differentiation 
The logical distinctions represent real differentiations, 
but not distinct existents. 
G. H. Lewes, Probs. of Life and Mind, II. 451. 
4. In math., the operation of finding the differ- 
ential or differential coefficient of any function. 
Direct differentiation, differentiation by an elemen- 
tary procedure. Explicit differentiation, the differ- 
entiation of an explicit function of the independent vari- 
able. Implicit differentiation, the opposite of explicit 
differentiation. Partial differentiation, finding a par- 
tial differential. Total differentiation, finding a total 
differential. 
differentiator (dif-e-ren'shi-a-tor), n. One who 
or that which differentiates : as, the radicals of 
written Chinese serve as differentiators of the 
sense, while the phonetics play the same part 
as regards sound. 
differentio-differentialt, a. Relating to dif- 
ferentials of differentials. 
differently (dif'e-rent-li), adv. In a different 
manner; variously'.' 
The questions have been settled differently in every 
church, who should be admitted to the feast, and how 
often it should be prepared. Emerson, The Lord's Supper. 
differentness (dif'e-rent-nes), n. The state of 
being different. Bailey, 1727. 
differing (dif'e-ring), p. a. [Ppr. of differ, >.] 
1. Unlike; dissimilar; different. 
As in Spain, so in all other Wine Countries, one cannot 
pass a Day's Journey but he will find a differing Kace of 
Wine. HoweU, Letters, ii. 54. 
Wise nature by variety does please ; 
Clothe differing passions in a differing dress. 
Dryden, Art of Poetry, iii. 559. 
2. Quarreling; contending; conflicting. 
His differing Jury. Chapman, Iliad, ix. 643. 
O daughter of the rose, whose cheeks unite 
The differing titles of the red and white. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., Ded., 1. 152. 
differingly (dif'e-ring-li), adv. In a differing 
or different manner. 
Such protuberant and concave parts of a surface may 
remit the light so differingly as to vary a colour. Boyle. 
difficilet (di-fis'il), a. [< F. difficile = Pr. diffieil 
= Sp. dificil = Pg. diffieil = It. difficile, < L. diffi- 
cilis, in older form difficul, hard to do, difficult, 
< dis- priv. + facilis, easy : see facile. Cf. diffi- 
cult.] 1. Difficult; hard; arduous; perplexing. 
Mounte of Quarentena, where our Lorde fasted .xl. dayes 
and .xl. nyghte : it is an hyghe hyll and diffycyll to ascende. 
Sir It. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 52. 
Latin was no more difficile 
Than to a blackbird 'tis to whistle. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, I. i. 63. 
2. Reluctant; scrupulous. 
The cardinal finding the pope difficile in granting the 
dispensation. Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII. 
difficilenesst (di-fis'il-nes), n. Difficulty; im- 
practicability ; specifically, difficulty to be per- 
suaded; incompliance. 
The lighter sort of malignity turneth but to a crossness, 
or f rowardness, or aptness to oppose, or difficileness, or the 
like. Bacon, Goodness. 
difficilitatet, v. t. [< L. as if *difficilita(t-)s for 
difficulta(t-)s, difficulty. Cf. difficultate.] To 
render difficult. 
The inordinateness of our love difficilitateth this duty 
[charity]. W. Montague, Devoute Essays, I. xv. 4. 
difficult (dif 'i-kult), a. [Developed from diffi- 
culty, q. v. ; the proper adj. (after L.) is difficile, 
q. v.J Not easy ; requiring or dependent on 
effort ; hard ; troublesome ; arduous. Specifically 
(a) Hard as to doing or effecting; wanting facility of 
accomplishment : with an infinitive : as, it is difficult to 
convince him ; a thing that is difficult to do or to find. 
Satire is ... more difficult to be understood by those 
that are not of the same age with it than any other kind 
of poetry. Addition, Ancient Medals, ii. 
