degree 
Th' innumerable effects to sort aright, 
And bit degrees, from cause to cause to climb. 
Sir J. Davifs, Immortal, of Soul, xxx. 
Where light, to shades descending, plays, not strives, 
Dies by degrees, and bij dtyrees revives. 
Dryden, Epistles, xiv. 70. 
By due degreee, small Doubts create. 
Congreue, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love. 
Chronic degree, one 360th part of a tropical year. Con- 
junct degrees. s> ,ym-(.-Degree cut. See cut- 
Degree of a curve, the same as its order, but the latter 
term is preferable.- Degree of constraint. See con- 
straint. Degree of freedom. See .freedom.- Discrete 
degrees see discrete. Forbidden or prohibited de- 
grees iu civil and in canon law, degrees of consanguin- 
ity and affinity within which marriage is not allowed. 
The determination of these in church or canon law was 
founded on the prohibitions contained in Lev. xvlll., 
with adherence to the principle that a degree of rela- 
tionship which bars marriage in one sex bars it equally 
in the other and that by Christ's declaration (Mat. xix. 
6 and Mark x. 8, confirming Gen. ii. 24) a man and his 
wife become one flesh. The Roman law prohibited nearly 
the same degrees, though marriage of a man with his niece 
was permitted from the time of Claudius until forbidden hy 
Nerva, and also from the time of Caracalla to that of Con- 
stantine. Marriages with a deceased brother's wife and 
a deceased wife's sister were forbidden by Constantius. 
Theodosius the Great forbade them between first cousins, 
and this was the general rule of the church from that time 
on. From the sixth to the thirteenth century, marriages 
within the seventh degree were prohibited; after the fourth 
Lateral! Council (A. D. 1215), only those within the fourth 
degree. Marriage between godparents and godchildren 
was prohibited by Justinian, and this was afterward ex- 
tended to include the parents of the children, and later still 
other relations of these. The presenter for confirmation 
was put on a par with the godparents. The Council of 
Trent limited such spiritual relationship to sponsors, to 
presenters at confirmation, to the persons baptized or con- 
firmed, and the parents of these. In England marriage 
between first cousins was forbidden till the Reformation. 
The present English law of both church and state is con- 
formed to a statute passed under Henry VIII., and re- 
vised under Elizabeth, which forbids all marriages not 
without the Levitical degrees. These degrees were tabu- 
lated by Archbishop Parker in 1563, and his table is 
adopted in the 99th canon of 1603, and ordered to be set 
up publicly in every church. It will also be found printed 
at the end of every English prayer-book. Its provisions 
have been summarized as follows : A man may not marry 
the mother or stepmother of his own or his wife's parents ; 
the widow of his father, father-in-law, uncle, brother, 
son, stepson, or nephew; the aunt, sister, daughter, or 
niece of himself or his wife ; the daughter or stepdaugh- 
ter of his own or his wife's children. A woman may not 
marry the father or stepfather of her own or her hus- 
band s parents ; the widower of her mother, mother-in- 
law, aunt, sister, daughter, stepdaughter, or niece ; the 
uncle, brother, son, or nephew of herself or her husband ; 
the son or stepson of her own or her husband's children. 
Marriage with a deceased wife's sister, whether expressly 
forbidden by the Mosaic law or not, is prohibited as pre- 
cisely analogous to that with a deceased husband's brother, 
the marriage of a man with his brother's wife being ex- 
plicitly prohibited iu Lev. xviii. Direct relationship, if 
ill the ascending and descending line, is canonically reck- 
oned as one degree, and marriage prohibited accordingly. 
In canon law an illicit connection is held to involve the 
same prohibitions as a marriage. In degree', greatly ; 
to a degree. 
He was greved in deyre, 
And gretely moved in mynde. 
York Plans, p. 53. 
