desert-snake 
family l'xniino/>!iin<t' of the family Colubridff); 
deserve (il<j-/.'Tv'), '. ; pret. and pp. deserved, 
ppr. ili-.ti I'litiij. |< Ml 1 ). ilinm<ii,iti;i}<erven,di8- 
xcrci'ii, < OF. iliwrrii; ilrswrrir, deserve, < L. 
deticrrire, servo devotedly, be devoted to, ML. 
deserve, < rf?- intensive + sernirc, serve: see 
MTM. <T. (//.v.vcn-e.] I. (ran*. 1. To merit; be 
worthy of; iucui-, as something either desirable 
or undesirable, on account of good or bad quali- 
ties or actions; more especially, to have a just 
cluim or right to, in return for services or meri- 
torious actions ; be justly entitled to, as wages 
or a prize. 
We deserve God's (trace no more than the vessel doth 
deserve the water which is put into it. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v., App. 1. 
Ood exacteth of tliee less than thine iniquity deseneth. 
Job xl. 6. 
"Tis not in mortals to command success ; 
But we'll do more, Sempronlus; we'll detent it. 
Addison, Cato, 1. 2. 
2f. To serve or treat well ; benefit. 
A man that hath so well deserved me. Masringer. 
3f. To repay by service ; return an equivalent 
for (service rendered). 
Thou hast BO moche don fur me, 
That I nemay It nevere more deserve. 
Chaucer, Trollus, iii. S87. 
4f. To require ; demand the attention of. 
I mention your noble brother, who is gone to Cleave, 
not to return till toward* Christmas, except the business 
deserve him not so long. Dimne, Letters, Ixxxvi. 
II. in trans. To merit; be worthy or deserv- 
ing: as, he deserves well of his country. 
Those they honoured, as having power to work or cease, 
as men deserved of them. Hooker, Eccles. Polity. 
deservedly (de-z6r'ved-li), adv. Justly; ac- 
cording to desert, whether of good or evil. 
God s Judgment had deservedly fallen down upon him 
for his Blasphemies. Uotcell, Letters, I. v. 11. 
A man deservedly cuts himself off from the affections of 
that community which lie endeavours to subvert. Addition. 
deserver (de-zer'ver), n. One who deserves or 
merits; one' who is worthy: used generally in 
a good sense. 
Whose love is never Hnk'd to the deseroer, 
'Till his deserts are passt. Shak., A. and C., I. '. 
deserving (de-zer'ving), n. [ME. deserving; 
verbal n. of deserve, . j The act of meriting ; 
desert; merit or demerit. 
Ye ... have done unto him according to the deserving 
of his hands. Judges ix. 16. 
All friends shall taste 
The wages of their virtue, and all foes 
The cup of their deserving*. Shale., Lear, v. 8. 
He had been a person of great deserving! from the re- 
public. Swrift, Nobles and Commons, ii. 
deserving (de-zer'ving), p. a. [Ppr. of deserve, 
v.] Worthy of reward or praise ; meritorious; 
possessed of good qualities that entitle to ap- 
probation : as, a deserving officer. 
Cnurts are the places where best manners flourish, 
Where the deserving ought to rise. Otway. 
deservlngly (de-zer'ving-li), adv. Meritori- 
ously; witn just desert. 
We have raised Scjiinns from obscure and almost un- 
known gentry to the highest and most conspicuous point 
of greatness ; and we hope deservingly. 
B. Jonson, Sejauus. 
deshabille, n. See dishabille. 
Deshler's salve. See salve. 
deshonourt, and v. See dishonor. 
desiccant (des'i-kant), a. and n. [< L. desic- 
cdn(t-)s, ppr. of desiccare, dry up: see desiccate.] 
I. a. Drying; desiccating. 
H. . A medicine or an application that dries 
the surface to which it is applied. 
We endeavour by moderate detergents it desiccants to 
cleanse and dry the diseased parts. 
Wiseman, Surgery, vlii. 6. 
desiccate (des'i-kat), r.; pret. and pp. desic- 
cated, ppr. desiccating. [< L. dcsiccatus, pp. of 
desiccare (> It. deseccare, diseccare, disseccare = 
Sp. desecar = Pg. deseccar, dessecar = P. desse- 
cher), dry up, < de- intensive + siccare, dry, < 
siccus, dry: see siccous.] I. trans. To dry; de- 
prive of moisture ; expel moisture from ; espe- 
cially, to bring to a thoroughly dry state for 
preservation, as various kinds of food. 
In bodies desiccated by heat or age, when the native 
spirit got-th forth, and the moisture with it, the air with 
time gettcth into the pores. 
Bacon. 
II. intrans. To become dry. 
desiccatet (des'i-kat), a. [< ME. desiccate, < L. 
desiecatns, pp. : see the verb.] Dry; dried. 
1659 
But dales thrc this seede Is goode )>ewett 
In in} Ik or incth, and after desiccate 
Sette hem. 
