A Dictionary of Cont..

descant 132
to do. Fifty-six years later John Lydgate, a
minor poet who imitated Chaucer, said that
Troylus was a second Hector in manhood, deed,
and dorrying do. Whether he was just careless
and left the final “n” off and didn’t bother with
an object to the verb, or whether he thought
dorrying don was some quality of mauliness
that Zongefh lo a knyght will never be known.
And things were made worse by the fact that
when his book was printed (in 1513 and 1555)
“dorrying do” was misprinted as “derrynge do.”
In this form it was picked up, in 1579, by Edmund
Spenser, a great poet and a great pedant,
who was looking for archaic words to ,give a
rustic flavor to his poem The Shepherd’s Calendar.
Spenser, in the manner later employed
by T. S. Eliot, went out of his way to be o’bscure
and then went further out of his way to add a
glossary in the footnotes to enlighten the reader
he had bewildered in the text. And in this glossary
he defined derring doe (whose spelling he
had “modernized”) as “manhood and chevalrie.”
He was, apparently, enchanted with the allliteration
and incomprehensibility of the term because
he used it four other times (once even
referring to “Dreadful derring dooers”) in his
poems.
Sir Walter Scott, a great purveyor of Wardour
Street English, found the phrase in Spenser and
transferred it to Ivanhoe, though he still felt it
necessary to gloss it in a note as “des;perate
courage.” From Scott, whose popularity alone
was enough to give it currency, it passed to the
dime novels, the westerns, and the literary critics.
descant. See decant.
describe; narrate. To describe is to convey an impression
or image in words. A description seeks
particularly to reveal the appearance and the
nature of things that exist in space (He described
the strange old hotel at which he and his sister
hnd spent their vacation). To narrate is to recount
an occurrence, usually by giving the
details of an event in the order in which they
happened in time (He narrated the adventures
which had befallen them on their vacxtion).
The two words are easily confused because they
refer to processes which are usually mixed. A
narrative is more meaningful if the scene in
which it took place has been described.
descry; discern; notice; perceive. To descry is to
catch sight of, especially from a distancl: (Tlte
English sentinels do keep good watch; if they
descry us all our labor’s lost) or to discover
from observation (Milton speaks of Galileo
looking at the moon through his telescope To
descry new Lands, Rivers or Mountains in her
spotty Globe). It is a literary word today and
would seem a little strange or affected in ordinary
speech or writing. See also decry.
To discern is to perceive by the sight or some
other sense or by the intellect, to apprehend
clearly, or to distinguish differences. Discern
sueeests -- distinauishing - (sometimes with diffi-
culty) a thing for what it really is under confusing
or misleading appearances (But wait, I
discern a fault in your argument).
To notice is to become aware of something
which has caught one’s attention (Suddenly I
noticed that the man was moving).
To perceive, which is often used as a formal
substitute for “see” and “notice,” also has the
idea of understanding meanings and implications
(After a short while, however, he perceived
what they were really up to).
deserve. The -ing form of a verb following deserve
usually has a passive meaning, as in he deserves
waiting on, he deserves helping. An infinitive
after deserve usually has an active meaning, as
in he deserves to wait on us, he deserves to help.
Deserve may also be followed by a clause, as in
he deserves that we should help him, but this
construction is felt to be stiff and an infinitive,
such as he deserves to have us help him, is generally
preferred.
desideratum. The plural is desiderutums or desiderata.
designate is not properly a complete synonym for
describe. To designate is to indicate or show.
An officer’s insignia designates his rank. To say
I would designate such a remark as pure insolence
is not as correct as to say Z would describe
such a remark as pure insolence or Z would call
such a remark, etc.
desirable; desirous. Desirable means worthy to be
desired (a very desirable site for a house).
Desirous means having desire, longing, wishful
(We never find ourselves so desirous to finish, as
in the latter part of our work).
desire. This verb may be followed by an infinitive,
as in he desired to tell them, but not by the -ing
form of a verb. We do not say he desired telling
them. The noun desire may be followed by an
infinitive, as in the desire to read, or by the -ing
form of a verb introduced by for, as in the desire
for reading. The preposition of following desire
shows a genitive, or possessive, relation, as in
the desire of the moth for the star. Either the
verb or the noun may be followed by a clause
but the clause verb must be a subjunctive or a
subjunctive equivalent, as in he desired Z should
tell you and the desire that Z should tell you.
See want.
desperate. See hopeless.
dessert. See candy.
destroy; demolish; raze. To destroy something is
to scatter it into useless pieces, to take away its
powers and functions so completely that it cannot
be restored. It can refer to tangibles or intangibles.
It can be sudden and violent or slow
and unperceived (The hurricane destroyed the
entire village. In time drink destroyed his will
and malnutrition undermined his strength). Demolish
applies to organized bodies or structures
and implies destruction by the complete sep
aration of parts. A machine is demolished, a
formal structure of logic is demolished, a building
is demolished. To raze is to level down to
the ground. It is related to razor and means,
basically, to scrape. It is applied almost entirely
to buildings, though there are some figurative
extensions.
deteriorate; degenerate. Both words mean to make
or become worse. There is a perfectly good English
verb worsen, but it might sound strange to