n. (Anat.) The alisphenoid bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. ala wing + E. sphenoid. ] (Anat.) Pertaining to or forming the wing of the sphenoid; relating to a bone in the base of the skull, which in the adult is often consolidated with the sphenoid; as, alisphenoid bone; alisphenoid canal. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Med.) Good against spasms. -- n. A medicine which prevents or allays spasms or convulsions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. antispastus, Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to draw the contrary way; 'anti` against + &unr_; to draw. ] (Pros.) A foot of four syllables, the first and fourth short, and the second and third long (#). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;. See Antispast. ] (Med.) (a) Believed to cause a revulsion of fluids or of humors from one part to another. [ Obs. ] (b) Counteracting spasms; antispasmodic. -- n. An antispastic agent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Good as a remedy against disease of the spleen. -- n. An antisplenetic medicine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Anat.) The basisphenoid bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Basi- + sphenoid. ] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to that part of the base of the cranium between the basioccipital and the presphenoid, which usually ossifies separately in the embryo or in the young, and becomes a part of the sphenoid in the adult. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + spinose. ] (Zool.) Having two spines. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. L. calx, calcis, lime + spongia a sponge. ] (Zool.) An order of marine sponges, containing calcareous spicules. See Porifera. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. cis- + L. Padanus, pert. to the Padus or Po. ] On the hither side of the river Po with reference to Rome; that is, on the south side. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That which is crisp or brittle; the state of being crisp or brittle; as, burned to a crisp; specifically, the rind of roasted pork; crackling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Crisped p. pr. & vb. n. Crisping. ] [ L. crispare, fr. crispus. See Crisp. a. ] 1. To curl; to form into ringlets, as hair, or the nap of cloth; to interweave, as the branches of trees. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to undulate irregularly, as crape or water; to wrinkle; to cause to ripple. Cf. Crimp. [ 1913 Webster ]

The lover with the myrtle sprays
Adorns his crisped tresses. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Along the crisped shades and bowers. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The crisped brooks,
Rolling on orient pearl and sands of gold. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make crisp or brittle, as in cooking. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crisping iron, an instrument by which hair or any textile fabric is crisped. --
Crisping pin, the simplest form of crisping iron. Is. iii. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. crisp, fr. L. crispus; cf. carpere to pluck, card (wool), and E. harvest. Cf. Crape. ] 1. Curling in stiff curls or ringlets; as, crisp hair. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Curled with the ripple of the water. [ Poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

You nymphs called Naiads, of the winding brooks . . .
Leave jour crisp channels. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Brittle; friable; in a condition to break with a short, sharp fracture; as, crisp snow. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cakes at tea ate short and crisp. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Possessing a certain degree of firmness and freshness; in a fresh, unwilted condition. [ 1913 Webster ]

It [ laurel ] has been plucked nine months, and yet looks as hale and crisp as if it would last ninety years. Leigh Hunt. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Lively; sparking; effervescing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your neat crisp claret. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Brisk; crackling; cheerful; lively. [ 1913 Webster ]

The snug, small room, and the crisp fire. Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To undulate or ripple. Cf. Crisp, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

To watch the crisping ripples on the beach. Tennuson. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. crispatus, p. p. of crispare. ] Having a crisped appearance; irregularly curled or twisted. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ CF. F. crispation. ] 1. The act or process of curling, or the state of being curled. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A very slight convulsive or spasmodic contraction of certain muscles, external or internal. [ 1913 Webster ]

Few men can look down from a great height without creepings and crispations. O. W. Holmes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being crispate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, crisps or curls; an instrument for making little curls in the nap of cloth, as in chinchilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A shoemaker; -- jocularly so called from the patron saint of the craft. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A member of a union or association of shoemakers. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a crisp manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being crisp. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Formed into short, close ringlets; frizzed; crisp; as, crispy locks. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Crisp; brittle; as, a crispy pie crust. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Pref. dis- asunder, different ways, to and fro + pace. ] To roam. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In this fair plot dispacing to and fro. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To separate (a pair). [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I have . . . dispaired two doves. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. dispandere to spread out; pref. dis- + pandere, pansum, to spread out. ] To spread out; to expand. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Dispand. ] Act of dispanding, or state of being dispanded. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Removed from paradise. [ R. ] Cockeram. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Inequality in marriage; marriage with an inferior. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dissuaded her from such a disparage. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Disparaged p. pr. & vb. n. Disparaging ] [ OF. desparagier, F. déparager, to marry unequally; pref. des- (L. dis-) + F. parage extraction, lineage, from L. par equal, peer. See Peer. ] 1. To match unequally; to degrade or dishonor by an unequal marriage. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Alas! that any of my nation
Should ever so foul disparaged be. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dishonor by a comparison with what is inferior; to lower in rank or estimation by actions or words; to speak slightingly of; to depreciate; to undervalue. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those forbidding appearances which sometimes disparage the actions of men sincerely pious. Bp. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou durst not thus disparage glorious arms. Milton.

