dove 
a few kinds of pigeons best known to the public, and m a 
book-name is commonly attached to the smaller species of 
oiiteons as, the ring-dove, turtle-dot* , stock-done, ground- 
doee quail-rfom, etc. The Carolina dove, or mourning dove, 
is Zenaidum carolinensis. The common doves of the old 
world are the ring-di 
dove. (See these 
1748 
Jean had been lyin' wakin' lang, 
Ay thinkin' on her lover, 
An juste's he gae the door a bang, 
She was begun to dover. 
A. Douglas, Poems, p. 139. 
g-dove, rock-dove, stock-dove, and turtle- JJnver'S DOWder. See powder. 
words.) ^.^^'i^^^SS' dove's-foot(duvz'fut),n. 1. The popular name 
nuer anectkm " In' sacred literature and art it is a in England of Geranium molle, a common British 
symbol of the Holy Ghost. plant : so called from the shape of its leaf. 
The Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove 2. The columbine. 
T - 22 - doveship (duv'ship), n. [< dove 1 + -ship.] The 
character of a dove; the possession of dove- 
like qualities, as meekness, gentleness, inno- 
cence, etc. 
For us, let our dove-ship approve itselfe in meeknesse of 
suffering, not in actions of cruelty. 
Bp. Hall, The Beautie and Vnitie of the Church. 
Oft I heard the tender dove 
In firry woodlands making moan. 
Tennyson, Miller's Daughter. 
2. Eccles., a repository or tabernacle for the 
eucharist, in the form of a dove, formerly used 
in the East and in France. 
There generally were two vessels : the smaller one, or J n _ ot ,,ji* canv'tfill n K dove + tail 1 Cf 
the pix, that held the particles of the blessed Eucharist ; ttOVetail lr? tai;, n. |> " ; V 1 - 
- lar-er cup or dove within which the other was shut equiv. culvertail.] In carp., a tenon cut in the 
form of a dove's tail spread, or of a reversed 
wedge ; a manner of fastening boards or tim- 
bers together by letting tenons so cut on one 
into corresponding cavities or mortises in ano- 
ther. This is the 
strongest of all 
fastenings or 
joints, as the 
dovetails cannot 
be drawn out ex- 
cept by force ap- 
plied in the di- 
rection of their 
length. Dovetails 
are either expos- 
ed or concealed; 
concealed dove- 
tailing is of two i. Common Dovetailing, a. Lap Dovetailing. 
kinds, lapped and 
mitered. See also cut under joint. Dental-cut dove- 
tail, a dovetail having each part dented to fit into the 
---- - J . - , spaces between the teeth of the corresponding portions. 
able height above the ground, as on a building Dovetail-file, dovetail-hinge. See/iZe, hinye. Dove- 
or a pole, for the roosting and breeding of do- tail-Joint, in anat., the suture or serrated articulation, 
ma<ri> riigeons a house for doves. as of the bones of the head. Dovetail-molding, an or- 
nament in the form of a dove's tail, occurring in Roman- 
Like an eagle in a dove-cote, I 
Flutter'd your Volsciaus in Corioli. 
Shak., Cor., v. 5. 
dove-dock (duv'dok), n. Same as coltsfoot. 
dove-eyed (duv'id), a. Having eyes like those 
of a dove ; having eyes expressive of meek- 
ness, mildness, gentleness, tenderness, or af- 
fection. 
dove-house (duv'hous), . A dove-cote. Shak. 
dovekie (duv'ki), n. [Appar. < dove 1 + dim. 
-kie.] The sea-dove or little auk, Mergulm alle 
or Alle nigricans, a small urinatorial or diving 
bird of the family Alcidce. It is abundant in the 
northern Atlantic and Arctic oceans, congregating to 
up. "' ' "Boci'church of our Fathers, III. ii. 203. 
dove 2 (dov). An occasional preterit of dive. 
dove 3 (dov), v. i. ; pret. and pp. doved, ppr. 
doving. [E. dial., appar. ult. from an unre- 
corded AS. verb, the source of the verbal noun 
AS. dofung, dotage ; cf. E. dial. freq. dover, 
also doven, the latter perhaps < Icel. dofna, 
become dead or heavy (cf. dofi, torpor), = Sw. 
domna, become numb, dofna, numb; cf. Dan. 
dime, blunt, bedove, stun, stupefy, from the 
same root as deaf, q. v. Cf. dowf.] To slum- 
ber ; be in a state between sleeping and wak- 
ing. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
dove-color (duv'kul"qr), n. In textile fabrics, 
a warm gray of a pinkish or purplish tone. 
dove-COte (duv'kot), n. [< ME. dove-cote, dowe- 
cote (cf. Sc. doweate),< dove + cote: see cot 1 , 
cote 1 .] A small structure placed at a consider- 
Dovekie (Merzttlus alle}. 
breed in some places in countless numbers. It is about 
8i inches long, web-footed, three-toed, with short wings 
and tail and short stout bill, the body glossy blue-black 
above, with white scapular stripes, ends of secondaries 
white, and the under parts mostly white. See Alle. 
