dilatancy 
If evidence "f ililalnin'ii were to l>e obtained from tan- 
gible matter, it was to In' sought on the most common- 
place and what had hitherto been the least interesting, 
form,' that of hard, separate grains corn, sand, shot, &c. 
0. Reynolds, Nature, XXXIII. 480. 
dilatant (<ii- or di-la'tant), a. and n. [= F. 
diliitant, < L. (lilatan(t-)s, ppr. of dilatare, di- 
late: see dilate, i:~\ I. a. Dilating; relating 
to dilataney, or to a substance possessing this 
property. 
The most striking evidence of dilatancy is obtained 
from the fact that, since dilatant material cannot change 
its shape without increasing in volume, by preventing 
change of volume all change of shape is prevented. 
0. Reynolds, Nature, XXXIII. 430. 
1618 
dilettante 
My heart dilated with unutterable happiness. dilectiont (di-lek'shon), . [= F. Pr. dUfftitm 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xxii. _ s^, <tjiccri<ni = I'g. dilccg&o = It. dilczionc, < 
His nostrils visibly dilate with pride. LL. dilectMn-), < L. diligerc, pp. dilectua, love 
Lathrop, Spanish Vi tas, p. 140. - 
2. To speak at length ; dwell on particulars ; 
enlarge ; expatiate ; descant : used absolutely 
or with upon or on. 
I purpose to speak actively without digressing or dilat- 
ing. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, n. 106. 
I leave it among the divines to dilate upon the danger 
of schism as a spiritual evil. 
Swift, Sentiments of a Ch. of Eng. Man, i. 
dilatet (di- or dl-lat' ), a. [< L. dilatus, pp. : see 
dilate, r.] Broad; extended. 
Whom they, out of their bounty, have instructed 
With so dilate and absolute a power. 
B. Jonson, Sejanus, i. 2. 
II. .' I- A substance having the property of 
dilatancy. 2. In. turn., an instrument used to 
dilate, as a tent, a bougie, a sound, etc. Hilntpfl fdi- or di-la'ted) 
dilatate (di- or di-la'tat), . [= Sp. Pg. dila- *. ^LdpT* 
tado = It. dilatato, < L. dilatatus, pp. of d^la- 
tare, dilate: see dilate, p.] Dilated; broaden- 
ed or widened out : specifically said, in zoology, 
of an organ or a part which is disproportionate- 
ly broad along a portion of its length. 
dilatation (dil-a- or di-la-ta'shon), n. [< ME. JJartsT Dilated Tstrlze or 'punctures, in entom., those 
dilatacioim, < OF. (and F.) dilatation = Pr. di- stria? or punctures which are broader than usual, and dis 
Utacio = Sp. dilatation = Pg. dilatac.8o = It. di- 
latazione, < LL. dilatatio(n-), an extension, < L. 
much, value highly : see~diligent. Cf. predilec- 
tion.] A loving; preference; choice. 
The privilege of his dileccioun 
In you confirmed God upon a tree 
Hanging. Chaucer, Mother of God, I. 122. 
So free is Christ's dilection, that the grand condition of 
our felicity is our belief. Boyle, Seraphic Love. 
dilemma (di- or dl-lem'ii), n. [= F. dilemme = 
Sp. dilcma = Pg. It. dilemma = D. G. Dan. Sw. 
dilemma, < LL. dilemma, < Gr. fify/i/ia, a conclu- 
sion from two premises, < Si- + fa'/upa, a propo- 
sition, assumption: see lemma. Not "an ar- 
gument in which the adversary is ' caught be- 
son, be ms, ,. j^, (&o ^ / j d|(mB) two difficulties," nor de- 
[Pp- of dilate, v.] rived from <jjAa/i/Mw<j0ai, be caught between.] 
Expanded; extended; enlarged. Specifically (a) j A form of argument in which it is shown that 
Vnusually widened, or wider than the re of the part or who ever maintains a certain proposition must 
open'asl 1 pa.tof Basse's o? tt^ikT-D^Tan- accept one or other of two alternative conclu- 
tennse, in entom., antenna! unusually widened in any sions, and that each of these involves the de- 
uated margin; in entom. , a margin spread out 
aterally more than usual, or beyond the surrounding 
tinctly rounded within. Dilated tarsi, in entom., those 
tarsi in which two or more joints are broad, somewhat 
heart-shaped, and spongiose or densely hairy beneath, as 
'n Coleoptera. Also called enlarged tarsi. 
dilatare, pp. dilatus, expand : see dilate, v.] 1. , ..,,.. , 
The act of expanding; expansion, as by heat; dilater (di- or dl-la'ter), n. One who or that 
a spreading or enlarging in all directions; the which enlarges or expands. Slielton. 
state of being expanded or distended; disten- dilation 1 (di- or di-la'shon), n. [A short form 
sion. ot dilatation.'] The act of dilating ; expansion ; 
dilatation. 
At first her eye with slow dilation roll'd 
Dry flame, she listening. Tennyson, Princess, vi. 
dilation 2 ! (di- or di-la'shon), n. [= F. Pr. dila- 
tion = Sp. dilation = Pg.'dilafSo = It. dllazione, 
< L. dilatio(n-), delay, < differre, pp. dilatus, de- 
fer: see defer 2 and dilate, v.] Delay. 
