delf 
2. A catch-water drain ; in a sea-cmlwnkment, 
the drain on tho landward side. Also improper- 
ly written <li'lj>h. 3. A bpd of coal or of iron- 
stone. [Forest of Dean and Lancashire coal- 
fields, Eng.] 4. In hir., a square supposed to 
represent a sod of turf used as a bearing. It 
is one of the so-called abatements of honor, 
and as such is modem and false heraldry. See 
abatement, 3. 
delf-, delft (delf, delft), ii. [Also written di/i'li : 
prop, tli-lft; short for Delftwure, named from 
Delft in the Netherlands, whence such earthen- 
ware was first or most commonly brought to 
England.] Delftware. See u-iin-. 
delfynt, . See ilelj>liin. 
Delhi sore. Same as Aleppo ulcer (which see, 
under ulcer). 
Delian (do'li-an), a. [< L. Delius, < Gr. Ar/kof, 
pertaining to t)elos, < Ai^of, Delos.] Of or per- 
taining to Delos, a small island in the JEgean 
sea, the reputed birthplace of Apollo and Ar- 
temis (I)iaua), and the seat in antiquity of one 
of the most famous sanctuaries of Apollo. 
Delian Apollo. See A/iollo. Delian problem, the prob- 
1 in of ih-' duplication of the cube that is, of finding a 
cube having double the volume of a given cube : so called, 
it was saiil. Ix-iansr tlirm -:n !, of Deux told the Athenians 
that a pestilence would cease when they had doubled the 
altar of Apollo, this altar being cubical. See duplication. 
delibatet (del'i-bat), p. t. [< L. delibatus, pp. 
of (Itlibare (> It. delibare = Pg. delibar), take of, 
taste, < tie, from, + libitre, taste, sip, pour out : 
see libation.'] To taste ; take a sip or. 
When he has tnivell'd and delibated the French and the 
Spanish. Marmian, Antiquary, iii. 
delibation (del-i-ba'shon), n. [< L. delibation-), 
< delibare, taste: see delibate.~] A taste; a 
skimming of the surface. 
What they |<Bo)i/oi] were, our commentators do not 
so fully inform us ; nor can it be understood without some 
delibation of Jewish antiquity. 
J. Mede, Discourses (1642), p. 82. 
delibert, i>. . [OSe. also deliver, delyver; ME. 
deliberen, < OF. deliberer, P. deliberer, < L. de- 
liberare, deliberate : see deliberate."] To delib- 
erate; resolve. 
For which he gan delibenn for the beste 
That ... he wolde lat hem graunte what hem liste. 
Chaucer, Trollus, iv. 169. 
deliberate (de-lib'e-rat), p.; pret. and, pp. de- 
liberated, ppr. ilelib'erating. [< L. deliberatus, 
pp. of deliberare (> It. deliberare = Pr. Sp. 
Pg. deliberar = F. de'liberer), consider, weigh 
well, < d e + "liberare, librare, weigh, < "libera, 
libra, a balance: see librate.] I. trans. To 
weigh in the mind; weigh the arguments or 
considerations for and against; think or reflect 
upon; consider. 
Surprised with a question without time to deliberate 
an answer. Je r. Taylor, Works (ed. 1836), I. S22. 
King Ferdinand held a council of war at Cordova, 
where it was deliberated what was to be done with Al- 
hama. Iroinff, Granada, p. 63. 
H. intrans. 1. To think carefully or atten- 
tively; consider and examine the reasons for 
and against a proposition ; estimate the weight 
or force of arguments, or the probable conse- 
quences of an action, in order to a choice or 
decision ; reflect carefully upon what is to be 
done; consider. 
At such times as we are to deliberate for ourselves, the 
freer our minds are from all distempered affections, the 
Bounder and better is our judgment. 
Hooter, Eccles. Polity, iv. 9. 
Kings commonly link themselves, as it were, in a nup- 
tial bond, to their council, and deliberate and communi- 
cate with them. Bacon, Political Fables, iii., Expl. 
Hence to "ponder" Is to think over a subject without 
the test of a proper experiment, while to deliberate im- 
plies an accuracy like that which results from the use of 
pair of scales. S. S. Haldeman, Etymology, p. 28. 
2. More loosely, to pause and consider; stop 
to reflect. 
When love once pleads admission to our hearts 
(In spite of all the virtue we can boast), 
The woman that deliberates is lost. 
Addition, Cato, Iv. 1. 
= Syn. 1. To ponder, cogitate, reflect, debate, think, medi- 
tate, ruminate, muse. 
deliberate (de-lib'e-rat), a. [< L. deliberatus, 
pp.: see the verb'.'] ' 1. Weighing facts and 
arguments with a view to a choice or decision; 
carefully considering the probable conse- 
quences of an action; circumspect; careful 
and slow in deciding : applied to persons. 
I) these ilelilierale fools ! when they do choose, 
They have the wisdom by their wit to lose. 
Shat., M. of V., Ii. 8. 
