dissymmetry 
This device acts ... as a pyromagnetic motor, the 
heat now passing through the tubes in such a way as to 
produce a dtuymautry in the lines of force of the iron 
field. Sci. Atner., S. S., LVII. 133. 
dissympathy (dis-sim'pa-thi), . [< dis- priv. 
+ sympathy.] Want of sympathy or interest; 
indifference. Johnston. [Rare.] 
dist. An abbreviation of district: as, Dist. 
Atty., District Attorney, 
distacklet (dis-tak'l), v. t. [< dis- priv. + 
tackle.] To divest of tackle or rigging. 
At length, these instruments of their long wandrings 
. . . tossed their distackled fleet to the shore of Libya. 
Warner, Albion's England, Addition to ii. 
distad (dis'tad), adv. [< dist(ance) + -ad 3 .'] In 
anat., away from the center; from within out- 
ward; toward the surface or end of the body, 
distaff (dis'taf), n. ; pi. distaffs (-tafs), rarely 
distaves (-tiivz). [< ME. distaf, dystaf, disestaf, 
dysestaf, < AS. dishef, disstasf, distaff, < "disc 
(> late ME. disen, dysen, furnish a distaff with 
flax, E. dizen, dial. di:e, deck out, array) (prob. 
= East Fries, dissen = LG. diesse, the bunch 
of flax on the distaff, > G. dial, diesse (naut.), 
tow, oakum) + shef, staff: see dize, dizen, and 
staff. A connection of the first element with 
OHG. deksa, MHG. dehse, a distaff, < (MHG. ) deh- 
sen, break or swingle flax (orig. prepare, form, 
fashion as with a hatchet, ax, or other imple- 
ment), whence also OHG. dehsala, a hatchet, ax, 
etc. (see a.sfc 2 ) ; is doubtful.] 1. In the earliest 
method of spinning, the staff, usually a cleft 
stick about 3 feet long, on which was wound a 
quantity of wool, cotton, or flax to be spun. The 
lower end of the distaff was held between the left arm and 
the side, and the thread, passing through and gaged by the 
fingers of the left hand , was drawn out and twisted by those 
of the right, and wound on a suspended spindle made so 
as to be revolved like a top, which completed the twist. 
In Eastern countries and in some districts of Europe, espe- 
cially in Italy, the primitive distaff and spindle are still 
used ; but after the introduction of the spinning-wheel 
into Europe, about the fifteenth century, the distaff became 
an attachment only of that designed for flax, and thus con- 
tinued in general use till a recent period, modified in form. 
The loaded distaff in the left hand placed, 
With spongy coils of snow-white wool was graced ; 
From these the right hand lengthening fibres drew, 
Which into thread 'neath nimble fingers grew. 
Catullus (trans.). 
He's so below a beating that the women find him not 
worthy of their distaves. 
Beau, and Fl., King and No King, v. 1. 
2. Figuratively, a woman, or the female sex. 
His crown usurped, a distaff on the throne. Dryden. 
Distaff day, or Saint Distaffs day, the day after 
Twelfth-day, or the festival of Epiphany: formerly so 
called in England because on that day the women resumed 
their distaffs and other ordinary employments, after the 
relaxation of the holidays. Distaff side, or distaff side 
Of the house, an old collective phrase for the female 
members of a family, as the distaff was always used by wo- 
men, and was common among all ranks : used especially 
with reference to relationship and descent, and opposed 
to spear side : as, he is connected with the family on the 
distaff side; he traces his descent through the data/ side 
of the house. Also called spiiidle side. 
distain (dis-tan'), v. t. [< ME. disteinen, dis- 
teignen, < OF. desteindre, destaindre, F. dctein- 
dre = Pr. destengner = Sp. desteKir = Pg. des- 
tingir = It. stignere, stingere, distain, take away 
the color, < L. dis- priv. + tingere, tinge, color: 
see dis- and tinge, tint, taint. Now abbr. stain, 
q. v.] If. To take away the color of; hence, 
to weaken the effect of by comparison ; cause 
to pale ; outvie. 
And thou, Tesbe, that hast of love suche peyne 
My lady comith.that al this may distctjne. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 262. 
2. To tinge with any color different from the 
natural or proper one; discolor; stain: as, a 
sword distained with blood. [Archaic.] 
Divers of the women I have seen with their chinnes dis- 
tained into knots and flowers of blue, made by pricking 
of the skin with needles. Sandys, Travailes, p. 86. 
Colors that distain 
The cheeks of Proteus or the silken train 
Of Flora's nymphs. Quarles, Emblems, lit 14. 
The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor 
knocker, was blistered and distained. 
Jt. L. Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Sir. Hyde, p. 4. 
3. To blot; sully; defile; tarnish. 
Thoughe one his tonge distayne, 
With cursid speche, to doo hym silf a shame. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 77. 
