slower oscillations. 
6. To make dull or weak and indistinct, as a 
sound or a light ; obscure ; deaden. 
Another Nymph with fatal Pow'r may rise, 
'I'o >i,iiiifi the sinking Beams of Celia's Eyes. 
Prior, Cell* to Damon. 
6. To depress ; deject ; discourage ; deaden ; 
check ; weaken. 
Those of yours who are now full of courage and for- 
wardnes would be much damped, and so less able to un- 
dergoe so great a burden. 
Winttii-"]), quoted in Bradford's Plymouth Plantation, 
[p. 854. 
I do not mean to wake the gloomy form 
Of .su|M-rstitiiin dressed in wisdom's garb 
To damp your tender hopes. Akentidf. 
Shall I own to you that my joy at hearing of your health 
and arrival here, by your neighbour Acres, was somewhat 
iliiiiiin-'l by his dwelling much on the high spirits you had 
enjoyed in Devonshire. >7 /// n. The Rivals, iii. 2. 
Tile want of confidence in the public (onnrils itnmi'x 
every useful undertaking:, the success and profit of which 
may depend on a continuauo' of existing arrangements. 
A. Uaiiiiltini. K.'.leralist, No. 62. 
Specifically 7. To diminish or destroy the 
oscillation of (a metallic body in motion in a 
dampy 
magnetic field). \Vln-n u . -ondin-tor i* moved in a mag- 
netic Ik-Id, or uln-ii a magnet IN luoM-d in tin- vicinity of a 
'"mini-tor, thri-c will I,,-, in yt-m-ial. an imlm-rd current 
iteoeraU-d which will OJI]>M- tin- motion to nbii'li it is due. 
lll> moving Ixxly "ill act as if imin.-lx-d in a VisCOUJI li- 
quid, and will more qnn-kly mine to rest. Advantage is 
taken of this fact in stilling the vibrations of a magnetic 
needle in a galvanometer or a compass by placing masses 
ot rondnrting metal near the vibrating d<.d>. I-hiiiijiinu 
is also accomplished by attai-hin^ lo tin- m-edle a disk, 
cylinder, or vane, which swings in a liquid or In air. 
[Dampen is now more common in the literal 
sense, and is sometimes used in the derived 
senses.] 
= 8yn. 6. To moderate, allay, dispirit. 
H. intrant. In hort., to rot or waste away, 
as the stems and leaves of seedlings and other 
tender plants, when the soil and atmosphere in 
which they are vegetating are too wet or cold : 
with off: as, flower-seedlings in hotbeds are 
especially liable to damp off. 
dampen (dam'pn), p. [<.damp + -cnl. Ct.damp.] 
1. tranx. 1. To make damp or humid; apply 
moisture to; wet slightly; damp: as, the grass 
was dampened by a slight shower; to dampen 
clothes for ironing. 2. To put a check or 
damper upon; make weak or dull ; dim; dead- 
en. See dam/I. 
In midst himself dampen* the smiling day. 
P. Fletcher, Purple Island, vii. 
TT, iiitrang. To become damp, 
dampener (damp'ner), . One who or that 
which dampens ; a damper. 
The cupper block acts as a dampener. 
Sei. Amur., N. 8., LVII. 290. 
damper (dam'per), n. [< damp + -er l ; = D. 
ffemer,etc.] 1. One who or that which damps, 
(a) A mechanical device for checking action in something 
with which it is connected. (1) A metal plate pivoted 
at the center or sliding ill guides in the flue of a stove, 
range, or furnace of any kind, and used to control combus- 
tion by regulating the draft. Some forms of dampers are 
designed to lie controlled by automatic regulators, which 
are operated either by the heat of the fire directly (by con- 
traction or expansion of a metal) or, when connected with 
a steam-boiler, by the pressure of the steam. (2) In the 
pianoforte, a small piece of wood or wire thickly covered 
with felt, which rests upon the strings belonging to each 
key of the keylioard. When the key is struck the damper 
is drawn away from the strings, but the instant the key is 
released the damper returns and checks the vibrations of 
the strings. The dampers of all the keys can be raised by 
pressing the damper-pedal (which see), so that the vibra- 
tion of the strings can IT prolonged after the finger has 
left the key. (3) The mute of a brass instrument, as a 
horn. (4) An arrangement for arresting the vibrations of a 
magnetic needle. See damp, c. '.. 7. (M One who or that 
which depresses, dejects, discourages, or checks. [Colloq.l 
Sussex is a great damper of curiosity. 
Walpole, Letters, II. 179. 
This . . . was rather a damper to my ardour In his be- 
half. T. Hook, Gilbert Gurney, I. L 
2. A kind of unfermented bread, made of flour 
and water, and generally baked on a stone. 
[Australian.] 
The table upon which their meal of mutton and damper 
Is partaken is also formed of bark. 
Colonial and Indian Exhibition (1886), p. 61. 
damper-pedal (dam'per-ped'al), M. In the 
pianoforte, the pedal which raises all the damp- 
ers from the strings, so that the vibration of 
the strings can be prolonged after the finger has 
left the key, and so that other strings besides 
those struck may be drawn into sympathetic 
vibration. Sometimes called loud pedal. 
damping (dam'ping), n. [Verbal n. of damp, 
r.l 1. In bleachiny, a process by which a cer- 
tain amount of moisture is added to a fabric 
after starching, to prepare it for finishing. 
Span, Encyc. Manuf., p. 497. 2. The process 
or method of retarding or stopping the action 
of a vibrating or oscillating body, as a magnetic 
needle. See damp, r. t.,1 Damping-roller, in 
lithog., a roller covered with felt and cotton cloth, used to 
dampen the stone in lithographic printing. 
dampishness (dam'pish-nes), n. A moderate 
degree of dampness or moistness; slight hu- 
midity. 
dam-plate (dam'plat), . In a blast-furnace, 
the cast-iron plate which supports the dam or 
dam-stone in front. 
damply (damp'li), adr. In a damp manner; 
with dampness. 
dampnet, '' ' An obsolete form of damn. 
dampness (damp'nes), M. Moisture; moistness; 
moderate humidity : as, the dampness of a fog, 
of the ground, or of a cloth. 
dampy (dam'pi), a. [< damp, n., + -i/ 1 .] If. 
Somewhat damp ; moist : as, " dampy shade, " 
l>raytnn. 2t. Dejected ; sorrowful : as, "dampy 
thoughts," SirJ. Hayu-ard. 3. In coal-mining, 
said of air when it is mixed with choke-damp 
to such an extent that candles will no longer 
burn in it. [Eng.] 
