duty 
Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this is the 
whole duty of man. Eccl. xii. 13. 
To employ him on the hardest and most imperative 
duty. Hallam. 
6. In mech., the number of foot-pounds of work 
done per bushel or per hundredweight of fuel 
consumed : as, the duty of a steam-engine. 
7f. That which is due ; an obligation ; com- 
pensation; dues. 
And right as Judas hadde purses smale 
And was a theef, right swiche a theef was he, 
His master hadde but half his duetee. 
Chaucer, Friar's Tale, 1. 6934. 
They neither regarded to sette him to schole, nor while 
he was at schoole to paie his schoolemaister's duetie. 
J. Udall, tr. of Apophthegms of Erasmus, p. 369. 
The man shall give unto the woman a ring, laying the 
same upon the book, with the accustomed duty to the 
Priest and Clerk. Rubric in Marriage (1552). 
Do thy duty, and have thy duty. Shak., T. of the S. , iv. 1. 
8. A tax or impost ; excise or customs dues ; the 
sum of money levied by a government upon cer- 
tain articles, specifically on articles imported or 
exported: as, the stamp duty of Great Britain; 
the legacy duty; the duties on sugar; ad valo- 
rem and specific duties. 
To dames discreet, the duties yet unpaid, 
His stores of lace and hyson he convey'd. 
Crabbe., Works, I. 65. 
The word duties is often used as synonymous with taxes, 
but is more often used as equivalent to customs ; the latter 
being taxes levied upon goods and merchandise which are 
exported or imported. In this sense, duties are equivalent 
to imposts, although the latter word is often restrained 
to duties on goods and merchandise which are imported 
from abroad. Andrews, Revenue Laws, 133. 
Alnage duties. See alnage. Breach Of duty. See 
breach. Countervailing duties. See countervailing. 
Differential duty. Same as discriminating duty (which 
see, under discriminating). Malls and dullest. See 
mail*. TO do duty for. See <fol. =8yn. 8. Custom, Ex- 
cise, etc. See tax, n. 
duty-free (du'ti-fre), a. Free from tax or duty. 
duumvir (du-um' ver), n. ; pi. duumviri, duumvirs 
(-vi-ri, -verz). [L., usually, and orig., in pi. du- 
umviri, more correctly dwoviri (sing.duovir), i. e., 
duo viri, two men : duo = E. two; viri, pi. of vir = 
AS. wer, a man. Of. centumvir, decemvir.'] In 
Rom. hist., one of two officers or magistrates 
united in the same public function. The officers 
specifically so called were either the highest magistrates 
of municipal towns or persons appointed for some occa- 
sional service, the kind of duty in all cases being indicated 
by a descriptive term : as, duumviri navales, officers for 
equipping and repairing the fleet. 
duumviracy ( du-um' vi-ra-si), n. [< duumvi- 
rate : see -acy.'] ' The union of two persons in 
authority or office. [Rare.] 
A cunning complicating of Presbyterian and Indepen- 
dent principles and interests together, that they may rule 
in their Duumviracy. 
Dp. Oauden, Tears of the Church, p. 438. 
duumviral (du-um'vi-ral), a. [= F. duumviral 
= It. duumvirale, (. L. duumviralis, < duumviri : 
see duumvir and -a?.] Pertaining to Roman 
duumviri, or to a duumvirate. 
duumvirate (du-um'vi-rat), . [= F. duum- 
virat = Sp. duunvirato = Pg. duumvirato = It. 
duumvirato, < L. duumviratits, < duumviri: see 
duumvir and -ate 3 .] The union of two men in 
the same office, or the office, dignity, or gov- 
ernment of two men thus associated, as in an- 
cient Rome. 
duumviri, . Latin plural of duumvir. 
duvet (du-va'), n. [F., < OF. duvet, down, wool, 
nap.] A quilt or comfortable stuffed with 
swans' down or eider-down. 
dux (duks), n. ; pi. (luces (du'sez). [L., a lead- 
er, general, chief : see duke 1 .'] 1. A leader; a 
chief ; specifically, the head or chief pupil of a 
class or division in some public schools. Imp. 
Diet. 2. In music, the subject or theme of a 
fugue : distinguished from the comes or answer. 
duyker, duykerbok (dl'ker, -bok), n. [< D. 
duiker, = E. ducker, + bok = E. buek.~] The 
diving-buck, or impoon, Cephalophus mergens, 
an antelope of South Africa : so called from its 
habit of plunging through and under the bushes 
in flight instead of leaping over them. There 
are several species of Cephalophus, besides the one men- 
tioned, to which the name is also applicable. See cut 
under Cephalophus. 
duypng, n. Same as dugong. 
duzine, n. [< D. dozijn, a dozen: see dozen.'] 
A body of twelve men, governing a village. 
[N. Y., colonial, local.] 
The patentees are said to have been called the " Twelve 
Men" or Duzine, and to have had both legislative and 
judicial powers in town affairs. 
Johns Hopkins Univ. Stud., IV. 66. 
D. V. An abbreviation of the Latin Deo volente, 
God willing. See Deo volente. 
