decorously 
Halistunv * < 'oiltitrss. she would net die, 
\s A promi ilanie should, tl''r"/-i'i/*/i/ , 
l.lltlllu 111) axe. I .-|llil her skull, 
Ami tin' eil^'e shirr tin n h;is Kern notrhr.l ami 'lull 
Trittl* nt' I' huff''* I. nii'l tin /tV'/i'eiVev, N. arid (}., 7th ser., 
[IV. in;. 
decorousness (do-k<V- or dek'o-rus-nes), n. De- 
cency or propriety of beliavior. 
decorticate (de-kor'ti k.-it), r. t.; pret. and pp. 
ili'ciiiiii'iili-il. ppr. iliTnrtirtiliiii/. [< L. drcorli- 
cii/ns, pp. of ilrnirlii-tiri' (> I'g. iliTiirlirnr = F. 
iliTiirtiii/u-r: <(. It. urnrlicnn; dismrlirtin; willi 
prolix f'/*-, and Sp. di-si-nrti-~nr = I'g. ilrscnrtiyir 
= Oil. ilixi'iir'iiri', from a deriv. form of the 
noun), strip the. hark off. < </r, from, + cortex 
(rorlic-), bark, ulimcr nil. !). cork: see corfc 1 , 
mi'lifiiii; | To remove tho Vjark from; in gen- 
oral, to deprive of the cortex, ill any sense of 
that word; strip off tho exterior coat of. 
(ircat barley, dried ami <l<'>-ni-ti<'ul<'tl. 
Arlntthmit, Ancient Coins. 
decorticate (de-kor'ti-kat), a. [< L. decorti- 
ciitiin, pp. : nee the verb.] Destitute of a cortex 
or cortical layer: used specifically in lichen- 
ology. 
decortication (de-kor-ti-ka'shon), n. [= F. de- 
riirtientioii = Sp. ilrriirticacion, < L. decvrtim- 
tin(n-), < di'i'orlii'iirr, decorticate: see decorti- 
ciili:] The act of removing tho cortex or outer 
layer; removal of tho bark or husk. 
decorticator (de-kdr'ti-ka-tor), n. A tool for 
stripping off bark. 
decorum (de-ko'rum), . [= F. d&orum = Sp. 
I'g. It. ilvcoro, < L. dtrorniH, litness, propriety, 
decorum, neut. of decorus, fit, proper: see de- 
i-in-inin.'] 1. Propriety of speech, behavior, or 
dress; formal politeness; orderliness; seemli- 
ness; decency. 
The true Measure of Decorum ... is that which fa 
most serviceable to the principal End. 
l, Sermons, III. ix. 
He kept with princes due decorum, 
Yet never stood in awe before 'em. N"-//'. 
Where there is any dependency among one another, 
they observe a great decorum, all rising up when a su- 
perior comes in. Poeocke, Description of the East, 1. 182. 
A first-rate beauty never studied the decorum* of dress 
with more assiduity. 
(Jolil/iiiiitli, riti/,cn of the World, civ. 
2. In general, fitness, suitableness, or propriety 
of anything, with respect to occasion, purpose, 
or use. 
decouple (da-ko-pla' ), a. [F., pp. of decoupler, 
uncouple, < de- priv. + coupler, couple.] In 
Ace., uncoupled; parted into two: said espe- 
cially of a chevron when the two rafters are 
separated by a slight space. 
decours (do-korz'), a. and n. [< OF. decours, a 
running down, course, wane, decree, F. decours, 
wane, decrease, < L. decursim, a running down, 
descent, < decurrerc, run down : see decur.~\ In 
/'., same as decrescent (a). 
decourtt (de-kort'), r. t. [< de- priv. + court.] 
