desilverize 
process and ruttiiixoii pn>n:*s, under process, 
Also spcllcil ili-silrrrifii: 
desinence (des'i-nons), . [< OF. desinence, F. 
di'-.iineaee = Sp. Pg. ilmim nan = It. desim n^n, 
ending, termination, < NL. "desinentia, < L. ili-ai- 
)<. dosing: HOC dent neii t. ] Ending; close; 
termination; speciucally, in ijrnin., the termi- 
nation or formative or inflectional suffix of a 
word. 
Fettering together the series of the verses, with tlir 
bonds of like cadence or desinenrr i.f ilium-. 
lip. Hall, Satires, PosUcript. 
desinent (des'i-nent), a. [< L. desinen(t-)s, ppr. 
of desincrii, cease, end, close, < de, off, 4- si- 
nere, leave.] Ending; terminal. 
Six tritons, . . . tiieir upper pints human, . . . thfir 
desinritt parts flsli. /;. Jonson, Masque of Blaukness. 
desipience (df'-sip'i-ens), n. [= Sp. deftinicncia, 
< L. desipientia, foolishness, < desipien(t-)s, fool- 
ish: see desipient.] Silliness; trifling; non- 
sense. [Rare.] 
The desipieiice of such a 111:111 as John Ixtcke is never out 
of place, and is as sweet to listen t" now as it could have 
been to hi.s thoughtful and alfectiouate self to indulge in. 
llr. J. Krintn, Spare Hours, 3d ser., Int., p. 37. 
desipient (de-sip'i-ent), a. [= Sp. dexipirnli; < 
L. <lesii>ie>i(t-)8, ppr'.' of desipere, be foolish, < de- 
priv. + sapere, be wise: see sapient. ] Trifling; 
foolish; playful. Smart. [Bare.] 
desirability (de-zir-a-bil'i-ti), n. [< desirable: 
see -bility.] The state or quality of being de- 
sirable ; desirableness. 
desirable (df'-y.ir'u-bl), a. [< ME. desirable, < 
OF. desirable, F. desirable; OF. also uncontract- 
ed desiderablc (> E. desiderable) = Sp. desidera- 
ble (cf. Sp. deseable (= Pg. desejacel), < desear = 
Pg. desejar: see desire, v.) = It. desiderabile, < 
L. desiderabilis, desirable, < desiderare, long for, 
desire: see desire, v.] Worthy to be desired; 
that is to be wished for ; fitted to excite a wish 
to possess. 
Oh deare, sweete, and degireable child, how shall I part 
with all this goodness and virtue? 
Evelyn, Diary, March 10, 16S5. 
Here are also strong Currents, sometimes setting one 
way, sometimes another ; which ... it is hard to describe 
with that Accuracy which Is desirable. 
Dampier, Voyages, II. iii. 2. 
No school can avoid taking for the ultimate moral aim 
a desirable state of feeling, called by whatever name 
gratification, enjoyment, happiness. 
//. Spencer, Data of Ethics, $ 15. 
desirableness (de-zir'a-bl-nes), n. The quality 
of being desirable; desirability. 
The human character ... Is so constituted that a man's 
desire for things he does not possess is not in proportion 
to their desirableness, but in proportion to the ease with 
which they seem attainable. 
W. II. Mallock, Social Equality, p. 205. 
The desirableness of a pleasure must always express its 
relation to some one else than the person desiring the en- 
joyment of the pleasure. 
T. 11. Green, Prolegomena to Ethics, 300. 
desirably (de-zir'a-bli), adv. In a desirable 
manner. 
desirantt, a. [ME. dexiraunt, < OF. desirant, 
ppr. of desirer, desire : see desire.] Desiring; 
desirous. 
desire (de-zir'), v. ; pret. and pp. desired, ppr. de- 
siring. |X ME. desirtii, desyren, < OF. desirer, 
earlier desirrer, F. desirer = Pr. dcsirar (cf. Sp. 
desear = Pg. desejar, desire, appar. in part of 
other origin) = It. desirare, desUtre, desiderare, 
< L. desiderare, long for, desire, feel the want 
of, miss, regret, appar. < de- + sidus (sider-), a 
star (see sidereal), but the connection of thought 
is not clear ; cf. consider. Cf. also desiderate.] I. 
trans. 1. To wish or long for; be solicitous for; 
have a wish for the possession, enjoyment, or 
being of; crave or covet: as, to desire another's 
happiness; to desire the good of the common- 
wealth ; to desire wealth or fame. 
Neither shall any man desire thy land. Ex. xxxiv. _'!. 
Certainly that man were greedy of life who should de- 
sire to live vvlu-n all the world were at an end. 
Sir T. Brrnvne, KeliL-io Medici, Pref. 
When one is contented, there is no more to he tlem'red ; 
and where there is no mi>iv to be >/>>;,,./, tlu-re is ;ul end 
of it. Cervantes, Don Quixote (trans.). 
2. To express a wish to obtain ; ask; request; 
pray for. 
Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord ? 
2 Ki. iv. 28. 
So desiniuj leave to visite him sometimes, I went away. 
