debauch 
4f. Figuratively, to spoil ; dismantle ; render 
unserviceable. 
Last year his barks anil gallics were ili'fmxtn'it. 
./. Either, Fililnils Trues, vli. 603. 
II. hi trans. To riot; revel, 
debauch (de-bach'), H. [< P. tUbauche, > It. 
i/i'linxi'iii : from the verb.] 1. Kxccss in cut- 
ing or drinking; intemperance; drunkenness; 
gluttony; Icwducss. 
The Mrst physicians by debauch were made ; 
Kvcss began, ami sloth sustains the trade. 
Dryden. 
2. An act or a period of debauchery. = Syn. Revel, 
Ontif. etc. See t'annwall. 
debauched (de-bachf), p- a. [Formerly ae ~ 
bonhi'il, <li'li<inli'd, debont : see dfbaucli, t'.] 1. 
Corrupt; vitiated in morals or purity of char- 
acter ; given to debauchery ; profligate. 
They should stand in more fear of their lives & goods 
(in short time) from this wicked & deboste erne, then from 
y salvages them selves. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 240. 
What pity 'tis, so civil a young man should haunt this 
di'fm itched eompany ! B. Jonmni, Bartholomew Fair, ii. 1. 
2. Characterized by or characteristic of de- 
bauchery : as, a debauched look ; a man of de- 
biiitfhrd principles. 
debauchedly (de-ba'ched-li), adv. In a profli- 
gate manner. 
debauchedness (de-ba'ched-nes), . The state 
of being debauched ; gross intemperance. 
Cromwell, in a letter to General Fortescue (November, 
1655), speaks sharply of the disorders and debauchedite**, 
profaneness and wickedness, commonly practised amongst 
the army sent out to the West Indies. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 257. 
debauchee (deb-o-she'), . [< F. debaucht (> 
It. dvbosciato), prop. pp. of dtbaucher, debauch : 
see debauch.] One addicted to intemperance 
or bacchanalian excesses ; a habitually lewd or 
profligate person. 
Could we but prevail with the greatest debauchees 
among us to change their lives, we should find it no very 
hard matter to change their judgments. 
South, Sermons, I. vi. 
debaucher (de-ba'cher), n. [= F. dtbaucheur.] 
One who debauches or corrupts others ; a se- 
ducer tolewduess or to any dereliction of duty. 
If we may say it, he [Wolsey] was the flrst Debaucher 
of King Henry. Baker, Chronicles, p. 262. 
You can make a story of the simple victim and the rus- 
tic debaucher. Lamb. 
debauchery (de-ba'cher-i), . [< debauch + 
-ery.] 1. Excessive indulgence in sensual 
pleasures of any kind; gluttony; intemper- 
ance ; sexual immorality ; unlawful indulgence 
of lust. 
Oppose . . . debauchery by temperance. 
Bp. Sprat, Sermons. 
2. Corruption of morality or fidelity; seduc- 
tion from duty or allegiance. 
The republic of Paris will endeavour to complete the 
debauchery of the army. Burke. 
debauchment (de - bach ' roent), . [P. dt- 
bauchfinetit, < dtibaucltcr, debauch.] 1. The act 
of debauching or corrupting; the act of sedu- 
cing from virtue or duty. 
The ravishment of chaste maidens, or the debauchment 
of nations. Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, ii. 5, 
2. Debauchery; debauch. 
Your nose is Roman, which your next debauchment 
At tavern, with the help of ... a candlestick. 
May turn to Indian, flat. Shirley, Hyde Park, Hi. 2. 
debauchnesst (de-bach'nes), . The state of 
being debauched. Bp. (louden. 
debelt (de-bel'), f. t. [< F. debeller = Bp. debe- 
// = Pg. debellar = It. debellare, < L. debel- 
lurr, subdue, < de, from, + bellare, carry on 
war.] To subdue ; expel by force of arms. 
Whom Hercules from out his realm debflled. 
