droitural 
droitural (<lroi'tu-ral), (t. [< OF. droiture, right, 
the right side (<"filj'. ilircctura, right, < L. direc- 
tus, right: see drottand dirrrt), + -al.~] Inltiit; 
relating to a right to real property, as distin- 
guished from possession. Droitural action, an ac- 
tion employed to regain the possession of real property liy 
one who has lost not only the possession, but also the right 
of possession, and has nothing but the mere right of prop- 
erty. Mil/",-. 
droll (drol), M. [< OF. drolle, draulc, a good 
fellow, boon companion, wag, mod. F. drole, a 
rogue, knave, fellow, < MD. D. drol, a droll, 
merry-andrew, humorous fellow, a troll, a round 
lump; cf. G. droll, a short thick person (of LG. 
origin). G. dial, droll, troll, a troll (see trull) ; 
cf. Gael, droll, an awkward sluggard (see droil). 
The relations of the several words are not clear. 
See droll, a.] 1. A waggish fellow ; one whose 
practice or occupation is to raise mirth by odd 
tricks ; a jester, merry-andrew, or buffoon. 
To the Dolphin taverne, where . . . Sir Thomas Harvy 
and myself dined, . . . and very merry we were, Sir Thomas 
Harvy being a very drolle. Pepys, Diary, II. 241. 
Democritus, dear Droll, revisit Earth. 
Prior, Democritus and Heraclitus. 
We see one of these drolls holding a pair of bellows by 
way of a fiddle, and using the tongs as a substitute for 
the bow. Stnttt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 390. 
2. A farce ; a dramatic entertainment intended 
to amuse. [Obsolete or archaic in both uses.] 
A droll, or Interlude among the Oreeks, I take to have 
been one function of the chorus ; and with us at the thea- 
tres, it is the dance in Tottenham-court-road, the ballad or 
musical entertainment, which nils up the space between 
the different parts of the performance. 
Jon Bee, Essay on Samuel Foote. 
In a private collection, Langbaine had gathered about a 
thousand plays, besides interludes and drolls. 
I. D' Israeli, Amen, of Lit., II. 176. 
A Droll or Drollery was a dramatic piece made up of 
scenes from different plays, and acted chiefly at booths by 
strolling companies. 
A. Dobson, Selections from Steele, p. 450, note. 
droll (drol), a. [< F. drole, odd, queer, comical, 
funny. In both F. and E. the adj. appears 
later than the noun. Cf. G. drollig, merry, 
facetious, droll, odd. See droll, n.] 1. Wag- 
gish; facetious; comical. 
Dick, the merry-andrew, rather light fingered and riot- 
ous, but a clever, droll fellow. 
Macaulay, St. Dennis and St. George. 
2. Ludicrous; queer; laughable; ridiculous: 
as, a droll story ; a droll scene. 
I find in them [the masterpieces of wit and humor of 
Italy] abundance of ingenuity, of droll naivete 1 , of pro- 
found and just reflection, of happy expression. 
Macaulay, Dante. 
There is a droll resolve in the Massachusetts records by 
which he [Hugh Peter] is " desired to write to Holland for 
500 1. worth of peter, A 40 1. worth of match." 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 48. 
=Syn. Comical, Funny, etc. (sec ludicrous) ; amusing, 
farciciil, waggish, fantastic, whimsical, 
droll (drol), v. [= OF. droler, jest, trifle, play ; 
from the noun.] I. intrans. To jest ; play the 
buffoon. 
The Romans were fallen into that degree of Irreligion 
and Atheism that nothing was more common among them 
than to droll upon Religion. Stillingflfet, Sermons, I. x. 
Tipkln is an absolute Lombard-Street Wit, a Fellow that 
drolls on the strength of Fifty thousand Pounds. 
Steele, Tender Husband, i. 1. 
H. trails. If. To lead or influence by jest or 
trick; cajole. 
