Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DE-AM'BU-LA-TO-RY, a.

Pertaining to walks.

DE-AM'BU-LA-TO-RY, n.

A place to walk in.

DEAN, n. [Fr. doyen, the eldest of a corporation; Arm. dean; Sp. dean, decano; Port. deam, decano; It. decano; from L. decanus, the leader of a file ten deep, the head of a college, from decem, Gr. δεκα, W. deg, ten; so named because originally he was set over ten canons or prebendaries. Ayliffe.]

1. In England, an ecclesiastical dignitary in cathedral and collegiate churches, and the head of a chapter; the second dignitary of a diocese. Ancient deans are elected by the chapter in virtue of a conge d'elire from the king and letters missive of recommendation; but in the chapters founded by Henry VIII, out of the spoils of dissolved monasteries, the deanery is donative, and the installation merely by the king's letters patent. Encyc.
2. An officer in each college of the universities in England. Warton.
3. In the United States, a registrar in a medical school. Rural dean, or arch-presbyter, had originally jurisdiction over ten churches; but afterward he became only the bishop's substitute, to grant letters of administration, probate of wills, &c. His office is now lost in that of the archdeacon and chancellor. Encyc. Dean of a monastery, a superior established under the abbot, to ease him in taking care of ten monks. Hence his name. Encyc. Dean and Chapter, are the bishop's council, to aid him with their advice in affairs of religion, and in the temporal concerns of his see. Encyc.

DEAN'ER-Y, n.

1. The office or the revenue of a dean. Clarendon. Swift.
2. The house of a dean. Shak.
3. The jurisdiction of a dean. Each archdeaconry is divided into rural deaneries, and each deanery is divided into parishes. Blackstone.

DEAN'SHIP, n.

The office of a dean.

DEAR, a.¹ [Sax. deor; G. theuer, dear, rare; theure or theurung, dearness, scarcity, dearth; D. duur, dear; duurte, dearth; Sw. dyr, dear; dyrhet, dearth; Dan. dyre, dyrtid, id. It seems that the primary sense is scarce, rare, or close, narrow; this is obvious from dearth. So in L. carus, caritas. Class Dr, No. 7, 8, 19, and Class Sr, No. 4, 34, 47.]

1. Scarce; not plentiful. [Obs.] Shak.
2. Bearing a high price in comparison of the usual price; more costly than usual; of a higher price than the customary one. Wheat is dear at a dollar a bushel, when the usual price is seventy-five cents. This sense results from the former, as dearness is the effect of scarcity and demand.
3. Of a high value in estimation; greatly valued; beloved; precious. And the last joy was dearer than the rest. Pope. Be ye followers of God, as dear children. Eph. v.

DEAR, a.² [Sax. derian, to hurt; Scot. dere or deir, to annoy, and dere, to fear.]

Hurtful; grievous; hateful. [Obs.] Shak.

DEAR, n.

A darling; a word denoting tender affection or endearment; as, my dear.

DEAR, v.t.

To make dear. [Not used.] Shelton.

DEAR'BORN, n.

A light four-wheel carriage.

DEAR'BOUGHT, a. [See Bought.]

Purchased at a high price; as, dearbought experience; dearbought blessings.

DEAR'EST, a. [superl.]

Bearing the highest price; of the greatest value.

DEAR'EST, n.

Darling; a term denoting the tenderest affection.

DEAR'LING, n. [See DARLING.]

DEAR'-LOV-ED, a.

Greatly beloved. Shak.

DEAR'LY, adv.

1. At a high price; as, he pays dearly for his rashness.
2. With great fondness; as, we love our children dearly; dearly beloved.

DEARN, a. [Sax. deorn.]

Lonely; solitary; melancholy. [Obs.] Shak.

DEAR'NESS, n.

1. Scarcity; high price, or a higher price than the customary one; as, the dearness of corn.
2. Fondness; nearness to the heart or affections; great value in estimation; preciousness; tender love; as, the dearness of friendship.

DEARN'LY, adv.

Secretly; privately. [Obs. See Dernly.]

DEARTH, n. [derth; See Dear.]

1. Scarcity; as, a dearth of corn.
2. Want; need; famine. Shak.
3. Barrenness; sterility; as, a dearth of plot. Dryden.

DE-AR-TIC'U-LATE, v.t.

To disjoint. [Not used.]

DEATH, n. [deth; Sax. death; D. dood; G. tod; Sw. död; Dan. död. See Die and Dead.]

1. That state of a being, animal or vegetable, but more particularly of an animal, in which there is total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions, when the organs have not only ceased to act, but have lost the susceptibility of renewed action. Thus the cessation of respiration and circulation in an animal may not be death, for during hybernation some animals become entirely torpid, and some animals and vegetables may be subjected to a fixed state by frost, but being capable of revived activity, they are not dead.
2. The state of the dead; as, the gates of death. Job xxxviii.
3. The manner of dying. Thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Ezek. xxviii. Let me die the death of the righteous. Numb. xxiii.
4. The image of mortality represented by a skeleton; as, a death's head. Shak.
5. Murder; as, a man of death. Bacon.
6. Cause of death. We say, he caught his death. O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. 2 Kings iv.
7. Destroyer or agent of death; as, he will be the death of his poor father.
8. In poetry, the means or instrument of death; as, an arrow is called the feathered death; a ball, a leaden death. Deaths invisible come winged with fire. Dryden.
9. In theology, perpetual separation from God, and eternal torments; called the second death. Rev. ii.
10. Separation or alienation of the soul from God; a being under the dominion of sin, and destitute of grace or divine life; called spiritual death. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. 1 John iii. Luke i. Civil death, is the separation of a man from civil society, or from the enjoyment of civil rights; as by banishment, abjuration of the realm, entering into a monastery, &c. Blackstone.

DEATH'-BED, n. [deth'bed.]

The bed on which a person dies or is confined in his last sickness.

DEATH'-BOD-ING, a.

Portending death. Shak.

DEATH'-DART-ING, a.

Darting or inflicting death. Shak.