DAC
[Hi]
DAD
DThe 4th Letter of the Alphabet, and the 3d Cpnfonant. Grammarians generally rank it ^ among the Lingual Letters, as fuppofing the Tongue to have the principal Share in the Pronunciation thereof: Tho' the Abbot de Dangeau feems to have Reafon in malting it a palatal Letter.
The Letter D is the 4th in the Hebrew, Chaldee, Samaritan, Syriac, Greek and Latin Alphabets ; in the gve firft of which Languages it has the fame Name, ,ho' fornewhat differently fpoke, e.gr. in Hebrew and Chaldee Daleth, in Syriac Dolath, and in Greek 'Delta. The Arabians have three D's in their Language, the ift call'd Hal, which is the 8th of their 28 Letters ; the id, call'd Dhfal, is only diftinguifh'd from the former by having a Point added over it ; tho' its Sound is confound- ed with that of the Z : The 3d, which is their 17th Letter, is call'd Da, and pronounced like our D, tho' in Perm it refembles the Arabic ta, all it differs in, be- ing a Point added a-top.
The Form of our D, is the fame with that of the latins ; as appears from all the ancient Medals and In- fcriptions. And the Latin D, is no other than the Greek & rounded a little, by making it quicker, and at two Stroaks. The A of the Greeks, again, is borrow'd from the arcientCharacter of the Hebrew2)«/e^ ; which Form it ftill retains on the Samaritan Medals, as is /hewn by the Jefuite Souciet in his Differtation on the Samaritan Medals. All the Alteration the Greeks have made in it, is the making it ftoop a little, and taking away a little Line. Nor wou'd it be difficult to fhew, that the Syriac ^Dolath, and the Arabic Dal, are both borrow'd from the jpcient Hebrew, as well as the "\Daleth of the Modern or Chaldee Hebrew.
Some indeed will have it.that theGreek ADelta is bor- row'd from the Egyptians, who made their D of three Stars difpos'd in a Triangle ; which was a Hieroglyphic that among them denoted God, thefoveraign Being, as if they had had fome Notion of a Trinity : But this^is but poorly fupported.
D is alto a Numeral Letter, fignifying Five Hundred ; which arifes hence, that in the Gothic Characters the D is half the M, which Signifies a thoufand — Hence the Verfe Littera D velut AJ^tiingentos Jignificabit.
A Dap added a-top, D, denotes it to ftand for Five thousand.
DAB1TIS, in Logic, one of the Modes ofSyllogifm. See Mode and Syllogism.
DACROIDES, in Medicine, a Term applied to Ul- cers, which are continually yielding any putrid Matter. The Word is form'd from JVsjiot, Tear, and «JV, Form; denoting the Ulcers to weep or fhed fornewhat like Tears.
DACTYLI, in Antiquity, a Name attributed to the firft Priefis of the Goddefs Cybele ; who were particu- larly call'd DaBxli litei, on Account of the Goddefs her- felf, who was call'd Cybele Idiea, becaufe principally ho- nour'd en Mount Ida in Thrygia. The Name DaSyli is fuppos'd to have been given them on this Occafion ; That to prevent Saturn from hearing the Cries of 'Jupiter, whom Cybele had committed to their Cuftody, they ufed to fing I know not what Verfes of their own Inven- tion, which bv their unequal Meafures feem'd to refemble the Foot call'd DaSylos. This is the Account of the Grammarian Dromedes. One Sophocles, quoted by Stra- in, Lib. X. fpeaks differently. They were ca\l'c\Dacllyli, fays he, from the Greek Word /««tua«, Finger, by Reafon their Number was at firft equal to that of the Fingers of •he Hand, viz. Ten 5 five of them Boys, and as many Girls. — He adds, that 'tis to them we owe the Invention of Iron, and the Manner of Working it, with divers other ufefu! Things. Others make their Number more, and others lefs than Ten. Some, again, make them Natives •rfVhiygia near the Foot of Mount Ida ; and others bring them from elfewhere.
However, all the Authors ji-r^o had feen, agreed, That they were the firft who wrought in Iron near Mount Ida 5 that they were Importers ; that thejj had been Minifters of the Mother of the Gods, or Cybele' ; that they dwelt at the Foot of Mount Ida. "f is a Conjefture among them too, not that the Curetes and Cory bant es were the tame with the DaSyli Idtei, but that the Curetes and Corybantes were their Poflerity ; That a hundred Men, born m Creta, were firft cJVdDaSyli ; chat each of thefe nadnine Children, who were the Curetes ; and that each ™ the Curetes had Ten Children, who were alfo call'd -tJactyl, U,?j. strabo only gives us the Names of four ° j ?' w ' lic l> are Salamimts, Damnameus, Hercules, aM demon. Sec Cohybantes.