The worthiness of praise dittoing his worth 
If that the prais'd himself bring the praise forth 
Shak., T. and C., i. 3. 
Have ye fair daughters ? Look 
lo see them live, torn from your arms, distained 
Dishonored. Mi ss Mitford, Eienzi. 
distal (dis'tal), . [< distance) + -al, on anal- 
ogy of central] In anat., situated away from 
1690 
the center of the body ; being at the end ; ter- 
minal ; peripheral : the opposite of proximal : 
as, the distal end of a limb, a bone, or other 
part or organ. Thus, the nails are at the distal ends 
of the fingers ; the distal extremity of the thigh-bone is at 
the knee ; the distal organs or appendages of a hydrozoan 
are at the end of the main stem. 
An insect, in entering ... to suck the nectar, would 
depress the distal portion of the labellum [in Epipactis 
palustris], and consequently would not touch the rostel- 
lum. Darwin, Fertil. of Orchids by Insects, p. 97. 
distally (dis'tal-i), adv. In a distal situation 
or direction; toward the distal end or extrem- 
ity; remotely; terminally; peripherally. 
The humerus is a stout hone prismatic, and with a 
rounded head at its proximal end, flattened and broad 
distally. ^Huxley, Anat. Vert., p. 185. 
distant, v- t. [A var. of distance, v."] To keep 
separate; distinguish. 
For an I war dead, and ye war dead, 
And baith in ae grave laid, O, 
And ye and I war tane up again, 
Wha could distan your mouls frae mine, O? 
Laird of Drum (Child's Ballads, IV. 122). 
distance (dis'tans), . [< ME. distance, des- 
tance, destaunce = D. distantie = G. distanz = 
Dan. distance = Sw. distans, < OF. distance, 
destancc, distance, separation, disagreement, 
disaccord, F. distance, distance, = Pr. Sp. Pg. ,-joi" 
distancia = It. distansa, distanzia, < L. distantia, them, 
distance, remoteness, difference, < distan(t-)s, 
distant : see distant.'] 1 . The measure of the in- 
terval between two objects in space, or, by ex- 
Anjjular Distance. 
The angle ACB is 
the angular distance 
between A and B as 
viewed from C. 
distant 
Accessible distances, such distances as may be mea- 
sured by the application of any linear measure. Angu- 
lar distance, the angle of separa- , 
tion included by the directions of / 
two objects from a given point. Also 
called apparent distance. Center 
of mean distances. Seeci(-i. 
Curtate distance. See curtate. 
Focal distance. See .focal. Hori- 
zontal distance, distance measured 
in the direction of the horizon. 
Inaccessible distances, such dis- 
tances as cannot be measured by the 
application of any linear measure, 
but only by triangulation. Law of 
distances. See Hade's law, under law. Line of dis- 
tance, in pergp., a straight line drawn from the eye to the 
principal point of the plane.- Mean distance of a planet 
from the sun, an arithmetical mean between its greatest 
and least distances. Meridional distance, in navig., 
the distance or departure from the meridian ; the easting 
or westing. Middle distance, in jninthvj, the space 
intermediate between the foreground and the background. 
Also called 'middle ground. Moon in distance. See 
moon. Point Of distance, in persp., that point in the 
horizontal line which is at the same distance from the 
principal point as the eye is. Striking distance of an 
electrical discharge, as of a Leyden jar, the thickness of 
the layer of dry air across which the spark will pass. It 
is proportional to the difference of potentials of the two 
electrified surfaces. To devour the distance. See de- 
mur. To keep one at a distance, to avoid familiarity 
with one ; treat one with reserve. 
There is great reason why superiors should keep infe- 
thus at a' distance, and exact so much respect of 
fococke, Description of the East, I. 182. 
To keep one's distance, to show proper respect or re- 
serve ; not to be too familiar. 
If a man makes me keep my distance, the comfort is, 
<pm; 
hue. 
tension, between two points of time ; the length he keeps his at the same time, 
of the straight line from one point to another, SM *' ( > T1 ""'Shts on Various Subjects, 
and hence of time intervening between one distance (dis'tans), v. t.; pret. and pp. dis- 
event or period and another : as, the distance be- tanced, ppr. distancing. [= Dan. distancere = 
tween New York and San Francisco; the dis- 
tanceot two events from each other; & distance from the noun.] 
of five miles ; events only the distance of an situate remotely. 
hour apart. In navigation distances are usually 
measured along rhumb-lines. 
Sw. distansiera = F. distancer = Pg. distanciar; 
1. To place at a distance; 
Space considered barely in length between any two be- 
ings, without considering any thing else between them, is 
called distance. Locke, Human Understanding, II. xiii. 2. 
2. A definite or measured space to be main- 
tained between two divisions of a body of troops, 
two combatants in a duel, or the like : as (in 
command), take your distances. 
He fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance, 
and proportion. SAa*., E. and J., ii. 4. 
