*dim*

n. [ L. acidus acid + -metry. ] (Chem.) The measurement of the strength of acids, especially by a chemical process based on the law of chemical combinations, or the fact that, to produce a complete reaction, a certain definite weight of reagent is required. -- Ac`id*i*met"ric*al a. [1913 Webster]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedimmed p. pr. & vb. n. Bedimming. ] To make dim; to obscure or darken. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. made dim or indistinct. a sun bedimmed by clouds [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. condimentum, fr. condire. See Condite. ] Something used to give relish to food, and to gratify the taste; a pungment and appetizing substance, as pepper or mustard; seasoning. [ 1913 Webster ]

As for radish and the like, they are for condiments, and not for nourishment. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L. dedimus we have given, fr. dare to give. So called because the writ began, Dedimus potestatem, etc. ] (Law) A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, as to examine a witness, etc. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To grow dim. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Dimmer superl. Dimmest ] [ AS. dim; akin to OFries. dim, Icel. dimmr: cf. MHG. timmer, timber; of uncertain origin. ] 1. Not bright or distinct; wanting luminousness or clearness; obscure in luster or sound; dusky; darkish; obscure; indistinct; overcast; tarnished. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dim magnificence of poetry. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

How is the gold become dim! Lam. iv. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

I never saw
The heavens so dim by day. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Three sleepless nights I passed in sounding on,
Through words and things, a dim and perilous way. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of obscure vision; not seeing clearly; hence, dull of apprehension; of weak perception; obtuse. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow. Job xvii. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

The understanding is dim. Rogers. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Obvious compounds: dim-eyed; dim-sighted, etc.

Syn. -- Obscure; dusky; dark; mysterious; imperfect; dull; sullied; tarnished. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dimmed p. pr. & vb. n. Dimming. ] 1. To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct; to take away the luster of; to darken; to dull; to obscure; to eclipse. [ 1913 Webster ]

A king among his courtiers, who dims all his attendants. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now set the sun, and twilight dimmed the ways. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her starry eyes were dimmed with streaming tears. C. Pitt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prob. orig., a cavity, and the same word as dimple. See Dimple. ] A bower; a dingle. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. dîme tithe, OF. disme, fr. L. decimus the tenth, fr. decem ten. See Decimal. ] A silver coin of the United States, of the value of ten cents; the tenth of a dollar. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dime novel, a novel, commonly sensational and trashy, which is sold for a dime, or ten cents; -- they were popular from ca. 1850 to ca. 1920. Sometimes the term is still applied to any novel of the type, though the price has greatly increased. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. [ L. dimensio, fr. dimensus, p. p. of dimetiri to measure out; di- = dis- + metiri to measure: cf. F. dimension. See Measure. ] 1. Measure in a single line, as length, breadth, height, thickness, or circumference; extension; measurement; -- usually, in the plural, measure in length and breadth, or in length, breadth, and thickness; extent; size; as, the dimensions of a room, or of a ship; the dimensions of a farm, of a kingdom. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gentlemen of more than ordinary dimensions. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

Space of dimension, extension that has length but no breadth or thickness; a straight or curved line. --
Space of two dimensions, extension which has length and breadth, but no thickness; a plane or curved surface. --
Space of three dimensions, extension which has length, breadth, and thickness; a solid. --
Space of four dimensions, as imaginary kind of extension, which is assumed to have length, breadth, thickness, and also a fourth imaginary dimension. Space of five or six, or more dimensions is also sometimes assumed in mathematics. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Extent; reach; scope; importance; as, a project of large dimensions. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Math.) The degree of manifoldness of a quantity; as, time is quantity having one dimension; volume has three dimensions, relative to extension. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Alg.) A literal factor, as numbered in characterizing a term. The term dimensions forms with the cardinal numbers a phrase equivalent to degree with the ordinal; thus, a2b2c is a term of five dimensions, or of the fifth degree. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. pl. (Phys.) The manifoldness with which the fundamental units of time, length, and mass are involved in determining the units of other physical quantities. Thus, since the unit of velocity varies directly as the unit of length and inversely as the unit of time, the dimensions of velocity are said to be length ÷ time; the dimensions of work are mass × (length)2 ÷ (time)2; the dimensions of density are mass ÷ (length)3.