Warner, Albion's England, ii. 8. 
Him long of old 
Thou didst debel, and down from heaven cast. 
Milton, P. R., iv. 605. 
debellatet (de-bel'at), v. t. [< L. debclliitiix. 
pp. of debellare : see MM.] Same as debel. 
debellationt (deb-e-lii'shon), n. [= Sp. debefa 
ci/ni = }>%. iltMliKjito = It. debellazione, < ML. 
di'bclltitii>(n-), < L. flflM'llnre, stibdue: see <lcl>rl.] 
The act of conquering or expelling by force of 
arms. 
Hut now being thus, between the said Michaelmas and 
Halowe'mttda next ensuing, in this deliellation van- 
quished, they br lied henee and vanquished, and are be- 
come two ton in again. ,x-,v r. Mitre. Salem and I'.i/ance. 
debellisht, r. t. [< <lc- priv. + -Mlixlt, as in 
(iiilif/lixli. q. v.] To mar the beauty of; dis- 
figure. K. 2). 
1477 
What blast hath thus his (lowers nebellixhnl ' 
<:. f'ti'li-lit'i; rhiixt 'I'rinmiih. 
de bene esse (de be'ne es'e). [Law L., for 
what it is worth, an if valid ; lit., for being 
well : de, of, for ; liene, well ; case, be, inf. as 
a noun, being.] In law, for what it is worth; 
conditionally: as, to take an order or testi- 
mony ili' In in' csse (that is, to take or allow it 
for the present, but subject to be suppressed 
or disallowed on a further or full examination). 
debenture (de-ben'tur), n. [< ME. debentvr, a 
receipt ; so called because such receipts for- 
merly began with the Latin words atlx-ntur 
miht, there are owing to me: L. debentur, 3d 
pers. pi. pres. iud. pass, of debere, owe: see 
debit, debt.] 1. A writing acknowledging a 
debt ; a writing or certificate signed by a public 
officer or corporation as evidence of debt ; pe- 
cifically, an instrument, generally under -eal, 
for the repayment of money lent : usually not 
exclusively used of obligations of cpi. orations 
or large moneyed copartnerships, issued in a 
form convenient to be bought and sold as in- 
vestments. Sometimes a specific fund or property is 
pledged liy the debentures, in which case they are usually 
termed mortgage debentures. 
2. In the customs, a certificate of drawback; 
a writing which states that a person is entitled 
to a certain sum from the government on the 
reexportation of specified goods, the duties on 
which have been paid. 3. In some government 
departments, a bond or bill by which the gov- 
ernment is charged to pay a creditor or his as- 
signs the money due on auditing his account. 
Debenture bond, formerly, a corporate bond or obliga- 
tion not secured by mortgage. 
debentured (de-ben'turd), a. Entitled to draw- 
back or debenture ; "secured by debenture. 
Debentured goods, goods for which a debenture has been 
given as being entitled to drawback. 
deberry (de'ber'i), n. Same as daybcrry. 
debile (deb'il), a. [< OF. debile, P. debile = 
Sp. debit = Pg. debit = It. debile, debate, < L. 
debilis, weak, < de- priv. + habUis, able: see 
aWe 1 .] Relaxed ; weak ; feeble ; languid ; faint. 
For that I have not wash'd 
My nose that bled, or foil'd some debile wretch, . . . 
You shout me forth 
In acclamations hyperbolical. Shak., Cor., L 9. 
A very old, small, debile, and tragically fortuned man, 
whom he sincerely pitied. 
R. L. Stecemm, The Dynamiter, p. 197. 
Debilirostres (deb'i-li-ros'trez), n. nt. [NL., 
< L. debilis, weak, + rostrum, a beak.] In Sun- 
devall's classification of birds, a synonym of 
his Limicolte (wbich see). 
debilitant (de-bil'i-tant), a. and . [= F. de- 
bilitant, < L. debilitan(t-)s, ppr. of debilitare, 
weaken : see debilitate.] I. a. Debilitating ; 
weakening. 
