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D

D

The fourth letter and third consonant in the Græco-Roman alphabets. Its form is derived by a rounding of the sign A found in the West Greek inscriptions rather than from the familiar form of delta (4) seen in most Greek scripts. (See ALPHABET; LETTERS.) The Greek name of the letter, delta, is a modification of the Semitic word daleth (originally dalt), which means a door. The Greek capital, A, still retains the shape of the opening of a tent, the kind of door most familiar to a nomadic people. ·

Sound. In sound the English d is a dental or rather alveolar (lingual) voiced explosive, made by a contact of the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth near the upper front teeth. In French the contact is rather dental than alve olar. The North German d is between the Eng

lish and the French. There is also in English a slightly more cerebral d as in drown, made by bending up the tip of the tongue and touching the roof of the mouth farther back than in the so-called dental sound. This is due to its position before the lingual r.

Source.-English d comes: (1) from IndoGer. dh (Gk., Lat. f, d (with r), b); as deer, Gk. Op, Lat. fera; udder, Skt. ūdhar, Lat. uber; (2) from Indo-Ger. t when not immediately preceded by the accent; hund-red, Skt. çatám, Gk. Kaтóv, Lat. centum; (3) from Germanic p, with ; gold, Goth. gulp; (4) d arises as a special development from the affinity of n for d (as a transfer-sound), in such words as Eng. gender, Lat gener, Eng. thunder (OE. punor), riband (ME. riban). The d sometimes disappears as in cruel (Lat. crudelis). The letter d'is often assimilated as affirm, accept, gossip (OE. godsibb); and in certain linguistic developments it interchanges phonetically with l, for example, 1, Lat. Ulysses, from Gk. 'Odvooεvs, or with in Lat. arbiter from ad betere, and b, bellum from duellum. According to Grimm's Law, original d becomes t in English, z in German. Thus Indo-Ger. *dekm, Eng. ten, Ger. zehn. Di followed by a vowel becomes j, as in journal from diurnal.

As Symbol.-(1) As a numeral, D = 500; D = 5000. This use of D to denote 500 arose from a confusion with, the original symbol for that number. (2) In Roman names, D = Decimus, Divus, Dominus, and Deus. (3) In academic degrees, D stands for Doctor. (4) In music, D is the second note of the natural

scale, and is a whole tone above C. It is written in the first added space below the treble clef or on the fourth line; in the bass clef it is on the third line or in the second added space above. (See MUSICAL NOTATION.) (5) In chemistry D= didymium. (6) In reckoning English money (£ s. d.), d = pence, penny (Lat. denarius). (7) In mathematics D= derivation, d = differentiation, A = differencing, and ♪ = variation.

DAAN-BANTAYAN (dah-ahn' bahn-tahyahn'). A pueblo situated on the extreme northwest coast of the island of Cebu, Philippine Islands, 1 mile south of Bantique Point. Population, in 1903, 14,735.

DAB (probably from dab, gentle blow). A fish (Limanda limanda) closely related to the It is common on the sandy shores of northern Europe. plaice and flounder (qq.v.). It can easily be distinguished from the common flounder by the distinct arch in the lateral line at the anterior end. It attains a length of 12 inches and is much esteemed as food. A nearly related species, the rusty dab (Limanda ferruginea), possessing smaller scales, is rather abundant on the eastern coast of North America.

DAB, DABB, or DHABB (Ar. dabb, lizard). A lizard of northeastern Africa, as the common spiny-tailed agamoid Uromastix acanthinurus. Two or more species, about a foot in length, are common in Algeria, Tunis, and Egypt; and in Algeria are called "lézards des palmiers," perhaps because they eat dates. This genus has no voice, and their color, which is very changeable, depends upon the weather, being dull on cool days The term and much brighter when it is warm. is also given to the dried flesh of lizards, especially of the skink (Scincus officinalis), preserved for use in medicine among the Arabs.

DAB'BAT (Ar. dabbat, reptile). The third sign of the coming of the judgment, the Apocalyptic beast of the Mohammedan religion.

DABCHICK (variant of dob-chick, a diving bird, from dap, to drop bait into water, AS. doppa, a water-bird, from dypettan, to dive, from dypan, to dip). A small grebe, as (1) in the United States, the pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps); (2) in England, the little grebe (Podiceps minor). See GREBE.

