dick 
dick 2 OHIO, n. [Perhaps < D. drk, a cover, a 
horse-cloth (cf. di'krn, 11 coverlet, blanket, 
qililtl. Ille same Ms ilik, ;i deck: 866 (U'l'lc, n., 
.!' \vliirli il'n-k is thus appar. a viir. form. The 
E. form may bo due in part to association with 
the proper name Dick. Hence dim. ilickii-. <\. 
v. ] 1. A leathern apron. 2. A bib. Malli- 
iccll. [I'rov. Eng. in both senses.] 
dick-dunnock (dik'dun"ok), . [< dick (see 
iln-ki/-binl) + diinnock.] A local British name 
of tile badge-sparrow, .i<-ccHtr iiiniiiiiiirix. Mae- 
ottUvray. 
dickens (dik'enz), n. [Prob. ult. connected 
with LG. (Inks, diiker, d<-nk<-r, ili-il.ir, the deuce; 
all prob. fanciful variations of deuce, LG. dus 
(see dcitcel), the E. dickens simulating Dickon, 
Diccon, an old dim. nickname for Richard (see 
dicky 1 ), whence the surnames Dickens, IHi-hm- 
son, Diccon.iiiii, l>ifl:< /. DfeMiuon. eto.1 The 
doiice : used interjectionally, with the definite 
article (formerly sometimes with the indefi- 
nite). 
Ford. Where had you this pretty weathercock ? 
Mrs. l\ifie. I cannot tell what the dickens his namo is 
my husband had him of. Shale., M. \V. of W., iii. 2. 
What o dickins does he mean by a trivial Sum ? 
Conyreve, Old Batchelor, ii. 1. 
To play the dickens. Same as to play the deuce (which 
see, llmler </i'/vl ). 
It is not a safe matter to undertake to disperse these 
robust monkeys who play the. rfiVAvjix with tile telegraph 
lines. Kleetric Rev. (Amer.), XII. C. 
dicker 1 (dik'er), n. [= Sc. daker, dakir, daiker, a 
quantity of ten (hides, etc.),< ME. dykcr = Icel. 
dekr = Sw. decker = Dan. deger = LG. deker 
= G. decker, ten (hides, etc.) (ML. decore, de- 
cara, dicora, dacra, dacrnm, OF. dakere, dacre, 
after the Teut. forms), < L. decuria, a division 
consisting of ten, < deccm = E. ten : see decury 
and ten.] The number or quantity ten ; par- 
ticularly, ten hides or skins, forming the twen- 
tieth part of a last of hides. [Obsolete or 
provincial.] 
Also that no maner foreyn sille no lether in the seid 
cite, but It be in the yelde halle of the same, payinge for 
the custom of eucry dykrr, j. A. 
English OUdi (E. E. T. S.), p. 384. 
dicker 2 (dik'er), v. [Prob. < dicker^, with ref- 
erence to the frontier trade in hides, skins, 
etc.] I. intrant. To trade by petty bargaining 
and barter; haggle. 
The white men who penetrated to the semi-wilds [of the 
West] were always ready to dicker and to swap. 
Cooper, Oak Openings. 
After years of dickering, highly discreditable to a great 
State, Tennessee and her creditors agreed on sixty cents 
as the figure at which the State's obligations should be 
settled. If. A. Rev., CXXXIX. 136. 
II. trans. To barter; trade off; swap. [Rare.] 
ru. s.] 
dicker 2 (dik'er), . [< dicker?, <.] Trading 
on a small scale by bargain and barter ; a trans- 
action so conducted. [U. S.] 
Selfish thrift and party held the scales 
For peddling dicker, not for honest sales. 
Whittier, The Panorama. 
dickey, n. See dicky 1 *. 
dickinsonite (dik'in-sqn-it), n. [After the 
Bev. William Dickinson.] A phosphate of man- 
ganese, calcium, and sodium, occurring in crys- 
tals and crystalline aggregates of a green color 
and micaceous structure at Branchville, Con- 
necticut. 