2. Formed or done with careful consideration 
and full intention ; well weighed or considered ; 
not sudden or rash : applied to thoughts or acts : 
1 :, 1 r, 
as, a deliberate opinion; a deliberate purpose; 
a itrlibi-rutr falsehood. 
Instead of rage, 
Deliberate valour bn-iithf.l, linn, ami unmoved 
With dread of death to flight or foul retreat. 
Milton, l: L., 1. 654. 
Their conduct takes its colour more from their acquired 
tastes, inclinations, and habits, than from a deliberate 
regard to their greatest good. K. Hall, Mod. Infidelity. 
3. Characterized by slowness in decision or 
action ; slow. 
Sertza Denghel having left all his baggage on the other 
side, and passed the river, drew up his army in the same 
deliberate manner in which he had crossed the March, and 
formed opposite to the basha. 
Drvce, Source of the Nile, II. 232. 
His enunciation was so deliberate. Win. 
= Syn. 1 and 2. Cautious, cool, wary, careful, thoughtful, 
deliberately (de-lib'e-rat-li), adr. 1. With 
careful consideration or deliberation ; with full 
intent; not hastily or carelessly: as, a deliber- 
ately formed purpose. 
Orchards which had been planted many years l-efore 
were deliberately cut down. 
Lecty, Eng. in 18th Cent., xiv. 
What would be thought of one who, for the sake of a 
sweet fruit, should deliberately run the risk of bringing 
a plague upon his family and his neighbours? 
W. K. Cliford, Lectures, II. 184. 
2. With slowness or deliberation. 
I acquire deliberately both knowledge and liking: the 
acquisition grows into my brain, and the sentiment into 
my breast. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xxvil. 
deliberateness (de-lib'e-rat-nes), n. 1. Care- 
ful reflection or consideration ; circumspection ; 
due attention to the arguments for and against ; 
caution. 
They would not stay the ripening and season of conn* 
sels, or the fair production of acts, in the order, gravity 
and deliberattness befitting a parliament. Eikon Batrilike. 
He would give the lords no more than the temporary 
veto required to insure deliberateness In action. 
The American, VIII. 277. 
2. Slowness in decision or action. 
deliberate^ deliberator (de-lib'e-ra-ter, -tor), 
n. [= It. dfliberatore, < L. deliberator, < delibe- 
rare, deliberate: see deliberate.'] One who de- 
liberates. 
The dull and unfeeling deliberatori of questions on 
which a good heart and understanding can intuitively 
decide. V. Knox, Essays, cxxxiii. 
deliberation (de-lib-e-ra'shon), n. [< ME. de- 
liberation, < OF. deliberation, F. deliberation = 
Pr. deliberacio = Sp. deliberadon = Pg. delibe- 
racSo = It. deliberazione, < L. deliberatio(n-), < 
deliberare, deliberate : see deliberate.'] 1. The 
act of deliberating; the act of weighing and 
examining conflicting reasons or principles; 
consideration ; mature reflection. 
And (if) the dome of yche dede were demyt before, 
To grepe at the begynuyng what may grow after ; 
To serene it full suerly, and se to the eude, 
With due deleberacion for doutis of Angur ; 
Who shuld hastely on hond an heuy charge take ? 
Dettruction o/ Troy (E. E. T. 8.), L 2457. 
But whom do I advise? The fashion-led, 
The incorrigibly wrong, the deaf, the dead, 
Whom care and cool deliberation suit 
Not better much than spectacles a brute. 
Cowper, Tirocinium. 
As motives conflict and the evils of hasty action recur 
to the mind, deliberation succeeds to mere invention and 
design. J. Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX. 85. 
2. Mutual discussion and examination of the 
reasons for and against a measure : as, the de- 
liberations of a legislative body or a council. 
They would do well to exclude from their deliberations 
members of the House who had proved themselves un- 
worthy of their position. Nineteenth Century, XXI. 120. 
3. Slowness in decision or action : as, he spoke 
with the greatest deliberation. 
Hee is one that will not hastily runne into error, for hee 
treds with great deliberation, and his judgment consists 
much in his pace. 
Bp. Earle, Micro-cosmographle, An Alderman. 
We spent our time in viewing the Ceremonies practis'd 
by the Latins at this Festival, and in visiting the several 
holy places ; all which we hail opportunity to survey with 
as much freedom and deliberation as we pleased. 
Maundrell, Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 68. 
4. In criminal law, reflection, however brief, 
upon the act before committing it ; fixed and 
determined purpose, as distinguished from sud- 
den impulse. =Syn. 1 ami 3. Thoughtfulness, medita- 
tion, cogitation, circumspection, wariness, caution, cool- 
ness, prudence. 2. Consultation, conference. 
deliberative (df-lib'e-ra-tiv), a. and n. [= F. 
deliberatif = Sp. Pg. It. deliberativo, < L. deli- 
berating, < deliberare, deliberate: see deliber- 
ate.'] I. o. 1. Pertaining to deliberation or 
meditation; consisting of or used in discussion; 
argumentative ; reasoning: as, a deliberative 
judgment or opinion ; territorial delegates have 
delicacy 
a ili'liln ruliri voiri> in Congress (that is, a right 
to engage in debate, though not to vote). 