To drive or dismiss from court ; deprive of court 
influence. 
decoy (de-koi'), " [< de- + coy 1 , v., entice, al- 
lure: see de- and coy 1 , v. The birds decoyed 
and the decoying birds being commonly ducks, 
the word decoy, esp. as a noun, was soon turned 
by popular etymology into duckoy. Hence the 
spelling duckoy, and finally the compound duck- 
coy, which, though thus developed from decoy, 
may be considered as made up of duck + coy 1 , 
ii.. also used in sense of decoy. The D. words, 
eenden-kooi, formerly eende-kooi, a 'duck-coy' 
(D. eend = AS. encd, a duck: see drake and 
anas), kooi-cend, a 'coy-duck,' boot-man, adecoy- 
man, rogel-kooi, a bird-cage, a decoy, are com- 
pounded with D. kooi, a cage, a bird-cage, a fold, 
hive (the source of E. coy 2 , q. v., but not con- 
nected with E. coyl or decoy), either indepen- 
dently of the accidentally similar E. words, or 
in imitation of them.] I. trnnn. 1. To lure into 
a snare ; entrap by some allurement or decep- 
tion : as, to dmtji ducks within gunshot ; troops 
may be drcoi/fd into an ambush. 
I have heard nf barbarians who, when tempests drive 
ships upon their roasts, <l<-<-"<t them to the rocks that they 
may plunder their la-liii".. J<flnt*<i. 
2. To allure, attract, or entice, without notion 
of entrapping. 
The kinj; miiiht be itet-tnted from thence. 
c/itmuton. Civil War, III. Wl. 
Syn. 1. Alfin-' 1 . l.inr, r'.iitii-r (see atlurel); to snare, in- 
sriart 1 , inislra,]. 
II. ill/ruins. To be deceived by a decoy; fall 
into a snare. 
They (ducks] are quite unsuspicious of man, and, I/<VM,/- 
iii : i well, are >hot in BZtnordlnar; numliers. 
Sjwrttm'tn'* <;<i::-tltc/\ p. ^01. 
1491 
decoy (de koi'), . (< '/'//, '.] 1. A lure 
employed to entice game into a snare or within 
the range of a weapon; specifically, an image 
of a bird, as a duck, or a trained living bird or 
animal, used to lure wild birds or animals into 
I lie power of man; hence, also, a person simi- 
larly employed with respect to other persons. 
Hence 2. Anything intended to lead into a 
snare; any lure or allurement that deceives and 
misleads into evil, danger, or the power of an 
enemy; a stratagem employed to mislead or 
lead into danger. 3. A place, as a pond, fur- 
nished with an arrangement for luring wild 
fowl into it. Several channels or pipe* of a euried 
form, covered uilh light hooped network, lead from the 
IMIII.I iii various 'liteetions. The wild fowl areeutirr,] io 
enter the wide mouth of the channel by tamed ducks 
trained for the purpose, or by grain scattered on the 
water. When they are well within the covered channel 
they are driven up into the funnel-net at the far end, 
where they are easily caught. 
decoy-bird (de-koi'berd), . A bird, or an imi- 
tation of one| used as a lure to entice others 
into a net or within gunshot. 
decoy-duck (de-koi'duk), n. 1. In fowling, a 
duck, or an imitation of one, used as a decoy. 
2. A person acting as a decoy for other persons. 
Admit no . . . Decoy- Duck to wheadle you a fop-scram- 
bling to the Play in a Mask. 
Ciinyrevf, Way of the World, iv. 5. 
decrassify (de-kras'i-fi), v. t.; pret. and pp. 
tln-i-iixxiiii'd, ppr. decnifsif'//iiii/. [< L. de- priv. 
+ crassus, thick, + -ft/.] To make less crass. 
I might at least 
Eliminate, decrassify my faith, 
Since I adopt it ; keeping what I must, 
And leaving what I can. 
Browning, Bishop Blougram s Apology. 
decrease (de-kreV), v. ; pret. and pp. decreased, 
ppr. decreatsintj. [< ME. decresen, decrecen, < 
OF. decresser, decrestre, decreistre, decroistre, F. 
decroltre = Sp. decrecer = Pg. decrescer = It. 
deerescere (of.., with altered prefix, ME. dis- 
cresen, < OF. descreistre, descroistre = Pr. des- 
creisser = Sp. descrecer = It. discregcere, < ML. 
discresccre), < L. deerescere, decrease, become 
less, wane, < dc, from, away, + crescerc, grow : 
see crescent. Cf. crease^, accrease, increase.] 
