dilettante 
;ind for amusement : often used in a disparag- 
ing sense for a superficijil and affected dabbler 
in literature or art. 
Hie main characteristic of the dilettante is that sort of 
impart iiility tlnit springs Ir.un Inertia of mind, admirable 
for observation, ineapable of turning it to practirnl ,-i 
eimnt. l.on'i'll. New Princeton Kev., I. 1UO. 
II. a. Relating to dilettantism ; having the 
characteristics of dilettanti. 
I heard no longer 
The snowy-banded, dilettante, 
Delicate handed priest intone. 
Tennyson, Maud, rill. 
dilettanteism, . See dilettantism. 
dilettantish, dilettanteish (dil-e-tan'tih, 
-te-ish), o. [< dilettant, dilettante, + -isAl.] 
Inclined to or characterized by dilettantism. 
(teorge Eliot. 
dilettantism, dilettanteism (dil-e-tan'tizm, 
-te-izm), n. [= P. ttttettanttsme ; as dilettant, 
dilettante, + -ism.] The quality characteristic 
of a dilettante ; specifically, in a disparaging 
sense, desultory or affected pursuit of art, sci- 
ence, or literature. 
Dilettantism, hypothesis, speculation, a kind nf amateur 
search for truth ; this is the sorest sin. Carlylr. 
Dilettantism, which is the twin sister of scepticism, he- 
Stan. Lowtll, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 37. 
diligence 1 (dil'i-jens), n. [Formerly also dili- 
gi-nfy ; < MK. diligence, < OP. diligence, P. dili- 
gence = Pr. 8p. Pg. diligencia = It. diligenzia, 
diligenza, < L. diligentia, carefulness, attentive- 
ness^ diligen(t-)s, careful, etc.: see diligent.'} 
1. Constant and earnest effort to accomplish 
what is undertaken ; constancy in the perform- 
ance of duty or the conduct of business; per- 
sistent exertion of body or mind ; industry ; as- 
siduity. 
If your </i7/'/rnr-' ! not speedy, I shall lie there afore 
you. Shale., Lear, I. 6. 
Prithee, fellow, wait; 
I need not thy oltlcious diligfttce. 
Ford, 'TIs Pity, iv. 1. 
Why shouldst thou then obtrude this dilitfeHce, 
In vain, where no acceptance it can find? 
Milton, P. R., 11. 387. 
2. Care; heed; caution; heedfulness. 
Men may also doon other diliyence 
Aboute an oylcellar, it for to warnie. 
Palladia*, Hiuhotuirie (E. E. T. 8.), p. 19. 
Keep thy heart with all diligence. Prov. Iv. 23. 
3. In In it-, the attention and care due from a 
person in a given situation. The degree of care 
necessary to constitute diligence depends on the relation 
of the persons concerned to each other and the circum- 
stances of the transaction. 
4. In Scots law : (a) The warrant issued by a 
court for enforcing the attendance of witnesses 
or the production of writings. (6) The process 
of law by which persons, lands, or effects are 
attached on execution, or in security for debt. 
Common or ordinary diligence, that degree of dill- 
gence which men In general exert in respect to their own 
affairs; that common priuieiu-e which men of business and 
heads of families usually exhibit in conducting matters 
which interest them, tirotnn ami Hartley. To do one's 
diligence, to use one's test efforts. [Archaic.) 
I would not haue the master either frouiie or chide 
with him, if the childe haue done hi* dilitiettce. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 27. 
Do thy dilitjenre. to come shortly unto me. 2 Tim. Iv. 9. 
= Syn. 1. Industry, Apjilicntinn, etc. (see a**idiiiti/\ as- 
siduousness. 2. Cannon, circumspection, vigilance. 
diligence' 2 (dil'i-jeiis; P. pron. de-le-zhons'), n. 
[= D. G. Dan. <liti</c>ice = Sw. diligent, < P. 
ililigence, a stage-coach (= Sp. Pg. diligencia = 
It. diligensa), a particular use of diligent*, ex- 
pedition, despatch, speed, care: see ililigenrri. 
Hence by abbr. ditty*.'] A public stage-coach : 
usually with reference to France, but also ap- 
plied to such stage-coaches elsewhere. 
If it were possible to send me a line hy the diligence to 
Brighton, how grateful I should be for such an Indul- 
gence! Mine. D'Arblay, Diary, I. 401. 
diligencyt (dil'i-jen-si), n. Same as diligence 1 . 
Mitton. 
diligent (dil'i-jent), a. [< ME. diligent, < OF. 
diligent, F. diligent = Pr. diligent = Sp. Pg. 
It. diligente, < L. dilitji '('-)*', careful, attentive, 
diligent prop, loving, esteeming, ppr. of dili- 
gere, love, esteem much, lit. choose, select, < di-, 
ilix-, apart, + legere, choose : see elect, select.'] 