1806 
D-Valve (de'yalv), n. A valve for opening and 
closing the induction and eduction passages 
of a steam-en- 
gine cylinder : so 
called from its 
plan resembling 
the letter D. The 
usual form of the D- 
valve is shown in fig. 
1, where it is seen 
detached, and at a 
a, flg. 2, which rep- 
resents a section of a 
steam-cylinder and 
nozles. 
dwale (dwal), n. 
[< ME. dwale, 
dwole, error, de- 
lusion, also, in 
later use, dwale, 
a sleeping-po- 
tion, deadly 
nightshade, < 
AS. dwola (rare- 
ly dwala), ge-dwola, error, delusion, heresy ; cf . 
D. dwaal- (in comp.). delusion, = OHG. twdla, 
MHG. twdle, delay; Icel. dvali, sleep, lethargy 
(Haldorsen), dvala, also dvol, pi. dvalar, a short 
stay, a stop, pause; Sw. dvala, a trance, ec- 
stasy, = Dan. dvale, torpor, lethargy, a trance 
(dvale-drik, a sleeping-potion, dvalc-ocer, man- 
drake) : words variously formed and connected 
with AS. "dwal, "dwol, dol (= Goth, dwals, etc.), 
stupid, foolish, dull (see dull 1 ), and with the 
secondary verbs AS. dwelian, mislead, intr. 
err, dwelian, hinder, mislead, dwelian, remain, 
dwell, etc. ; all ult. from the strong verb rep- 
resented by AS. "dwelan, pret. *dwal, *dwol, pp. 
ge-dwolen, mislead: see further under dwell, and 
cf. dwale, v., dwalm.'] If. Error; delusion. 
The Goddes lamb than clenge sale 
This wreched werld fra sinful duale. 
Cunor Mundi, 1. 12840. 
2f. A sleeping-potion ; a soporific. 
To bedde goth Aleyn, and also Jon, 
Ther nas no more, hem needede no dwale. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 241. 
The frere with hus flsik this folke hath enchaunted, 
And doth men drynke dwale that men dredeth no synne. 
Piers Plowman (C), xxiil. 379. 
3. The deadly nightshade, Atropa Belladonna, 
which possesses stupefying or poisonous prop- 
erties. 
Dwale, or sleeping nightshade, hath round blackish 
Btalkes, &c. This kind of nightshade causeth sleep. 
Gerarde, Herball (ed. T. Johnson), ii. 56. 
4. In her., a sable or black color Deadly dwale, 
the Acuistus arborescens, a small solanaceous tree of 
tropical America, nearly allied to Atropa. It bears yellow 
berries. 
dwale (dwal), v. i. ; pret. and pp. dwaled, ppr. 
dwaling. [See dwell.'] To mutter deliriously. 
Dunglison. [Devonshire, Eng.] 
dwalm, dwaum (dwam, dwam), n. [So., also 
written dualm, dwam; < ME. "dwolme, < AS. 
dwolrna, a confusion, chaos, hence a gulf, chasm 
(cf. OS. dwalm, delusion, = OHG. twalm, stupe- 
faction, a stupefying drink), < "dwelan, pp. gc- 
dwolen, mislead, lead into error: see dwell, 
dwale, and dull 1 .'] A swoon; a sudden fit of 
sickness. 
Mir Majestic . . . this nicht has had sum dwaumes of 
swooning. 
Letter of Council of State, in Keith's Hist., App., p. 18a 
When a child is seized with some undeflnable ailment, 
it is common to say, "It's just some dwaum." Jamieson. 
dwang (dwang), n. A strut inserted between 
the timbers of a floor to stiffen them. [Scotch.] 
dwarf (dwarf), n. and a. [< ME. dwarf, dwerf, 
where / represents the changed sound (so in 
LG. below) of the guttural, which also took a 
different development in the parallel ME. dwe- 
rowe, dwerwe (mod. E. as if *dwarrow; cf. ar- 
row, barrow, etc.), < dwergh, dwerk (whence also 
mod. dial, durgan), a dwarf, particularly as an 
attendant, < AS. dweorg, dweorh, a dwarf (def. 
1), =D. dwerg, a dwarf, = MLG. dwerch, dwarch, 
dwark = LG. dwarf, a dwarf, contr. dorf, an 
insignificant person or thing, = OHG. twerg, 
MHG. twerc, qucrch, zwerch, G. cwerg, a dwarf, 
= Icel. dvergr = Sw. and Dan. dverg, a dwarf. 
The mythological sense appears esp. in Scand., 
and may be the orig. sense.] I. n. 1. A per- 
son of very small size ; a human being much 
below the ordinary stature. True dwarfs (some of 
the most celebrated of whom have been from 3 to less than 
2 feet in height) are usually well formed ; but dwarflshness 
is often accompanied by deformity or caused by dispro- 
portion of parts. In ancient, medieval, and later times, 
dwarfs have been in demand as personal attendants upon 
ladies and noblemen ; and the ancient Romans practised 
methods of dwarfing persons artificially. 
dwarfling 
Of that Citee was /Cacheus UK- Dicri'f, that clomb up in 
to the Sycomour Tre, for to see oure Lord ; be cause he 
was so litille, he myghte not seen him for the peple. 