I. intrans. To become less; lessen; be dimin- 
ished gradually in extent, bulk, quantity, or 
amount, or in strength, influence, or excel- 
lence: as, the days decrease in length from 
June to December. 
Olyves nowe and oth'r treen ichone 
Do dounge hem in decresinye of the moone. 
1'alladius, Husnondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 79. 
He must increase, but I must decrease. John iii. 30. 
Decreasing series. See j>royremum.=Byn. Decrease, 
Diminish, DirimUe, Contract ; to lessen, abate, ebb, sub- 
side, fall off, fall away, shrink. The first three all mean 
a Incoming less by degrees. Decrease more often implies 
that the causes are imperceptible or not necessarily per- 
ceptible, acting, it may be, from within the object Itself : 
as, the swelling decreases daily. Dimmish generally im- 
plies the action of some external cause which is more or 
less in the mind of those concerned : as, his fortune dimin- 
ishes daily through extravagance; the troops diminish 
steadily under disease and conflict. Decrease is the ap- 
propriate word for reduction of bulk or volume, dimin- 
ish for reduction of number. These distinctions are not 
always observed. To dirindlc is to become small in size, 
amount, or number by slow and imperceptible degrees, 
the reduction l>eing always undesirable and the result a 
sort of attenuation : as, the army dirindled to a few thou- 
sands; the child dtrindled to a mere skeleton. To contract 
is to become less by shrinkage or a drawing together of 
parts or elements : it implies loss of size, bulk, or extent, 
without the loss of constituent substance or parts usually 
expressed by the other words. 
So many wives, who have yet their husbands in their 
arms ; so many parents, who have not the number of their 
children lessened ; so many villages, towns, and cities, 
whose inhabitants are not decreased, their property vio- 
lated, or their wealth diminished, are yet owing to the 
sol>er conduct and happy results of your advice. 
Dri/den, King Arthur, Ded. 
If the activities of a living liody involve an expenditure 
not made good by nutrition, diclmllinir follows. 
//. Silencer, Data of Ethics, 53. 
The anatomical structure of the eye is such that a mod- 
erately contracted pupil is in contact with the lens-sur- 
face, (luain, Med. Diet., p. 480. 
II. trnnx. To make less; lessen; make 
smaller in dimensions, amount, quality, excel- 
lence, etc. ; reduce gradually or by small de- 
ductions. 
Nor cherish'd they relations poor. 
That mi^ht r/,r/v/.vr their present store. Prior. 
decrease (de-kres' or de'kres), n. [< ME. de- 
ONM, < < >!'. ilrff is. ilirrni*. ilrsi-mi.-: ilifnce, de- 
crease; from the verb.] 1. A becoming less ; 
diminution ; wane (as applied to the moon) ;. 
decay: as, a rapid decrease of revenue or of 
strength. 
decree 
See in what time the .-.nils -it IM (he ilirrt-RHe ,if the 
IIHMHI ,'iiue to a eeltaill height, .mil hiitt they ilittrr from 
those that arc set in the </,r/,*/x, ,,i the n n. 
l',n,.,n. Nat. IIM. 
2. The amount by which something is less, n 
ed : extent of loss or decrement: as, a great 
ilirniisi in production or of income. 
decreasingly (df-krt'riag-U), <'<. In a de- 
ereasinv; manlier; by decrease. 
decreation (de-kre-a'shon), ii. [< il<- priv. + 
rriiitinn.] The undoing of an act of creation. 
[Rare.] 
especially the riintiiiiial it- ' ri'ntit'H and annihilation of 
tin- .-mils of the brutes. 
I'tKl ll'.n'ttl , Illtrll. rtllal S\slrlll, p. 45. 
decree (de-kre'), n. [< ME. dfcre (of. Sc. '/< 
creet), < OF. dccret, FT decrct = 8p. Pg. It. de- 
creto = T). dekreet = G. decret = Dan. Sw. di- 
krct, < L. decretwn, a decree, ordinance, deci- 
sion, neut. of decretux, pp. of decernere, decree, 
decide (> E. decern): see decern.] 1. A special 
ordinance or regulation promulgated by civil or 
other authority; an authoritative decision hav- 
ing the force of law. 
He made a decree for the rain. Job xxviil. 28. 