(i>) Hard to do, perform, or overcome ; attended with 
labor, pains, or opposition ; laborious : as, a difficult un- 
dertaking. 
There is as much Honour to be won at a handsome Re- 
treat as at a hot Onset, it being the difficultest Piece of 
War. HoweU, Letters, ii. 4. 
Eloquence is not banished from the public business of 
this country as useless, but as difficult, and as not spon- 
taneously arising from topics such as generally furnish the 
staple of debate. De Quincey, Rhetoric. 
The difficult mountain-passes, where, from his rocky 
eyrie, the eagle-eyed Tyrolese peasant had watched his 
foe. Longfellow, Hyperion, iv. 2. 
(c) Hard to please or satisfy ; not compliant ; unaccommo- 
dating ; rigid ; austere : as, a person of difficult temper. 
Nothing will please the difficult and nice, 
Or nothing more than still to contradict. 
Milton, P. R., iv. 157. 
Well, if he refuses, . . . I'll only break my glass for its 
flattery, . . , and look out for some less difficult admirer. 
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, i. 1. 
Olives and cypresses, pergolas and vines, terraces on 
the roofs of houses, soft iridescent mountains, a warm yel- 
low light what more could the difficult tourist want? 
II. Jamet, Jr., Little Tour, p. 142. 
1610 
(d) Hard to persuade or induce ; stubborn in yielding ; 
obstinate as to opinion : as, he was difficult to convince. 
This offer pleasing both Armies, Edmund was not diffi- 
cult to consent. Milton, Hist. Eng., vi. 
His Majesty further said that he was so extreamly diffi- 
cult of miracles for feare of being impos'd upon. 
Evelyn, Diary, Sept. 16, 1685. 
(e) Hard to understand or solve ; perplexing ; puzzling : 
as, a difficult passage in an author ; a difficult question or 
problem. =Syn. Dificult, Hard, Arduous (see arduous), 
laborious, toilsome'; obscure, knotty. 
difficult (dif'i-kult), v. t. [< F. difficulter, make 
difficult, < difficulte, difficulty: see difficulty. In 
E. as if < difficult, a.] If. To make difficult; 
impede. 
Their pretensions . . . had difficulted the peace. 
Sir W. Temple, Works, II. 484 (Ord MS.). 
2. To perplex; embarrass. [Local, U. S.] 
There Is no break in the chain of vital operation ; and 
consequently we are not difficulted at all on the score of 
the relation which the new plant bears to the old. 
George Bush, The Resurrection, p. 51. 
difficultatet (dif'i-kul-tat), v. t. [< difficult + 
To render difficult. 
Difficulter. To difficultate, or difHcilitate ; to make dif- 
ficult or uneasie. ' Cotgrave. 
difficultly (dif'i-kult-li), adv. With difficulty: 
as, gutta-percha is difficultly soluble in chloro- 
form. [Rare.] 
He himself had been only guilty, and the other had been 
very difficultly prevailed on to do what he did. Fielding. 
difficulty (dif 'i-kul-ti), n. ; pi. difficulties (-tiz). 
[< ME. difficultee, < OF. difficulte, F. difficulte = 
Pr. difficultat = Sp. dificultad = Pg. difficuldadc 
= It. difficult^, < L. difficulta(t-)s, < diffieul, older 
form of difficilis, hard to do, difficult : see diffi- 
cile and difficult.] 1. Want of easiness or fa- 
cility; hindrance to the doing of something; 
hardness to be accomplished or overcome ; the 
character or condition of an undertaking which 
renders its performance laborious or perplex- 
ing: opposed to facility: as, a work of labor 
and difficulty. 
The next morning two peasants, subjects of Oingiro, 
shewed them the ford, where their beasts passed over with 
great difficult!/ and danger, but without loss. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, II. 319. 
2. That which is hard to accomplish or to sur- 
mount: as, to mistake difficulties for impossi- 
bilities. 
The wise and prudent conquer difficulties by daring to 
attempt them. Rowe. 