Palladius, Huslmndrie (E. E. T. .), p. 110. 
desiccation (des-i-ka'shon), n. [< OF. desicca- 
tion = Sp. dcsecacion = Pg. deseccwj&n, desse- 
cacSo, dcHfticagHo = It. disseccttzione, < L. as if 
*deniccatiii(ii-), < desiccare, dry up: see desic- 
cate, v.] The act of making dry, or the state of 
being dry ; the act or process of depriving of 
moisture ; especially, the evaporation of the 
aqueous portion of a substance, as wood, meat, 
fruit, milk, etc., by artificial heat, as by a cur- 
rent of heated air. 
They affirm that much of this country is poorly fitted 
for agriculture on account of the extreme desiccation of 
the soil every summer. The Atlantic, XUX. 682. 
desiccative (des'i-ka-tiv), a. and n. [= OF. 
desiecatif= Sp. desecativo = Pg. deseccativo, des- 
secativo = It. disseccativo; as desiccate + -ire.] 
1. n. Drying ; tending to dry. 
II. n. That which dries or evaporates; an 
application that dries up secretions. 
The ashes of a hedgehog are said to be a great desicca- 
tive of fistulas. Bacon, Nat Hist, I 979. 
desiccator (des'i-ka-tor), n. [< desiccate + 
-or.] 1. One who or that which desiccates or 
dries. Specifically (a) One who prepares desiccated 
foods. (6) A machine or an apparatus for drying some- 
thing. A desiccator used in laboratories consists of a ]K>r- 
celaln dish with depressions or saucers to receive the sub- 
stances to be dried, with a closely fitting glass cover and 
a recipient for some absorbent of moisture. Commercial 
desiccators, or evaporators, for fruit, meat, vegetables, 
milk, etc. operate by the agency of heat, applied either 
directly or by means of a current of hot air. 
2. Same as exsicca tor. Tan-bark desiccator, an 
apparatus for drying leached tan-bark. The bark is re- 
ceived on an endless apron, which passes through a hop- 
per over the leachlng-vat and carries a second hopper, 
from which it Is passed between hollow heated rollers, 
which express the liquid. E. H. Knight. 
desiccatoryt (des'i-ka-to-ri), a. [< desiccate + 
-ory.] Desiccative. 
Pork Is deitiecatiiry, but it strengthens and passes easily. 
Travels o/ Anacharsis, II. 467. 
desiderablet (de-sid'e-ra-bl), a. [ME. deside- 
rable, desederabill, < 0>F. desiderable, desirable (> 
E. desirable) = Sp. desiderable, < L. desiderabilis, 
desirable, < desiderare, desire: see desiderate, v., 
and desirable.] Desirable ; to be desired. 
Sothely, Iliesu, desederabill es tbi name, lufahyll and 
comf ortabyll. Hampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 2. 
desiderata, n. Plural of desideratum. 
desiderate (de-sid'e-rat), v. t.; pret. and pp. 
desiderated, ppr. desiderating. [< L. desidera- 
tus, pp. of desiderare, long for, desire : see de- 
sire, the earlier form of the same word.] To 
feel a desire for or the want of; miss ; desire. 
We cannot look that his place can ever in all respects 
be so filled that there will not still be much, very much, 
to desiderate. Stubbs, Medieval and Modern Hist, p. 10. 
What we desiderate is something which may supersede 
the need of personal gifts by a far-reaching and infallible 
rule. J. H. Newman, Gram, of Assent, p. 251. 
desideratet (de-sid'e-rat), n. [Also desiderat; 
< L. desideratum : see desideratum.] A desire; 
a desired thing ; preference. 
And really gentlemen . . . deprive themselves of many 
advantages to Improve their tyme, and do service to the 
desiderats of philosophy. Evelyn, To Mr. Maddox. 
desideration (de-sid-e-ra'shon), n. [= It. de- 
siderazione, < L. desideratio(n-), < desiderare, 
desire: see desiderate, v.] 1. The act of desid- 
erating, or of desiring with sense of want or 
regret. 
Desire is aroused by hope, while desideration is inflicted 
by reminiscence. IT. Taylor. 
2. The thing desiderated; a desideratum. [Bare 
in both senses.] 
desiderative (de-sid'e-ra-tiv), a. and n. [= F. 
desidcratif = It', desiderativo, < L/L. desiderati- 
vus, desiderative, < L. desideratus, pp. : see de- 
siderate, v.] I. a. 1. Having or implying de- 
sire ; expressing or denoting desire : as, a de- 
siderative verb. 2. Pertaining to a desidera- 
tive verb. 
Apart from the probable identity of origin between the 
il?xiilrratire and the aoristic "s,' there are many cases 
where any characteristic of desideratire formation is 
wanting (in Sanskrit]. Amer. Jour, fhilol., VL 3. 
II. n. 1. An object of desire ; something de- 
sired. 2. In gram., a verb formed from an- 
other verb, and expressing a desire of doing the 
action implied in the primitive verb, 
desideratum (de-sid-e-ra'tum), n. ; pi. deside- 
rata (-ta). [= F". Sp. desideratum, < L. desidera- 
tum, something desired, neut. of desideratus, 
pp. : see desiderate.] Something desired or de- 
sirable ; that which is lacking or required. 
design 
The great iteiidcrata are taste ami common sense. 
