docimastic 
docimastic (dos-i-mas'tik), a. [= F. ilocimas- 
lii/iii 1 , a., docimastic (cf. Sp. ilin-imiintien = Pg. 
1 1 . ilni-iiiiiialicii, n., docimasy), < (ir. riom/taartitof, 
< totifiaorfa, an ussayer, examiner, < ioiuu&^etv, 
assay, test, examine, scrutinize, < Mtuuaf, as- 
sayi'd, trslrd. examined, approved, < tV:^ea6ai, 
!;i.ko, approve.] Proving by experiments or 
tests; assaying; specifically, relating to the as- 
saying of metals: as, the itorinitmtic art. Also 
dokimastic. 
docimasy (dos'i-ma-si), . [Also written doki- 
HHI.II/, and loss correctly docimacy ; = P. doci- 
masie = Sp. Pg. It. docimasia, < Gr. Soiuuaaia, 
an assay, examination, scrutiny. < ooKt/td^civ, as- 
say, examine: son doriiuiislic. | 1. In (ir. aiilii/., 
particularly at Athens, a judicial inquiry into 
the civic standing, character, and previous life 
of all persons elected for public office, of 
youths applying for enrolment on the list of full 
citi/.ens, of persons aiming at political leader- 
ship, etc. The Inquiry was public ; any citizen might 
denounce the subject of it, aim his civic privileges were 
suspended if he could not justify himself. 
2. The art or practice of assaying metals, or 
the art of separating; metals from foreign mat- 
ters, and of determining the nature and quan- 
tity of metallic substances contained in any 
ore or mineral. 3. The art of ascertaining the 
nature and properties of medicines and poisons, 
or of ascertaining certain facts pertaining to 
physiology. 
docimology (dps-i-mol'o-ji), M. [< Gr. Mia/M>f, 
assayed, examined, tested (see docimastic), + 
-fo)ia, < /Uynv, speak: see -ology.'} A treatise 
on the art of assaying or examining metallic 
substances. 
docious (do'shus), a. [Appar. a var. of docile, 
with suffix -ous. Cf. docity.] Docile; amenable. 
[Colloq., western U. 8.] 
I can hardly keep my tongue docious now to talk aliout 
it. Spirit of the Times (New York). 
docity (dos'i-ti), n. [Also written dosxity (Hal- 
liwefi) ; a contr. of docility, q. v.] (Quickness 
of comprehension ; docility ; gumption. Grose ; 
Bartlett. [Local, Eng. and U. 8.] 
dock 1 (dok), n. [Early mod. E. also docke; < 
MK. docke, dokke (> OP. doque, docque, doke, P. 
dial, doque, doyiie, dock, patience), < AS. docce, 
rarely docca (gen. doccan, whence late ME. 
dokan, E. dial, docken, dockan), dock (L. lapa- 
tlnim, rumcjc), used also with descriptive adjec- 
tives, seo feature docce, the fallow-dock, golden 
dock (Rumex maritimug), seo redde docce, the red 
dock (R. saitguineuii), se6 scearpe docce, the sharp 
dock (R. acetoaa), and in comp. ed-docce (= 
ODan. d-dokke), water-dock (water-lily, Nu- 
pltar luteum), sur-docce, sour dock (R. acetosa), 
wudu-docce, wood-dock (R. acetosa); = MD. 
docke (in comp. docke-bltcderen (glossed peta- 
irites), Plera. dokke-bladeren) = G. docke (prob. 
< D.), Colchicum nntumnale, in comp. docken- 
blatter, Rumex acutus; tloeken-kraut, burdock, 
Arctium Lappa; wasser-docke, water-lily. The 
relation of these f onus to the Celtic is not clear ; 
cf. Gael, dof/ha, burdock, Ir. mcacan-dogha, bur- 
dock (meacan, a tap-rooted plant, as the carrot, 
parsnip, etc.).] 1. The common name of those 
species of Rumex which are characterized by 
little or no acidity and the leaves of which are 
not hastate. They are coarse herbs, mostly perennials, 
with thickened rootstocks. Some of the European speries 
are troublesome weeds and widely naturalized. The roots 
HIV astringent ami slightly tonic aiul laxative, anil have 
been used as a remedy in cutaneous affections and numer- 
ous . it her diseases. Particular designations are Milrr <li*'k. 
R. Mnxi'fiili'iix; i-nrlnl or yellow dock, l{. mx/iim .- liiltlh- 
(for* (from the shape of the leaves), R. pulcher ; golden 
dirk, K. niaritiintix ; jxitienct dock, R. Patifntia ; sharp 
or mur dock, R. acelom; siramp-dock, R. verticiUatiu ; 
icatrr-durlc, R. Britanniea and 11. llydrolapathum ; and 
trhiti- dock, R. salic(Miiu. 
Nothing teems 
But hateful dock*, rough thistles, kecksies, burs. 
Slutk., Hen. V., v. 2. 