And statesmen at her council met 
Who knew the seasons when to take 
Occasion by the hand, and make 
The bounds of freedom wider yet 
Ily shaping some august decree. 
Tennytim, To the Queen. 
on December 7, 1886, the Emperor of Brazil issued a 
>i> '!< which opened the Amazon . . . to the commerce of 
all the world from and after .September 7, 1867. 
K. Schuylcr, Amer. Diplomacy, p. 342. 
Specifically 2. In Bom. law, a determination 
or judgment of the emperor on a suit between 
parties. Among the Romans, when all legislative pow- 
er was centered in the emperors, it became the custom 
to ask for their opinion and decision in disputed cases. 
Their decisions were called decrees, and formed part of 
the Imperial constitutions. 
3. An edict or a law made by an ecclesiastical 
council for regulating business within its juris- 
diction. The term is used in ecclesiastical history chief- 
ly as a designation of certain dogmatic and authoritative 
decisions on disputed points in theology and discipline in 
the Roman Catholic Church : as, the Decrees of the Coun- 
cil of Trent ; the Decrae of Auricular Confession by the 
Fourth Lateran Council. 
4. A judicial decision or determination of a 
litigated cause ; specifically, the sentence or 
order of a court of chancery, or of a court of 
admiralty or of probate, after a hearing or sub- 
mission of the cause. The word judgment is now 
used in reference to the decisions of courU having both 
common law and equity powers. .See also act, article, bill, 
charter, code, constitution, edict, law, ordinance, provision, 
statute. 
5. In theol., one of the eternal purposes of God, 
whereby for his own glory he has foreordained 
whatsoever comes to pass. Whether these decrees 
are absolute or conditional that is, whether they are 
according to the counsel of his own will, "without any 
foresight of faith or good works, or any other thing in the 
creature, as conditions or causes moving him thereto " 
(West. Con/, of Faith, iii.), or are based uwin his fore- 
knowledge of the character and course of his free crea- 
turesis a contested question, the Calvinists taking the 
former view, the Arminians the latter. 
By the decree of Ood for the manifestation of his glory, 
some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting 
life and others foreordained to everlasting death. 
West. Con/, nf Faith, iii. 3. 
6. The judgment or award of an umpire in a 
case submitted to him Absolute decree, a de- 
cision that something shall be done with no condition at- 
tached to it. Berlin decree, Milan decree, two de- 
crees of Napoleon I. against Great Britain, enforcing his 
continental system. The first, issued at Berlin November 
21st, 1806, closed against British commerce all continen- 
tal ports under the control of France (including those of 
Italy, Spain, Holland, and Germany), confiscated all Brit- 
ish merchandise wherever found, forbade correspondence 
with Great Britain, and ordered that all British subject* 
found within the jurisdiction of France or its allies should 
be mode prisoners of war. The second decree, issued at 
Milan December 17th, 1807, declared all neutral vessels 
connected in any way with British commerce or inter- 
course to be thereby deneutraliied, and ordered that 
they should lie treated as English.- Declaratory de- 
cree. See declaratory. Decree arbitral, in .v<. ;,,,, 
an award by one or more arbiters. Decree condemna- 
tor. See decree itf absitlcitor, under absotvitor. Decree 
dative, in Scots lair, a decree of a commissary conferring 
on an executor (not being an executor nominate) the office 
of executor. Decree 111 absence, in Scots lav, a decree 
pronounced against a defender who has not appeared or 
pleaded on the merits of the cause : the same & jiitlfnnetil 
t>ii ilefaiift in English common law. Decree nisi (decree 
unless), in Knit. laic, a decree conditioned on some future 
event, usually the default of the adverse party to show 
cause or to perform a condition. Decree of absolvltor. 
See absitlritor. Decree of constitution. Sec cimxtitu- 
tim. Decree of locality, in x.-.i'.- i,m-. .( decree "f the 
tcind court allocating the modified stipend on the differ- 
ent heritors, in the proportions in which they are to pay 
it. -Decree of modification, in sw inv. a decree of 
the tein.l court modifying a stipend to the clergyman, but 
not allnratin^' it upon the different herit-irs. Decree of 
registration, in Scots latt; a decree obtained, without an 