Joe, who had been out hunting, reported that he had 
seen in the open water three dovekitt. 
C. F. Hall, Polar Exp., p. 314. 
dovelet (duv'let), n. [< dove 1 + dim. -let.] A 
little dove ; a young dove. 
dove-like (duv'lik), a. Having the appearance 
or qualities of a dove ; gentle. 
The young Spirit 
That guides it lias the dove-like eyes of hope. 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, ii. 4. 
doveling (duv'ling), n. [< dove 1 + dim. -ling 1 .'} 
A young dove ; a dovelet. 
I will be thy little mother, my doveling. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 748. 
doven (do'ven), v. i. Same as dove$. 
dovening (dov'ning), n. [Verbal n. of doven, 
r.] A slumber. Grose. [Prov. Eng.] 
dove-plant (duv'plant), . The Peristeria elata, 
an orchid of Central America: so called from 
the resemblance of the column of the flower 
to a white dove with expanded wings. Also 
called Holy Ghost plant. 
dover (do'ver), v. i. Same as dove*. 
Dovetail-molding. Cathedral of Ely, England. 
esque architecture. Dovetail-plates, in ship-building, 
plates of metal let into the heel of the stern-post and 
keel of a vessel to bind them together. Similar plates are 
used for joining the stern-foot with the fore end of the 
keel. See cut under stem. Dovetail-saw. Seerawl. 
Secret dovetail, a manner of joining in which neither 
pins nor dovetails extend through the work, being con- 
cealed by its outer face. 
dovetail (duv'tal), v. t. [< dovetail, n.'] 1. To 
unite by tenons in the form of a pigeon's tail 
spread let into corresponding mortises in a 
board or timber: as, to dovetail the angles of a 
box. 2. Figuratively, to unite closely, as if 
by dovetails ; fit or adjust exactly and firmly; 
adapt, as one institution to another, so that 
they work together smoothly and harmoniously. 
Into the hard conglomerate of the hill the town is 
built; house walls and precipices morticed into one an- 
other, dove-tailed by the art of years gone by, and riveted 
by age. J. A. Symonds, Italy and Greece, p. 10. 
He [Lord Chatham] made an administration so check- 
ered and speckled, he put together a piece of joinery so 
crossly indented and whimsically dove-tailed, etc. 
Burke, American Taxation. 
When any particular arrangement has been for a course 
of ages adopted, everything also has been adapted to it, 
and, as it were, fitted and dovetailed into it. Brougham. 
dovetailed (duv'tald), a. In her., broken into 
dovetails, as the edge or bounding line of an 
ordinary or any division of the field. See 
dove-WOOd (duv'wud), n. The wood of Alchor- 
nea latifolia, a euphorbiaceous tree of Jamaica. 
clovisht (duv'ish), a. [< dove 1 + -ish 1 .] Like 
a dove ; innocent. 
Contempte of thys worlde, doveyshe simplicitie, aer- 
pentlike wysdome. 
Confut. ofN. Shaxtou (1546), sig. G 4, b. 
dow 1 (dou), v. i.; pret. domed, dought. [< ME. 
dowen, doghen, dugen, dugen, pres. ind. deh, deih, 
degh, later dowe, doghe, pret. doitght, doughte, 
douhte, doht, < AS. dugan (pres. ind. dealt, pi. 
dugon, pret. dohte) = OS. dugan = OFries. duga 
= D. deugen = MLG. dogen, LG. dogen = OHG. 
tugan, MHG. tugen, tougen, G. taugen = Icel. 
duga = OSw. dugha, dor/ha, Sw. duga = Dan. 
f?MC = Goth, dugan (only in pres. daug), be good, 
fitting, able : a preterit-present verb, the pres., 
AS. dedh, Goth, daug, being orig. a pret. from 
a root "dug, be good, perhaps akin to Gr. 
dowdy 
fortune, luck, rvyxaveiv, obtain. Hence dought, 
doughty. The word dow, becoming confused 
in sense and form, and dialectally in pronun- 
ciation, in certain constructions with the dif- 
ferent verb do 1 , was at length in literary use 
completely merged with it; but dow remains in 
dialectal use : see do 1 and do 2 . The difference 
well appears in the AS. line " do a thffitte duge " 
('do aye that dows,' i. e., do always that which 
is proper). The two verbs also appear (do 1 
twice, in the sense of 'put') in the first quot. 
below.] If. To be good, as for a purpose ; be 
proper or fitting ; suit. 
