deliquate 
It will be resolved into a liquor, very analogous to that 
which the chymists make of salt of tartar, left in moist 
cellars to deliquate. Boyle, Chemical Principles. 
II. trans. To cause to melt ; dissolve, 
deliquation (del-i-kwa'shou), n. [< deliquate + 
-low.] A melting. 
deliquesce (del-i-kwes' ), ?>. i. ; pret. and pp. deli- 
quesced, ppr. deliquescing. [\ L. deliquescere, 
melt away, dissolve, < de, down, + liquescere, 
become liquid, inceptive of liquere, melt: see 
liquid.'] 1. To melt or dissolve gradually, or 
become liquid by absorbing moisture from the 
air, as certain salts ; melt away. 
Chromic acid crystals deliquesce rapidly when exposed to 
the air, and soon undergo a chemical change. 
C. 0. Whitman, Microscopical Methods, p. 18. 
Whose whole vocabulary had deliquesced into some half- 
dozen expressions. 0. W. Holmes, Autocrat, x. 
2. In vegetable histology, to liquefy or melt 
away gradually, as part of the normal process 
of growth: said of certain tissues, especially 
the gills of fungi of the genus Coprinus. It dif- 
fers from the analogous process in salts, being 
a vital phenomenon. 
deliquescence (del-i-kwes'ens), . [= P. deli- 
quescence = Sp. delicuescencia = Pg. deliques- 
cenc-ia = It. deliquesceitza, < L. as if "deliques- 
centia, < deliquescen(t-)s, ppr. of deliquescere, 
melt away: see deliquescent?] Liquefaction by 
absorption of moisture from the atmosphere (a 
property of certain salts and other bodies) ; a 
melting away or dissolving. 
I am suffering from my old complaint, the hay-fever (as 
it is called). My fear is, perishing by deliquescence; I 
melt away in nasal and lachrymal profluvia. 
Sydney Smith, To Dr. Holland, ix. 
deliquescent (del-i-kwes'ent), a. and n. [= F. 
deliquescent = Sp. delicuescente = Pg. deliques- 
cente =It. deliquescente, < L. deliquescen( t-)s, ppr. 
of deliquescere, melt away : see deliquesce.] I. a. 
1. Liquefying in the air; capable of becoming 
liquid by attracting moisture from the atmo- 
sphere: as, deliquescent salts. 
Regenerated tartar is so deliquescent that it is not easy 
to keep it dry. Black, Lectures on Chemistry. 
Hence 2. Apt to dissolve or melt away; wast- 
ing away by or as if by melting. 
Striding over the styles to church, . . . dusty and deli- 
quescent. Sydney Smith, To Archdeacon Singleton, iii. 
3. In vegetable histology, liquefying or melting 
away gradually, as part of the normal process 
of growth. 4. In bo t. , branching in such a way 
that the stem is lost in the branches. 
II. . A substance which becomes liquid by 
attracting moisture from the air. 
deliquiate (de-lik'wi-at), v. i. ; pret. and pp. 
deliquiated, ppr. deliquiating. [Improper form 
of deliquate.] Same as deliquesce. 
deliquiation (de-lik-wi-a'shon), n. [< deliqui- 
ate + -ion.1 Same as deliquescence. 
deliquium 1 (de-lik'wi-um), n. [= F. deliquium 
= Sp. Pg. It. deliquio, < LL. deliquium, a flowing 
down, < L. de, down, + liquere, melt ; cf . deli- 
quate,] 1. In chem., a melting or liquefaction by 
absorption of moisture, as of a salt. 2. Fig- 
uratively, a melting or maudlin mood of mind. 
To fall into mere unreasoning deliquium of love and 
admiration was not good. Carlyle. 
The sentimentalist always insists on taking his emotion 
neat, and, as his sense gradually deadens to the stimulus, 
increases his dose till he ends in a kind of moral deliqui- 
um. Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 366. 
deliquium'-'t (de-lik'wi-um), . [< L. deliquium, 
an eclipse, lit. a want (cf. defectus, a lack, an 
eclipse), < delinquere, fail, be wanting: see de- 
linquent.] 1. An interruption or failure of the 
sun's light, whether caused by an eclipse or 
otherwise. 
Such a deliquium we read of immediately subsequent to 
the death of Caesar. J. Spencer, Prodigies, p. 284. 
2. In med., a failure of vital force; syncope. 
He ... carries bisket, aquavits, or some strong waters, 
about him, for fear of dehquiums, or being sick. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 181. 
deliracyt (de-lir'a-si), . [< L. as if *deliratia, 
< deliratus, pp. of delirare, be crazy, rave : see 
delirate.] Delirium. 
deliramentt (de-lir'a-ment), n. [= Sp. Pg. It. 
deliramento, < L. deliramentum, nonsense, ab- 
surdity, < delirare, be crazy: see delirate.'] A 
wandering of the mind ; foolish fancy. 
Of whose [Mohammed's] delirements further I proceed. 
Heyieood, Hierarchy of Angels, p. 286. 
delirancyt (de-lir'an-si), n. [< deliran(t) + -cy.] 