3. Perplexity ; complication or embarrassment 
of affairs, especially of pecuniary affairs; trou- 
ble ; dilemma ; whatever renders action or pro- 
gress laborious or painful : as, a gentleman in 
difficulties. 
Why do I make a difficulty in speaking of my worthy 
ancestor's failings ? Steele, Spectator, No. 544. 
More than once, in days of difficult}/ 
And pressure, had she sold her wares for less 
Than what she gave. Tennyson, Enoch Arden. 
4. Objection; cavil; obstruction to belief or 
consent. 
If the Sorcerers or Inchanters by their lots or diuina- 
tions affirmed that any sicke bodie should die, the sicke 
man makes no difficultie to kill his owne sonne, though 
he had no other. Purchan, Pilgrimage, p. 883. 
Men should consider that raising difficulties concerning 
the mysteries in religion cannot make them more wise, 
learned, or virtuous. Swift. 
It seems, then, that difficulties in revelation are espe- 
cially given to prove the reality of our faith. 
J. H. Neurman, Parochial Sermons, i. 211. 
5. An embroilment; a serious complication 
of feeling or opinion ; a falling out; a variance 
or quarrel. 
Measures lor terminating all ... difficulties. Bancroft. 
= Syn. 1. Laboriousness, troublesomeness, arduousness. 
2. Obstruction, Impediment, etc. (see obstacle), hindrance. 
3. Distress, exigency, trial, emergency, pinch. 
diffidet (di-fid'), v. i. [= It. diffidare, < L. diffi- 
dere, distrust, < dis- priv. + fidere, trust, < 
fides, faith: see faith, fidelity. See also defy, 
diffident, and of. affy, confide.] To have or feel 
distrust ; have no confidence. 
Mr. Pinch. No, Sir, I'll ne'er trust you any way. 
Horn. But why not, dear Jack? why diffide in me thou 
know'st so well? Wycherley, Country Wife, iv. 1. 
The man diffides in his own augury, 
And doubts the gods. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., i. 533. 
diffidence (dif'i-dens), n. [= Sp. difidencia = 
Pg. diffidencia = 'It. diffidenza, diffidenzia, < L. 
diffidentia, want of confidence, < diffiden(t-)s, 
ppr. of diffidere, distrust: see diffident. See 
also defiance.] 1. Distrust; want of confidence 
in regard to anything; doubt of the ability or 
disposition of others. [Now rare or obsolete 
in this application, originally the prevailing 
one.] 
diffluency 
Hee had brought the Parlament into so just a diffidence 
of him, as that they durst not leave the Public Anues to 
his disposal, much less ati Army to his conduct. 
Milton, Eikonoklastcs, xii. 
To Israel, diffidence of God, and doubt 
In feeble hearts. Milton, S. A., 1. 454. 
2. More especially, distrust of one's self; want 
of confidence in one's own ability, worth, or 
fitness; retiring disposition; modest reserve; 
shyness. 
Be silent always, when you doubt your sense ; 
And speak, though sure, witli seeming diffidence. 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 567. 
She lifts. . . [her eyes] by degrees, with enchanting diffi- 
dence. Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 2. 
An Englishman's habitual diffidence and awkwardness 
of address. Irving. 
By learning conspicuous before the world, his [John 
Pickering's] native diffidence withdrew him from its per- 
sonal observation. Sumner, Orations, I. 138. 
= Syn. 2. Modesty, Shyness, etc. (see baslifulness), fear, 
timidity, hesitation, apprehension. 
diffident (dif 'i-dent), a. [= Sp. difidente = Pg. 
It. diffidente, < L". diffiden(t-)s, ppr. of diffidere, 
distrust: see diffide. See also defiant.'] 1. Dis- 
trustful; wanting confidence in another's power, 
will, or sincerity. [Now rare or obsolete.] 
Piety so diffident as to require a sign. Jer. Taylor. 