DABNEY, dăb'ni, ROBERT LEWIS (1820-98). An American Presbyterian clergyman. He was born in Louisa County, Va.,, and studied at

Hampden Sidney College, at the University of Virginia, and at the Union Theological Seminary in that State. From 1853 to 1883 he was professor of Church history in the Union Seminary, Virginia. He first served as chaplain of the Eighteenth Virginia Regiment and later became major and chief of staff to General Stonewall Presbyterian General Assembly of the South, and in 1883 was appointed professor of moral philosophy in the University of Texas. He published the following: Life of Gen. T.J. (Stonewall) Jack son (1867); Sacred Rhetoric (Richmond, 1867, 3d ed., 1881); Defense of Virginia and the South (1868); Sensualistic Philosophy of the Nineteenth Century Examined (1875; 2d ed., 1888); Theology, Dogmatic and Polemic (1879; 3d ed., 1885). Consult Johnson, Life and Letters of R. L. Dabney (Richmond, 1903).

Jackson. In 1870 he was Moderator of the

DABOI'A (East Indian).

The formerly ac cepted generic name, which has passed into English, of the very deadly Russell's viper (Daboia Russelli). See VIPER, and SNAKE.

DABROWSKI, dá-brôv'skê, JAN HENRYK. See DOMBROWSKI.

DA CAPO, då kä'pô (It., from the beginning). A term in music, frequently placed at the end of phrase or movement, indicating that the performer must return to the beginning of the movement, or to some other part of it usually marked with the sign S, and finish where the word fine is placed. Scarlatti is generally credited with being the first to introduce the use of the da capo in his opera of Teodora (1693), though it appears that a da capo occurs in Tenaglia's opera Clearco, as early as 1661. See ARIA. The words are generally abbreviated D. C., sometimes D. C. al fine.

the

DACCA, dăk'kȧå, or DHAKA. The capital of the division and the district of the same name in Bengal, British India (Map: India, F 4). It is situated on the left bank of the Burhi Ganga, which connects the Brahmaputra with Ganges, about 150 miles northeast of Calcutta. The surrounding country is low and overflown during the rainy season. Many of the old tem ples and other public buildings are in ruins and give to the city an appearance of decay. Since 1870, however, it has recovered some of its ancient prosperity, and there are now a number of modern public buildings and educational institutions, including a college, modern waterworks owned by the municipality, and gas. Prior to the nineteenth century Dacca was a flourishing city of great commercial importance, famous for its muslins, which in the phraseology of the East were characterized as 'flowing water,' 'woven air,' and 'evening dew.' In those days Dacca was filled with magnificent temples and palaces, and its population was estimated at 200,000. The change in the river system of that part of India proved very detrimental to the commerce of the city by depriving it of its facilities for inland navigation, while the invasion of British manufactures almost completely ruined the native textile industry. With the construction of the Dacca-Maimansingh Railway line the trade of Dacca has revived and there is again a demand for the native textile products. Besides textiles Dacca also produces fine silver and gold plate, filigree work, and steel ornaments. There is a considerable trade in ele

phants. During the seventeenth century Dacca was the capital of Bengal. Population, in 1891, 82,321; in 1901, 90,700.

DACE, DARE, or DART (OF. dars, dace, dart, ML. dardus; ultimately connected with Engl. dart, OHG. tart, javelin). A fresh-water fish (Leuciscus leuciscus) of the family Cyprinida, belonging to the same genus as the chub (v.), and common in the streams of western Europe. The body is robust and covered with rather large scales; the mouth is rather large. The upper parts are dusky blue, becoming paler belly; the cheek and gill-covers silvery white. on the sides and passing into white on the The dace is gregarious and swims in shoals. They furnish the angler fair sport both with fly and bait, but the flesh is not highly esteemed. The genus includes many other species both in Europe and the United States. In the United States the name is applied to species of various genera of the family, especially Semnotilus, of which the best known is the 'horned' dace, or creek-chub (Semnotilus atromaculatus), which commonly frequents brooks from the Hudson Valley to that of the Missouri. It grows to a length of ten inches, is bluish above and creamy below, has a vague dusky band on the side, and its dorsal fin always bears a conspicuous black spot at the base in front, bordered with red in the males. It is one of the favorite objects of boys' fishing, and it is a good fish for the aquarium. Several other species of Semnotilus occur east of the Rocky Mountains and are called 'chubs,' 'fall-fishes,' etc. See Plate of DACE AND MINNOWS.

