Drop

(drop.) [From A. S. dr opa.] A small globule or spherical quantity of fluid which is let fall, or which hangs down as if about to fall; hence, the term is sometimes given to small round ear-rings, pendent diamond solitaires, .-(Law.) In criminal jurisprudence, the name given to that part of the gallows which sustains a felon before he is executed, and which suddenly drops from under him after the rope is attached to his neck. -(Med.) A division of the admeasurement of a liquid: 60drops being equal to 1 fluid drachm, or about a teaspoonful.-(Naut.) The midship depth of a sail, measured from the head to the foot. To drop astern, in sea parlance, is to cause the ve el to slacken speed so as to lag behind another ve el. To drop the anchor is to moor a ship by letting go the anchor. To drop dow", to move down a river or harbor, generally along with the ebb-tide. Drop'-scene. (-seen.) (Dram.) The painted curtain which, in theatres, is allowed to drop between the stage and the proscenium, between acts, or at the close of a dramatic or spectacular representation. Drop Serene'. (Med.) The Gutta serena. See AMAUROSIS. Dropsy, (drop'se.) [L. hydrops-hydor, water.] (Med.) An unnatural collection of watery humor, either throughout the whole body or in some part of it; as the cavity of the abdomen. It occurs most frequently in persons who are debilitated by disease. The D. takes different names, according to the part affected; as, Ascites, or D. of the abdomen; Hydrocephalus, D. of the brain, or water in the head, . The treatment ofD. is chiefly by diuretics, and other evacuant remedies, which remove the fluid from the textures by unloading the blood of its exce of serum, but it is a matter of some difficulty to find the proper remedy to each individual case. [s. 303]