2. A name of various other species of plants, 
mostly coarse weeds with broad leaves, as dove- 
dock, the coltsfoot, Tussilago Farfara; elf-dock, 
the elecampane, Inula, Helcnium ; prairie-dock, 
Sit/iliiinii tcri'lihitliiintm; round dock, the com- 
mon mallow, .\falva sylvestris ; spatter-dock, the 
yellow pond-lily, Nupliar adrena ; sweet dock, 
PohfffOHHm SMerto; relvet dock, the mullen. 
VtmoMtB* Thapssus. See l>nnl<-/:, i;niil/n-k, and 
hnrdw.k In dock, out nettle, a formula used as an 
Incantation in the north of England. If apersnn is -tuni; 
ith a nettle, dock -le:i\es inv riihlK'don the affected part, 
anil the formula is repeated. It was long used proverbially 
to express unsteadiness or inconstancy, ursudtlen rlian-e. 
I'licertaiue certaine. never loves to settle. 
But here, there, everywhere : in dock, out nettle. 
John Taylor, Works (1630). 
1713 
Who fight with swordu for life mire ran- but little, 
since tin tin more than this, in <l>-k, out nettle. 
Wrawjliny l,ooerg (1677). 
dock- (dok), M. [Early mod. E. also docke; < 
(1) ME. dok (rare), < Icel. dockr, a short stumpy 
tail (Haldorsen); of. doggr, a conical projec- 
tion (Haldorsen); supposed to be nearly re- 
lated to (2) Icel. dokk, dtikka, a windlass, and 
to Icel. docka (Haldorsen) = Norw. dokka = 
Sw. docka = Dan. dukke, a skein, = Pries, dok, 
a bundle, bunch, ball (of twine, straw, etc.), 
= LG. dokke, a bundle (of straw, thread, etc.), 
a skein of silk or yarn, whence G. docke, a bun- 
dle, bunch, plug, skein of thread, etc., a thick, 
short piece of anything. These words, again, 
are prob. identical with (3) Norw. dokka = 8w. 
docka = Dan. dukke = MD. docke = East Fries. 
dok, dokke = LG. dokke = OHG. toccha, toclut, 
a doll, MHG. tocke, a doll, a young girl, G. 
docke (after LG.), a doll. Prom the LG. form 
in this third group are derived (prob.) E. duck?, 
q. v., and doxy, q. v.] 1. The tail of a beast 
cut short or clipped ; the stump of a tail ; the 
solidpartofatail. 2f. The buttocks; the rump. 
I will not go to school but when mo lest [list], 
For there l>eginneth a sorry feast 
When the master should lift my dock. 
The World and the Child (Hazlltt's Dodsley, I. 247). 
Some call the Bishops weathercocks 
\Vho where there heads were turn their dock*. 
(MM. 
3. The fleshy part of a boar's chine, between the 
middle and the rump. Halliiccll. [Prov. Eng.] 
4. A case of leather to cover the clipped or 
cut tail of a horse. 5. A piece of leather form- 
ing part of a crupper. Grose. [Prov. Eng.] 
6. The crupper of a saddle. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 7. The stern of a ship. [Scotch.] 
Hhe hare many canons, . . . with three great bassils, 
two behind In her dock, and one before. 
1'itscottie, Chrou. of Scotland, p. 108, 
dock 2 (dok), f. t. [< ME. docken, dokken, cut 
off the tail, cut short, curtail, < dok, tail : seo 
dock'*, n. The connection of thought between 
' tail' and 'cut short' appears again in the per- 
verted form curtail, orig. curtal. The resem- 
blance to W. tocio, ticcio, clip, dock, is prob. 
accidental. Hence docked.] 1. To cut off, as 
the end of a thing ; cut short ; clip ; curtail : 
as, to dock the tail of a horse. 
His heer was by his eres round yshorn, 
His top was docked lyk a preest licforti. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., I. 590. 
To pluck the eyes of Sentiment, 
And duck the tail of Rhyme. 
O. W. llolinet, Slusic-Orinders. 
Hence 2. To deduct a part from; shorten; 
curtail ; diminish : as, to dock one's wages. 
We know they [bishops] hate to be dnckt and dipt. 
Mitton, Reformation in Eng., i. 
They . . . 
Came, with a month's leave given them, to the sea : 
For which his gains were itock'd, however small. 
Tennyson, Sea Dreams. 
Some pretend to find defects in the work, and dock the 
payments without a shadow of justice. 
The American, XIV. 344. 