II. . In med., a remedy administered for the 
purpose of reducing excitement. 
debilitate (de-bil'i-tat), v. t. ; pret. and pp. de- 
bilitated, ppr. debilitating. [< L. debilitatus, pp. 
of debilitare (> It. debilitare = Sp. Pg. debili- 
tar = F. debiliter), weaken, < debilis, weak: see 
debile.] To weaken; impair the strength of; 
enfeeble ; make inactive or languid: as, intem- 
perance debilitates the organs of digestion. 
Providence seems kindly our frfend in this particular, 
thus to debilitate the understanding where the heart is cor- 
rupt. Goldsmith, Vicar, xv. 
= Syn. To enervate, exhaust. 
debllitatet (de-bil'i-tat), a. [< L. debilitatus, 
pp. : see the verb.] Weak ; feeble. 
debilitation (de-bil-i-ta'shon), n. [= F. debili- 
ttition. = Sp. debilitacion = Pg. debiUtaqtto = It. 
debilitozione, < L. debilitatio(n-), a weakening, 
laming, < debilitare, weaken: see debilitate.] 
The act of weakening; the state of being weak- 
ened or enfeebled. 
If the crown upon his head be so heavy as to oppress the 
whole body, ... a necessary debilitation must follow. 
Hilton, Elkonoklastes. 
debilitudet (de-bil'i-tud), n. [See debility and 
-iiide.] Debility; weakness. Bailey, 1727. 
debility (de-bil'i-ti), n. ; pi. debilities (-tiz). [< 
ME. tl< hi/lite, < OF. debilitc, F. debiiite = Sp. de- 
bilid/itl = Pg. debilidade = It. debilit<). < L. de- 
bilita(t-)s, weakness, < deMlte, weak : see debile.] 
1. The state of being weak or feeble; feeble- 
ness ; lack of strength or vigor. 
Debylite of an enmye is no sure peace, but truce for a 
seasone. PoHNooI /'.>i/<.. etc. (ed. Kurnivall), p. 30. 
Mctbinks T urn partaker of thy passion. 
And in thy case do glass my own debility. 
9lr /'. Sidney. 
Among the debilitie* of the government of the Confed- 
eration, noone was more distiii-niishiil or more distressing 
than the utter impossibility of obtaining from the States 
debonairity 
tlie monies necessary for the payment nf debts, or even 
for the ordinary expenses of the noveniment. 
-"H, Autoblog., p. 67. 
Specifically 2. In nu-il., that condition of tin- 
body, or of any of its organs, in which the vital 
functions are discharged with lens than normal 
vigor, the amount of power and activity dis- 
played being reduced. 3. In imirnl., a weak- 
ness of a planet, due to its position : the reverse 
of a diijnitij. =8yn. ItiMiin, InprmUf, /.,.'.., ,/;/, all 
express a want of stn n-th. It. t,;i,i,i i- i :u , i\ u-r.1 , vrj.t 
of physical weakness; Eiifrmtty ippli to botb bodOjrwtd 
mental u. akri, . /,/,'-. nlit<> li;< n passed from bodily weak- 
ness to mental, so as to he obsolete in application to the 
former. Debility is a general Insufficiency of strength ; 
infirmity, whether physical or mental, Is local or special : 
as, his infirmity is lameness; he has various mental in- 
firmities. Imbecility is general, and may amount to idiocy. 
See digeane and illnemt. 
It was not one of those periods of overstrained and con- 
vulsive exertion which necessarily produce debility and 
languor. tlacaulay, Hullam's Const. Hist. 
Men with natural injlrinitii'n, when they attempt things 
those very infinhitieg have rendered them incapable of 
executing, are tit objects for satire. 
Jon Bee, Essay on Samuel Footc. 
That incomparable diary of Laud's, which we never see 
without forgetting the vices of his heart in the ;</. 
of his intellect. Macaulay, Hallam's Const. Hist. 
debit (deb'it), n. [< L. debititm, what is owed, 
a debt, neut. pp. of debere, owe: see debt.] 1. 
