Czarism

Absolutism in government or political The American Dictionary and Cyclopedia IMG:content-0511.png:[ocr errors] Brahmapootra on the other, thus affording great facili- ties for commerce; Lat. 23° 43′ N., Lon. 90° 26′ E., 155 m. N.E. of Calcutta, with which it connects by railroad. It is built, generally, of mud-brick and thatched houses, and with narrow and crooked streets. The vicinity of C. is very fertile, and healthy for India, and grows a considerable quantity of cotton. D. was, from 1608 to 1630, the metropolis of Bengal, but declined with the disorders following the irruptions of Nadir Shah. Pop . (1895) 81,212. -n. In some parts of England, a colloquialism for the hand or fist. a small fish of the carp family, found in clear and Dad'dock, n. The rotten trunk of a tree. quiet streams. Its head is small, muzzle pointed; back Dad'dy-long legs, n. ( Entom .) See TIPULA. slightly elevated, and tail forked. It is gregarious. Its food is worms and other soft animal substances. Dach, SIMON, a German poet, born 1605. He was the author of some religious odes, lyrics, and plays. D. 1659. Dacheet River, in Arkansas . See DAUCHITE. Dachshund, n. [Ger.] A small dog, called in Ger- many the badger-hound, having a long body and short, crooked legs. Da'cia. (Anc. Geog.) A large tract of the Roman empire beyond the Danube; now comprising Moldavia, Wall a chia, and portions of Transylvania and Hungary. Prior to Const an tine the Great, the whole tract was divided into Trojan D. and Aurelian D. The former, or Dacia proper, was situated north, the latter south, of the Danube. The country was inhabited by the Daci or Dacæ , a warlike nation of German origin, who, after a heroic resistance, continued for upwards of 75 years, were finally conquered by Trajan (A.D. 105), whereupon the entire region became a Roman province. In 453, Ardaric, king of the Gepidsæ, seized the country, and in 566 it was conquered by a colony of Scythians. The latter were subdued by Charlemagne, and the Magyars overran D. in the 9th century. Dacian ( da's han ), n. A native or inhabitant of Dacia. -a. Relating or pertaining to Dacia. Dacier ( da'se - a '), ANDRÉ, a French philologist, born 1651. He published an edition of Pompeius Festus, and translations of Horace, of Aristotle's Poetics , of Epicte- tus, of Marcus Antonius' Reflections , of Plutarch's Lives , . Died 1722.-His wife ANNE, daughter of the cele- brated Profe or Le Fèvre, born in 1654, was likewise distinguished for her literary attainments. She trans- lated into French Homer's Iliad and Ody ey, the Clouds of Aris toph anes, . Died in 1720. Dac'nis, n. (Ornith.) A genus of small and elegant birds, of the In se ores order, inhabiting Mexico. The color of the body is cerulean blue; the forehead, shoulders, wings, and tail are black, and it has a sharp, conical bill. Dacoit', Dakoit', n. [Hind. dak . ] In India, a member of a gang of robbers. Dacoit'y, Dakoit'y, n. A Hindoo gang of robbers or marauders. Dactyl ( daktil ), n. [Gr. dactylos , a finger, probably like Lat. digit us , from Sansk. dic , to show, found in Gr. deiknūmi, Lat. indico , to show.) (Pros.) In Greek and Latin poetry, a poetical foot consisting of three syllables, the first long and the others short, like the joints of a finger-as in carmind, omnibüs. Dactylic verses are hexameters which end in a D. instead of a spondee. In the English and German languages, where accent de- termines quantity, the word dactyl means an accented followed by two unaccented syllables, as in quantity. Dactyl'iograph, n. [Gr. daktylos , a ring and grapho, to engrave.] One who engraves gems and stones for finger-rings. The autograph or inscription of the artist's name upon a finger-ring. Dactyliography, n. The art of gem-engraving. Dactylic, Dactylar, a. (Pros.) Pertaining to, or consisting chiefly or wholly of dactyls. -n. A verse consisting chiefly or wholly of dactyls. Dac'tylis, n. [Gr. daktylos , a finger.] ( Bot . ). A genus of plants, order Graminaceæ, having the panicle of flowers much on one side of the stem, its secondary branches so short that the spikelets are much crowded into clusters; the glumes unequal, the larger one keeled; each spikelet containing 2 to 7 florets, each of which has 2 lanceolate, scarcely awned palese. D. glomerata , the orchard gra , called in England cock's-foot gra , is a native of Europe, Asia, N. America, and the N. of Africa. It forms an important part of almost all the best natural