Dicksonia (dik-so'ni-a), n. [NL., after James 
Dirkson, a British botanist (died 1822). The 
surname Diekson, otherwise spelled Dixon, is 
equiv. to Dick's son, Dick being a familiar form 
of Ilicliard, and used both as a Christian name 
and as a surname. Cf. dicky 1 .] A genus of 
ferns having large, much-divided fronds, and 
small sori placed close to the margin of the 
frond at the apex of a vein. The sorus consists of 
an elevated globular receptacle bearing the sporangia, 
and inclosed by the cup-shaped indusiiim. The latter is 
open at the top, and partly adherent at the outer side to 
a retlexed toothlet of the frond. The number of species 
known is over 40, and about half of them are tree-ferns. 
An Australian species, Dicksonia antarctica, is one of the 
most ornamental tree-ferns in cultivation. Most of the 
spivir* arc eniiiimxl to tropical America and Polynesia; 
but a few occur in the southern part& of the north tem- 
perate z<me, ami on<>. It. iu'f>^in.fcula, is common in eastern 
North America, and extends as far north as Canada. 
Dicksoniites (dik-so-ni-i'tez), . [XL.. < Dick- 
nnniti + -iti'n.] The name of a genus of fossil 
ferns proposed by Sterzel, including species pre- 
viously referred by authors to I'tro/iti'i-ix, Ale- 
tlio/tti'i-ifi, and other genera, from which this ge- 
nus has been separated in accordance with cer- 
tain marked peculiarities in its fructification. 
101 
1601 
It occurs in tho Lower Carboniferous in various 
localities in Europe. 
dicky 1 (dik'i), M.; pi. dickien (-iz). [E. dial., 
also called dfob-Mf / a familiar use of the proper 
name /*/.-, dim. Dicky; cf. jack, jiti-k-asg, of 
similar origin. The name Dick, otherwise Hick, 
is a familiar form of Ilicliurd, a favorite name 
in England since the time of Richard Coeiir de 
Lion. The name is P., of OHG. origin : OHG. 
rililii, rinlii, powerful, rich ; lutrti, in comp. -hart, 
strong, brave : see rich and hard. Cf. dickens.] 
An ass ; a donkey. 
Time to begin the dicky races, 
More famed for laughter than for speed. 
Bloomfield, Richard and Kate. 
dicky 2 , dickey (dik'i), n. ; pi. dickies, dickeys 
(-iz). [Of dial, origin ; dim. of dick*, q. v.] 1. 
A leathern apron. 2. A child's bib. 3. A 
shirt-front; a separate front worn over the 
breast in place of a shirt, or to hide a shirt not 
fit to be seen. Separate shirt-fronU of this kind, &Lso 
called /ate- bosom* and nhanu, were worn over plain shirts 
for many years in the first half of the nineteenth century. 
4. A kind of high standing shirt-collar formerly 
worn. [New Eng.] 
My soul swells till it almost tears the shirt off my buz- 
/iiin. and even fractures my dickey. 
J. C. Heal, Charcoal Sketches, iii. 34. 
5. The seat in a carriage on which the driver 
sits, whether in front or not; a seat behind the 
body of a carriage for servants, etc. 
Three people were squeezed into it besides the driver, 
who sat, of course, in his own particular little dickey at 
Dicranum 
dicondylian (di-knn-dil'i-an), a. [< Gr. 
1*1 >>;, double-knuckled, <<fi-, double-, + nav. 
knuckle: see condyle.] Having two occipital 
condvles, as the skull of a mammal or an am- 
phibian: opposed to m 
the side. 
Dickens, Pickwick, xlvi. 
dicky-bird (dik'i-berd), n. [Also dickey-bird; 
< dicky, dim., applied familiarly to animals (see 
dickyf), + bird\] A little bird. 
'Twas, I know, in the spring-time when Nature looks gay, 
As the poet observes, and on tree-top and spray 
The dear little dickey-birds carol away. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 329. 
Gladly would I throw up history to think of nothing but 
dickey-bints, but it must not be yet. Kinggley, Life, II. 41. 
diclesium (di-kle'si-um), n.; pi. diclesia (-a). 
[NL.,<Gr. 6i-, two-, + khyaif, a shutting up, clos- 
ing, < K/U/e/v, close: see close!.] in hot., a dry 
fruit consisting of an achenium inclosed with- 
as in the four-o'clock, Mirabilis Jalapa. 
diclinic, diclinate (di-klin'ik, di'kli-nat), a. 
