<B>diatomaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with diatoms. <DD><B> 2. </B>consisting of or containing diatoms or their fossil remains. <BR> <I>Ex. Many of the diatomaceous earths are useful as absorbent and polishing powders (Heber W. Youngken).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="diatomic">
<B>diatomic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) <DD><B> 1. </B>having two atoms in each molecule. <BR> <I>Ex. The oxygen molecule is diatomic.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>containing two replaceable atoms or groups. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=bivalent.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="diatomin">
<B>diatomin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a brown pigment found in certain diatoms, associated with the photosynthetic process. </DL>
<A NAME="diatomite">
<B>diatomite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> earth consisting of the fossil remains of diatoms; diatomaceous earth; kieselguhr. It is used as an abrasive, insulator, and filter. </DL>
<A NAME="diatonic">
<B>diatonic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) <DD><B> 1. </B>of or using only the eight tones of a standard major or minor musical scale without chromatic alteration. <DD><B> 2. </B>(in Greek music) of or using the tetrachord divided into two whole tones and a half tone. </DL>
<A NAME="diatonically">
<B>diatonically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a diatonic manner. </DL>
<A NAME="diatonicism">
<B>diatonicism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the use of tones belonging to a standard major or minor musical scale. </DL>
<A NAME="diatonicscale">
<B>diatonic scale,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a standard major or minor scale of eight musical tones in the octave, with no chromatic intervals. </DL>
<A NAME="diatreme">
<B>diatreme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a volcanic vent produced through solid rock by exploding gases. </DL>
<A NAME="diatribe">
<B>diatribe, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a speech or discussion bitterly and violently directed against some person or thing. <BR> <I>Ex. Even the candidate's friends were shocked by his violent diatribes during the campaign.</I> (SYN) denunciation, invective, tirade. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) a discourse; critical dissertation. </DL>
<A NAME="diatribist">
<B>diatribist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who writes or makes a diatribe. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) the writer of a critical dissertation. </DL>
<B>diatropism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) a tendency of certain organs in various plants to take a position transverse to the direction of the stimulus. </DL>
<A NAME="diazepam">
<B>diazepam, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a chemical substance widely used as a tranquilizer. <BR> <I>Ex. Finally, hostile tendencies can often be remarkably controlled by drugs, like Librium and diazepam, which are not sedatives, and which do not depress the general level of cerebral activity, but which act specifically and selectively on the aggressive circuits (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="diazin">
<B>diazin, </B>noun. =diazine.</DL>
<A NAME="diazine">
<B>diazine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) one of three isomeric hydrocarbons, each having a ring of four carbon and two nitrogen atoms. </DL>
<A NAME="diazinon">
<B>diazinon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a colorless, highly toxic liquid, used as an insecticide, especially against houseflies. </DL>
<A NAME="diazo">
<B>diazo, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Chemistry.) of or containing a group of two nitrogen atoms united with one hydrocarbon radical or with one hydrocarbon radical and another atom or group of atoms. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the diazo process. <BR> <I>Ex. Diazo copy paper is coated with a solution that is sensitive to ultraviolet light (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a diazo compound, especially a diazo dye. </DL>
<A NAME="diazocompound">
<B>diazo compound,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) any one of a group of organic compounds having a group of two nitrogen atoms combined with a hydrocarbon radical. </DL>
<A NAME="diazole">
<B>diazole, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) any one of a group of hydrocarbons having a ring of three carbon and two nitrogen atoms. </DL>
<A NAME="diazoma">
<B>diazoma, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mata.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a walkway through the middle of an ancient Greek theater. </DL>
<A NAME="diazomethane">
<B>diazomethane, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) a poisonous, yellow, gaseous compound used in organic synthesis. </DL>
<A NAME="diazoniumcompound">
<B>diazonium compound,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) any one of a group of compounds containing the radical ArN:N--. </DL>
<A NAME="diazoniumsalts">
<B>diazonium salts,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) a group of compounds having the general formula (ArN:N)x, the <I>x</I> representing an acid radical. </DL>