Dimensional lumber,
Dimension lumber,
Dimension scantling, or
Dimension stock (Carp.), lumber for building, etc., cut to the sizes usually in demand, or to special sizes as ordered. --
Dimension stone, stone delivered from the quarry rough, but brought to such sizes as are requisite for cutting to dimensions given. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to dimension. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having dimensions. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without dimensions; having no appreciable or noteworthy extent. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Dimension. [ R. ] Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without dimensions; marking dimensions or the limits. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who can draw the soul's dimensive lines? Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. di- = di`s- twice + &unr_; part. ] (Zool.) (a) A division of Coleoptera, having two joints to the tarsi. (b) A division of the Hemiptera, including the aphids. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) One of the Dimera. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. di- = di`s- twice + &unr_; part. ] Composed of, or having, two parts of each kind. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ A dimerous flower has two sepals, two petals, two stamens, and two pistils. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. dimeter, Gr. &unr_;; di- = di`s- twice + &unr_; measure. ] Having two poetical measures or meters. -- n. A verse of two meters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. di- + methyl. ] (Chem.) Ethane; -- sometimes so called because regarded as consisting of two methyl radicals. See Ethane. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Dimeter, a. ] (Crystallog.) Same as Tetragonal. Dana. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. dimicatio, fr. dimicare to fight. ] A fight; contest. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. dimidiatus, p. p. of dimidiare to halve, fr. dimidius half. See Demi-. ] 1. Divided into two equal parts; reduced to half in shape or form. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) (a) Consisting of only one half of what the normal condition requires; having the appearance of lacking one half; as, a dimidiate leaf, which has only one side developed. (b) Having the organs of one side, or half, different in function from the corresponding organs on the other side; as, dimidiate hermaphroditism. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dimidiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Dimidiating. ] 1. To divide into two equal parts. [ Obs. ] Cockeram. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Her.) To represent the half of; to halve. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. dimidiatio. ] The act of dimidiating or halving; the state of being dimidiate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Diminished p. pr. & vb. n. Diminishing. ] [ Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf. L. diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See Dis-, and Minish. ] 1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt. Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken. [ 1913 Webster ]

This doth nothing diminish their opinion. Robynson (More's Utopia). [ 1913 Webster ]

I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. Ezek. xxix. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars
Hide their diminished heads. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mus.) To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To take away; to subtract. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. Deut. iv. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

Diminished column, one whose upper diameter is less than the lower. --
Diminished scale, or
Diminishing scale, a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute. Gwilt. --
Diminishing rule (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft. --
Diminishing stile (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors.

Syn. -- To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair; degrade. See Decrease. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being diminished or lessened. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, diminishes anything. Clerke (1637). [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a manner to diminish. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Diminution. [ R. ] Cheke. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ It., p. pr. of diminuere to diminish. ] (Mus.) In a gradually diminishing manner; with abatement of tone; decrescendo; -- expressed on the staff by Dim., or Dimin., or the sign. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. diminuens, p. pr. of diminuere. See Diminish. ] Lessening. Bp. Sanderson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Indicating or causing diminution. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Small; diminished; diminutive. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Diminutively. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. diminutio, or perh. rather deminutio: cf. F. diminution. See Diminish. ] 1. The act of diminishing, or of making or becoming less; state of being diminished; reduction in size, quantity, or degree; -- opposed to augmentation or increase. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of lessening dignity or consideration, or the state of being deprived of dignity; a lowering in estimation; degradation; abasement. [ 1913 Webster ]

The world's opinion or diminution of me. Eikon Basilike. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor thinks it diminution to be ranked
In military honor next. Philips. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) Omission, inaccuracy, or defect in a record. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mus.) In counterpoint, the imitation of, or reply to, a subject, in notes of half the length or value of those the subject itself.

Syn. -- Decrease; decay; abatement; reduction; deduction; decrement. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Indicating diminution; diminutive. “Diminutival forms” [ of words ]. Earle. -- n. A diminutive. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. L. deminutivus, F. diminutif. ] 1. Below the average size; very small; little. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Expressing diminution; as, a diminutive word. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Tending to diminish. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Diminutive of liberty. Shaftesbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Something of very small size or value; an insignificant thing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such water flies, diminutives of nature. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) A derivative from a noun, denoting a small or a young object of the same kind with that denoted by the primitive; as, gosling, eaglet, lambkin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Babyisms and dear diminutives. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word sometimes denotes a derivative verb which expresses a diminutive or petty form of the action, as scribble. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a diminutive manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being diminutive; smallness; littleness; minuteness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Dimmish. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. dimissio. See Dimit, and cf. Dismission. ] Leave to depart; a dismissing. [ Obs. ] Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. dimissorius: cf. F. dimissoire. See Dimit. ] Sending away; dismissing to another jurisdiction; granting leave to depart. [ 1913 Webster ]

Letters dimissory (Eccl.), letters given by a bishop dismissing a person who is removing into another diocese, and recommending him for reception there. Hook. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. dimittere to send away, le&unr_; go; di- = dis- + mittere to send. See Dismiss. ] To dismiss, let go, or release. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prob. fr. Gr. &unr_; of double thread, dimity; di- = di`s- twice + &unr_; a thread of the warp; prob. through D. diemet, of F. dimite, démitte. Cf. Samite. ] A cotton fabric employed for hangings and furniture coverings, and formerly used for women's under-garments. It is of many patterns, both plain and twilled, and occasionally is printed in colors. [ 1913 Webster ]