DACE'LO (transposed from Lat. alcedo, also alcyon, Gk. áλкvúv, alkyōn, kingfisher, halcyon). A book name for a genus (Dacelo) of Australasian kingfishers, representative of a subfamily (Dacelonina) of kingfishers (q.v.), characterized by their large size, harsh voices, and their adaptations to a forest life and a diet of reptiles and insects. The best known is the laughing king. fisher (Dacelo gigas), also called laughing jackass and king-hunter, which is the largest of kingfishers, and widely distributed throughout Australia. "It is an uncouth-looking bird," says Wheelwright, "nearly the size of a crow, of a rich chestnut brown and dirty white color; the wings slightly checkered with light blue after the manner of the British jay; the tail-feathers long, rather pointed and barred with brown. It has the foot of a kingfisher; a very formidable, long, pointed beak, and a large mouth; it has also a kind of crest, which it erects when angry or frightened; and this gives it a very ferocious appearance. It is a common bird in all the forests of Australia throughout the year; breeds in a hole in a tree, and the eggs are white. . . . Its principal food appears to be small reptiles, grubs, and caterpillars. The laughing jackass is the bushman's clock, and, being by no means shy, of a companionable nature, a constant attendant about the bush-tent, and a destroyer of snakes, is regarded, like the robin at home, as a sacred bird in the Australian forests." See illustration of KINGFISHERS.

DACHSHUND, däкs'hoont. A breed of small, long-bodied dogs, formerly employed in central Europe in hunting badgers, but now kept wholly as pets. See HOUND.

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1. SQUAWFISH (Pytochelus Oregonensis). 2. CREEK CHUB (Semotilus atromaculatus).

3. UTAH CHUB (Leuciscus lineatus).

4. GOLDEN SHINER (Abramis chrysoleucas).

5. SPOT-TAILED MINNOW (Notropis Hudsonius).

6. HORNED DACE (Notropls cornutus).

7. SILVER-FIN (Notropis Whipplii).

DACIA, dāʼshi-å. The land of the Daci or Getæ. Its geographical limits were very indefinite until its conquest by the Romans. After that period it comprised modern Transylvania, with adjacent parts of Hungary, Rumania, and Bukowina. The Getæ came originally from Thrace, and were divided into various tribes. Their course northward can only be imperfectly traced, but we know that shortly be fore the time of Alexander the Great (B.C. 335) they had migrated across the Danube. It is not known when or for what reason the Getæ changed their name to Daci. They seem to have been the most valiant of the Thracian

barbarians. Curio, the first Roman general who ever penetrated as far north as the Danube, did not venture to assail them. Julius Cæsar, however, is said to have contemplated their subjugation. In B.C. 10 Augustus sent an army up the valley of the Maros. From this time there was almost continual fighting between the Romans and the Daci, on the whole to the advantage of the latter, who actually compelled their civilized enemies, in the reign of Domitian, to pay tribute. In A.D. 101 the Emperor Trajan crossed the Theiss, and marched into Transylvania, where he fought a great battle near Torda. The Wallach peasant calls the battlefield, to the present day, Prat de Trajan (Pratum Traiani, Field of Trajan). The Daci, who were commanded by their famous chief Decebalus, were defeated. A second expedition of the Emperor resulted in the destruction of their capital, the death of Decebalus, and the loss of their freedom (A.D. 106). Roman colonists were sent into the country, a bridge was built over the Danube the ruins of which are still extantand three great roads were constructed. The chief towns were Apulum and Sarmizegetusa. In A.D. 270-75 the Romans abandoned the coun

try to the Goths, and the colonists were trans

ferred to Mosia.