Men that will not be reasoned into their senses may yet 
be laughed or drolled into them. Sir R. L' Estrange . 
Wise men may be argued out of a Religion they own, 
but none but Fools and Madmen will be droll'd out of it. 
Stillingfeet, Sermons, I. i. 
2. To turn into a jest. [Rare.] 
In fact, I don't know but the Colonel is a little too jolly. 
This drolling everything is rather fatiguing. 
ltowell, Their Wedding Journey, p. 280. 
drollert (dro'ler), n. A jester; a buffoon. 
And now he is making an experiment by another sort of 
enemies, and sets the apes and drotlers upon it 
Olanvtlle, Sermons, iv. 
drollery (dro'le-ri), .; pi. drolleries (-riz). [< 
OF. drolerie, dravlerie, waggery, a merry prank, 
an antic figure or mask set on a scutcheon or 
coat of arms, mod. F. drolerie, waggery, < drolle, 
drole, n. See droll, n.] 1. The conduct of a 
droll, buffoon, or wag ; something done to raise 
mirth ; sportive tricks ; buffoonery ; fun. 
They [the people of Judah] made sport with the Proph- 
ets, and turned their threatnlngi into songs of mirth ;md 
drollery. S/illing,rieet, Sermons, II. iv. 
He contrived to make the most commonplace subjects 
amusing, and carried everybody along with him in his 
wildest flights of drollery. 
Lady Holland, in Sydney Smith, iv. 
1775 
2. The character of beiug droll ; comicalnesg; 
humor. 
The rich drollery of "She Stoops to Conquer." 
Macaulay, Oliver Goldsmith. 
3. Comical action, as in a dramatic represen- 
tation ; something used or done to excite mirth. 
He is loth to make nature afraid in his plays, like those 
that beget tales, tempests, and such like drollerie. 
B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, Ind. 
4f. A comic picture. 
We arrived late at Roterdam, where was their annual 
marte or faire, so furnished with pictures (especially Land- 
skips and Drolleries, as they call those clounlsh represen- 
tations) that I was amaz'd. Evelyn, Diary, Aug. 13, 1641. 
Their [Dutch artists'] pictures, in their own age, were 
not classed in the range of serious work ; they bore com- 
monly the significant name of Drolleries. 
F. T. Palgrave, Nineteenth Century, XXIII. 85. 
droll-houset (drol'hous), n. A place where 
drolls or drolleries were acted. 
Should the senate-house where all our lawgivers as- 
semble be used for a theatre or droll-house, or for idle 
puppet-shows? Waits, Holiness of Times, etc., ill. 
drollict (dro'lik), a. [< droll, n., + -ic.] Per- 
taining to a droll or puppet-show. 
Thalestris, Queen of the Amazons, Anna Bullen, Queen 
Elizabeth, or some other high princess in drollic story. 
Fielding, Jonathan Wild, 11. 3. 
drollingly (dro'ling-li), adv. In a jesting man- 
ner. 
What confusion will one day cover the faces of those 
that . . . speak slightly . . . and perhaps droUingly of 
the supreme and infinitely perfect Being ! 
Boyle, Works, V. 156. 
drollistt (dro'list), n. [< droll + -is.] A face- 
tious person ; a jester ; a buffoon. 
These idle drollisls have an utter antipathy to all braver 
and more generous kinds of knowledge. 
Glancille, Reflections on Drollery and Atheism, 3. 
drolly (drol'li), adv. In a droll or comical man- 
ner. 
At first sight, nothing seems more drolly trivial than the 
lives of those whose single achievement is to record the 
wind and the temperature three times a day. 
Loujell, Study Windows, p. 5. 
Dromadidae (dro-mad'i-de), n.pl. [NL., < Dro- 
mas (Dromad-) + -idee."] A family of gralla- 
torial birds of uncertain position, represented 
by the genus Dramas alone. Also Dromidtf. 