pastures, is much relished by cattle, and grows with great rapidity after it has been cut, yielding a large quantity of herbage, and succeeding well on most kinds of soil, and in situations too shady for many gra es; it is therefore generally sown along with other gra es. An improved variety, of greater size than the ordinary one, has been introduced into cultivation. Dactyl on'omy, n. [Gr. daktylos , and womos, from nemo, to deal out.) The art of numbering with the fingers. Dade, in Florida , a S. co., washed on the S. and E. by the Atlantic ocean, and bounded on the W. by Monroe со. Area , about 5,636 sq. m. Surface level; mostly occupied by the Everglades, a name given to vast expanses of shallow water, studded with innumerable small islands. The principal village and cap . is Miami. Pop . (1890) 861. Dade, in Georgia , a N.W. co., adjoining Tenne ee and Alabama. Area , about 187 sq. m. It is traversed by Lookout creek, and surrounded by high mountains. Iron ore, bituminous coal, and other valuable minerals abound. Cap . Trenton. Pop . (1890) 5,707. Dade, in Mi ouri, a S.W. co. Area , about 498 sq. m. It is intersected by the Sac river, Horse, and Cedar creeks. The surface is varied. Soil , fertile. Cap . Greenfield. Pop . (1890) 17,526. Da'do, n. [It. a cube, a die.) ( Arch . and Decor.) The flat surface between a base-moulding and surbase; in interiors, a skirting, sometimes several feet in width, and variously ornamented. The die, or square part, of a pedestal. Da'dyl, n. (Chem.) Same as CAMPHENE (q. v.). Dæ'dal, Dædali an, a. [From Lat. DEDALUS, q. v.] Performed with art or constructive skill; ingenious; as, "the dædal hand of nature." Dæ'dal us. ( Myth .) The fabulous representative of the most ancient Grecian art. According to Greek history, D. , son of Erechtheus, king of Athens, was the most inventive designer, accomplished artist, and mechanical genius the world had ever seen. His statues in wood were regarded as so admirably perfect that they are reported to have moved, and looked like life; his skill in the mechanical arts was so universal that sci- ence is reported to owe to him the invention of the wedge, the axe, saw, plummet, and the auger; and he also discovered the adhesive qualities of glue, besides inventing sails for ships. His pupil and nephew, Talus, promised even to eclipse his teacher, so remarkable was his ingenuity; a fact that so distracted D. with envy, that he hurled the youth through a lofty window, and killed him on the spot, an act that compelled him imme- diately to fly, with his son Icarus, to Crete for safety, where Minos, the king of the island, welcomed him with delight. Here he exercised his mechanical genius in constructing a wonderful labyrinth for his friend Pasi- phaë, the queen and wife of Minos, where, undiscovered, she might carry on her revolting amours. In revenge for his perfidy, Minos, when he heard of the use to which the labyrinth was put, confined both father and son in its intricate pa ages. To escape the fate this imprisonment threatened, D. made for himself and Icarus wings of feathers, attaching them to their bodies by glue and wax; and they, being thus furnished, soared aloft out of the labyrinth, and fled from Crete acro the Ægean Sea, directing their course in the track of Cunsæ, and finally for Sicily, where the prudent and more experienced navigator arrived in safety; but his rash son, elated with the po e ion of a new motive power, audaciously mounted the empyrean, before pur- suing his course, to show the gods his plumage; when, approaching too near the indignant Phœbus, his artificial wings were scorched by the sun, the wax melted, and the feathers becoming loose, the disco mated and humil- iated boy fell into that part of the Ægean Sea near the island of Samos, where he was drowned; thus giving the name of the Icarian Sea to that portion of the Mediter- ranean washing the isles of Greece. This pretty fable is easily and more rationally explained by supposing that the father and son, escaping the vigilance of Minos, filed to the shore, and leaping into two boats, put off, D. hoisting his mantle on the oars as a sail, and escaping the pursuit; while the son, le skillful, or more intent on watching the effect of the wind on the rude sail than the direction of his course, ran his bark on the island of Samos, and was drowned in the wreck. Dæ'mon, n. See DEMON. Daff, v. i. To daunt; to intimidate. (Used in some parts of England.)