DACIER, då'sya', ANDRÉ (1651-1722). A French philologist. He was born of Protes tant parents at Castres, in Upper Languedoc, studied at Saumur, and in 1672 came to Paris, where he was employed to bring out, for the use of the Dauphin, an edition of the Latin writer Festus, which he published in 1681. In 1683 he married Anne Lefèvre, also a Protestant, and two years later both entered the Roman Catholic Church. Dacier subsequently became royal librarian, member of the Académie des Inscriptions, and perpetual secretary of the 'Académie.' He died September 18, 1722. Dacier's principal works, besides his Festus, are Euvres d'Horace en Latin et en Français (Paris, 1681-89), an edition of Valerius Flaccus, and numerous translations into French of Greek au

thors, such as Plutarch and Epictetus, all of which, in spite of his erudition, are of mediocre quality, while the expositions and criticisms are shallow.

ANNE DACIER (1654-1720). The wife of the preceding. She was born at Saumur, and after the death of her learned father, who had developed her talent, came to Paris, where she acquired such a reputation by her edition of Callimachus (1674) that the Duke of Montausier commissioned her to edit several of the ancient authors for the use of the Dauphin. Similarity of tastes and employment led to a marriage between her

VOL. V. - 47.

and André Dacier. Her domestic duties did not, however, weaken her literary ardor. Besides editing a number of the classics, she translated the comedies of Terence; the Amphitryon, Epidicus, and Rudens of Plautus, accompanied by an able dissertation on the origin, progress, and mutations of dramatic poetry; Anacreon, Sappho, and the Plutus and Clouds of Aristophanes. Her admiration of Homer was unbounded, and involved her in two learned controversies. Madame Dacier is generally acknowledged to have possessed a more acute and vigorous mind than her husband. She died August 17, 1720.

DA/CITE. A volcanic rock of generally por phyritic texture, characterized by the occurrence of lime-soda feldspar, and generally also by quartz and by mica, hornblende, or pyroxene. These minerals are imbedded in a ground mass or matrix of rock glasses or of a finer-grained aggregate of crystals. The color of the rock is generally gray, but under prolonged weathering it may become brownish. The newer or younger dacites are, therefore, in contrast with the older, much less brown in color. The average chemical composition of dacite is: silica, 68 per cent.; alumina, 17 per cent.; ferric oxide, 2 per cent.; ferrous oxide, 1.5 per cent.; magnesia, 1.5 per cent.; lime, 3 per cent.; soda, 4 per cent.; potash, 3 per cent. Dacite differs from andesite (q.v.) principally in its higher percentage of silica, due to the presence of quartz and a greater abundance of the light-colored mineral constituents. The name dacite has been given be cause of the great development of this type of rock in Dacia, an ancient Roman province comprising part of modern Hungary and vicinity. Many recent as well as more ancient volcanic lavas are dacite. Dacite graduates into trachyte, rhyolite, and diorite (qq.v.).

DACOITS' (Hind. ḍakait, ḍākāyat, robber, ḍākā, attack by robbers, from ḍāknā, to shout). The name given to bands of men in India who live by robbery. They resemble the thugs (q.v.) in that a slight religious element seems to enter into their conduct, but plunder, and not murder, is their guiding motive. On the whole, they are a national type of banditti, closely resembling the brigands of Sicily or Greece. Driven out by the British Government from Hindustan, they are still fairly active in Burma. Technically, dacoity in British-Indian law means the conspiring of five or more men to engage in any act of theft.

DACOSTA, då-kō'stå, GABRIEL. See ACOSTA, GABRIEL.

DA COSTA, ISAAC (1798-1860). A Dutch poet and Protestant theologian, born in Amsterdam. He studied at Leyden, in 1818 received the degree of LL.D., and that of Ph.D. in 1821. Though by parentage he was a Portuguese Jew, he embraced Christianity in 1822, and became a professor and director of the Free Scotch Church Seminary. He was an effective public lecturer. The friend of Bilderdijk, the latter's poetic mantle fell upon him, and he was thenceforth_esteemed the greatest of Holland's poets. more noteworthy of his volumes of verse are: Prometheus (1820); Poems (1821-22); Festive Songs (1828); Hagar (1840); and The Battle of Nieuwpoort (1859). Da Costa translated Byron's Cain, and, as a theologian, produced a Gospel Harmony and Israel and the Gentiles,

The

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