G<l DAC T IL ' Daclyius, a Foot in the Latin Verfe, con- ning oi a long Syllable, follow^ by two fliort ones, as
Carmine Sic. Hexameter Verfes ufuallyend with a<7}„CT / and Spondee. The DaSyl is faid to have been "the In vention of ' Dionyfius orBacchus, who delivery Oracles in this Meafure uDelfhos, before Apollo. The DaByl aiu j Spondee are the moft considerable of the Poetical Feet- as being the Meafutes us'd in Heroic Verle, by Homer, Vir- gil, Sic. Thefe two are of equal Time, but not 'equal Motion. The Spondee has an even ftrong and fleady Pace like a Trot: But the DaByl refembles the nimbler Strokes of a Gallop. See Quantity, Measure, &c.
Dactyl was alfo a Sort of Dance among the ancient Greeks, chiefly perform'd, as Hefychms obferves by the Athlete. '
Dactyls are alfo the Fruits of the Tree, more ufualtv call'd Dates. See Date.
DACTYLIC, Something belonging, or that has a Relation to DaByls : Anciently there were DaBy- lic, as well as Spondaic Flutes, tibia Da.Bylic£. 1 ■gf £ ff hc Flutes confifted of unequal Intervals, as tbeDaclylic Foot does of unequalMeafures.— DaSylie Verfes are Hexameter Verfes, ending in a DaByl, inftead ota Spondee 5 As Spondaic Verfes are thofe, which have a Spondee in the 5 th Foot inflead of a DaByl. An In- flame of a DaByl Verfe we have in Virgil, Eneidl.VU, 3 3. Sis Tarn* cecidere Mams : Sum trotiuus omnia Werlegerent Oculis. —
DACTYLIOMANCY, DaByliomantia, a Sort of Di- vination perform'd by means of a Ring. DaBvhomancy confifted principally in holding a Ring, fufpe'nded by 3. fine Thread, over a round Table, on' the Edge whereof were made divers Marks with the 24 Letters of the Alphabet. ^The Ring in making, or vibrating over the Table, flop'd over certain of the Letters, which being joyn'd together, compos'd the Anfwer required. But the Operation was preceded and accompanied by feveral Su- perfluous Ceremonies : For firft the Ring was to be confe- crated with a World of Myftery ; thePerfon who held it was to be clad in linnen Garments, to the very Shoes ; his Head was to be fliaved all around j and in his Hand he was to hold Vervain. Ere he proceeded on any Thing, the Gods were firft to be appeas'd by a Formulary ofPray- ers, &c. compiled for the Purpofe. Ammiauus Marcelli- nus gives the Procefs at large in his XXIXth Book. The Word is compos'd of the Greek JWruW, Ringjof £4*. tvA«, Finger, and f<«T«a, Divination.
DACTYLOMANCY. See Dactyliomancy.
DACTYLONOMY, The Art of Accounting, or Num- bering by the Fingers. The Rule is this: The left Thumb is reckond 1, the Index 2, and f on to the right Thumb, which is the tenth, and of Confequence denoted by the Cypher o.
DADO, in Architecture, is by fome Writers ufed for the Dye; which is the Part in the Middle of the Pedeftal of a Column, between its Bafe and Cornice : It is of a Cu- bick Form, whence the Name of Dye. See Dye.
DADUCHI, in Antiquity, Priefts of Ceres. That Goddefs having loft her Daughter <Proferfine, fay the Fa- bles, began to make Search for her at the Beginning of the Night. In Order to do this in the Dark, fne lighted a> Torch, and thus fet forth on her Travels throughout the. World : For which Reafon it is, that fire is always feen reprefented with a lighted Torch in her Hand. On this Account, and in Commemoration of this pretended Ex- ploit, it became a Cuftom for the Priefts, at the Feafts and Sacrifices of this Goddefs, to run about, in the Temple, with Torches after this Manner : One of them took a light- ed Torch from off the Altar, and holding it in his Hand, run with it to a certain Part of the Temple s where he gave it to another, faying to him, tibi trado : This fe- cond run after the like Manner to another Place of the Temple, and gave it to the third ; and fo of the reft.
From this Ceremony, the Priefts became denominated Daiuchi, q. d. Torch-bearers ; from <f«<, an unfluous, andrefinous Wood, as Pine, fir, &c. whereof the Ancients made Torches ; and l^a, I have, I hold.
DAILY, in Aftronomy, &c. See Dnusn.
DAMAGE is generally taken to fignify any Hurt or Hindrance, that a Man takes in his Eftate ; but particu- larly a Part of what the Jurors are to inquire of, in puffing VerdittforthePlaintiffjOr Defendant in a Civil Action, bo itPerfonalorReal: for after Verdifl given of tho principal Caufe, they are ask'd their Confciences touching Cofts (which are the Charges of Suit, call'd by the Civilians. Expenfa Litis) and Damages, which contain the Hin- drances that the Plaintiff or Demandant hath fuflrered by means of the wrong done him by theDefendant or Tenant, But the Word has two feveral Significations $ the one pro- perly and generally, the other ftricrly and relatively : Pro- perly, as it is in Cafes, where Damages are founded on the Statute pf », II. 4. Cap. 1. and 8. //.o\ Cap, 0. where
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