Part 309

Dirt"y (?), a. [Compar. Dirtier (?); superl. Dirtiest.] 1. Defiled with dirt; foul; nasty; filthy; not clean or pure; serving to defile; as, dirty hands; dirty water; a dirty white. Spenser.

2. Sullied; clouded; -- applied to color. Locke.

3. Sordid; base; groveling; as, a dirty fellow.

The creature's at his dirty work again.

Pope.

4. Sleety; gusty; stormy; as, dirty weather.

Storms of wind, clouds of dust, an angry, dirty sea.

M. Arnold.

Syn. -- Nasty; filthy; foul. See Nasty.

Dirt"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dirtied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dirtying.] 1. To foul; to make filthy; to soil; as, to dirty the clothes or hands.

2. To tarnish; to sully; to scandalize; -- said of reputation, character, etc.

Di*rup"tion (?), n. [L. diruptio, fr. dirumpere. See Disrupt, a.] Disruption.

Dis- (?; 258). 1. A prefix from the Latin, whence F. dés, or sometimes dé-, dis-. The Latin dis-appears as di-before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v, becomes dif-before f, and either dis-or di- before j. It is from the same root as bis twice, and duo, E. two. See Two, and cf. Bi-, Di-, Dia-. Dis- denotes separation, a parting from, as in distribute, disconnect; hence it often has the force of a privative and negative, as in disarm, disoblige, disagree. Also intensive, as in dissever.

Walker's rule of pronouncing this prefix is, that the s ought always to be pronounced like z, when the next syllable is accented and begins with "a flat mute [b, d, v, g, z], a liquid [l, m, n, r], or a vowel; as, disable, disease, disorder, disuse, disband, disdain, disgrace, disvalue, disjoin, dislike, dislodge, dismay, dismember, dismiss, dismount, disnatured, disrank, disrelish, disrobe." Dr. Webster's example in disapproving of Walker's rule and pronouncing dis-as diz in only one (disease) of the above words, is followed by recent orthoëpists. See Disable, Disgrace, and the other words, beginning with dis-, in this Dictionary.

2. A prefix from Gr. di`s- twice. See Di-.

||Dis (?), n. [L.] The god Pluto. Shak.

Dis`a*bil"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Disabilities (&?;). 1. State of being disabled; deprivation or want of ability; absence of competent physical, intellectual, or moral power, means, fitness, and the like.

Grossest faults, or disabilities to perform what was covenanted.

Milton.

Chatham refused to see him, pleading his disability.

Bancroft.

2. Want of legal qualification to do a thing; legal incapacity or incompetency.

The disabilities of idiocy, infancy, and coverture.

Abbott.

Syn. -- Weakness; inability; incompetence; impotence; incapacity; incompetency; disqualification. -- Disability, Inability. Inability is an inherent want of power to perform the thing in question; disability arises from some deprivation or loss of the needed competency. One who becomes deranged is under a disability of holding his estate; and one who is made a judge, of deciding in his own case. A man may decline an office on account of his inability to discharge its duties; he may refuse to accept a trust or employment on account of some disability prevents him from entering into such engagements.

Dis*a"ble (?), a. Lacking ability; unable. [Obs.] "Our disable and unactive force." Daniel.

Dis*a"ble (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disabled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Disabling (?).] 1. To render unable or incapable; to destroy the force, vigor, or power of action of; to deprive of competent physical or intellectual power; to incapacitate; to disqualify; to make incompetent or unfit for service; to impair.

A Christian's life is a perpetual exercise, a wrestling and warfare, for which sensual pleasure disables him.