I heard nothing thereof at Oxford, being then sixty 
miles distanced thence. Fuller. 
2. To cause to appear at a distance ; cause to 
appear remote. [Rare.] 
His peculiar art of distancing an object to aggrandize 
his space. H. Hitter. 
3. In horse-racing, to beat in a race by at least 
the space between the distance-post and the 
winning-post ; hence, to leave behind in a race ; 
get far ahead of. See distance, n., 3. 
turned slightly 
She had distanced her servant, and . 
in her saddle and looked back at him. 
//. James, Jr., Pass. Pilgrim, p. 80. 
3. In horse-racing, the space measured back 
from the winning-post which a horse, in heat- 
races, must have reached when the winning 
horse has covered the whole course in order flence 4. To get in advance of; gain a supe- 
tp be entitled to enter subsequent heats. In the "ority over; outdo; excel. 
United States the distances for trotting-races are (1889) He distanced the most skilful of his cotemporaries 
asfollows: Mile-heats, SOyards; two-mile heats, 150yards; miner 
three-mile heats, 220 yards ; mile-heats, best three in five. J.-..4. V i i ,j- n T,I i \ 
100 yards; mile-heats, with eight or more starters, 120 QlStance-DlOCJE (dis tans-blok), n. A block m- 
yards. The distances for running-races are as follows : serted between two objects to separate them or 
Three-quarter-mile heats, 25 yards; mile-heats, 30 yards; keep them a certain distance apart, 
two-mile heats, 50 yards ; three.mile heats, 60 yards ; four- rlictanpo iniliro CHia'tn -ii^l T T,~, 
mile heats, 70 yards. A horse which fails to reach the dis- G'Stance-JUOge (018 tans -juj), n. In Itorse- 
tance-post before the heat has been won, or whose rider or racing, a, judge stationed at the distance-post 
driver is adjudged to have made certain specified errors, to note what horses have not reached it when 
is said to be distanced. the winner passes the winning-post. 
This was the horse that ran the whole field out of dis- distanceless (dis'tans-les), a. [< distance + 
SirM. L- Estrange, .less.} 1. Not affording or allowing a distant 
4. In music, the interval or difference between 
two tones. See interval. 5. Remoteness of 
place or time ; a remote place or time : as, at a 
great distance; a light appeared in the distance. 
'Twere an ill World, I'll swear, for ev'ry Friend 
If Distance could their Union end. 
allowing ; 
or extensive view ; dull; hazy. [Rare.] 
A silent, dim, distanceless, rotting day. 
Kingsley, Yeast, i. 
Specifically 2. Appearing as if near by ; with- 
out effect of distance, as a landscape in some 
states of light and atmosphere in which all the 
outlines are hard and clear-cut, and the usual 
bluish haze tinting hills and other objects is 
lacking. 
Cowley, Friendship in Absence, st. 3. 
'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
And robes the mountain in its azure hue. 
Campbell, Pleasures of Hope, i. 7. 
6. Remoteness in succession or relation: as, distance-piece (dis'tans-pes), n. A distance- 
the distance between a descendant and his an- W c k. 
cestor; there is a much greater distance between distance-post (dis 'tans-post), n. In horse- 
the ranks of major and captain than between raci !t, the post or flag placed at the end of 
those of captain and first lieutenant. 7. Re- * ne distance. See distance, n., 3. 
moteness in intercourse; reserve of manner, distance-signal (dis'tans-sig'nal), n. Inrail., 
induced by or manifesting reverence, respect) tne most distant of the series of signals under 
dignity, dislike, coldness or alienation of feel- tne control of a signal-man, 
ing, etc. distancyt (dis'tan-si), H. Distance. Dr. H. 
I hope your modesty More. 
ill know what distance to the crown is due. Dryden. distant (dis'tant), a. [< ME. distant, < OF. 
"Hs by respect and distance that authority is upheld. distant, F. distant = Sp. Pg. It. dixtniite, < L. 
Bp. Atterbury. distan(t-)s, ppr. of distare, stand apart, be sep- 
arate, distant, or different, < di-, dis-, apart, + 
stare, stand: see stand, andcf. constant, extant, 
instant, restant.] 1. Standing or being apart 
from a given point or place ; situated at a dif- 
ferent point in space, or, by extension, in time ; 
separated by a distance : as, a point a line or a 
hairVbreadth distant from another; Saturn is 
estimated to be about 880,000,000 miles distant 
from the sun. 
On the part of Heaven 
Now alienated, distance and distaste. 
Milton, P. L., U. 9. 
8f. Dissension; strife; disturbance. 
Tho wolde the baylies that were come from Fraunce, 
Dryve the Flcmisshe that made the destannce 
FtoatM Insurrection (Child's Ballads, VI. 270). 
After mete, without distans, 
Ihe cockwolds schuld together danse 
The Horn of King Arthur (Child's Ballads 1 "3) 