1. Constant in study or effort to accomplish 
what is undertaken; attentive and persistent 
in doing anything ; industrious ; assiduous. 
Seest thou n man dit<<i'-nt in his business? he shall 
stand before kings. Prov. xxii. _".!. 
Chance without merit brought me in ; and diligence only 
keeps me so. and will, living as I do among so many lazy 
people that the dili'H'nt man It-comes necessary, that they 
cannot do anything without him. Pepijt, Diary, II. 319. 
1619 
2. Steadily applied ; prosecuted with care and 
constant effort ; careful; painstaking: as, make 
dilii/riil Heareh. 
The Judges shall make diligent Inquisition. 
Deut. six. 18. 
Diliijent cultivation of elegant literature. Prexott. 
= Syn. Active, sedulous, laborious, persevering, Indefati- 
gable, unremitting, untiring, painstaking. 
diligentt, adr. [< diligent, .] Diligently. 
They may the better, sewrer, and more diligenter, exe- 
cute, obserue, and ministre their said Officez. 
/:.. -tilth. Oildt (E. E. T. S.), p. 413. 
diligently (dil'i-jent-li), adv. With diligence, 
or steady application and care ; with industry 
or assiduity; not carelessly ; not negligently. 
Being by this Mean* In the King's Eye, he so diligently 
carried himself that he soon got into the King's Heart. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 261. 
Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord 
your Ood. Deut. vl. 17. 
For all Paul's miracles, the Jews studied the scripture 
the diliffenterly, to see whether It were as he said or no. 
Tyndale, Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Hoc., 1860), p. 98. 
diligentness (dil'i-jent-nes), ii. Diligence. 
liaileii, \T1~I. 
dill 1 (dil), . [< ME. dille, dylle, < AS. dile = 
D. dille = OHG. tilli, MHG. tille (G. dill, after 
the D. form) = Dan. dild = Sw. dill, dill ; ori- 
gin unknown.] 1. An umbelliferous plant, I'eu- 
cedanum (Anethum) graveolens, an erect glau- 
cous annual, with finely divided leaves, yellow 
flowers, and an agreeably aromatic fruit, it is 
a native of the Mediterranean and Caucasian region, Is a 
weed In many countries, ami Is frequently cultivated in 
gardens. It is extensively grown in India, where the seeds 
are much used for culinary and medicinal purposes. They 
yield a volatile oil having a lemon-like odor, and the dis- 
tilled water Is used as a stomachic and carminative, and 
as a vehicle for other medicines. 
Xow dile In places colde Is goode to sowe, 
Hit may with everie ayer under the skye. 
PaUadiiu, Husbondrie (E. E. T. 8.), p. 82. 
Vervain and dill 
Hinder witches of their will. 
Old KnglM Proceib. 
2. The two-seeded tare. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
dill 5 (dil), v. t. [North. E. and Sc. ; < ME. dil- 
len, dyllen, var. of dullcn, dull, blunt: see dull, 
v., of which dilft is a doublet.] If. To dull; 
blunt. 2. To soothe; still; calm. 
I haif thee luiot baith loud and still, 
Thlr tomwonds twa or thre ; 
My dule (grief) in deni hot gitf [unless] thon -////, 
Doubtless hut dreld III die. 
Jiobin ami Makyiie, Percy's Reliqnes. 
I know what is in this medicine. It'll dill fevers. 
S. Judd, Margaret, p. 140. 
dil! 3 t (dil), n. [Another form of delft. Cf. dill- 
'".'/. I Same as delft. 
Who loves not his ililt. let him die at the gallows. 
Middleton, Spanish Oypsy, Iv. 1. 
dill*t (dil), f. t. [ME. dillen, < Icel. dylja = Sw. 
dolja = Dan. diilge, conceal, hide.] To conceal ; 
hide. 
The rljt rode thai went to dille 
Out of the cristen men'nis skille, 
That if with channce men on ham hit 
Quilk thai suhle haue thai snide n<>,;t \vitt. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. 8.), p. 108. 
dil! 5 t (dil), An obsolete dialectal form of 
dole*. 
Dillenia (di-le'ni-a), n. [NL., named after J. 
J. Dillen (1687-1747), a professor of botany at 
Oxford.] A genus of plants, natural order Dil- 
Flower of DillfHt'a sftciesa. 
dilucidation 
trniarni; coiiHwt ing of lofty fore 1.1 -trees, natives 
of tropical Asia. They have large leaves and showy 
white "i yellow (lowers. D. pentayyna Is a handsome 
tree, common In the forests of India and Burma. I>. ipt- 
eiosa la also a fine tree, frequently planted in India for or- 
nament ; lt large acid fruits are used In curries, and for 
making jelly, etc. The leaves of some of the species, as 
in other genera of the order, are very firm and nuiwh, ;md 
are used like sand-paper for polishing woodwork. 
