detraction 
2. The act of disparaging or belittling the rep- 
utation or worth of a person, with the view to 
lessen or lower him in the estimation of others ; 
the act of depreciating the powers or perform- 
ances of another, from envy or malice. 
Speaking well of nil Mankind i.s the worst kind of Dt- 
ir.i.tmn for it takes uway tin- Imputation of the (food 
Mm iu tin- \YorM, liy making all alike. 
\\'ilflu-tlf>l, 1'lllill Dealer, i. 1. 
Let malice and the base detraction of contetniMH'ary 
jealousy say what it will, greater originality of genius, 
more expansive variety of talent, never was exhibited 
than in our country tiinue the year 1793. 
De Quincey, Style, I1L 
= Syn. 2. Depreciation, disparagement, slander, calumny, 
defamation, dentation. 
detractions! (df'-trak'shus), a. [< detraction; 
cf. ambitions, < ambition.] Containing detrac- 
tion ; lessening reputation. Johnson. 
detractive (de-trak'tiv), a. [< OF. datrartif; 
as detract + -ire.] If. Having the quality or 
power of drawing or taking away. 
Finding that his patient hath any store of herhes in his 
garden, [the surgeon] straightway will apply a detractive 
plaster. K. Knight, Tryall of Truth (1680), fol. 28. 
2. Seeking or tending to lessen repute or esti- 
mation; depreciative ; defamatory. 
I lif iniquity of an envious and detractive adversary. 
I>1'. Morton, Discharge of Imput., p. 270. 
I'll not give 
Such satisfaction to detractive tongues, 
That publish such foul noise against a man 
I know for truly virtuous. 
Beau, and ft. (?), Faithful Friends, i. 1. 
detractiyeness (de-trak'tiv-nes), n. The qual- 
ity of being detractive. Bailey, 1727. [Rare.] 
detractor (de-trak'tpr), n. [< ME. detractinir, < 
L. detractor,' < iletrdliere, pp. detractus, dispar- 
age : see detract.] One who detracts, or takes 
away or injures the good name of another; one 
who attempts to disparage or belittle the worth 
or honor of another. Sometimes written de- 
tractor. 
His [Milton's] detractors, however, though outvoted, 
have not been silenced. Macaulay, Miltoii. 
There was a chorus of praise from former detractor!. 
Literary Era, II. 152. 
=Syn. Slanderer, calumniator, detainer, vlliner. 
detractory (de-trak'to-ri), a. [< LL. detracto- 
ritts, disparaging, < L. detractor, a detractor: 
see detractor.] Depreciatory; calumnious; dis- 
paraging. 
This is ... detractory unto the intellect and sense of 
man. Sir T. Srovme, Vulg. Err., i. 6. 
The detractory lye takes from a great man the reputation 
that justly belongs to him. Arbuthnot. 
detractress (de-trak'tres), n. [< detractor + 
-ess.] A fern ale detractor; a censorious woman. 
[Bare.] 
If any shall detract from a lady's character unless she 
be absent, the said detractretit shall be forthwith ordered 
to the lowest place of the room. Addimn. 
detrain (de-trau'), ? [< de- priv. + train.] 
I. trans. To remove from or cause to leave a 
railway train : said especially of bodies of men : 
as. to detrain troops. [Of recent introduction.] 
II. intrans. To quit a railway train: as, the 
volunteers detrained quickly aud fell into line. 
The English are using a uew word. Soldiers going out 
of railway curs detrain. 
West Chester (Pa.) Republican, V. 142. 
detrayt, r. t. [ME. detrayen, < OF. detraire, de- 
trere, draw away, detract: see detract.] To 
draw away ; detract. 
but ouere I passe, pra> yng withe spyrit gladde 
Of this labour that no wilite me defray, 
Babeel Book (E. E. T. S.X p. 8. 
detrectt (de-trekf), r. [< L. detrectare, detrac- 
tare, refuse, decline, also take away, detract: 
see detract.] I. trans. To refuse ; decline. 
He [ Moses) detrerted his going into Egypt, upon pretence 
that he was not eloquent. 
Fothtrby, Atheomastix (1622), p. 194. 
H. in trans. To refuse. 
Do not detrect ; you know th' authority 
Is mine. /.'. Joruon, New Inn, ii. G. 
detrectationt (de-trek-ta'shon), n. [< L. de- 
tnrtalii>(ii-), < dttrcctarc, pp. detrectatus, re- 
fuse: see detrect.] The act of refusing ; a de- 
clining. Cocki'rani. 
detriment (det'ri-ment), . [< OF. detriment, 
F. detriment = Sp. Pg. It. detrimcnto, < L. de- 
trimeiitum, loss, damage, lit. a rubbing off, < de- 
tererc, pp. <l/ /riht.t. rub off, wear: see detritf."] 
1. Any kind of harm or injury, as loss, damage, 
hurt, injustice, deterioration, diminution, hin- 
drance, etc., considered with specific referrniT, 
i'\|nvsM-d or implied, both to its subject and to 
its cause: as, the cause of religion suffers great 
IB7H 
detriment from the faults of its professors; let 
the property suffer no detriment at your hands; 
the consuls must see that the republic receives 
no detriment; the detriment it has suffered is 
past remedy. 