The state of being delirious ; delirium. 
Extasies of delirancy and dotage, that bring men first 
to strange fancies ; then, to vent either nonsense or blas- 
phemous and scurrilous extravagancies. 
Bp. Oauden, Sermon at Funeral of Bp. Brownrigg, p. 57. 
1518 
delirantt (de-li'rant), a. [< F. delirant = Sp. 
Pg. It. delirante,"< L. drliran(t-)s, ppr. of deli- 
rare (F. delirer), be crazy: see delirate.] De- 
lirious. 
deliratet (de-li'rat), v. i. [< L. deliratus, pp. of 
delirare (> ft. delirare = Sp. Pg. delirar = F. de- 
lirer), be crazy, rave, be out of one's wits, 
deviate from a straight line, < delirus, crazy, 
raving: see delirous, delirious.] To rave, as a 
madman. Cockcram. 
delir atioii (del-i-ra'shon), n. [< L. deliratio(n-), 
< delirare, be crazy, rave : see delirate.] Mental 
aberration; delirium; dementation. [Archaic.] 
The masters of physick tell us of two kinds of delimtian, 
or alienation of the understanding. 
J. Mede, Discourses (1642), p. 122. 
Repressed by ridicule as a delimtion of the human mind. 
De Quincey. 
deliriant (de-lir'i-ant), n. [< delirium + -ant 1 .] 
In mcd., a poison which causes delirium. 
delirifacient (de-lir-i-f a'shient), a. and n. [< L. 
delirare, rave, H- facere, ppr. facien(t-)s, make.] 
1. a. Tending to produce delirium. 
II. n. In med., a substance which tends to 
produce delirium. 
delirious (de-lir'i-us), a. [< delirium + -ous. 
The older form was delirous, q. v.] 1. Wander- 
ing in mind ; having ideas and fancies that are 
wild, fantastic, or incoherent; light-headed; 
flighty, raving. 2. Characterized by or pro- 
ceeding from wild excitement, exaggerated 
emotion, or rapture : as, delirious joy. 
Their fancies first delirious grew, 
And scenes ideal took for true. 
M. Green, The Spleen. 
Bacchantes . . . sing delirious verses. LongfeH&iv. 
deliriously (de-lir'i-us-li), adv. In a delirious 
manner. 
Sweeps the Soul deliriously from life, 
Byron, Marino Faliero, IV. i. 260. 
deliriousness (de-lir'i-us-nes), . The state of 
being delirious ; delirium. 
delirium (de-lir'i-um), n. [= F. delire = Sp. 
Pg. It. dflirlo = D. G. Dan. Sw. delirium, < L. 
delirium, madness, delirium, < delirus, mad, rav- 
ing: see delirate.] 1. A disordered state, more 
or less temporary, of the mental faculties, occur- 
ring during illness, especially in febrile condi- 
tions. It may be the effect of inflammatory action af- 
fecting the brain, or it may be sympathetic with disease 
in other parts of the body, as the heart ; it may be caused 
by long-continued and exhausting pain, or by inanition of 
the nervous system. 
2. Violent excitement; exaggerated enthusi- 
asm ; mad rapture. 
The popular delirium caught his enthusiastic mind. 
Irving. 
3. A hallucination or delusion ; a creation of 
the imagination. 
The poet's hand, 
Imparting substance to an empty shade, 
Imposed on gay delirium for a truth. 
Camper, Task, iv. 628. 
Delirium tremens, a disorder of the brain arising from 
inordinate and protracted use of ardent spirits, and there- 
fore almost peculiar to drunkards. The delirium is a con- 
stant symptom, but the tremor is not always conspicuously 
present. It is properly a disease of the nervous system. 
= Sy n. 1. Madness, Frenzy, etc. See insanity. 
delir oust (de-li'rus), a. [< L. delirus, crazy, 
raving, lit. being out of the furrow, < de, away, 
from, + lira, a furrow. Cf. delirious.] Rav- 
ing; delirious. 
Delirous, that doteth and swerveth from reason. 
Blount, Glossographia (ed. 1674). 
delitt, n. A Middle English form of delight. 
d61it (da-le'), . [F. delit, an offense : see de- 
lict.] In law, an act whereby a person by fraud 
or malice causes damage or wrong to another. 
Quasi delit, an act by which a person causes damage 
to another without malice, but by some inexcusable im- 
prudence. 
delitablet, a. [ME., < OF. delitable, < L. de- 
lectabilis, delightful, whence later E. delectable, 
q. v.] Delightful; delectable. 
Many a tour and toun thou mayst biholde, 
That founded were in tyme of fadres olde, 
And many another delitalile syghte. 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, I. 6. 
delitablyt, adv. [ME., < delitable, q. v.] De- 
lightfully. Chaucer. 
delitet, v. and n. The earlier spelling of delight. 
delitet, a. [< OF. delit, delightful, adj. of delit, 
n., delight: see delite, n., delight.] Delightful; 
blessed. 
