decomposable (dekompozabl)

[= F. dé compos able; as decompose + -able.] Capable of being decomposed or resolved into constituent primary elements. Manifestly decomposable states of consciousne cannot exist before the states of consciousne out of which they are composed. H. Spencer, Education, p. 130. decompose (dē-kom-pōs'), v.; pret. and pp. de composed, ppr. decomposing. [F. décomposer; as de- priv. + compose; cf. decompound.] I. trans. To separate into its constituent parts; resolve into its original elements; specifically, to reduce (an organic body) to a state of di olution by a proce of natural decay. In some preliminary experiments it was found difficult to completely decompose cuprous oxide after it had been dried. Amer. Jour. Sci., Whole No. cxxx. p. 56. Whatever be the origin of the electricity, the quantity of water decomposed is proportional to the quantity of electricity which pa es. At kins on, tr. of Mascart and Joubert, I. 242. Decomposing furnace. See furnace. II. in trans. To become resolved into constituent elements; specifically, to decay; rot; putrefy. Syn. Decay, Putrefy, etc. See rot. decomposed (de-kom-pozd'), p. a. 1. In a state of decomposition.-2. In ornith., separated: specifically said of a feather the web of which is decompounded by disconnection of the barbs, or of a bundle of feathers, as those of the crest, which stand or fall apart from one another: used like decompound in botany. decomposer (de-kom-pō'zėr), n. That which decomposes. The cinnabar may be brought into intimate contact with its decomposer . Ure, Dict., III. 235. decomposite (de-kom-poz'it), a. and n. [ decompositus , formed from a compound, compos it us , compound, composite: see composite .] I. a. 1. Compounded a second time; compounded with things already composite.-2. In bot . , same as decompound . II. n. Anything compounded of composite things. Decomposites of three metals, or more, are too long to inquire of. Bacon, Questions touching Metals. Compounds wherein one element is compound are called decomposites.... The decomposite character of such words [as midshipman, gentlemanlike] is often concealed or disguised. Latham , Eng. Lang., § 423. IMG:content-2180.png:[blocks in formation] decomposition The new continents are built out of the ruins of an old planet; the new races fed out of the decomposition of the foregoing. Emerson, E ays, 1st ser., p. 274. The latter half of the nineteenth century will be known to the future historian as especially the era of the decom J. Fiske , Evolutionist, p. 269. position of orthodoxies. 3. [With ref. to decomposite, q. v.] The act of compounding together things which are themselves compound; a combination of compounds. A dexterous decomposition of two or three words together. Instruct. Concerning Oratory. Chemical decomposition. See chemical. - Decomposition of forces, in mech., same as resolution of forces (which see, under force ). - Decomposition of light, the separation of a beam of light into its prismatic colors. decompound (dē-kom-pound'), v. t. [=Pg. decompor It. decomporre, It divides and decompounds objects into a you sand curious parts. Hazlitt . IMG:content-2181.png:[blocks in formation] decompoundly (de-kom-pound'li), adv. In a decompound manner. Eng . law , a writ i uing out of chancery, on the suggestion of an ecclesiastical court, to attach a party to a proceeding in the latter court for contempt of its authority: a procedure substi- tuted by the act of 53 Geo. III., c. 127, for the de excommunicato capiendo . decopedt, p . a . [ME. pp. of * dec open , de- coper , deco upper , F. découper , cut, slash, de- + couper , cut: see coup1 .] Slashed; cut in figures. Shode he was with grete maistrie With shoon decoped , and with laas [lace]. decorously 2. The conferring of a badge, as of an order, or a medal of honor; hence, the badge or medal conferred.-3. That which embellishes; anything which decorates or adorns; an ornament. Our church did even then exceed the Romish in ceremonies and decorations . Marvell, Works, II. 208. It is a rule, without any exception, in all kinds of composition, that the principal idea, the predominant feeling, should never be confounded with the accompanying deco rations. Macaulay, Petrarch. 4. In music, a general term for the various melodic embellishments, as the trill, the appoggia [ ment. of the body beneath: so called from the a erted origin of this decoration at Città di Castello, in Umbria, Italy. Compare graffito. - Decoration day, the day set apart in the United States for observances in memory of the soldiers and sailors who fell in the civil war of 1861-65: originally called Memorial day. The day is observed by proce ions and orations in honor of the dead, and particularly by decorating their graves with flowers. Originally different days were selected for this purpose in the different States; but usage has now settled upon May 30th, which has been made a legal holiday in most of the States. The custom is observed both in the North and in the South. -Embroidery decoration, in ceram., a name given to a surface-decoration similar to that called lace-decoration, but more ma ive, and usually in white on a dark ground.Por cell an a decoration, in ceram., decoration by means of blue leafage, scrolls, and the like, on a white ground, as if in imitation of Oriental porcelain: especially applied to Italian majolica so decorated. - Trophy decoration, decoration by means of groups of arms, musical instruments, scrolls, tools of painting and sculpture, and the like, or what may by extension be called trophies, especially in Italian decorative art. = Syn. 3. Embellishment, garniture, trapping. With lupin and with lavender, To decorate the fading year. ed architecture, in use from the end of the thirteenth to the be ginning of the fif teenth century, when it degenerated into the Perpendicular. It is distinguish