Also, not to be passionate for small detriment* or of- 
fences, nor to be a reuenger of them. 
I'uttrnham, Arte of Eng. Poesle, p. 249. 
Being from the feeling of her own grief brought 
liy deep surmise of others' detriment. 
Shale., Lucrece, I. 1579. 
That barefoot Augustinian whose report 
O' the dying woman's words did detriment 
To my best points. 
Browning, Ring and Book, II. 320. 
2. That which causes harm or injury ; anything 
that is detrimental: as, his generosity is a 
great drtriiui-nt to his prosperity. 3. In Eng- 
land, a charge made upon barristers and stu- 
dents for repair of damages in the rooms they 
occupy ; a charge for wear and tear of table- 
linen, etc. 4. In astrol., the sign opposite the 
house of any planet : as, Mars in Libra is in 
his detriment; the detriment of the sun is Aqua- 
rius, because it is opposite to Leo. It is a sign 
of weakness, distress, etc. 5. In her. : (a) Same 
as decrement, (b) The state of being eclipsed 
that is, represented as partially obscured: 
said of the sun or moon used as a bearing. 
Syn. 1. Disadvantage, prejudice, hurt, evil. See injury 
andfcuu. 
detriment! (det'ri-ment), v. t. [< ML. detri- 
mentari, cause loss, "< L. detrimentum, harm, 
loss: see detriment, n.] To injure; do harm 
to; hurt. 
Others might be detrimented thereby. Fuller. 
detrimental (det-ri-men'tal), a. and . [< 
ML. *detrtienta/is,< L. detrimentum, harm : see 
detriment."] I, a. Injurious ; hurtful ; causing 
harm or damage. 
Luxuries are rather serviceable than detrimental to an 
opulent people. Goldsmith, Voltaire. 
Political economy teaches that restrictions upon com- 
merce are detrimental. H. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 501. 
Syn. Prejudicial, disadvantageous, mischievous, perni- 
cious. 
EC. n. See the extract. [Slang.] 
Perhaps, Mr. Speaker, you don't happen to know what 
a detrimental is. He is a person who pays great atten- 
tion to a young lady without any serious intentions, and 
thereby discourages the intentions of others. 
Auberon Herbert. 
detrimentally (det-ri-men'tal-i), adv. In a 
detrimental manner ; injuriously. 
That the impoverishment of any country, diminishing 
both its producing and consuming powers, tells detn. 
mentally on the people of countries trading with it, is a 
commonplace of political economy. 
//. Spencer, Data of Kthics, { 81. 
detrimentalness (det-ri-meu'tal-nes), . The 
quality of being detrimental. Bailey, 1727. 
[Rare.] 
detrital (de-tri'tal), a. [< detritus + -a?.] Con- 
sisting of fragments or particles broken or worn 
away. 
The detrital matter which is worn away from the land, 
and carried along by rivers, contains materials of every 
degree of coarseness. tluxley, Physiography, p. 132. 
Detrital rock, a rock made up of the debris of other 
rocks that is, of material derived from rocks previously 
consolidated, then broken up by atmospheric or other 
agencies, and more or less worn by friction or by the 
action of water. 
detrite (de-trif), a. [< L. detritus, pp. of de- 
terere, rub' down or away, < de, down, away, 
+ terere, rub : see trite. Ct. detriment.'] Worn 
away ; worn out. Clarke. 
detrited (de-tri'ted), a. [< detrite + -d2.] 1. 
Worn away ; reduced by detrition. 
A halfpenny detrited. N. and Q., 7th ser., IV. 194. 
2. Disintegrated ; of the nature of detritus. 
Long, symmetrical tables, two hundred feet long by 
eighty broad, covered with large angular rocks and boul- 
ders, and seemingly impregnated throughout with detrited 
matter. Kane, Sec. Orinn. Exp., II. 157. 
detrition (de-trish'qu), . [= F. detrition, < 
ML. detritio(n-), < L'. deterere, pp. detritus, nib 
off: see detrite, detritus.'] A wearing off; the 
act of wearing away. 
The brush of time is the gradual detrition of time. 
Steeveiu, Note on Shakspere's 2 Hen. VI. 
detritus (de-tri'tus), . [< L. detritus, a rub- 
bing away, < deterere, pp. detritus, rub away: 
see defritr.] 1. In gcol., loose, uncompacted 
fragments of rock, either water-worn or angu- 
lar. The term is esin-eially applicable to a material 
which would be a breccia if consolidated into a rock. 
See -ir.t'V/. jiini'l. and drift. 
2. More comprehensively, any broken or com- 
minuted material worn away from a mass by 
deturn 
attrition ; any aggregate of loosened fragments 
or particles. 
Here IT. Sehliemann encountered a great depth of sofl, 
partly due to the accumulation of detrittu from the rocky 
ground alwve. C. T. A'etfton, Art and Arclucol., p. 257. 
