A Dictionary of Cont..

(To decry the previous age is an established
procedure in liberal criticism).
To descry is to discover by observation, to
make out by looking (The boy on the mast
descried land lying about three leagues off the
port bow).
decumbent. See recumbent.
dedicate. A dedication was a setting apart and consecrating
to a deity. In England the word (except
in the sense of ascribing or addressing a
book to someone) is never used except when
there has been a religious ceremony. But in
America the word now often has merely the
meaning of open. When we are told that a new
Stock Exchange Building or a new sausage factory
has been dedicated, with the mayor officiating
and a party for the employees following
the dedication, we are not meant to suppose that
thereafter the structure is to be regarded as
dedicated.
deduce; infer. Deduce and infer both mean to
come to a conclusion after a process of reasoning
from premises or evidence. Deduce is the
more serious of the two words. An inference is
something lighter, often arrived at with less sense
of responsibility, than a deduction. One hears of
rash, foolish, false, unjustified, or shallow inferences
more often than one hears of deductions
of these sorts. Deduce is used more than infer
in scientific and philosophic matters.
deduction. See induction.
deem. See think.
deer. The plural is usually deer, but the regular
form deers is also heard and is acceptable. Compounds
ending in deer follow the same pattern,
with the exception of reindeer which has the
regular plural reindeers more often than not.
See also elk.
defamation. See libel.
defective; deficient. That is defective which has a
defect. That is deficient which has a deficit. Food
would be defective if it were spoiled. It ,would
be deficient if there were not enough of it. It
might, of course, be both; and its defectiveness
might be the cause of its deficiency. In some
things quantity and quality are indistinguishable;
a lack of humor, for example, m.ay be
either a defect or a deficiency in a man’s character.
In dealing with the handicapped, particularly
children, the two words have become idiomatically
or technically fixed in certain meanings. We
speak of the physically defective and the mentally
deficient. Even where an arm or a leg was
missing, it would be spoken of as a defect not
as a deficiency. See also anomalous.
defer may be followed by the -ing form of a verb,
as in he deferred going, but not by an infinitive.
He deferred to go is not standard English.
definite article. See the.
definite; definitive. Definite means clearly defined
or determined, precise, clear in its meaning,
exact (A definite answer must be returned by
noon or it will be assumed that he does not wish
to negotiate). Definitive means conclusive, having
the function of deciding or settling a matter,
the fixed and final form. A definite statement is
129 de gustibus
one which is clear. A definitive statement is one
from which there can be no appeal. A definite
edition is one particular edition. A definitive
edition is one that leaves nothing more in the
way of editing to be done.
Definite and definitely are greatly overworked
today and in many instances are nothing more
than intensives. In such a sentence as There wus
definitely a vague premonition of trouble in the
air, definitely cannot have its proper meaning.
And when someone answers, Yes, definitely,
when asked if he intends to do something, he
can only mean certainly or assuredly or indeed,
and these are not standard meanings of defynitely.
Whereas were someone to answer Yes,
definitely when asked if he had marked a road
map for another’s guidance, and meant thereby
that he had marked the map in such a way that
the route would be clear, he would have used
the word correctly.
definitive adjectives. Certain adjectives ordinarily
stand first in a series of adjectives qualifying the
same noun. These are called definitives because
they make the noun idea as definite or specific
as the facts allow.
The definitives include: the articles a, an, the;
the possessives, such as my, his, whose, and any
noun in the genitive case, such as father’s; the
demonstratives this, that, these, those; the relatives
and interrogatives what and which; the
indefinites any, each, every, either, neirher, no
or none, some; and the words such and enough.
Two kinds of adjectives may sometimes precede
a definitive. (1) The names of some fractions
and the words all and both, which might
be treated as nouns and joined to the following
words by of as in half of the chocolate cake and
all of my large books, may also be used without
the of as adjectives standing before a definitive,
as in half the chocolate cake, all my large books.
The words all and both, but not the fractions,
may also function as definitives themselves, as
in all men, both men. (2) An adverb cannot
qualify a noun, but it can qualify a definitive
which is an adjective, and in this way have the
effect of qualifying the noun. Words used to
mean “in a high degree” are being used as adverbs
and may therefore stand before a definitive,
as in such a sad story and what a terrible
thing. When a degree word applies to one adjective
in a series, it may bring that word forward
with it, as in so great a man, how sad c tale.
With these two exceptions, the definitives precede
all other kinds of adjectives.
defy. This word may be followed by an infinitive,
as in I defy you to tell me, but not by the -ing
form of a verb or by a clause.
degenerate. See deteriorate.
de gustibus non est disputandum (taste should not
be discussed). Modern American taste definitely
prefers that we express ourselves in English.
When every educated person studied a little
Latin, an occasional Latin phrase in one’s speech
or writing served to mark one as above the herd
that knew, at best, only the three R’s. But tOdaY
it serves only to mark one as either a hopeless
pedant or an affected ass.