Kvelyn, Diary, Jan. 18, 1671. 
I whispered him, and desired him to step aside a little 
with me. Steele, Tatler, No. 178. 
St. To invite. 
I would </- 
My famous cousin to our tJi-tviar. tents. 
Shak., T. and C., iv. 5. 
1501 
4f. To require ; claim ; call for. 
A doleful raw desires a doleful! song. 
Xiftutfr, Tears of the Muses. 
5. To long for, as some lost object ; regret ; 
miss. [Archaic.] 
He | .lehoram) reigned In Jerusalem eight years, and de- 
p.ti ti-il ithont being desired. 2 Chrou. xxi. 20. 
Site shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when 
she dies. Jer. Taylor, The Marriage Ring. 
His chair desires him here In vain. 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
= Syn, 1. To crave, want, hanker after, yearn for. 2. To 
beg, solicit, entreat. 
II. intrans. To be in a state of desire or long- 
ing. 
Tho desired\e\ the quene muche after the nailes thre 
War-witli our lord was Inailed to the trr. 
Holy Rootl (E. E. T. S.), p. 46. 
For not to desire or admire, if a man could learn it, were 
more 
Than to walk all day like the sultan of old In a garden of 
spice. Tennyson, Maud, iv. 7. 
desire (de-zir'), n. [< ME. desire, desir, desrre, 
< OF. desir, dexter, F. desir (after the verb) = 
Pr. desire, dezir (cf. Sp. deseo = Pg. desejo) = 
It. desiro, desire, desira, desia, desio, desiderio, < 
L. desiderium, desire, longing, regret, < deside- 
rare, desiro, long for : see desire, v.] 1 . An emo- 
tion directed to the attainment or possession 
of an object from which pleasure, whether sen- 
sual, intellectual, or spiritual, is expected; a 
passion consisting in uneasiness for want of 
the object toward which it is directed, and the 
impulse to attain or possess it ; in the widest 
sense, a state or condition of wishing. 
But upon that Montayne to gon up this Monk had grct 
desir; and so upon a day he wente up. 
Maiulerillt, Travels, p. 148. 
And warm tears gushing from their eyes, with passion- 
ate desire 
Of their kind manager. Chapman, Iliad, xvil. 380. 
By this time the Pilgrims had a desire to go forward, 
and the Shepherds a denire they should ; so they walked 
together towards the end of the Mountains. 
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 182. 
Desire is the uneasiness a man finds in himself upon the 
absence of anything whose present enjoyment carries the 
idea of delight with it. Locke. 
He cared little for wine or for beauty, but he desired 
riches with an ungovernable and insatiable desire. 
Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
As desire is found to be the incentive to action where 
motives are readily analyzable, it Is probably the universal 
incentive. //. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 43. 
Desire always in the first instance looks outward to the 
object, and only indirectly through the object at the self; 
pleasure conies of the realisation of desire, but the desire 
is primarily for something else than the pleasure ; and 
though it may gradually become tinctured by the con- 
sciousness of the subjective result, it can never entirely 
lose its objective reference. E. Caird, Hegel, p. 213. 
2. A craving or longing; yearning, as of affec- 
tion ; longing inclination toward something. 
Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over 
thec. den. iii. 16. 
3. Appetency; sensual or natural tendency. 
Fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Eph. il. 3. 
The secretion [of Drosera] dissolves bone, and even the 
enamel of teeth, but this is simply due to the large quan- 
tity of acid secreted, owing, apparently, to the desire of the 
plant for phosphorus. Dancin, Insectiv. Plants, p. 269. 
4. A prayer ; petition ; request. 
He will fulfil the desire, of them that fear him. 
P. cxlv. 19. 
5. The object of longing ; that which is wished 
for. 
I knowe no better counseile, ne more trewe ; and so 
shalt thow a-complisshe thy desere. of thyn herte that thow 
art moste desiraunt. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), I. 80. 
The desire of all nations shall come. Hag. it 7. 
Here Busca and the Emperourhad theit desire. 
Capt. John Smith, True Travels, I. 26. 
Baptism of desire. See baptism. = Syn. 1 to 3. Inclina- 
tion, appetency, hankering, craving, eagerness, aspiration. 
li. 
desiredlyt (de-zir'ed-li), adv. In a desired man- 
ner; with desire. [Rare.] 
O that I hail my heat from thee, most holy fire ! how 
sweetly dost thou burn ! how secretly dost thou shine ! 
how desiredly dost thou inflame me ! 
Quarlcs(tr. of S. August Soliloq., xxxiv.), Emblems, v. 
desireful (de-zir'ful), a. [< desire + -j'nl. ].] 
Full of desire or longing. [Rare. ] 
desirefulness (de-zir'ful-nes), n. The state of 
being desireful ; eager longing. [Rare.] 
The pleasure of a goode turne is mnche diminished 
whan it is at first obteyned. The desire.fulneut of our 
mindes muchc augmenteth and encreaseth our pleasure. 
Udall, Preface vnto the Kinj_'L-s Muirstie. 
desireless (de-zir'les), a. [< desire + -less.] 