[< Gr. at-, two-, + i&iveiv, incline (see' clinic, 
incline), + -ic, -ate 1 .] In crystal., having two 
of the intersections of the axes oblique : applied 
to a system so characterized. No crystals In na- 
ture are known which belong to this system, and it is in 
fact -inly a variety of the triclinic system, possessing no 
higher degree of symmetry. Also diclinous. 
diclinism (di'kli-nism), n. [< diclin-ous + -ism.] 
In hot., the state of being diclinous. 
Dicliniiin may appear everywhere and is actually ob- 
served in many species, in which sexual cells are endowed 
with free motion, whether active or passive. 
De Banj, Fungi (trans.), p. 231. 
diclinous 1 (dl'kli-nus), a. [As diclin-ic + -ous.] 
In crystal., same as diclinic. 
diclinous 2 (di'kli-nus), o. [< Gr. Si-, two-, + 
Mm/, a bed, < iduvetv, recline. Cf. diclinic.'] 
In hot., having only stamens or pistils : applied 
to unisexual flowers. 
They ! ancninphilous plants] are often diclinous: that is, 
they are either momecious with their sexes separated on 
the same plant, or dioecious with their sexes on distinct 
plants. Darwin, Cross and Self Fertilisation, p. 408. 
dicoccous (di-kok'us), a. [< Gr. it-, two-, 4- 
Kotmof, a berry: see coccus.] In hot., formed of 
two cocci : applied to fruits having two separa- 
ble lobes. 
dicoelous (di-se'lus), a. [< Gr. 61-, two-, + <coi- 
/.of, hollow.] Inanat. : (a) Cupped or hollowed 
at both ends, as a vertebra ; amphiccolous. R. 
Owen, (b) Having two cavities, in general ; bi- 
locular. 
dicola, n. Plural of dicolon. 
dicolic (di-ko'lik), a. [As dicolon + -ic.] 1. In 
pros., consisting of two cola or members : as, a 
ilicnlic line, verse, or period. In Greek and Roman 
lK'try dicolic periods preponderate. The most frequent 
kinds <>f verse, the dactylic hexameter and the anapestic 
and trochaic tetrameters (but not the iambic trimeter, 
which is monocolic), are examples. See colon*. 
The first two lines of each stanza resemble the two cola 
of a (ireck (//(<(/(* line, or two musical phrases making up 
a longer strain. Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XVL 85. 
2. In rlirt., consisting of two clauses or groups 
of clauses: as. a ilicnlic period. 
dicolon (d!-ko'lon), M. : pi. dicola (-la). [NL., < 
<!r. MKU).OI-, having two members, < ''(-, two-, + 
nu).ov, member.] In i>ros., a verse or period 
consisting of two cola, or members. See dicolic. 
Hi" Amphibia arc the only air-breathing Vertehrata 
which, like mammal*, have a dicondylian skull. 
,/,-. Hril.,XV. 370. 
Dicoryne (dl-kor'i-ne), . [NL. (Allman, 1859), 
< Gr. *-, two-, + Kopivr/, a club, a club-like bud 
or shoot.] A genus of gymnoblastic hydro- 
zoans or tubularian hydroids, giving name to 
a family Dicorynidai. D. conj'erta is an ex- 
ample. 
Dicorynidae (di-ko-rin'i-de), . pi. [NL., < Di- 
coryne + -ida;. ] A family of Hydropolypinte, the 
generative /.odiiis of which are free-swimming 
polyps with two tentacles and without a mouth, 
carrying two ova each. These zodlds hud only on 
polypostyles, and never on the alimentary zooids which 
have one verticil of filiform tentacles. 
dicotyledon (di-kot-i-le'don), n. ; pi. dicotyle- 
dons (-donz) or dicotyledones (-do-nez). [< Gr. 
61-, two-, + KOTvhjSuv, a cavity: see cotyledon.] 