Dfomaeidae (tlro-me'i-de), . pi. [NL., < 7>ro- 
maus + -ida:.~] The emus considered as a fam- 
ily of ratite birds. See Dromceina:. 
Dromaeinae (dro-me-I'ne), n.pl. [NL., < Dro- 
mceus + -incs.] The emus as a subfamily of 
ratite birds of the family Casuariidte, repre- 
sented only by the genus Dromceus (which see). 
Also written Dromaiince. 
Dromseognathse (dro-me-og'na-the), n. pi. 
[NL., fern. pi. of dromteognathvs : see dronueog- 
nathotts.'} In ornith., a group of birds, embra- 
cing only the tinamous (Tinamida; or Crypturi) 
of South America ; birds which, although be- 
longing to the Carinate, have the bones of the 
palate disposed substantially as in the Ratitoe. 
See droma'ognathism. 
Dromaeognathi (dro-me-og'na-thi), n. pi. [NL., 
masc. pi. of dronueognatlius : see above.] Same 
as Droma:ognalh(e. 
dromseognathism (dro-me-og'na-thizm), n. [< 
dromteognath-ous -r -ism.'] The arrangement 
of the bones of the palate in the particular 
manner seen in the Dronueoqnathce and all ra- 
tite or struthious birds, as the ostrich and its 
allies. The posterior ends of the palatines and the an- 
terior ends of the pterygoids are very imperfectly, or not 
at all, articulated with the basisphenoidal rostrum, being 
usually separated from it, and supported by the broad, 
cleft hinder end of the vomer. Strong hasipterygoid pro- 
cesses, arising from the body of 
the basisphenoid, and not from 
the rostrum, articulate with fa- 
cet* which are situated nearer 
the posterior than the anterior 
ends of the inner edges of the 
pterygoid bones. Ilttxley. 
dromaeognathous ' (dro- 
me-og'na-thus), a. [< 
NL. dromtKognathus, < 
Dromceus, the generic 
name of the emu, + Gr. 
jrdflofjaw.] 1. Exhibiting 
dromfflognathism ; hav- 
ing the palate-bones dis- 
posed substantially as in 
the ostrich. 2. Belong- 
ing to or being one of the 
Dronxeognu th<e. 
All the Ratite liirds, and the 
tinamous alone of Carinate 
birds, are dronueognathovi. 
Coues, Key to N. A. Birds, p. 168. 
dromedary 
Dromaeopappi (dro-me-o-pap'i), n. pi. [NL. < 
Gr. fpoualof, swift, fleet, + irairitoc,, a little bird.] 
An order of extinct birds with teeth, conter- 
minous with the subclass Odontolcce (which 
see). 
Dromaeornis (dro-me-6r'nis), n. [NL., < Dro- 
inii-itK, q. v., + Gr. opvif, a bird.] A genus of 
extinct Australian ratite birds : so called from 
its affinity to Dromceus, the genus of living 
emus. Also Dromornis. 
Dromaeus (dro-me'us), n. [NL., < Gr. 6pofuuof, 
swift, fleet, < Ap6/iof, a running, < Apauciv, run: 
see dromedary.] A ge- 
nus of ratite birds, 
of the family Casua- 
riidte and subfamily 
Drommncc; the emus. 
Three species are recog. 
nized by naturalists, D. no- 
rve-hollandue, D. ater, and 
D. irroratus. In general 
the characters are those of 
Casuarius, the cassowaries ; 
but there is no casque upon 
the head, which is feather- 
ed ; the beak is compara- 
tively slender ; and the rudi- 
mentary wings are entirely 
hidden in the very long and 
copious plumage which 
parts along the back and 
falls on each side in long 
curly plumes, somewhat re- 
sembling hair. The feathers 
are double that is, two 
or even three webs grow 
from one main stem. See 
emu. Also Droinaius, Dro- 
miceius. 
Droinaius, n. See Dro- 
Pelvis and Hind Limb of Emu 
(Drontaus). 
