Dicks on i a (diksonia)

[NL., after James Dicks on, a British botanist (died 1822). The surname Dicks on, otherwise spelled Dixon, is equiv. to Dick's son, Dick being a familiar form of Richard, and used both as a Christian name 1601 It occurs in the Lower Carboniferous in various localities in Europe. dicky1 (dik'i), n.; pl. dickies (-iz). [E. dial., also called dick - a ; a familiar use of the proper name Dick, dim. Dicky; cf. jack, jack - a , of similar origin. The name Dick, otherwise Rick, is a familiar form of Richard, a favorite name in England since the time of Richard Cœur de Lion. The name is F., of OHG. origin: OHG. rihhi, rich i, powerful, rich; hart i, in comp.- hart, strong, brave: see rich and hard. Cf. dickens.] An a ; a donkey. Time to begin the dicky races, More famed for laughter than for speed. Bloom field, Richard and Kate. dicky2, dickey (dik'i), n.; pl. dickies, dickeys (-iz). [Of dial. origin; dim. of dick2, q. v.] 1. A leathern apron.-2. A child's bib.-3. A shirt-front; a separate front worn over the breast in place of a shirt, or to hide a shirt not fit to be seen. Separate shirt-fronts of this kind, also called false bosoms and shams, were worn over plain shirts for many years in the first half of the nineteenth century. 4. A kind of high standing shirt-collar formerly worn. [New Eng.] My soul swells till it almost tears the shirt off my buzzum, and even fractures my dickey. J. C. Neal , Charcoal Sketches, iii. 34. 5. The seat in a carriage on which the driver sits, whether in front or not; a seat behind the body of a carriage for servants, etc. Three people were squeezed into it besides the driver, who sat, of course, in his own particular little dickey at the side. Dickens , Pickwick, xlvi.