What construction canst thou make of our wilful dila- 
tions, but as a stubborn contempt? Sp. Hall, Zacclieus. 
dilative (di- or dl-la'tiv), a. [< dilate + -ive.] 
Tending to dilate; causing dilatation. Cole- 
ridge. 
I conceive the intire idea of a spirit in generall, or at 
least of all finite created and subordinate spirits, to con- 
sist in these several powers or properties, viz. : self-pene- 
tration, self-motion, self-contraction and dilatation, and 
indivisibility. 
Dr. It. More, Antidote against Atheism, I. iv. 3. 
His JSpenser's] genius is rather for dilatation tlmn com- 
pression. Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 1B2. 
Specifically 2. Diffuseness of speech; pro- 
lixity ; enlargement. 
What nedeth gretter dilatacioun' 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, 1. 134. 
3. An abnormal enlargement of an aperture or 
a canal of the body, or one made for the pur- dilator (di-ordi-la'tor), n. [< NL. dilator, short 
- - " for dilatator, q. v.; as if < E. dilate + -or. L. 
poses of surgical "or medical treatment. See 
expansion. 4. A dilated part of anything; 
specifically, in zoitl., a dilated portion of an or- 
gan or a mark. 
dilatator (dil'a- or dl'la-ta-tor), n. [= F. dila- 
tateur = Sp. Pg. dilatador = It. dilatatore, a di- 
latator, < LL. dilatator, one who propagates or 
dilator mean's ' a delayer.'] 1 . One who or that 
which widens or expands ; specifically, a mus- 
cle that dilates; a dilatator. 2. A surgical in- 
strument, of various forms, used for dilating a 
wound, a canal, or an external opening of the 
body. 
to various muscles, as of the nose or the pupil. 
In the Keptilia these are replaced by a constrictor and 
a dilatator muscle, which are also present in a modified 
form ill Birds. Gegenbaur, Comp. Anat. (trans.), p. 547. 
Dilatator iridis, the muscle of the iris whose action di- 
of being dilatory ; slowness in action ; delay in 
proceeding; tardiness; procrastination. 
These lamented their dilatorinesn and imperfection, or 
trembled at the reaction of his bigotry against themselves. 
Hallain. 
[= F. dilatoire = Pr. 
dilatorio, < LL. dilatorius, 
pp. Miatea. ^"" 6 <" --v, \ e- dilator, a delayer, < dif- 
ppr. dilating. [=F. dilater = Pr. Sp. Pg. 
= It. dilatare, < L. dilatare. spread out, 
dilate, < dilatus, pp., associated with *.,. .-, 
carry apart, spread abroad, scatter, also differ! measures ; a dilatory messenger, 
and intr. differ (> E. differ and defer?), < dis-, 
apart, + ferre = E. bear 1 . For pp. latus, see 
ablative. Dilate is a doublet of delay 1 , and prac- 
tically of defer' 2 ' and differ : see delay 1 , defer 2 , 
differ'.] I. trans. 1. To expand; distend; spread 
out ; enlarge or extend in all directions : as, air 
dilates the lungs ; to dilate the pupil of the eye. 
Induced with a zelous deuotion and ardent desire to 
protect and dilate the Christian faith. 
Hakluyt'x Voyage*, II., Ded. 
Satan, alarm'd, 
Collecting all his might, dilated stood, 
Like Teneriff or Atlas, unremoved. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 986. 
Chapman abounds in splendid enthusiasms of diction, 
and now and then dilates our imaginations with sngges- 
nial of the proposition in question. The alterna- 
tives are called the horns of the dilemma, which is also 
called a horned syllogism. The argument is also called a 
dilemma, in a looser sense, when the number of such 
horns exceeds two. The dilemma originated in rhetoric, 
and was not noticed by logicians before the revival of 
learning consequently there has been some dispute as to 
its logical definition and analysis. The standard example 
(from Aulus Gellius) is as follows : Every woman is fair 
or ugly ; it is not good to marry a fair wife, because she 
will Hirt ; it is not good to marry an ugly wife, because she 
will not be attractive ; therefore, it is not good to marry 
at all. The essential peculiarity of this reasoning is that 
it involves the principle of excluded middle, the falsity 
of which would leave ordinary syllogism intact. Logi- 
cians, however, have made the dilemma a matter of form 
of expression, saying that the above argument, for in- 
stance, is not a dilemma as long as the first premise reads 
as above, but that it becomes one if that premise is put in 
this form : If it is good to marry, it is good to marry a 
fair wife, or it is good to marry an ugly wife. They have 
at different times recognized the following forms as di- 
lemmas or as parts of dilemmas, for many logicians hold 
that a dilemma consists of three syllogisms : (1) Simple, 
constructive dilemma: If A, then C; if B, then C; but 
either B or A ; hence, C. (2) Simple destructive dilemma : 
If A is true, B is true ; if A is true, C is true ; B and C are 
not both true ; hence, A is not true. (3) Complex construc- 
tive dilemma : If A, then B ; if C, then D ; but either A or 
C ; hence, either B or D. (4) Complex destructive dilem- 
ma : If A is true, B is true ; if C is true, D is true ; but B 
and D are not both true ; hence, A and C are not both 
true. The importance of the kind of reasoning now called 
dilemma was first strongly insisted upon by the Stoics. 
