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driest

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driest

 

  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Drier  \Dri"er\,  compar.,  Driest  \Dri"est\,  superl., 
  of  {Dry},  a. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Dry  \Dry\,  a.  [Compar.  {Drier};  superl.  {Driest}.]  [OE.  dru?e, 
  druye,  drie,  AS  dryge  akin  to  LG  dr["o]ge,  D.  droog,  OHG. 
  trucchan  G.  trocken  Icel.  draugr  a  dry  log  Cf  {Drought}, 
  {Drouth},  3d  {Drug}.] 
  1.  Free  from  moisture;  having  little  humidity  or  none;  arid; 
  not  wet  or  moist;  deficient  in  the  natural  or  normal 
  supply  of  moisture,  as  rain  or  fluid  of  any  kind  --  said 
  especially: 
  a  Of  the  weather:  Free  from  rain  or  mist. 
 
  The  weather,  we  agreed,  was  too  dry  for  the 
  season.  --Addison. 
  b  Of  vegetable  matter:  Free  from  juices  or  sap;  not 
  succulent;  not  green;  as  dry  wood  or  hay. 
  c  Of  animals:  Not  giving  milk;  as  the  cow  is  dry. 
  d  Of  persons:  Thirsty;  needing  drink. 
 
  Give  the  dry  fool  drink.  --  Shak 
  e  Of  the  eyes:  Not  shedding  tears. 
 
  Not  a  dry  eye  was  to  be  seen  in  the  assembly.  -- 
  Prescott. 
  f  (Med.)  Of  certain  morbid  conditions,  in  which  there  is 
  entire  or  comparative  absence  of  moisture;  as  dry 
  gangrene;  dry  catarrh. 
 
  2.  Destitute  of  that  which  interests  or  amuses;  barren; 
  unembellished;  jejune;  plain. 
 
  These  epistles  will  become  less  dry,  more 
  susceptible  of  ornament.  --Pope. 
 
  3.  Characterized  by  a  quality  somewhat  severe,  grave,  or 
  hard;  hence  sharp;  keen;  shrewd;  quaint;  as  a  dry  tone 
  or  manner;  dry  wit. 
 
  He  was  rather  a  dry,  shrewd  kind  of  body.  --W. 
  Irving. 
 
  4.  (Fine  Arts)  Exhibiting  a  sharp,  frigid  preciseness  of 
  execution,  or  the  want  of  a  delicate  contour  in  form  and 
  of  easy  transition  in  coloring. 
 
  {Dry  area}  (Arch.),  a  small  open  space  reserved  outside  the 
  foundation  of  a  building  to  guard  it  from  damp. 
 
  {Dry  blow}. 
  a  (Med.)  A  blow  which  inflicts  no  wound,  and  causes  no 
  effusion  of  blood. 
  b  A  quick,  sharp  blow. 
 
  {Dry  bone}  (Min.),  Smithsonite,  or  carbonate  of  zinc;  --  a 
  miner's  term. 
 
  {Dry  castor}  (Zo["o]l.)  a  kind  of  beaver;  --  called  also 
  {parchment  beaver}. 
 
  {Dry  cupping}.  (Med.)  See  under  {Cupping}. 
 
  {Dry  dock}.  See  under  {Dock}. 
 
  {Dry  fat}.  See  {Dry  vat}  (below). 
 
  {Dry  light},  pure  unobstructed  light;  hence  a  clear, 
  impartial  view.  --Bacon. 
 
  The  scientific  man  must  keep  his  feelings  under 
  stern  control,  lest  they  obtrude  into  his 
  researches,  and  color  the  dry  light  in  which  alone 
  science  desires  to  see  its  objects.  --  J.  C. 
  Shairp 
 
  {Dry  masonry}.  See  {Masonry}. 
 
  {Dry  measure},  a  system  of  measures  of  volume  for  dry  or 
  coarse  articles,  by  the  bushel,  peck,  etc 
 
  {Dry  pile}  (Physics),  a  form  of  the  Voltaic  pile,  constructed 
  without  the  use  of  a  liquid,  affording  a  feeble  current, 
  and  chiefly  useful  in  the  construction  of  electroscopes  of 
  great  delicacy;  --  called  also  {Zamboni's  ,  from  the  names 
  of  the  two  earliest  constructors  of  it 
 
  {Dry  pipe}  (Steam  Engine),  a  pipe  which  conducts  dry  steam 
  from  a  boiler. 
 
  {Dry  plate}  (Photog.),  a  glass  plate  having  a  dry  coating 
  sensitive  to  light,  upon  which  photographic  negatives  or 
  pictures  can  be  made  without  moistening. 
 
  {Dry-plate  process},  the  process  of  photographing  with  dry 
  plates. 
 
  {Dry  point}.  (Fine  Arts) 
  a  An  engraving  made  with  the  needle  instead  of  the 
  burin,  in  which  the  work  is  done  nearly  as  in  etching, 
  but  is  finished  without  the  use  acid. 
  b  A  print  from  such  an  engraving,  usually  upon  paper. 
  c  Hence:  The  needle  with  which  such  an  engraving  is 
  made 
 
  {Dry  rent}  (Eng.  Law),  a  rent  reserved  by  deed,  without  a 
  clause  of  distress.  --Bouvier. 
 
  {Dry  rot},  a  decay  of  timber,  reducing  its  fibers  to  the 
  condition  of  a  dry  powdery  dust,  often  accompanied  by  the 
  presence  of  a  peculiar  fungus  ({Merulius  lacrymans}), 
  which  is  sometimes  considered  the  cause  of  the  decay;  but 
  it  is  more  probable  that  the  real  cause  is  the 
  decomposition  of  the  wood  itself  --D.  C.  Eaton.  Called 
  also  {sap  rot},  and  in  the  United  States,  {powder  post}. 
  --Hebert. 
 
  {Dry  stove},  a  hothouse  adapted  to  preserving  the  plants  of 
  arid  climates.  --Brande  &  C. 
 
  {Dry  vat},  a  vat,  basket,  or  other  receptacle  for  dry 
  articles. 
 
  {Dry  wine},  that  in  which  the  saccharine  matter  and 
  fermentation  were  so  exactly  balanced,  that  they  have 
  wholly  neutralized  each  other  and  no  sweetness  is 
  perceptible;  --  opposed  to  {sweet  wine},  in  which  the 
  saccharine  matter  is  in  excess.




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