Dilleniaceae (di-le-ni-a'se-e), n. pi. [NL., < Dil- 
lento + -areer.] An order of polypetafous plant*, 
nearly allied to the lianunculncea; and Magno- 
liacetE, including 16 genera and about 160 spe- 
cies, trees or shrubs, mostly tropical. 
dilleniaceous (di-lo-ni-a'shius), a. Belonging 
to or characteristic of the natural order Dille- 
niacea. 
dillingt (dil'ing), . [Appar. an assimilation 
of derling, older form of darling, q. v.] 1. A 
darling; a favorite. 
The youngest and the last, and lesser than the other, 
Saint Helen's name doth bear, the dtllinj of her mother. 
Drayton, Polyolblon, ii. 114. 
s n i me. moone, and seaven starres make thee the dUlintj 
of fortune. Manton, What You Will, II. I. 
2. A child born when the father is very old. 
Minsheu. 
dillisk (dil'isk), ii. [Cf. dulse.] The Irish 
name for the dulse, Kliodymeninjialmata. 
dills (dilz), ii. Same as dulse. 
dillue (dil'u), r. t. ; pret. and pp. dillued, ppr. 
dilluing. [Origin obscure.] In mining, to finish 
the dressing of (fin-ore) in very fine hair sieves : 
a process now little used, if at all. [Cornwall, 
Eng.] 
dilluer (dfl'fl-er), . [See dillue.~\ A fine hair 
sieve for tin-ore. [Cornwall, Eng.] 
The smallest tin which passes through the wire sieve 
is put into another finely weaved horse-hair sieve, called a 
1 till n, r. by which and the skill of the workman It Is made 
merchantable. Pryee (1788). 
dillweed (dil'wed), n. [Also written diliceed; 
< rfi/,i, 2. + freerfi.j Mayweed. 
dilly 1 (dil'i), n. An abbreviation of diligence 2 . 
So down thy hill, romantic Ashhoiirn, glides 
The Derby dilly, carrying three Insides. 
(I. Canning, in Loves of the Triangles. 
dilly 2 (dil'i), u. Same as daffodil, daffodilly. 
dilly 3 (dil'i), n. A small sapotaceous tree, Mi- 
musops Sifberi, specifically called the ir ild dilly, 
found on the Florida keys and in the West In- 
dies. Its wood is very heavy and hard, of a 
dark-brown color, and susceptible of a beauti- 
ful polish. 
dilly-dally (dil'i-dal'i), '. ' [A varied redu- 
plication of dally. Cf. shilly-shally.] To loiter; 
delay; trifle. [Colloq.] 
What you do, sir, do ; don't stand dilly-dallying. 
RichardMin, Pamela, I. 275. 
dilo (de'16), n. A Fijian name for the Calophyl- 
lum Inophyltum. See Calirphyllum. 
dilogical (di- or di-loj'i-kal), a. [< dilogy + 
-on7.] Having a double meaning ; equivocal; 
ambiguous. [Rare.] 
Some of the subtler have delivered their opinions in 
snch spurious, enigmatical, dilnfjieal terms as the devil 
gave his oracles. Ben. T. Adatni, Works, I. 10. 
dilogy (dil'o-ji or di'lo-ji), . [< L. dilngia, < 
Gr. odjryia, repetition (cf. ddjnelv, repeat), < it-, 
<Ji'c. twice, + Myeiv, speak.] In rhet. : (a) The 
use of a word or words twice in the same con- 
text ; repetition, especially for the sake of em- 
phasis. Unnecessary or ill-judged dilogy results 
in tautology (which gee). (6) Intentional use 
of an ambiguous expression; the word or ex- 
pression so used. Ambiguity in a wider sense 
is called amphiboly or amphibology. 
dilucidt (di- or di-lu'sid), a. [< L. dilucidux, 
clear, bright, < dilucere, be clear, < di-, rfw-, 
apart, + lucere, be light: see lucid.] Clear; 
lucid. 
(Obscurity of laws springs] from an ambiguous, or not so 
perspicuous and diluride, description of laws. 
IJacnn, Learning, vili. 3. 
dilucidatet (di- or di-lu'si-dat), r. t . [< ML. *di- 
lucidatus, pp. of 'dilucidarc (> It. dilucidare = 
Sp. Pg. dilitcidar = F. dilucider), make clear. < 
L. dilucidus, clear: see dilweid. Cf. elucidate.] 
To make clear; elucidate. 
Dilurndatiiift It with all the light which ... the pro- 
fonndest knowledge of the sciences had empowered him 
to cast IIIMHI it. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, HI. xxxvli. 
dilucidationt (di- or di-lu-si-da'shon), n. [= 
F. dilucidation = Sp. dilueidacion = Pg. diluci- 
dacSo = It. dilticidasione, < LL. diluciaatio(n-), 
< L. "dilitcidare, make clear: see dilucidate.] 
The act of making clear. 