Be not diffident 
Of wisdom ; she deserts thee not, if thou 
Dismiss not her. . Milton, P. L., viii. 562. 
2. Distrustful of one's self; not confident; re- 
served ; timid ; shy : as, a diffident youth. 
Distress makes the humble heart diffident. 
RicJiardson, Clarissa Harlowe. 
The limited nature of my education, ... so far from 
rendering me diffident of my own ability to comprehend 
what I had read, . . . merely served as a farther stimulus 
to imagination. Foe, Tales, I. 7. 
Although Ximenes showed no craving for power, it must 
be confessed he was by no means diffident in the use of it. 
Prescott, Ferd. and Isa,, ii. 6. 
The diffident accost each other with a certain coy respect- 
fulness, having its rise in self-reverence, a regard for per- 
sons and principles. Alcott, Table-Talk, p. 83. 
= Syn. 2. Bashful, shamefaced, sheepish. 
diffidently (dif 'i-dent-li), adv. With distrust ; 
in a shy or hesitating manner ; modestly. 
In man humility's alone sublime, 
Who diffidently hopes he's Christ's own care. 
Smart, Hymn to the Supreme Being. 
diffidentness (dif 'i-dent-nes), n. Distrust ; sus- 
piciousness. Bailey,\T21. [Rare or obsolete.] 
diffindt (di-find' ), v. t. [< L. diffindere, pp. diffis- 
sus, cleave asunder, < dis-, asunder, + findere, 
cleave, split, = E. bite, q. v.] To cleave in two. 
Bailey, 1727. 
diffinet, v . A Middle English variant of define. 
To diffyne 
Al here sentence. 
Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, 1. 529. 
diffinisht, '. t. 
finish. 
diffinitiont, n. 
diffinitivet, a. 
A Middle English variant of de- 
A former variant of definition. 
A former variant of definitive. 
The tribunal where we speak being not diffinitive (which 
is no small advantage), I now promised to ease his memory 
myself with an abstract of what I had said. 
Sir //. Wotton, Reliquiae, p. 537. 
diffissipnt (di-fish'on), n. [< L. diffissio^i-), 
breaking off a matter till the following day, 
deferring it, lit. a cleaving in two, < tUffiutlere, 
pp. diffissus, cleave in two: see diffind.] The 
act of cleaving asunder. Bailey, 1727. 
diffixedt (di-fiksf), a. [< ML. as if "diffixus, < 
L. dis-, apart, + fi lus, pp. of figere, fix : see fix.] 
Loosened ; unfastened. Bailey, 1727. 
difflatet (di-flaf), t'. * [< L. difflatus, pp. of dif- 
Jlarc, blow apart, < dis-, apart, away, + flare 
= E. blow 1 .] To blow away ; scatter. E. D. 
difflationt (di-fla'shon), n. [< L. as if *diffla- 
tio(n-), < diffiare: see difflate.] A blowing in 
different directions ; a scattering by a puff of 
wind. Bailey, 1727. 
diffluan (dif 'lo-an), n. [< L. diffluere, flow away, 
< di~, dis-, apart, + fiuere, flow: seefineiit.] A 
chemical compound obtained by the action of 
heat on alloxanic acid. It is not crystallizable, 
is very soluble in water, and possesses no acid 
properties. Also spelled dijliian. 
diffiuence (dif '16-ens), . [= F. diffluence = Pg. 
diffluencia; as diffluen(t) + -ce.] If. The qual- 
ity of flowing away on all sides, as a fluid ; 
fluidity: opposed to consistence. Alsodiffluciici/. 
2. In 2007., specifically, the peculiar mode 
of disintegration or dissolution of infusorians; 
the "molecular effusion" of Dujardin. 
diffluencyt (dif lo-en-si), n. [< diffluen(t) + -cy.] 
Same as diffluenri', 1. 
Ice is water congealed by the frigidity of the air ; where- 
by it acquireth no new form, but rather a consistence or 
determination of its dijflveney. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 1. 
