Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DART'ER, n.

One who throws a dart.

DART'ING, ppr.

Throwing, as a dart; hurling darts; flying rapidly.

DART'ING-LY, adv.

Rapidly; like a dart.

DAR'TROUS, a. [Fr. dartre, tetter.]

A vague term relating to a kind of cutaneous disease, of no definite character.

DASH, n.

1. Collision; a violent striking of two bodies; as, the dash of clouds. Thomson.
2. Infusion; admixture; something thrown into another substance; as, the wine has a dash of water. Innocence with a dash of folly. Addison.
3. Admixture; as, red with a dash of purple.
4. A rushing, or onset with violence; as, to make a dash upon the enemy.
5. A sudden stroke; a blow; an act. She takes upon her bravely at first dash. Shak.
6. A flourish; blustering parade; as, the young fop made a dash. [Vulgar.]
7. A mark or line in writing or printing, noting a break or stop in the sentence; as in Virgil, quos ego – : or a pause; or the division of the sentence.

DASH, v.i.

1. To strike, break, scatter, and fly off; as, agitate water and it will dash over the sides of a vessel; the waves dashed over the side of the ship.
2. To rush, strike and break or scatter; as, the waters dash down the precipice.
3. To rush with violence, and break through; as, he dashed into the enemy's ranks; or, he dashed through thick and thin.

DASH, v.t. [In Dan. dask signifies a blow; in Sw. daska, to strike; in Scot. dusch, to rush. In Persia تَاْز taz or tauz, is an assault on an enemy. See Class Ds, No. 3, 4, 5, 14, 22, 30, 31, 40.]

1. To strike suddenly or violently, whether throwing or falling; as, to dash one stone against another. Bacon. Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Matth. iv.
2. To strike and bruise or break; to break by collision; but usually with the words in pieces. Thou shalt dash them in pieces, as a potter's vessel. Ps. ii.
3. To throw water suddenly, in separate portions; as, to dash water on the head.
4. To bespatter; to sprinkle; as, to dash a garment. Shak.
5. To strike and break or disperse. At once the brushing oars and brazen prow / Dash up the sandy waves, and ope the depth below. Dryden.
6. To mix and reduce or adulterate by throwing in another substance; as, to dash wine with water; the story is dashed with fables.
7. To form or sketch out in haste, carelessly. [Unusual.] Pope.
8. To erase at a stroke; to strike out; to blot out or obliterate; as, to dash out a line or word. Pope.
9. To break; to destroy; to frustrate; as, to dash all their schemes and hopes.
10. To confound; to confuse; to put to shame; to abash; to depress by shame or fear; as, he was dashed at the appearance of the judge. Dash the proud gamester in his gilded car. Pope.

DASH'-BOARD, n.

A board placed on the fore part of a chaise, sleigh, or other vehicle, to prevent water, mud, or snow, from being thrown upon those in the vehicle by the heels of the horses.

DASH'ED, pp.

Struck violently; driven against; bruised, broken, or scattered by collision; besprinkled; mixed or adulterated; erased, blotted out; broken; cast down; confounded; abashed.

DASH'ING, ppr.

1. Driving and striking against; striking suddenly or violently; breaking or scattering by collision; infusing; mixing; confounding; blotting out; rushing.
2. adj. Rushing; driving; blustering; as, a dashing fellow.
3. adj. Precipitate; rushing carelessly on. Burke.

DAS'TARD, a.

Cowardly; meanly shrinking from danger. Curse on their dastard souls. Addison.

DAS'TARD, n. [In Sax. adastrigan is to frighten, to deter.]

A coward; a poltroon; one who meanly shrinks from danger. Dryden.

DAS'TARD, v.t.

To make cowardly; to intimidate; to dispirit. Dryden.

DAS'TARD-IZE, v.t.

To make cowardly. Howell.

DAS'TARD-IZ-ED, pp.

Made cowardly.

DAS'TARD-IZ-ING, ppr.

Making cowardly.

DAS'TARD-LI-NESS, n. [from dastardly.]

Cowardliness. Barrett.

DAS'TARD-LY, a.

Cowardly; meanly timid; base; sneaking. Herbert.

DAS'TARD-NESS, n.

Cowardliness; mean timorousnous.

DAS'TARD-Y, n.

Cowardliness; base timidity.

DA'TA, n. [plur. L. data, given.]

Things given, or admitted; quantities, principles or facts given, known, or admitted, by which to find things or results unknown.

DA'TA-RY, n.

1. An officer of the chancery of Rome, who affixes the datum Romæ to the pope's bulls.
2. The employment of a datary.

DATE, n.¹ [Fr. date; It. and Sp. data; L. datum, given, from do, to give; Sans. da, datu.]

1. That addition to a writing which specifies the year, month and day when it was given or executed. In letters, it notes the time when they are written or sent; in deeds, contracts, wills and other papers, it specifies the time of execution, and usually the time from which they are to take effect and operate on the rights of persons. To the date is usually added the name of the place where a writing is executed, and this is sometimes included in the term date.
2. The time when any event happened, when any thing was transacted, or when any thing is to be done; as, the date of a battle; the date of Cesar's arrival in Britain.
3. End; conclusion. [Unusual.] What time would spare, from steel receives its date. Pope.
4. Duration; continuance; as, ages of endless date. Milton.

DATE, n.² [Fr. datte, for dacte; It. dattero; Sp. datil; L. dactylus; Gr. δακτυλος.]

The fruit of the great palm-tree, or date-tree, the Phœnix dactylifera. This fruit is somewhat in the shape of an acorn, composed of a thin light glossy membrane, somewhat pellucid and yellowish, containing a soft pulpy fruit, firm and sweet, esculent and wholesome, and in this is inclosed a hard kernel. Encyc.

DATE, v.i.

1. To reckon.
2. To begin; to have origin. The Batavian republic dates from the successes of the French arms. E. Everett.