Local degree, one 360th part of the zodiac. Simeon's 
degree, a certain early medieval degree, conjectured to 
have been one of bachelor, and to have been conferred 
upon masters in the fniversity of Oxford. The real mean- 
ing of the phrase has been forgotten ; but down to 1827 
every master of arts, inceptor in medicine, etc., in Oxford 
was compelled to swear hatred of Simeon and renuncia- 
tion of his degree. Song Of degrees, a title given to fif- 
teen psalms, from cxx. to cxxxiv., inclusive. Biblical crit- 
ics are not agreed as to the origin and significance of the 
title. SeegradwU psalms, under gradual. To a degree, 
to an extreme ; exceedingly : as, proud to a degree. [CoTloq. J 
Assuredly, sir, your father is wrath to a degree ; he comes 
down stairs eight or ten steps at a time muttering, 
growling, and thumping the banisters all the way. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, ii. 1. 
Total degree, the sum of the degrees of an algebraic ex- 
pression relatively to the different letters. 
degreet (de-gre' ),.<. [< degree, n.] 1. To ad- 
vance by a step or steps. 
Thus is the soul's death degreed up. Sin gathers strength 
by custom, and creeps like some contagious disease in the 
body from joint to joint. Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 230. 
1 will degree this noxious neutrality one peg higher. 
Bp. Hacket, Abp. Williams, II. 189. 
2. To place in a position or rank. 
We that are degreed above our people. 
Heyicood, Rape of Lucrece. 
degreed (de-gred'), a. [< degree + -eii 2 .] In 
her., same as degraded, 4. 
degreeinglyt, adc. By degrees ; step by step. 
Degreeingly to grow to greatness. 
Feltham, Resolves, i. 97. 
degu (deg'6), n. [S. Arner.] A South Ameri- 
can hystricomorphic rodent of the family Orto- 
dontidtea.n& genus Octo<?o>i,suchas O. eiuniiigi. 
See cut in next column. 
deguiset, . t. [ME. deguisen, deyisen, deaysen, 
vars. of desyisen, disguise: see disguise.] To 
disguise. 
1610 
And ay to thame come Repentance amang, 
And maid thame cliero dtgytit in his wede. 
King's Quair, iii. 8. 
degum (de-gum'), v. 
med, ppr. degumming. - 
To free from gum ; deglutinate. 
Degu (Octodon citmt'ttfil 
deguiset, [ME. deguyse, degise, degyse; from 
the verb.] Disguise. 
In selcouthe mailers and sere degyse. 
Hampole, Prick of Conscience (1517). (E. D.) 
t. ; pret. and pp. dcgum- 
[< de- priv. + gum 2 .] 
Scouring renders all common silks, whether white or 
yellow in the raw, a brilliant pearly white, with a delicate 
soft flossy texture, from the fact that the fibres which 
were agglutinated in reeling, being now degummed, arc 
separated from each other and show their individual te- 
nuity in the yarn. Encyc. Brit., XXII. 62. 
degust (de-gust'), v. [< L. degustare, taste of, < 
de- + gustare, taste: see gust-.] I. trans. To 
taste; relish. 
A soupe au vin, madam, I will degust, and gratefully. 
C. Reade, Cloister and Hearth, ii. 
II. intrans. To have a taste ; be relishing. 
Two or three, all fervent, hushing their talk, degustinti 
tenderly, and storing reminiscences for a bottle of good 
wine, like a good act, shines ever in the retrospect. 
R. L. Stevenson, Silverado Squatters, p. 47. 
degustate (de-gus'tat), v. t. [< L. degustatus, 
pp. of degustare, taste of : see degust.] Same 
as degust. 
degustation (de-gus-ta'shon), n. [= Sp. de- 
gustacion, < LL. degustatio(n-), < L. degustare, 
taste of: see degust.] The act of tasting. 
It is no otherwise even in carnal delights, the degusta- 
tion whereof is wont to draw on the heart to a more eager 
appetition. Bp. Hall, Soul's Farewell to Earth, 8. 
Then he bustled about with the boy, and produced a va- 
riety of gifts for grace, use, and degustation. 