Without desire ; indifferent. 
desk 
The appetite is dull and dfsirelets. 
Donne, Devotions, p. 2& 
desirer (<l<;-zir'er), . One who desires, asks, 
or calls for; one who wishes or craves. 
I will counterfeit the liewitehment of some popular 
man, and give it bountifully to the deriren. 
Shak., Cor., li. 8. 
desirous (de-zir'us), a. [< ME. desirovs, < OF. 
ili-simx, F. il*ircux = Pr. desina (cf. Sp. deteoto 
= Pg. desejoso) = It. desideroso, < L. as if *de- 
sideriosus, < desiderium, desire : see desire, n.] 
1. Wishing to obtain; wishful; solicitous; 
anxious; eager. 
Be not desirmu of hli dainties : for they are deceitful 
meat. Prov. xxlll. 3. 
Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him. 
John xvi. 19. 
Behold at the door stood a great company of men, u 
desirous to go in, but durst not. 
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 106. 
2f. Desirable. 
The kynge de Cent chiualers hyiu socoured anoon with 
ijmi nien, whiche was a wortlii knyght and drxiroute in 
armes. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), II. 163. 
desirously (de-zir'us-li^ adv. With desire; 
with earnest wish or longing. 
The people of Qod ... do with their hearts acknow- 
ledge his right and title to them, ami do most desirously 
close with him. Bates, Everlasting Rest of the Saint*. 
desirousness (de-zir'us-nes), n. The state of 
being desirous ; affection or emotion of desire. 
We shall find a common desirousenes in all men to 
secke their welfare. 
Treimesse of the Christian Religion, p. 338 (Ord M.S.). 
desist (de-sisf or -zist'), '. . [< OF. desister, 
F. desister = Sp. Pg. desistir = It. dcsistere, < 
L. dcsistere, iutr. leave off, cease, tr. set down, 
< de, down, + sistere, set, place, causal of stare, 
stand, = E. stand, q. v. Cf . assist, consist, ex- 
ist, insist, persist, resist.] To stop ; cease from 
some action or proceeding ; forbear : used ab- 
solutely or with/ro/B. 
Ceres, however, desisted not, but fell to her entreaties 
and lamentations afresh. Bacon, Physical Fables, xi. 
What do we, then, but draw anew the model 
In fewer offices ; or, at least, desist 
To build at all ? SAa*., 2 Hen. IV., I. S. 
Travelling after fortune is not the way to secure her ; 
and, indeed, of late, I have desisted from the pursuit. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xx. 
= Syn. To pause, stay, desist (from), leave (off), discon- 
tinue, give (over), break (off). 
desistance, desistence (de-sis'tans, -tens, or 
de-zis'taus, -tens), . [= Sp. Pg. desistencia; 
as desist + -ance, -cnce.] A desisting; a ceasing 
to act or proceed ; a stopping. 
Men usually give freeliest where they have not given 
before ; and make it both the motive and excuse of their 
deristance from giving any more, that they have given 
already. Boyle, Works, I. 269. 
The creature's sensations will ever prompt desistance 
from the more lalwrious course. 
//. Spencer, Prin. of Blol., II. 364. 
desistivet (de-sis'tiv or -zis'tiv), a. [= Pg. de- 
sistiro; &s desist + -ire.] Ending; concluding. 
[Rare.] 
desitiont (de-sish'on), . [< L. as if *desi- 
tw(n-),< desinere, pp. desitus, cease: see desi- 
nence.] End; termination; conclusion. 
The soul must l>e immortal and unsuhject to death or 
desition. The Soul's Immortality Defended (1645), p. 27. 
desitivet (des'i-tiv), a. and n. [< L. as if *de- 
sitivtis, < desitus, j>p. of desinerCj cease: see desi- 
nence.] I. a. Final ; conclusive. 
Inceptive and desitive propositions are of this sort. 
The fogs vanish as the sun rises, but the fogs have not 
yet )>eguu to vanish : therefore the sun is not yet risen. 
Watti. 
II. . In logic, a proposition which relates 
to an end or termination. 
Inceptives and desiticet, which relate to the beginning 
or ending of anything : as, the Latin tongue is not yet 
forgotten. Watts, Logic, II. II. 6. 
desk (desk), n. [< ME. deske, a desk, reading- 
desk, < OF. 'desque, disque, F. disqtte = Sp. 
Pg. disco = It. desco, a table, < L. discus, a 
disk, quoit, ML. discus, also desca, a table, 
desk, whence also AS. disc, E. dish, and mod. 
E. disc, disk, and, through F., dais, which are 
thus all ult. the same word: see rfi.A, disk, 
dais.] A table specially adapted for conve- 
nience in writing or reading, frequently made 
with a sloping top, which may lift on hinges to 
give access to an interior compartment, as in 
the ordinary form of school-desk, or combined 
with drawers, and sometimes with book-shelves; 
also, a frame or case with a sloping top, in- 
tended to rest on a table, and to hold a book 
or paper conveniently for reading or writing. 