SlandeoUle, Travels, p. 98. 
Behind her farre away a Dwarfe did lag, 
That lasie seemd, in being ever last. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. i. 6. 
Beneath an oak, mossed o'er by eld, 
The Baron's Dwarf his courser held. 
Scott, L. of L. M., ii. 31. 
2. An animal or a plant much below the ordi- 
nary size of its species. 3. In Scand. myth., 
a diminutive and generally deformed being, 
dwelling in rocks and hills, and distinguished 
for skill in working metals. 
II. a. Of small stature or size ; of a size 
smaller than that common to its kind or spe- 
cies : as, a dwarf palm ; dwarf trees. Among gar- 
deners dwarf is used to distinguish fruit-trees of which 
the branches spring from the stem near the ground from 
riders or standards, the original stocks of which are several 
feet in height. 
In the northern wall was a dwarf door, leading by break- 
neck stairs to a pigeon-hole. 
R. F. Burton, El-Medinah, p. 92. 
Many of the dwar/bicycles now offered for sale, though 
they have merits of their own, are anything but safeties. 
Bury and llillier, Cycling, p. 28. 
Similar to it [B. Aqulfolium], but different in foliage 
and dwarfer in growth, is B. repeps. 
Set. Ainer., N. S., LVI. 292. 
Dwarf bay, bilberry, cherry, etc. See the nouns. 
Dwarf dove, a small ground-dove of the genus Chamoe- 
pelia, (or Columbiffallina). There are several species, all 
American, the best-known being C. pax8erina 3 common in 
southern parts of the United States. See cut under ground- 
dove. Dwarf lemur, a small lemur of the genus Micro- 
cebut (which see). Dwarf male, in algee of the group 
(Kdogynieae, a small, short-lived plant consisting of only 
a few cells, developed in the vicinity of the oogonium 
from a peculiar zoospore, and producing antherozooids. 
Dwarf quail, a small quail of the genus Excalfactoria, 
as the Chinese dwarf quail, E. sintnsis. Dwarf snake, 
a serpent of the family Calamariida (which see), of dimin- 
utive size, and with non-distensible jaws, very generally 
distributed over the globe, found under stones and logs. 
There are several genera and species. Dwarf thrush, a 
small variety of the hermit-thrush, found in the Western 
States ; Turdus nanM. Dwarf wall, specifically, a wall 
of less height than a story of a building. The term is 
generally applied to walls which support the sleeper-joists 
under the lowest floor of a building. 
dwarf (dwarf), v. [< dwarf, .] I. trans. 1. 
To hinder from growing to the natural size ; 
make or keep small ; prevent the due develop- 
ment of; stunt. 
Tims it was that the national character of the Scotch 
was, in the seventeenth century, dwarfed and mutilated. 
Buckle, Civilization, II. v. 
The habit of brooding over a single idea is calculated to 
dwarf the soundest mind. 
Dr. Kay, in Huxley and Youmans' Physiol., 508. 
The window heads have been dwarfed down to mere 
framings for masks. 
J. Fergusson, Hist. Indian Arch., p. 124. 
You may dwarf a man to the mere stump of what he 
ought to be, and yet he will put out green leaves. 
G. W. Cable, Grandissimes, p. 331. 
2. To cause to appear less than reality ; cause 
to look or seem small by comparison: as, the 
cathedral dwarfs the houses around it. 
The larger love 
That dwarfs the petty love of one to one. 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
The mind stretches an hour to a century, and dwarfs 
an age to an hour. Emerson, Old Age. 
And who could blame the generous weakness 
Which, only to thyself unjust, 
So overprized the work of others, 
And dwarfed thy own with self-distrust? 
Whittier, A Memorial, M. A. C. ' 
II. intrans. To become less ; become dwarf- 
ish or stunted. 
As it grew, it dwarfed. Buckle, Civilization, II. ii. 
The region where the herbage began to dwarf. 
L. Wallace, Ben-Hur, p. 7. 
dwarfish (dwar'fish), a. [< dwarf + -iafti.] 1. 
Like a dwarf; below the common stature or 
size ; diminutive]: as, a dwarfish animal ; a 
dwarfish shrub. 2. Slight; petty; despicable. 
The king ... is well prepar'd 
To whip this dwarfish war, these pigmy arms, 
From out the circle of his territories. 
Shalt., K. John, v. '2. 
dwarfishly (dwar'fish-li), adv. Like a dwarf ; 
in a dwarfish manner. 
The painter, the sculptor, the composer, the epic rhap- 
sodist, the orator, all partake one desire, namely, to ex- 
press themselves symmetrically and abundantly, not dwarf- 
ishly and fragmentarily. Kmermn, The Poet. 
dwarfishness (dwar'fish-nes), n. Smallness of 
stature ; littleness of size. 
Science clearly explains this dwarjishness produced by 
great abstraction of heat ; showing that, food and other 
tilings being equal, it unavoidably results. 
U. Spencer, Education, p. 247. 
dwarfling (dwarfling), . [< dwarf + dim. 
A very small dwarf; a pygmy. 
