doubtfulness (doutfulnes)

doubt or uncertainty of mind; dubiousne ; suspense; instability of opinion. Faith is utterly taken away. Instead whereof is distrust and doubtfulne bearing rule. J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 1853), II. 29. 2. Ambiguity; uncertainty of meaning. Here we must be diligent, that... there be no doubt fulne in any word, and that alwaies there be one maner of words that goe before, and also one maner of wordes ende the sentence, plainly and without double vnderstanding. Sir T. Wilson , Art of Logic, fol. 20. 3. Uncertainty of event or i ue; indeterminatene of condition. Adieu, I you say, my full doucet floure! Adieu, my lady of full gret valoure! II. n. 1. A kind of pasty or custard. Bakemetes or dowcettes . Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 170. Dousette , a lytell flawne, dariolle. Palsgrave. 2. A musical instrument, a kind of flute. Many a you sand tymes twelve That craftily begunne to pipe Bothe in doucet and in riede. Free from doubt; indubitable. It is no prejudice to the precious charity of knowledge, 3. A testicle of a deer. Also written dowcet , even in undoubted truths, to make truth more doubtle . Ford , Honour Triumphant, ii. IMG:content-3093.jpg:[blocks in formation] And drow him toward the des, but doutusli after He stared on his step moder stifli a while. All the sweet morsels, called tongue, ears, and dowcets . B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2. douceur (dö-sėr'), n. [= D. douceur = Dan. douceur, dusör = Sw. dusör , reward, dou- ceur , sweetne , a present, douçor , dol- çor, dulçor (> ME. do us our ) = Pr. dolzor = Sp. dulzor = Pg. dulçor , dulcor , sweetne , dulcis , sweet: see dulcet .] 1. Sweetne or mildne of manner; kindne ; gentlene . Now for synglerty o hyr do us our , We calle hyr fenyx of Arraby. Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), i. 429. Blame with indulgence, and correct with douceur . Chesterfield. 2. A conciliatory offering; a present or gift; a reward; a bribe. J. T. Wheeler , Short Hist. India, p. 354. 3t. A kind or agreeable remark; a compliment. With a good account of her health, she writes me many douceurs , in which you have a great share. Lord Lyttelton (1771), in Correspondence of David [Garrick, I. 440. douche (dösh), n. [F., a douche, a shower-bath, = Sp. ducha = It. doccia , a water-pipe, spout, conduit, docciare = F. doucher , pour, duct i are , ducere , pp. duct us , lead, con- duct. Cf. conduit1, of the same ult. origin.] 1. A jet or current of water or vapor applied to some part or a particular organ of the body, as in a bath or for medicinal purposes.-2. An instrument for administering such a jet. Douches are differently formed and named, according to the parts for which they are designed: as, a nasal douche . - Douche fil i for me. Same as aqua puncture . IMG:content-3094.jpg:[graphic] douce (Sc. pron. dös), a. [Sc., also douse ; douce , douce , sweet, soft, gentle, mild, dulcis , sweet, etc.: see dulce.] 1t. Sweet; pleasant; luxurious. And Diues in deyntees lyued and in douce vye [life]. Piers Plowman (B), xiv. 122. Sir George was gentle, meek, and douse . Raid of the Reid swire (Child's Ballads, VI. 133). There were some pretty Gallas, douce -looking Abys- sinians, and Africans various degrees hideousne . R. F. Burton, El-Medinah, p. 473. doucedt (dö'sed), n. An erroneous form of dou- cet , 2. doucely (dös'li), adv . [ douce + -ly2.] Se- dately; soberly; prudently. [Scotch.] Doucely manage our affairs In parliament. moistening and mixing only; paste of bread. When they [camels] travel, they cram them with barly dough. Sandys , Travailes, p. 108. 2. Something having the appearance or cons is- tency of dough, as potters' clay, etc. They renew this Image with new dow many times. Dough or Dow is vulgarly used in the North for a little Cake, though it properly signifies a Ma of Flour tem- pered with Water, Salt, Yeast, and kneaded fit for baking. Bourne's Pop . Antiq . (1777), p. 163, note. The technical word used [in making Paraguay an tea] is sevar máte (cebar, lit., to bait, to grease, applied in the sense of doughing together the paste formed by the yerba and water and accommodating the bombilla). N. and Q., 7th ser., III. 16. Fer any office, small or gret, I couldn't ax with no face, Without I'd ben, thru dry and wet, Th' unrizzest kind o' doughface . IMG:content-3095.jpg:[blocks in formation] doum-palm, n. See doom - palm . doundaké, doundaké bark. See bark2 . doup (doup), n. [Sc., also written dowp , dolp ; appar. dup , Sw. * dopp in comp. Cf. Dan, dupsko = Sw. doppsko ( sko = E. shoe ), ferrule.] 1. Bottom; buttocks; butt-end; end; extremity: as, a candle- doup . The wight and doughty captains a' Upo' their doups sat down. Six warp threads are pa ed through mails in the leashes of the headle H, and thence through loops called " doups " fixed to a headle. A. Barlow , Weaving, p. 193. doupion, n. See dupion . dour (dör), a . [Sc. form of dure , a.] Hard; in flexible; obstinate; bold; hardy. [Scotch.] The porter uttered a sort of a yell, which came not ami into his part, started up with his club, and dealt a sound douse or two on each side of him. Scott , Kenilworth, xxx. douse3 (do us), v . t .; pret. and pp. doused , ppr. dousing. [Also written dowse ; perhaps a par- ticular use of douse2 . Usually taken as a cor- ruption of dout1 , but such a change would be very unusual. Certainly not from AS. dwāscan , extinguish.] To put out; extinguish. [Slang.] -Douse the glim. See glim . douser (dou'sèr), n. [ dowser . dousing-chock (dou's ing-chok), n. In ship- building , one of several pieces fayed acro the apron and lapped on the knightheads or inside stuff above the upper deck. That day doubble on the dece watz the douth serued, Fro the kyng watz cummen with knygtes in to the halle. Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 61. dought (Sc. pron. ducht). Obsolete or dialectal Scotch preterit of dow1 . doughtert, n. An obsolete spelling of daughter . doughtily (dou'ti-li), adv . [ douhteli , dough til i che, etc.; doughty + -ly2.] In a doughty manner; with doughtine . Hit is wonder to wete, in his wode anger, How doghtely he did that day with his hond. Patroculus the proude, a prise mon of werre; With Diomed, a dought i mon & dernist of hond, A stronge man in stoure & stuernist in fight. Full many doughtie knightes he in his dayes Had doen to death, subdewde in equall frayes. Spenser , F. Q., II. v. 26. She smiled to see the doughty hero slain; But, at her smile, the beau revived again. dourne (dör'nes), n. The state or qual- ity of being dour; obstinacy; stubbornne . [Scotch.] If there's power in the law of Scotland, I'll gar thee rue sic dourne . Galt , The Entail, I. 309. We are gravely told to look for the display of a dour- ne , desperation, and tenacity on the part of French men. The Nation , Jan. 12, 1871, p. 20. douroucouli (dö-rö-köʻli), n. The native name of one of the small, large-eyed, nocturnal South American monkeys of the genus Nyctipithecus (which see), as N. trivirgatus , or N. rufipes . IMG:content-3096.jpg:[blocks in formation] I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze, But that this folly douts it. Shak ., Hamlet, iv. 7. dout2t, v. and n. An earlier spelling of doubt1 . doutancet, n. An earlier spelling of doubt ance . doutet, v . t. An earlier spelling of doubt1 . doutelest, a . and adv . An earlier spelling of doubtle . IMG:content-3097.jpg:[graphic] doutoust, a . An earlier spelling of doubtous . douzeperet, douceperet, n. [An archaism in Spenser; ME. doseper , dosyper , sing., developed from pl. dozepers , duzeparis , duze pers, do e pers, etc., doze (douze, duze, etc.) pers ( pars ), mod. F. les douze pairs , the 'twelve peers' celebrated in the Charlemagne ro- mances: doze , douze , mod. F. douze , duo- decim, twelve (see duodecimal , dozen); per, mod. F. pair , peer (see peer1 , pair , par ).] One of the twelve peers ( les douze pairs ) of France, renowned in fiction. Inne Franse weren italle twelfe iferan, The Freinsce heo cleopeden dusze pers [var. do eperes ]. Layamon , I. 69. Kydd in his kalander a knyghte of his chambyre, And rollede the richeste of alle the rounde table! I ame the du epere and duke he dubbede with his hondes. Morte Arthure (E. E, T. S.), 1. 2643. dousing. [Also written douse , formerly douze , douce, dause , etc.; perhaps of Scand. origin: cf. Sw. duns a , plump down, fall clumsily ( duns , the noise of a falling body), = Dan. dunse , thump. Cf. douse2.] I. trans . To thrust or plunge into a fluid; immerse; dip; also, to drench or flood douz'd my carnal affections in all the vile- Hammond, Works, IV. 515. ne of the world. The Captain gave me my bath, by dousing me with buckets from the house on deck. Lowell , Fireside Travels, p. 161. Fabyan , Works, I. clv. Big looking like a doughty Doucepere . Spenser , F. Q., III. x. 31. dovel (duv), n. [= Sc. doo , dow , dove , douve , dowve , duve , dufe = OS. dubha = D. duif = LG. duve = OHG. tūba , MHG. toube , G. taube = Icel. dufa = Sw. dufra = Dan. due = Goth. dubō , a dove, lit. a diver, dūfan , etc., E. dive , dip. The application of the name to the bird is not clear (perhaps "from its habit of ducking the head, or from its manner IMG:content-3098.jpg:[blocks in formation] I thank you all; For doughty - handed are you, and have fought Not as you serv'd the cause, but as 't had been Each man's like mine. Shak ., A. and C., iv. 8. doughy (do'i), (do'i), a. [ do dough; flabby and pallid; yielding to pre ure; impre ible. for water, by the aid of the do using or div in- ing-rod (which see). douse, dowse2 (do us), v. t.; pret. and pp. doused, dowsed , ppr. dousing , dowsing . [Cf. Sc. dou , douce , doyce , throw dusch , rush, fall with a noise, duschen , du hen , rush, fall; cf. Norw. dusa , break, cast down from, OD. doesen , beat, strike, G. dial. tusen , dusen , strike, run against, East Fries. dö en , strike. See also do 1 and dust , which appear to be con- nected.] 1. To strike. IMG:content-3099.jpg:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-3100.jpg:[graphic][subsumed][merged small] dove a few kinds of pigeons best known to the public, and as a book-name is commonly attached to the smaller species of pigeons: as, the ring- dove, turtle- dove, stock- dove, ground dove, quail- dove, etc. The Carolina dove, or mourning dove, is Zenaidura carol in ens is. The common doves of the old world are the ring-dove, rock-dove, stock-dove, and turtledove. (See these words.) In poetry, and in literature generally, the dove is an emblem of innocence, gentlene , and tender affection. In sacred literature and art it is a symbol of the Holy Ghost. IMG:content-3101.png:[blocks in formation] dove2 (dov). An occasional preterit of dive. dove3 (dov), v. i.; pret. and pp. doved, ppr. doving. [E. dial., appar. ult. from an unrecorded AS. verb, the source of the verbal noun AS. dofung, dotage; cf. E. dial. freq. dover, also doven, the latter perhaps