<A NAME="diazoprocess">
<B>diazo process,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a method for producing prints or copies on paper treated with a diazo compound. <BR> <I>Ex. Only one method will make copies for one cent apiece. That's the diazo process (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="diazotization">
<B>diazotization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) the act or process of forming a diazonium salt. </DL>
<A NAME="diazotize">
<B>diazotize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-tized,</B> <B>-tizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) to treat so as to form a diazonium compound. </DL>
<A NAME="dib">
<B>dib, </B>intransitive verb, <B>dibbed,</B> <B>dibbing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to fish by letting the bait (usually a natural insect) dip and bob lightly on the water; dab; dibble. </DL>
<A NAME="dibasic">
<B>dibasic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) <DD><B> 1. </B>having two hydrogen atoms that can be replaced by two atoms or radicals of a base in forming salts. <BR> <I>Ex. a dibasic acid.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>having two basic atoms, each with a valence of 1. </DL>
<A NAME="dibatag">
<B>dibatag, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a rare, cinnamon-colored antelope of desert areas of northeastern Africa, having a long neck, legs, and tail. </DL>
<A NAME="dibber">
<B>dibber, </B>noun. <B>=dibble</B> (1).</DL>
<A NAME="dibble">
<B>dibble</B> (1), noun, verb, <B>-bled,</B> <B>-bling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a pointed tool for making holes in the ground for seeds, bulbs, or young plants. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make a hole in (the soil) with or as if with a dibble. <DD><B> 2. </B>to sow or plant (seeds or seedlings) in this way. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to use a dibble. </DL>
<A NAME="dibble">
<B>dibble</B> (2), intransitive verb, <B>-bled,</B> <B>-bling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to dabble; move or paddle in water. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=dib.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="dibbler">
<B>dibbler, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person or thing that dibbles. <DD><B> 2. </B>an Australian mammal, a brown, ratlike marsupial, regarded as extinct since the 1800's and rediscovered in 1967. <BR> <I>Ex. The animal is the ratlike marsupial, Antechinus apicalis, popularly known (to those who have even heard of it) as the Dibbler. Mouse-brown in colour with a long snout and a short tail it had apparently been dibbling away on the outskirts of a big city, undisturbed because nobody even suspected it was there (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dibbuk">
<B>dibbuk, </B>noun. =dybbuk.</DL>
<A NAME="diborane">
<B>diborane, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a gaseous compound of boron and hydrogen used in making rocket fuels. </DL>
<A NAME="dibranchiate">
<B>dibranchiate, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> belonging to a group of cephalopods, having two gills, eight or ten arms with suckers, and an ink sac containing a fluid useful for protection and escape. <DD><I>noun </I> a dibranchiate cephalopod, such as the squid, octopus, or cuttlefish. </DL>
<A NAME="dibromide">
<B>dibromide, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a compound containing two atoms of bromine with another element or radical. </DL>
<A NAME="dibs">
<B>dibs</B> (1), noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a game somewhat like jacks but played with small pieces of bone or the like. <DD><B> 2. </B>the pieces used in this game. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang.) money. <BR> <I>Ex. Bad as wages were ... they did bring in the ... dibs (New Yorker).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>dibs on,</B> (Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>a demand on; claim on. </I> <I>Ex. The automobile business gets first dibs on steel (Harper's).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a claim to be the first to do, to be, to choose, etc.. <BR> <I>Ex. Dibs on the cookies.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="dibs">
<B>dibs</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a thick, sweet syrup made in countries of the East, especially the Middle East, from grape juice or dates. </DL>
<A NAME="dicarboxylicacid">
<B>dicarboxylic acid,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any organic compound containing two carboxyl groups, -COOH. </DL>
<A NAME="dicast">
<B>dicast, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of the 6,000 citizens chosen in ancient Athens annually to try cases in the courts of law in a capacity that combined the function of the modern judge and juryman. </DL>
<A NAME="dicastery">
<B>dicastery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-teries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of the courts in which the dicasts sat. <DD><B> 2. </B>a group of dicasts. </DL>
<A NAME="dicastic">
<B>dicastic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the dicasts. </DL>