A plant which produces an embryo having two 
cotyledons. Dicotyledons form a natural class of the 
phtenogamoiis series of plants, characterized by the two op- 
posite cotyledons, an rxn-mm is mode of growth, and a net- 
ted venation of the leaves, and by seldom having a trime- 
rous arrangement of the parts of the flower. From the 
structure of the stem, Increasing by external growth, they 
are also known as exogenn. The gymnosnerms, in which the 
embryo has several cotyledon* in a whorl, are usually in- 
cluded as a subclass, but by some recent botanist* they 
are ranked a* a distinct class. According to the more 
usual arrangement, the angiospermous dicotyledons are 
divided by the characters of the perianth into I'olyiietalct, 
Gamoitetali*, and Ajtetnlce or Monocldamydeix. These are 
subdivided into 164 orders. Several modifications of this 
system have been adopted, especially by continental Eu- 
ropean botanists, the most imi>ortant of which is the dis- 
tribution of the apetalous orders among the two other di- 
visions. The total number of species of dicotyledonous 
plants now known is about 80,000, Included under about 
6,000 genera. See exogen. 
dicotyledonous (di-kot-i-le'don-us), a. [As di- 
cotyledon + -ous.] In bot., "having two coty- 
ledons: as, a dicotyledonous embryo, seed, or 
plant. 
Dicotyles (di-kot'i-lez), n. [NL., so named 
by Cuvier in allusion to tho curious glandular 
organ on the back, which was regarded by old 
travelers as a second navel; < Gr. nWrr/'oc, 
having two hollows, < it-, two-, + HOTI'MI, a hol- 
low, hollow vessel, cup, cymbal, etc. : see coty- 
le. Sometimes ignorantly written Dyeotylcs 
(intended for "Dyscotyles), and said to be < Gr. 
<!t>o--, ill, bad, in allusion to the bad smell of the 
gland.] The typical genus of the family Dico- 
tylidce, or peccaries. D. toniuatim, the leading species, 
is the collared peccary of Texas. The white-lipped pec- 
cary is D. labiatit*, sometimes referred to a different genus, 
Xtttnphimix. See peccant. 
Dicotylida (di-ko-til'i-de), n. pi [NL., < Di- 
cotyles + -idir.] ' A family of swine having a 
peculiar odoriferous dorsal gland, whence the 
name (see Dicotyles). It is the only family of dico- 
tyliform swine, is confined to America, and consists of 
the peccaries. See peccary. 
dicotyliform (di-ko-til'i-form), a. Pertaining 
to the Dicotyliformia; having the characters of 
a peccary. 
Dicotyliformia (di-ko-til-i-f&r'mi-S), n.nl. 
[NL., < Dicotyles + ~L. forma, shape'.] The 
Dicotylidie, or peccaries alone, as a superfamily 
group of swine, contrasted with the other swine 
collectively, the distinction resting chiefly 
upon detailed cranial characters. The canines 
are acute and trenchant, simply declined, not twisted 
outward, as ill the males of ordinary swine, and the coo- 
dyles of the lower jaw are simply transverse. 
Dicranobranchia (di-kra-no-brang'ki-S), . pi. 
[NL., < Gr. 6'mitavof, two-headed (see Dicranum), 
f fipayx" 1 , gills.] A suborder of rhipidoglos- 
sate gastropods. The gills are in two symmetrical 
dorsal plumes (whence the name); the tKxly and shell are 
not spiral ; the foot is slightly bearded ; the eyes are sub- 
sessile; and the median teeth of the odontnphore are of 
two kinds, the inner being small and ximilar. anil the outer 
large and dissimilar. The group w-as named by J. E. Gray 
for the family Fi&nirellido?, or keyhole-limpets. 
Dicranoceros (di-kra-nos'e-ros), n. [NL., < Gr. 
iucpavof, two-headed, + nt'pw;, horn.] Same as 
Antilnciipra. Hamilton Smith, 1827. 
dicranoid (di-kra'uoid), a. [(Dicrannm + -oid.] 
Resembling plants of the genus Dicranum ; bi- 
fid, as in Dieranum : said of the teeth of the 
peristome of mosses. 
dicranterian (di-kran-te'ri-an). n. Same as 
iliiii-i'in/ti rian. 
Dicranum (di-kra'num). H. f XL..< Gr. (iocpnvor, 
two-beaded, < *-. two-, + Kpaviov, , the skull.] A 
large genus of mosses, comprising many spe- 
cies. The plants are large, and have spreading or secund 