II, ilium, with a, anterior pro- 
cess, and *, posterior process; It. 
ischium ; ff>, pubis; Am. femur; 
T. tibia ; F , fibula ; As. astraga- 
lus; Ca, calcaneum? i, head of 
tarsal processes for second, third, 
' digits. Compare with 
Skull of Nothura macu- 
losa (with most of beak cut 
off 1 , showing droiij.togn.i- 
thous structure of palate. 
Mxf. maxillopalatine ; 
PI, palatine ; Pt, pterygoid ; 
ISo, vomer ; +, basiptcYygoid 
process. 
Dromas (dro'mas), n. 
[NL., < Gr. dpoprfc, 
running, < Opa/ieiV, 
run: see dromedary] - 
The typical and only 
genus of grallatorial birds of the family Dro- 
madidtc. There is but one species, Dromas 
ardeola, of India and Africa. 
Dromatherium (dro-ma-the'ri-um), n. [NL., 
irreg. < Gr. Spofia^, running, + 6t/ptov, a wild 
beast.] 1. A genus of fossil mesozoic mam- 
mals. D. silcestre, representing a very primitive type 
of M'ltiiiiiiilin, has been found in the Triassic formations 
of North America, in the Chatham dial-fields of North 
Carolina. The Drowatherium is the oldest American 
mammal yet discovered. 
2. [/. c.] PI. dromatheria, dromatheriums (-a, 
-umz). An animal of the genus Dromatherium. 
dromedarian (drum-e-da'ri-an), n. [< drome- 
dary + -an.] Same as dromedarist. 
Ridden by dromedariaiu in Egyptian costume. 
Daily Telegraph (London), Nov. 7, 1877. 
dromedarist (drum'e-da-rist), . [< drome- 
dary + -int."] One who rides or drives a drom- 
edary. 
As to 'Oguia'n Ibn El-Hheb'la and Mohham'mad Ih'n 
K;i mil. the Dromedarist, they Journeyed until they en- 
tered tin' castle of Kl-Kar'ak. 
E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, II. 131. 
dromedary (drum'e-da-ri), n. ; pi. dromedaries 
(-riz). [Early mod. E'. also dromedare; < ME. 
dromedarie, -ary, also drowmondere, < OF. drome- 
daire, F. dromadaire = Pr. dromadari, drome- 
dari, drontoduri = Sp. dromedal, dromedario = 
Pg. It. dromedario = D. drommedaris = G. Dan. 
Sw. dromedar, < LL. dromedarius, prop. *droma- 
darius, extended, with suffix -arius, < L. dramas 
(dromad-), a dromedary, < Gr. 6po/i6f (dpo/aad-), 
running (cf. fpo/ialos Ka/itj^, a dromedary, lit. 
runningcamel).< 6pa/iclv, 2d aor. associated with 
rptxeiv, run.] 1. A thorough-bred or blooded 
Arabian camel, of more than ordinary speed 
and bottom, expressly cultivated and used for 
riding. The dromedary Is not a distinct or natural spe- 
cies, but an improved domestic breed or race, bearing the 
same relation to an ordinary camel that a race-horse or 
hunter does to a common horse. Dromedaries are for the 
most part of the one-humped species, Camelui dromeda- 
ri<; but the two-humped Bactrian camel may also be 
improved into a dromedary. See camel. 
Abnlites there mette Alexander . . . and presented hym 
amongst the reste of other thinges dromedary camels y< 
were wonderful swift. 
J. Brende, tr. of Quin tns Curtius, fol. 108. 
After did a mightie man pursew, 
Ryding upon a Dromedare on hie. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. viii. 38. 
I was moving over the Desert, not upon the rocking 
dromedary, but seated in a barque made of mother-of- 
pearl. /;. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 138. 
2f. Same as dromon. 
The dromion, dromon, or dromedary, was a large war 
ship, the prototype of which was furnished by the .Saxons. 
Encyc. Brit., VII. 310. 
