Part 108

Dic"ta*phone (?), n. [Dictate + -phone, as in telephone.] A form of phonographic recorder and reproducer adapted for use in dictation, as in business.

Dic"to*graph (?), n. [L. dictum a thing said + E. -graph.] A telephonic instrument for office or other similar use, having a sound-magnifying device enabling the ordinary mouthpiece to be dispensed with. Much use has been made of it for overhearing, or for recording, conversations for the purpose of obtaining evidence for use in litigation.

The makers of this instrument spell it dictograph.

{ Die"sel en`gine or mo`tor (?) }. [After Dr. Rudolf Diesel, of Munich, the inventor.] A type of internal- combustion engine in which the air drawn in by the suction stroke is so highly compressed that the heat generated ignites the fuel (usually crude oil), the fuel being automatically sprayed into the cylinder under pressure. The Diesel engine has a very high thermal efficiency.

Di"et, n. Specifically: Any of various national or local assemblies; as, (a) Occasionally, the Reichstag of the German Empire, Reichsrath of the Austrian Empire, the federal legislature of Switzerland, etc. (b) The legislature of Denmark, Sweden, Japan, or Hungary. (c) The state assembly or any of various local assemblies in the states of the German Empire, as the legislature (Landtag) of the kingdom of Prussia, and the Diet of the Circle (Kreistag) in its local government. (d) The local legislature (Landtag) of an Austrian province. (e) The federative assembly of the old Germanic Confederation (1815 -- 66). (f) In the old German or Holy Roman Empire, the great formal assembly of counselors (the Imperial Diet or Reichstag) or a small, local, or informal assembly of a similar kind (the Court Diet, or Hoftag). The most celebrated Imperial Diets are the three following, all held under Charles V.: Diet of Worms, 1521, the object of which was to check the Reformation and which condemned Luther as a heretic; D. of Spires, or Speyer, 1529, which had the same object and issued an edict against the further dissemination of the new doctrines, against which edict Lutheran princes and deputies protested (hence Protestants): D. of Augsburg, 1530, the object of which was the settlement of religious disputes, and at which the Augsburg Confession was presented but was denounced by the emperor, who put its adherents under the imperial ban.

Dig, v. i. 1. To work hard or drudge; specif. (U. S.): To study ploddingly and laboriously. [Colloq.]

Peter dug at his books all the harder.

Paul L. Ford.

2. (Mach.) Of a tool: To cut deeply into the work because ill set, held at a wrong angle, or the like, as when a lathe tool is set too low and so sprung into the work.

To dig out, to depart; to leave, esp. hastily; decamp. [Slang, U. S.]

Dig, n. 1. A tool for digging. [Dial. Eng.]

2. An act of digging.

3. An amount to be dug.

4. (Mining) = Gouge.

Di*he"dral (?), a. 1. Of a kite or an aëroplane, having wings that make with one another a dihedral angle, esp. when the angle between the upper sides is less than 180°.

2. (Aëronautics) Of wing pairs, inclined at an upward angle to each other.

Ding"dong` the"o*ry. (Philol.) The theory which maintains that the primitive elements of language are reflex expressions induced by sensory impressions; that is, as stated by Max Müller, the creative faculty gave to each general conception as it thrilled for the first time through the brain a phonetic expression; -- jocosely so called from the analogy of the sound of a bell induced by the stroke of the clapper.

||Di`o*ny"si*a (?), n. pl. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Class. Antiq.) Any of the festivals held in honor of the Olympian god Dionysus. They correspond to the Roman Bacchanalia; the greater Dionysia were held at Athens in March or April, and were celebrated with elaborate performances of both tragedies and comedies.

Di`o*ny"si*ac (?), a. Of or pertaining to Dionysus or to the Dionysia; Bacchic; as, a Dionysiac festival; the Dionysiac theater at Athens.

Dip, n. 1. A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and then raises himself by straightening his arms.

2. In the turpentine industry, the viscid exudation, which is dipped out from incisions in the trees; as, virgin dip (the runnings of the first year), yellow dip (the runnings of subsequent years).

3. (Aëronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb, usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting into an airhole.

Di"plex (?), a. [Pref. di- + - plex, as in duplex.] (Teleg.) Pertaining to the sending of two messages in the same direction at the same time. Diplex and contraplex are the two varieties of duplex.

Dip"lo*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; double + -graph.] An instrument used for double writing, as one for producing embossed writing for the blind and ordinary writing at the same time. -- Dip`lo*graph"ic*al (#), a. -- Dip*log"ra*phy (#), n.

{ Dip"sey, Dip"sie, Dip"sy } (?), a. Deep-sea; as, a dipsey line; a dipsy lead. [Sailor's Cant]

{ Dip"sey, Dip"sie, Dip"sy }, n. 1. A sinker attached to a fishing line; also, a line having several branches, each with such a sinker, used in deep-sea fishing. [Local, U. S.]

2. (Naut.) A deep-sea lead.

Di*rect", a. (Political Science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates; as, direct nomination, direct legislation.