An uT&tiun deliberat iitr in a ntcane \V!M i- i>> < ili*e per- 
swade, en treatc, or rebuke, exhorte, ordt-lioru-, i <mmende, 
or comforte any man. 
>., T. Wilton, Art of Rhetoric (1553), p. 29. 
2. Characterized by deliberation; proceeding 
from or acting by deliberation, especially by 
formal discussion: as, deliberative thought ; the 
legislature is a deliberative body. 
Congress Is, properly, ^deliberative corps : and It forgets 
itself wheu it attempts to play the executive. 
A. Hamilton, Works, I. 104. 
Mr. Riley took a pinch of snuff, and kept Mr. Tnlllver 
in suspense by a silence that seemed deliberative. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, I. 1. 
Deliberative oratory, In rift., that department of ora- 
tory which comprises orations designed to discuss a course 
of action and advise it or dissuade from it ; especially, ora- 
tory used in deliberative assemblies ; parliamentary, con- 
gressional, or political oratory. 
H. n. If. A discourse in which a question ia 
discussed or weighed and examined. 
In deliberative*, the point is, what is evil ; and of good, 
what is greater ; and of evil, what is less. 
Bacon, Colours of Good and Evil. 
2. In rhi-t., the art of proving a thing and con- 
vincing others of its truth, in order to persuade 
them to adopt it ; the art of persuasion. 
deliberatively (de-lib'e-ra-tiv-li), adv. In a 
deliberative manner; b'y deliberation. 
None but the thanes or nobility were considered W ne- 
cessary constituent parts of this assembly, at least while 
It acted delibcratively. Burke, Abridg. of Eng. Hist., II. 7. 
deliberator, n. See deliberater. 
delible, a. See deleble. 
delibrationt (del-i-bra'shon), n. [< L. de, down, 
-t- libratio(n-), a leveling, < librare, balance, 
level: see lihrniinii.] A weighing down, as of 
one pan of a balance. Sir T. Browne. 
delicacy (del'i-ka-si), n. ; pi. delicacies (-siz). [< 
ME. delicacy, deficacie; < delica(te) + -oa.] 1. 
The quality of being delicate; that which is 
delicate. Specifically 2. Exquisite agreeable- 
ness to the sense of taste or some other sense ; 
refined pleasantness; daintiness: as, delicacy 
of flavor or of odor. 
On hospitable thoughts intent 
What choice to choose for delicacy best. 
Milton, P. U, v. 333. 
Be not troublesome to thyself or others In the choice of 
thy meats or the delicacy of thy sauces. Jer. Taylor. 
3. Something that delights the senses, partic- 
ularly the sense of taste ; a dainty : as, the deli- 
cacies of the table. 
Yef we hadde but a mossell brede, we haue more ioye 
and delyte than ye haue with alle the delicatyt of the 
worlde. Merlin (E. E. T. S.X i- 6. 
These itelicaciet 
I mean of taste, sight, smell, herbs, fruits, and flowers, 
Walks, and the melody of birds. Milton, P. L., viii. 626. 
4. Pleasing fineness or refinement of detail; 
minute perfection in any characteristic qual- 
ity, as form, texture, tint, tenuity, finish, ad- 
justment, etc. : as, the delicacy of the skin or 
of a fabric; delicacy of contour; the delicacy of 
a thread or of a watch-spring. 
Van Dyck has even excelled him In the delicacy of his 
colouring. Dryden. 
5. That which is refined or the result of refine- 
ment, especially of the senses ; a refinement. 
Mozart is certainly the composer who had the surest In- 
stinct for the delicacies of his art. 
Helmholtz, Sensations of Tone (trans.), II. ill. 339. 
6. Niceness; criticalness; equivocalness ; the 
condition of requiring care or caution : as. the 
delicacy of a point or question ; the delicacy of 
a surgical operation. 7. Nicety of perception ; 
exquisite sensitiveness or acuteness, physical 
or mental ; exquisiteness ; fineness : as, delicacy 
of touch or of observation ; delicacy of wit. 
Some people are subject to a certain delicacy of passion, 
which makes them extremely sensible to all the accidents 
of life, and gives them a lively joy upon every prosperous 
event, as well as a piercing grief when they meet with 
misfortunes and adversity. Hume, Essays, I. 
8. Acute or nice discrimination as to what is 
pleasing or unpleasing; hence, a refined per- 
ception of beauty and deformity, or the faculty 
of such perception ; critical refinement of taste ; 
fastidiousness. 
That Augustan deiicacy of taste which is the boast of the 
great public schools of England. Macaulay. 
Q. Civility or politeness proceeding from a nice 
observance of propriety ; the quality manifest- 
ed in care to avoid offense or what may cause 
distress or embarrassment; freedom from gross- 
ness . as, delicacy of behavior or feeling. 
False delicacy is atltrtution, not politf nt-s*. 
