damascene

Feb. 28th, 2011 07:55 pm
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Dam·a·scene

   
[dam-uh-seen, dam-uh-seen]

–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the city of Damascus
2. (lowercase) of or pertaining to the art of damascening

–noun
3. an inhabitant of Damascus.
4. (lowercase) work or patterns produced by damascening

–verb (used with object)
5. (lowercase) to produce wavy lines on (Damascus steel) (Also, dam·a·skeen  [dam-uh-skeen, dam-uh-skeen])

damascening



art of encrusting gold, silver, or copper wire on the surface of iron, steel, bronze, or brass. A narrow undercut is made in the surface of the metal with a chisel and the wire forced into the undercut by means of a hammer. The name is derived from the city of Damascus, which was celebrated for its damascened wares as early as the 12th century. The armourers of northern Italy used damascening to decorate their products during the 16th century. In the 19th century the art underwent a revival in Europe, particularly in France and Spain. Damascened work of high quality is still produced by craftsmen there and in Egypt and Iran. --dictionary.com

declivity

Feb. 19th, 2011 07:28 pm
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de·cliv·i·ty

   
[dih-kliv-i-tee]

–noun, plural: -ties.
a downward slope, as of ground (opposed to acclivity)

dirigible

Jan. 29th, 2011 09:16 pm
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dir·i·gi·ble

   
[dir-i-juh-buhl, dih-rij-uh-]

–noun
1. an airship.

–adjective
2. designed for or capable of being directed, controlled, or steered.

diapason

Jan. 18th, 2011 07:32 pm
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di·a·pa·son

   
[dahy-uh-pey-zuhn, -suhn]

–noun
1. a full, rich outpouring of melodious sound.
2. the compass of a voice or instrument.
3. a fixed standard of pitch.
4. either of two principal timbres or stops of a pipe organ, one of full, majestic tone (open diapason) and the other of strong, flutelike tone (stopped diapason).
5. any of several other organ stops.
6. a tuning fork.

dyspeptic

Dec. 6th, 2010 12:01 am
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dys·pep·tic

   
[dis-pep-tik]

–adjective Also, dys·pep·ti·cal.
1. pertaining to, subject to, or suffering from dyspepsia (dyspepsia: deranged or impaired digestion; indigestion)
2. gloomy, pessimistic, and irritable

–noun
3. a person subject to or suffering from dyspepsia

deliquesce

Nov. 27th, 2010 10:26 pm
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del·i·quesce

   
[del-i-kwes]

–verb (used without object), -quesced, -quesc·ing.
1. to become liquid by absorbing moisture from the air, as certain salts.
2. to melt away.
3. (Botany) to form many small divisions or branches.

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