This lambe moste delyte, 
That gave his body to man in forme of brede 
On shreffe thursday to-forne or before he was dede. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Kurnivall), p. 16. 
deliver 
delitescence, delitescency (del-i-tes'ens, -en- 
si), n. [= F. delitescence; < delitescent, q. v.] 
1. The state of being concealed; seclusion; re- 
tirement; repose. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
1669 and 1670 I sold all my estate in Wilts. From 1670 
to this very day (I thank God) I have enjoyed a happy 
delitescency. Aubrey, Life, p. 13. 
Every man has those about him who wish to soothe him 
into inactivity and delitescence. Johnson. 
The delitescence of mental activities. Sir W. Hamilton. 
2. Insurg., the sudden disappearance of inflam- 
matory symptoms or the subsidence of a tumor. 
Period of delitescence, in med., the period during 
which certain morbid poisons, as smallpox, lie latent in 
the system. See incuttation. 
delitescent (del-i-tes'ent), a. [< L. delites- 
cen(t-)s, ppr. of delitesccre, lie hid, < de, away, 
4- latescere, inceptive of latere, lie hid: see la- 
tent] Concealed ; lying hid. 
delitigatet (de-lit'i-gat), v. i. [< L. delitigatus, 
pp. of delitinare, scold, rail angrily, < de + li- 
tigare, quarrel : see litigate.] To chide or con- 
tend in words. Cockeram. 
delitigationt (de-lit-i-ga'shon), n. [< delitigate 
+ -ion.] A chiding; a brawl. Bailey. 
deliver 1 (de-liv'er), v. [< ME. deliveren, delyv- 
eren, delivren, < OF. delivrer, F. delivrer = Pr. 
deslivrar, desliuar, desUeurar^ delivrar = Sp. Pg. 
deliberar = OSp. delibrar = It. diliberare, deli- 
berare, dilibrare, < ML. deliberare, set free, de- 
liver, < L. de, away, from, + liberare, set free, 
liberate, < liber, free : see liberate, livery.] I. 
trans. 1. To free; release or rescue, as from 
captivity, oppression, or evil ; set free ; set at 
liberty: as, to deliver one from captivity. 
The noyse of foulis for to ben delycered 
So loude ronge, "Have don and let us wende." 
Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, 1. 491. 
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked. 
Ps. Ixxi. 4. 
Y magestrats used them courteously, and shewed them 
what favour they could ; but could not deliver them, till 
order came from y Counsell-table. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 12. 
2. To give or hand over; transfer; put into 
another's possession or power; commit; pass 
to another : as, to deliver a letter. 
And thanne the Delyved to every Pylgryme a candyll of 
wax brennyng in his honde. 
Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 25. 
They were to haue none other commission, or author- 
itie, but onely to deliuer their Emperonrs letter vnto the 
Pope. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 70. 
Thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand. 
Gen. xl. 13. 
3. To surrender; yield; give up: as, to deliver 
a fortress to an enemy : often followed by up, 
and sometimes by orer : as, to deliver up the 
city; to deliver uj> stolen goods; to deliver over 
money held in trust. 
Deliver up their children to the famine. Jer. xviii. 21. 
The constables have delivered her over to me. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. 4. 
Thomas Piercy Duke of Northumberland, who first re- 
bel'd and afterwards fled into Scotland, was for a sum of 
Money delimr'd by the Earl of Morton to the Lord Huns- 
don Governor of Berwick. Baker, Chronicles, p. 347. 
4. To disburden of a child in childbirth ; aid in 
parturition; hence, figuratively, to disburden 
of intellectual progeny. 
On her frights, and griefs, . . . 
She is, something before her time, delivered. 
Shak., W. T., ii. 2. 
His [Mahomet's] mother said, That shee was deliuered of 
him without paine, and Angelicall Birds came to nourish 
the child. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 247. 
Tully was long before he could be delivered of a few 
verses. Peacham, Poetry. 
5. To discharge; cast; strike; fire: as, he de- 
livered the blow straight from the shoulder ; to 
deliver a broadside. 
An uninstructed bowler . . . thinks to attain the jack 
by delivering his bowl straight forward upon it. Scott. 
He'll keep clear of my cast, my logic-throw, 
Let argument slide, and then deliver swift 
Some bowl from quite an unguessed point of stand 
Having the luck o' the last word, the reply ! 
Browning, Ring and Book, II. 71. 
Exposed to the fire of the two gun-boats, which was de. 
livered with vigor and effect. 
U. S. Grant, Personal Memoirs, I. 367. 
Other shorter swords seem to have been used like a fal- 
chion only for delivering a chopping blow, as they have 
only one edge. C. T. Neicton, Art and Archreol., p. 278. 
6f. To make known ; impart, as information. 
Wei. Oh, I came not there to-night. 
Bob. Your brother delivered us as much. 
B. Jonson, Every Man in Ills Humour, iii. 1. 
Will you deliver how 
This dead queen re-lives? Sfiak., Pericles, v. 3. 
That mummy is medicinal, the Arabian Doctor Haly de- 
iivereth, and divers confirm. Sir T. Browne, Mummies. 