Duden [did, i. e., put] hire bodi thrill in a stanene tliruh 
rcofflnl. as hit deh hallie [saints] to donne [do, i. e., put]. 
St. Juliana, p. 77. 
Ring ne broche nabbe 30, . . . he no swuch thing that 
on [you] ne det'A forto habben. Ancren Rittle, p. 420. 
2f. To be of use ; profit ; avail. 
Ther watz moon [moan] for to make when meschef was 
cnowen, 
That noxt domed bot the deth in the depe stremes. 
Alliterative Poews (ed. Morris), ii. 374. 
Thre yere in care bed lay Tristrem . . . 
That neuer ne dought him day 
For sorwe he had o night. Sir Tristrem, ii. 1. 
3. To be able ; can. [Scotch.] 
But Pickie's heart it grew sae great, 
That ne'er a bit o 't he dought to eat. 
Dick o' the Cow (Child's Ballads, VI. 72). 
But facts are chiels that winna ding, 
And downa be disputed. Burns, A Dream. 
Do what I dought to set her free, 
My saul lay in the mire. 
Burns, To Miss Ferrier. 
4f. To be (well or ill) ; do. See do 2 . 
dow' 2 (dou), n. [An obsolete or dialectal form 
of dough.] 1 . Dough. 2. A cake. [Prov. Eng.] 
dow 3 (dou), . A dialectal (Scotch) form of 
dove 1 . 
Furth flew the dow at Noyis command. Sir D. Lyndsay. 
dow 4 t (dou), v. t. [< ME. dowen, < AF. dower, 
OF. douer, doer, F. douer (F. also doter: see 
dote*) = Pr. Sp. Pg. doter = It. dotare, < L. 
dotare, endow: see dote 2 , v., dotation. Cf. en- 
dow.] 1. To endow. 
Dobet doth ful wel and dewid he is also, 
And hath possessions and pluralites for pore menis sake. 
Piers Plowman (A), xi. 196. 
2. To give up ; bestow. 
O lady myn, that I love and no mo, 
To whom for-evermo myn herte I dowe. 
Chaucer, Troilus, v. 230. 
dow 5 , . See dhow. 
dowablet (dou'a-bl), a. [< AF. dowable; as 
dow 4 + -able.] Fit to be endowed ; entitled to 
dower. 
Was Ann Sherburne (widow and relict of Richd. Sher- 
burne) "dowable of said lands, &c.," and how long did she 
receive said dower? 
Record Soe. Lancashire and Cheshire, XI. 84. 
dowager (dou'a-jer), n. [< OF. douagiere (ML. 
doageria), a dowager (def. 1), fem. of dotiagier, 
douaigicr, dowaigier, adj., < douage (as if E. 
*dowage), dower, < OF. douer, E. dow*, endow: 
see dow*, dower 2 .] 1 . In law, a widow endowed 
or possessed of a jointure. 2. A title given to 
a widow to distinguish her from the wife of her 
husband's heir bearing the same name: ap- 
plied particularly to the widows of princes and 
persons of rank. 
This dowager, on whom my tale I found, 
Since last she laid her husband in the ground, 
A simple sober life in patience led. 
Dryden, Cock and Fox. 
Yea, and beside this he offereth to take to wife Elianor, 
Quene Dowager of Portyngall, without any dower. 
Hall, Hen. VIII., an. 19. 
dowagerism (dou'a-jer-izm), n. [< dowager + 
-ism.] The rank or condition of a dowager. 
dowairet, A Middle English form of dower 2 . 
dowar. . See douar. 
dowcett, n. See doucet, 3. 
dowd 1 (doud), a. [E. dial., < Icel. daitdhr = 
AS. dedd, E. dead : see dead.] Dead; flat ; spir- 
itless. [North. Eng.] 
dowd 2 (doud), n. [Origin obscure.] A woman's 
nightcap. [Scotch and prov. Eng.] 
dowdet, n. A Middle English form of dowdy. 
dowdily (dou'di-li), adv. In a dowdy or slov- 
enly manner. 
A public man should travel gravely with the fashions, 
not foppishly before, nor dou'dibt behind, the central 
movement of his age. K. L. Stevenson, Samuel 1'epys. 
dowdiness (dou'di-nes), . [< dowdy + -tiess.] 
The state of being dowdy. 
dowdy (dou'di), n. and a. [E. dial, also daicdy, 
Sc. dawdie, < ME. dowde, a dowdy; origin ob- 
scure. Appar. not connected witli dawdle, idle, 
trifle: see dawdle.] I. n.; pi. dowdies (-diz). 