That which is entered in an account as a debt ; 
a recorded item of debt : as, the debits exceed 
the credits. 
(The English, in France, may lie permitted) to be their 
brokers and factors, and to be employed in casting up 
their debitt and credits. Burke, A Kegicide Peace, iv. 
2. That part of another's account in which one 
enters any article of goods furnished or money 
paid to or on account of that other: as, place 
that to lay debit Debit side, the left-hand page of 
the ledger, to which are carried all the articles supplied 
or moneys paid in the course of ati account, or that are 
charged to that account. 
debit (deb'it), r. *. [< debit, n.] 1. To charge 
with as a debt : as, to debit a purchaser the 
amount of goods sold. 
We may consider the provisions of heaven as an univer- 
sal bank, wherein accounts are regularly kept, and every 
man debited or credited for the last farthing he takes out 
or brings in. A. Tucker, Light of Nature, II. xxviil. 
A country must not alone be credited with her emi- 
grants, who furnish a real and active proof of the vitality 
of her population ; she must likewise be debited with the 
foreigners who live within her borders. 
Nineteenth Century, XX. 554. 
2. To enter on the debtor side of a book : as. 
to debit the sum or amount of goods sold, 
debitor (deb'i-tor), n. [L., a debtor: see 
debtor.'] A debtor Debitor and creditor, an ac- 
count-keeper; an account-book. 
O, the charity of a penny cord ! it sums up thousands 
in a trice : you have no true debitor and creditor but it ; 
of what's past, is, and to come, the discharge. 
Shak., Cymbellne, v. 4. 
debituminization (de-bi-tu'mi-ni-za'shqn), n. 
[< debituminize + -ation.] The act of freeing 
from bitumen. 
debituminize (de-bi-tu'mi-niz), r. t. ; pret. and 
pp. debituminized, ppr. debitutiii>rizing. [= F. 
dtbituminiser, < L. ae, away, + bitumen (-min-) 
+ E. -ize.] To deprive of bitumen. 
deblai (da-bla'), n. [F., < deblayer, desbleer, 
desblaer, OF. desblayer (cf. desblarer, F. dial. 
dtblaver, reap and clear away, as grain, re- 
move), clear away, remove, < ML. debladare. 
clear away (grain), < de, away, + bladum, grain 
(carried off the field), < L. ablatum, neut. pp. 
of atiferre, carry off: see ablation.] In fort., 
the quantity of earth excavated from a ditch to 
form a parapet. See remblai. 
deblateratet, r. '. [< L. deblateratus, pp. of 
deblaterare, prate of, < de + blaterare, prate: 
see blaterate.] To babble. Coclceram. 
deboiset, deboisht, r. Obsolete forms of de- 
bauch. 
debonair (deb-o-nar'), a. [< ME. debonaire, 
deboncre, < OF. de ban aire. F. debonitaire = Pr. 
de bon aire = Olt. di ban aire, di buona aria. It. 
dibonaire, dibonare, diboiiario, courteous, gen- 
tle, lit. of good mien : de, < L. de, of ; boa, < L. 
bonus, good; aire, mien: see air 2 .] Of gentle 
mien ; of pleasant manners ; courteous ; affable ; 
attractive ; gay ; light-hearted. 
And so ledde Gonnore hir cosin that was feire, and 
debonaire, and amyable to alle peple. 
Merlin (E. E. T. .), ill. 472. 
So buxom, blithe, and debonair. Milton, L' Allegro, 1. 24. 
He [Charles II.] was a Prince of many virtues, and many 
greate imperfections ; ilfbonaire, easy of accesse. 
, Iliary. Feb., 1685. 
debonairity t, debonairtyt (deb-o-nar'i-ti, 
-nar'ti), n. [ME. (Iclxjiuiirytc. debonertte, < OF. 