Mieh natural agents as wind and water, frost ami tire. 
are ever at work in destroying tile surface of the land and 
transporting the resulting detritus. 
Alhcncrum, No. 9067, p. 178. 
Words which have thus for ages preserved their exact 
form in the mass of detritus of which modern languages 
are composed. r'arrar, Language, XT. 
de trop (de tro). [P., too much, too many : de, 
of; trop = It. troppo, too much, < ML. troppug, 
tropus, a flock, troop: see troo]>.~] Literally, 
too much ; hence, in the way ; not wanted : ap- 
plied to a person whose presence is inconve- 
nient : as, he saw he was de trop, and therefore 
retired. 
detrude (de-trikl'), v . t. ; pret. and pp. detruded, 
ppr. detruding. [= It. detrudere, < L. detrudere, 
pp. detrunus, thrust down, < de, down, + tru- 
dere, thrust. Cf. extrude, intrude, protrude.'] 
To thrust down or out ; push down with force ; 
force into, or as if into, a lower place or sphere. 
Such as are detruded down to hell, 
Either, for shame, they still themselves retire, 
Or, tied In chains, they in close prison dwelt 
Sir J. Daviei, Immortal, of 8ouL 
Those philosophers who allow of transmigration . . . 
are of opinion that the souls of men may, for their mis- 
carriages, be detruded into the bodies of beast*. 
Locke, Human Understanding, ii. 27. 
It [envy] . . . leadshlm into the very condition of devils, 
to be detruded (from) Heaven for his meerly pride and 
malice. Feltham, Resolves, ii. 56. 
detruncate (de-trung'kat), v . t. ; pret. and pp. 
detruncated, ppr. detruncating. [< L. detrun- 
catus, pp. of detruncare, lop off, < de, off, + 
truncare, lop, shorten by cutting off, < truncus, 
cut short: see trunk, truncate.] To reduce or 
shorten by lopping or cutting off a part. 
detruncation (de-trung-ka'shon), n. [< L. de- 
truHcatin(n-), (. detruncare, lop off: see detrun- 
cate.] 1. The act of reducing or shortening; 
the cutting or lopping off of a part. 
It may sometimes happen, by hasty detruncation. that 
the general tendency of the sentence may be changed. 
Juhnmn, Diet., Pref. 
2. In obstet., separation of the trunk from the 
head of the fetus. Dunalison. 
detrusion (de-tro'zhon), . [< LL. detrusio(n-), 
< L. detrudere, pp. deirusus: see detrude.] The 
act of thrusting or driving down or away. 
From this drtrusion of the waters towards the side, the 
parts towards the pole must be much increased. 
K'-ill, Buruet's Theory of the Earth. 
Force Of detrusion, in mech., the strain to which a body, 
as a beam, Is subjected when it is compressed in a direc- 
tion perjiendlcular to the length of the fibers, the points 
of support being very near to and on opposite sides of the 
place at which the force is applied. 
detrusor (de-trfi'sor), n. ; pi. detrusores (de-trij- 
so'rez). [KL., < L. detrudere, pp. detrusus, ex- 
pel : see detrude.] In ana t. , a muscle that ejects 
or expels. 
dettet, n. A Middle English and early modern 
English form of debt. 
detumescencet (de-tu-mes'ens), n. [= F. de- 
tumescence, < L. detumescen( t-)s, ppr. of detu- 
mescere, cease swelling, settle down, < de, down, 
+ tumescere, inceptive of tumere, swell : see 
1 1/ miil.\ Diminution of swelling: opposed to 
intumescence. 
The wider the circulating wave grows, still hath it the 
more subsidence and detumecence. 
Cudurorth, Intellectual System, p. 581. 
detur (de'ter), n. [L., let it be given, 3d per*, 
sing. pros. subj. pass, of dare, give; so called 
from the first won! of the Latin inscription ac- 
companying the gift : see dnte 1 .] A prize of 
books given annually to a certain number of 
meritorious students at Harvard College. 
At one o'clock all those who were fortunate enough to 
obtain detun went to the President (of Harvard College] 
to receive them. .Ionia h Quincy, Figures of the Past, p. 50. 
deturbt (de-terb'), . t. [< L. deturbare, drive, 
thrust, or 'cast down, < de, down, + turbare, 
throw into disorder, < turba, disorder, a crowd, 
troop : see turbid. Cf. di'sturft.] To throw into 
confusion ; throw down with violence. 
As soon may the walls of heaven be scaled and thy throne 
deturbed as he can be foiled that is defenced with thy 
power. Bp. Hall, Invisible World. 
deturnt (de-tern'), r. t. [< F. detoumer, < OF. 
ilixtintnifr, detttorner, turn away, < des-, away, 
+ tourner, turn. Cf. detour au'd dwtwrn.] To 
turn away or aside ; divert. 
His niajestiegrantit his express license . . . toalterand 
'/.'.'/-/< a litill the said way, to the mair commodious & 
better travelling for the lieges. 
Actl Jot. VI., 1607 (ed. 1816X p. 388. 