3. Naut., to clue up (a corner of a sail) when 
it hinders the helmsman from seeing: usually 
with up. 4. To cut off, rescind, or destroy; 
bar : as, to dock an entail. 
dock 3 (dok), n. [< MD. docke = D. dok = Plem. 
ilok, a dock; cf. (from the E. or D.) Sw. docka 
= Dan. dok, dokke = G. dock, docke = F. dock, 
a dock. Origin unknown ; cf. OFlem. docke, a 
cage (see dock*) ; Icel. dokk, dokdh, a pit, pool, 
= Norw. dokk, dekk, dekt, a hollow, low ground 
surrounded by hills. The word is by some 
connected with It. doccia, a canal, conduit, 
pipe, formerly also "a damme of a mill" 
(Florio), ult. < L. ducere, lead (see douche, duct), 
or with ML. doga, a ditch, canal, also a vessel, 
cup, perhaps < Gr. 6x'i, a receptacle, < de^eo&u, 
receive.] In hydraulic engin., strictly, an in- 
closed water-space in which a ship floats while 
being loaded or unloaded, as the space be- 
tween two wharves or piers ; by extension, any 
space or structure in or upon which a ship 
may be berthed or held for loading, unloading, 
repairing, or safe-keeping. The water-space may 
communicate freely with the stream or harbor, or the en- 
trance t" it. may be closed by a gate or by a lock. If pro- 
vided with a lock or gate, the level of the water within 
tlie doek remains at all times nearly the same, as the gate 
is opened only at full tide, when the level without and 
within is ttie same. If a loek is employed, vessels can 
pass in and out at all stages of the tide, hut this does not 
materially affect the level of the water Inside the dock. 
In an open duck the tide continually lowers or raises the 
vessel, and this interferes in some degree with the work of 
loading or unloading. The closet! docks are free from this 
dock 
Inconvenience, while a greater advantage Is fotind In the 
absence of currents. In a larger sense the term Is also 
applied to a basin or inclosed waUT-spare for the storage 
cif Moating tirnbi-r or the safe-keeping of river-steamers, 
barges, or canal-boats laid up for the winter, and by a 
further extension Is made to include the wharves and 
warehouses on or in the neighborhood of a dock. The 
largest closed docks are at Mvi<r]x>ol and London, in Eng- 
land. In a particular sense the term Is also applied to 
the construction and apparatus used in repairing and 
building ships, as the floating dock, dry.duck, depvtiting- 
ilnck, and sectuinal dock. 
The saide shippc, called the Holy Crosse, was so shaken 
In this voyage, and so weakened, that she was layd vp in 
the docke, and neuer made a voyage after. 
llakluyt'i Voyage*, II. I. 98. 
Depositing-dock, a caisson or an elevator for lifting ves- 
sels from the water and placing them upon stagings or 
wharves erected for the purpose. The lifting apparatus 
consists of a series of caissons or pontoons, placed side by 
side and joined at one end to another pontoon that with a 
series of upright tubular structures, forms a girder and 
makes the back of a comb-like structure, of which the pon- 
toons are the teeth. In the rear of the girder Is a largo 
floating pontoon, connected with It by two rows of heavy 
IHIOHIS that, being pivoted at each end, serve as a series of 
parallel bars and keep the entire structure upright while 
afloat. To lift a vessel, a row of blocks with shores and 
chocks is arranged on top of all the pontoons. The air fa 
allowed to escape, and the entire structure, except the float 
in the rear, sinks till the vessel can be floated over the 
pontoons. When the vessel is In position the water is 
pumped out of the pontoons, and they all rise together, 
lif ti ng the vessel outofthewater. Dry -dock, a dock or an 
excavated basin adjoining navigable water, provided with 
a gate, and so arranged that, after the docking of a ship, 
the water can be exhausted from it. Such docks are long 
and narrow, with sloping sides formed in steps. The mod- 
ern method of construction Is to excavate the basin In tho 
shore, and to drive heavy piling along the liottom and upon 
the sloping sides and rear end. I' [ion the piles are laid 
heavy timbers to form the floor and the steps at the sides. 
At the entrance are double gates opening outward, and 
meeting at an angle when closed, to resist the pressure of 
the water on the outside when the dock is empty. A re- 
cent method of closing a dry-dock is by means of a float- 
Dry-dock, or Graving-dock. 
Ing gate or caisson with flat Iwttom and wide stem and 
stern, which is Hoated into position across the entrance 
and loaded with water-ballast till it sinks, fitting tightly 
by a keel into a groove in the gateway. To use the dock, 
the gate is opened, or floated away at high water, and the 
ship is drawn into the dock and held afloat over a line of 
blocks along the center of the dock. The gate Is then put in 
position, and sunk till the dock is closed water-tight. Tho 
water within the dock Is then exhausted by steam-pumps, 
leaving the ship supported on the blocks, and braced on 
lioth sides by shores extending to the dock-steps. A typi- 
cal dry-dock Is the Brooklyn Navy-yard Dock No. 1, which 
is 500 feet long, W feet wide at the bottom, and capable of 
admitting a ship drawing 18 feet. Steam-pumps with a 
capacity of 40,000 gallons of water a minute are used to 
empty it. Floating dock, a capacious wooden or iron 
structure, generally rectangular, intended to serve as a 
graving-dock. Sometimes floating docks are built in wa- 
ter-tight compartments, and can lie sunk to the required 
Side and End Elevations of Floating Dock. 
depth by the admission of water into these compartments. 
When the vessel is docked, the floating dock is raised by 
pumping, till its liottom touches the keel of the ship. 
Shores are thru added to keep the ship in position, and the 
duck is raised hiulier. Instead of compartments, water- 
tight tanks are occasionally used, and the dock is raised and 