M. Bethain-Edwards, Next of Kin Wanted, xxxiv. 
Good wine is not an optical pleasure, it is an inward 
emotion ; and if there was a chamber of degustation on 
the premises, I failed to discover it. 
11. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 129. 
degyset. *' &nd " See deguise. 
denache (da-ha-sha'), a. [F. (in her.), pp. of 
OF. dehacher, dehachier, cut off, < de- priv. + 
hacher, cut: see hack 1 , hash.] In her., having 
the head, paws, and tuft of the tail cut off : said 
of a beast used as a bearing. Encyc. Brit., XI. 
698. 
dehisce (de-his'), v. i. ; pret. and pp. dehisced, 
ppr. dehiscing. [= It. deiscere, < L. dehiscere, 
gape, open, < de, off, + hiscere, gape, yawn, 
akin to hiare, yawn : see hiatus and yawn.] To 
gape ; specifically, in bot., to open, as the cap- 
sules of plants. 
This [a legume or pod) is a superior, one-celled, one- or 
many-seeded fruit, dehiscing by both ventral and dorsal 
sutures, so as to form two valves. 
R. Bentley, Manual of Botany, p. 304. 
The anthers dehisced properly, but the pollen-grains 
adhered in a mass to them. 
Dai-win, Different Forms of Flowers, p. 329. 
dehiscence (de-his'ens), . [= F. dehiscence 
= It. deiscenzd, (. NL. "di-hisccntia, < L. dehis- 
cen(t-~)s, dehiscent: see dehiscent.] I. A gap- 
ing. 2. In bot., the opening of a pericarp for 
of an anther to 
dehydrate 
ing to split apart : said especially of the elytra 
when they are separated at the apices, 
dehonestatet, *' ' [< L. </</<<" *'*s, pp. of 
dchonestare, dishonor, disgrace, < de- priv. + 
honestare, honor, < honestus, honorable, honest: 
see honest, and cf. dishonest, v.] To impugn; 
dishonor. 
The excellent and wise pains he took in this particular, 
no man can dehni'*tate or reproach. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 74. 
dehonestationt, [< LL- dehonestatio(n-), < 
L. dehuM-stiire, dishonor: see dehonestate.] A 
disgracing; a dishonoring. 
Who can expatiate the infinite shame, dehmiestatian, and 
infamy which they bring? Bp. Oauden, Hieraspistes, p. 482. 
dehors (de-h6rz' ; F. pron. de-6r'), a. and n. [< 
F. dehors,' < OF. defors, defore, dcffors, deffuerx, 
defuer, desfuer = Pr. defors Sp. defuera, < ML. 
deforis, outside, without, < L. de, from, + forts, 
foras (> OF. fors,forz,foers, hors, F. hors = Pr. 
fors = lt.fore,fuora,fuore,fuori), out of doors, 
out, < foris, a door, = Gr. Bipa = AS. duru = E. 
door: see door, and forum, foreign, foris-, etc.] 
I. a. In law, without; foreign to; irrelevant. 
II. n. In fort., any outwork beyond or out- 
side of the main fortification, 
dehortt (de-horf), v. t. [= Sp. Pg. dehortar, 
< L. dehortari, dissuade, persuade, < de, from, 
+ hortari, advise: see hortation, and cf. exhort.] 
To dissuade ; advise to the contrary; urge not 
to do or not to undertake a certain thing ; deter. 
If the wasting of our money might not dehort vs, yet 
the wounding of our mindes should deterre vs. 
Lyly, Euphues, Anat. of Wit, p. 106. 
The bold Galilean, St Peter, took the boldness to de- 
hort his Master from so great an infelicity. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 297. 
dehortation (de-hor-ta'shon), n. [< LL. dehor- 
tatio(n-), < L. dehortari, dissuade: see dehort.] 
Dissuasion ; advice or counsel to the contrary 
of some act or undertaking. 