Nevertheless, in the Stoical terminology a dilemma is op- 
posed to a monolemma, as a conclusion from two premises. 
This was the origin of the word, and it is only later that 
it is met with in the modern sense. 
Dilemma is an argument made of two members, repug- 
nant one to another, wherof which soever thou grantest, 
thou art by and by taken. Blundemlle, Logic, v. 27. 
2. A difficult or doubtful choice; a state of 
things in which the alternatives appear to be 
equally bad or undesirable. 
A strong dilemma in a desperate case ! 
To act with infamy, or quit the place. Swift. 
The doctrine of a Messiah offers a dilemma a choice 
between two interpretations one being purely spiritual, 
one purely political. De (juincey, Essenes, ii. 
I abhor 
This dUatoru sloth, and tricks of Rome. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 4. 
of a dilemma Dilemmatic argument. See argu- 
ment. Dllemmatlc proposition, a hypothetical propo- 
sition with a disjunctive consequent : as, if A, then either 
B or C ; or a categorical proposition with a disjunctive 
predicate : as, A is either B or C. Dllemmatlc reason- 
tions of profound poetic depth. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 315. 
2f. To set forth at length ; relate at large ; re- 
late or describe with full particulars ; enlarge 
upon. 
Found good means 
To draw from her a prayer of earnest heart, 
That I would all my pilgrimage ililati', 
Whereof by parcels she had something heard. 
Shot., Othello, i. 3. 
Dilate the matter to me. 
.,., _. ij.il j. > IML'IIK ilLi: . a:s, JV IS UILIICI i ui v-. i^iiciniiiivuii. AVWMM 
2. Intended to bring about delay, or to gam fa, reasoning depending upon the principle of excluded 
. j j_* j :; j,-7*.. ,*: middle as its chief principle. Dllemmatlc syllogism, 
a syllogism having for its minor premise a dilemmatic 
proposition. 
dilemmist (di- or dl-lem'ist), n. [< dilemma + 
-ist.~\ A person who bases argument or belief 
on a dilemma or dilemmas : used specifically 
in translation of the name of a Buddhist school 
of philosophy. See the extract. 
[The philosophic school] of the Vaibhashikas, or dilem- 
mitts, who maintain the necessity of immediate contact 
with the object to be known. Amer. Cyc., III. 403. 
Dilephila (di-lef'i-la), n. [NL.; also written 
Deitejihila, prop. *I>ilopl<iht : < Gr. iti'/ti, the af- 
time and defer decision: as, a dilatory motion. 
To the Petition of the Lords he made a dilator;/ Answer. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 79. 
His dilatory policy. Motley. 
Dilatory defense, in law, a defense intended to defeat 
or delay the pending action without touching the merits 
of the controversy, as an objection to the jurisdiction or 
to the present capacity of a party. Dilatory plea, in 
laic, a plea which if successful would defeat the pending 
action without touching the merits of the controversy. 
= Syn. Tardy, etc. (see slow), loitering, lingering, procras- 
tinating, backward, laggard, behindhand, inactive, slug- 
gish, dawdling. 
dildoH (dil'do), . A term of obscure cant or 
slang origin, used in old ballads and plays as a 
mere refrain or nonsense-word ; also used, from 
its vagueness, as a substitute for various ob- 
scene terms, and in various obscene meanings. 
He has the prettiest love-songs for maids, . . 
delicate burthens of "dildos" and "fadings." 
Shak., W. T., iv. s. 
With a hie dildo dill and a dOdo dee. 
Burden of an Old Ballad. 
Middleton, More Dissemblers Besides Women, v. 1. dildo 2 (dil'do), M. A tall columnar cactus of 
Syn. To swell, spread out, amplify. Jamaica, Cereus Swartzii, woolly at the sum- 
mit and bearing pale-red flowers. The dried 
fibrous portions of the stems were used as torches 
by the Indians. 
tenioon, evening, + joc, loving.] A genus of 
hawk-moths, of the family Sphingidce. D. line- 
ata is a handsome species, common in the United States, 
and known as tmn-niivi-xphinx. Nee cut under morning- 
with such d j ; jgt( ant(dil . e . ttat ' );)l . [See dilettante.] See 
dilettante. 
dilettante (dil-e-tan'te), n. and a. [Also dilet- 
taiit; = D. G. Dan. Sw. dilettant F. dilettante, 
II. intraim. 1. To spread out; expand; dis- 
tend; swell; enlarge. 
His heart dilates and glories in his strength. Addimn. 
< It. dili-tttuite, prop. ppr. of dilettare, delight, < 
L. deleetare, delight: see deliglit, delectable.] 
I. n. PI. dlHtiniti (-ti). An admirer or lover of 
the fine arts, science, or letters ; an amateur ; 
one who pursues an art or literature desultorily 