Coleridye, Table-Talk. 
To feel that the last word has been said on any M 
Is not a desideratum with the true philosopher, who knows 
full well that the truth he announces to-day will open 
half a dozen questions where It settles one. 
J. t'islte. Evolutionist, p. 292. 
desidioset, desidioust (df-sid'i-os, -us), a. [= 
Sp. Pg. dcsidioso, < L. dcsidiosus, idle, lazy, < de- 
sidia, idleness, slothf ulness, < desidere, sit long, 
continue sitting, be idle, < de, down, + sedere, 
sit: see sit and sedentary.] Idle; lazy; indo- 
lent. 
Yea fight the battells of the Lord ; bee neither desidiota 
nor perfidious. A". Want, Simple Cobler, p. 75. 
desidiousnesst (df-sid'i-us-nes), n. Idleness; 
laziness; indolence. 
Now the Germans, perceiving our desidioutness and neg- 
ligence, do send daily young scholars hither that poileui 
them [ancient authors) and cutteth them out of libraries. 
Leland, To .Secretary Cromwell. 
desightment (de-sit'ment), n. [< de- priv. + 
sight + *ment.] ' The act of making unsightly; 
disfigurement. [Bare.] 
Substitute Jury-masts at whatever desightment or dam- 
age In risk. Times (London). 
design (de-zin' or -sin'), r. [< OF. designer, des- 
seigner, F. designer = Pr. dcsignar, dezignar, 
desegnar = Sp. Pg. designar = It. designare, < 
L. designare, also dissignare, mark out, point 
out, describe, design, contrive, < de- (or dis-) + 
signarc, mark, < signum, a mark : see ffjff". and 
cf. assign, consign, etc.] I. trans. 1. To draw 
the outline or figure of, especially of a proposed 
work of art; trace out ; sketch, as a pattern or 
model. 
In the Flore of one of the Octogone Towers they have 
designed with great accurateness and neatness with Ink 
an Universal Map in a vast Circle. 
Lister, Journey to Paris, p. 63. 
Thus while they speed their pace, the prince designs 
The new-elected seat, and draws the lines. Dryden. 
Hence 2. To plan or outline in general; de- 
termine upon and mark out the principal fea- 
tures or parts of, as a projected thing or act; 
plan; devise. 
The Roman bridges were designed on the same grand 
scale as their aqueducts, though from their nature they 
of course could not possess the same grace and lightness. 
J. Fenjussan, Hist. Arch., I. 374. 
3. To contrive for a purpose; project for the 
attainment of a particular end ; form in idea, 
as a scheme. 
Ask of politicians the end for which laws were originally 
designed, and they will answer, . . . "Asa protection for 
the poor and weak, against the oppression of the rich and 
powerful." Burke, Vind. of Nat. Society. 
The experimenter can only obtain the result which his 
experiment is designed to obtain. 
E. R. Lankester, Degeneration, p. 9. 
4. To devote to mentally; set apart in inten- 
tion; intend. 
One of those places was designed by the old man to his 
son. Clarendon, Great Rebellion. 
I design him to be the refuge of the family In their dis- 
tress. Stale, Tatler, No. SO. 
We now began to think ourselves designed by the stars 
to something exalted. Goldsmith, Vicar, x. 
His lordship is patriarchal In his taste one wife at a 
time was insufficient, and he designed us the honour of 
his left hand. Scoff, Kenilworth, xl. 
We fear that Allston andGreenough did not foresee and 
design all the effect they produce on us. Kmerion, Art. 
5. To purpose ; intend ; mean : with an infini- 
tive as object: as, he designs to write an essay, 
or to study law. 
In the afternoon . . . we took our leaves of Damascus 
and shaped our course for Tripoli ; designing in the way 
to see Balbeck, and the Cedars of Libanus. 
Mnnndrrlt, Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 133. 
6f . To mark out by tokens ; indicate ; point out ; 
designate; appoint. 
King Edward the Confessor being himself without Issue, 
had In his Life-time sent into Hungary for his Nephew 
Edward, called the Outlaw, the Hon of Edmund Ironside, 
with a purpose to design him his .Successor in the Crown. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 19. 
We examined the witnesses, and found them fall short 
of the matter of threatening, and not to agree about the 
reviling speeches, and, beside, not able to design certainly 
the men that had so offended. 
Winthrup, Hist New England, I. 172. 
7t. To signify. 
Tis much pity, madam, 
You should have had any reason to retain 
This sign of grief, much less the thing designed. 
B. Jonton, Casels Altered, II. 3. 
II. intrans. 1. To do original work in a 
graphic or plastic art; compose a picture, or 
make an original plan, as an architect, a land- 
scape-gardener, or an inventor. 2. To invent. 
3t. To set out or start, with a certain des- 
tination in view ; direct one's course. 