Dehortatiuns from the use of strong liquors have been 
the favourite topic of sober declaimers iu all ages. Lamb. 
The exhortation, which might almost be termed a dehor- 
tation for its severity, was ordered to follow the sermon in 
case of need. Ii. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., xv. 
dehortative (de-hor'ta-tiv), a. [< LL. deltor- 
tativus, < L. dehortari, dissuade : see dehort.] 
Dissuasive; dehortatory. Coleridge. 
dehortatory (de-hdr'ta-to-ri), a. and n. [< LL. 
deJiortatoriux, <'L. dehortari, dissuade: see de- 
hort.] I. a. Dissuasive; belonging to dissuasion. 
The text [Eph. iv. 30] you see is a dehortatory charge to 
avoid the offence of God. lip. Hall, Remains, p. 103. 
Il.t A dissuasion ; a dissuasive argument 
or reason. Milton. 
dehorter (de-h6r' ter), n. A dissuader; one 
who advises' to the contrary. 
So long as he (Carlyle) was merely an exhorter or df- 
liorter, we were thankful for such eloquence, such humor, 
such vivid or grotesque images, and such splendor of il- 
lustration, as only he could give. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 127. 
dehumanization (de-hu"man-i-za'shpn), 11. [< 
dehumanize + -ation.] The act of dehumaniz- 
ing, or the state of being dehumanized. Also 
spelled dehumanisation. 
Nature has put a limit to dehumanisation in the quali- 
ties which she exacts iu order that the combination of two 
individuals to produce a third may take place at all. 
ilaudsleii. Body and Will, p. 245. 
dehumanize (de-hu'man-iz), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
dehumanized, ppr. dehumanizing. [< de- priv. 
+ humanize. Cf. F. deshumaniser.] To deprive 
of distinctively human qualities : as, dehuman- 
izing influences; dehumanized speculation. Also 
spelled dehumanise. 
The grosser passions, originally conspicuous and care- 
fully ministered to by devotees, gradually fade, leaving 
only the passions less related to corporal satisfactions ; 
and eventually these, too, become partially dehumanized. 
II. Spencer, Pop. Sci. Mo., XXIV. 343. 
dehiscence in the case of capsules 
is septicidal, through the septa, or 
loculicidal, directly into the cells. 
It is also said to be septifrayal when 
the valves break away from the 
septa. Irregular dehiscence may 
be transverse, circumscissile, etc., 
or variously lacerated. The dehis- 
ceuce of an anther is by longitudinal 
slits, valves, pores, etc. 
The dehiscence of the firm exter- 
nal envelope. 
W. B. Carpenter, Micros., 267. DebiK l J n | iu ^e." VCSS<:1 
3. In pathol., a bursting open, 
dehiscent (de-his'ent), a. [= F. dehiscent, < 
L. dehiscen(t-)g, ppr. of dehiscere, gape: see de- 
hisce.] 1. Opening, as the capsule of a plant. 
2. In eiUom., divergent at the tips, as if tend- 
Wheat . . . 
Defaulted upon the floor. 
Drawt, tr. of Horace, Ep. to Nilmilius. 
dehydrate (de-hi'drat), . ; pret. and pp. dehy- 
drated, ppr. dehydrating. [< L. de- priv. + Gr. 
i&jp (iop-), water, + -ate 2 .] I. trans. To de- 
prive of or free from water. Thus, calcium chl<n id. 
by reason of its strong affinity for water, dehydrates moist 
gases passing over it. Alcohol, for the same reason, dehy- 
dmtes (dries) moist animal tissues which are placed in it. 
The first and most obvious value of this reagent [alcohol] 
is found in its strong affinity for water, this rendering it 
of importance for whydrating purposes. 
]'rnl,allou; Vegetable Histology, p. 9. 
II. in tram. To lose water. 
The celloid in layers are slow in dfhiidmtini. 
Jour. Hoy. J/fcros. Hoc., 2d ser., VI. ii. 350. 