Syn. -- To decry; depreciate; undervalue; underrate; cheapen; vilify; reproach; detract from; derogate from; degrade; debase. See Decry. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. desparagement. ] 1. Matching any one in marriage under his or her degree; injurious union with something of inferior excellence; a lowering in rank or estimation. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And thought that match a foul disparagement. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Injurious comparison with an inferior; a depreciating or dishonoring opinion or insinuation; diminution of value; dishonor; indignity; reproach; disgrace; detraction; -- commonly with to. [ 1913 Webster ]

It ought to be no disparagement to a star that it is not the sun. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Imitation is a disparagement and a degradation in a Christian minister. I. Taylor.

Syn. -- Indignity; derogation; detraction; reproach; dishonor; debasement; degradation; disgrace. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who disparages or dishonors; one who vilifies or disgraces. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. expressing a low opinion of; same as derogatory; as, disparaging remarks about the new house.
Syn. -- belittling, depreciative, deprecatory, depreciatory, derogative, derogatory, detractive, detracting, slighting, pejorative, denigratory. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In a manner to disparage or dishonor; slightingly. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. disparatus, p. p. of disparare to part, separate; dis- + parare to make ready, prepare. ] 1. Unequal; dissimilar; separate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Connecting disparate thoughts, purely by means of resemblances in the words expressing them. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Logic) Pertaining to two coordinate species or divisions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. Things so unequal or unlike that they can not be compared with each other. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. disparition. ] Act of disappearing; disappearance. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Disparities [ LL. disparitas, fr. L. dispar unlike, unequal; dis- + par equal: cf. F. disparité. See Par, Peer. ] Inequality; difference in age, rank, condition, or excellence; dissimilitude; -- followed by between, in, of, as to, etc.; as, disparity in, or of, years; a disparity as to color. [ 1913 Webster ]

The disparity between God and his intelligent creatures. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

The disparity of numbers was not such as ought to cause any uneasiness. Macaulay.

Syn. -- Inequality; unlikeness; dissimilitude; disproportion; difference. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To throw (a park or inclosure); to treat (a private park) as a common. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Gentiles were made to be God's people when the Jews' inclosure was disparked. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To set at large; to release from inclosure. [ 1913 Webster ]

Till his free muse threw down the pale,
And did at once dispark them all. Waller. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ OF. desparpeillier. ] To scatter abroad. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Disparted; p. pr. & vb. n. Disparting. ] [ Pref. dis- + part: cf. OF. despartir. ] To part asunder; to divide; to separate; to sever; to rend; to rive or split; as, disparted air; disparted towers. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Them in twelve troops their captain did dispart. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

The world will be whole, and refuses to be disparted. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To separate, to open; to cleave. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Gun.) The difference between the thickness of the metal at the mouth and at the breech of a piece of ordnance. [ 1913 Webster ]

On account of the dispart, the line of aim or line of metal, which is in a plane passing through the axis of the gun, always makes a small angle with the axis. Eng. Cys. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gun.) A piece of metal placed on the muzzle, or near the trunnions, on the top of a piece of ordnance, to make the line of sight parallel to the axis of the bore; -- called also dispart sight, and muzzle sight. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. (Gun.) To make allowance for the dispart in (a gun), when taking aim. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every gunner, before he shoots, must truly dispart his piece. Lucar. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gun.) To furnish with a dispart sight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Freedom from passion; an undisturbed state; apathy. Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Free from passion; not warped, prejudiced, swerved, or carried away by passion or feeling; judicial; calm; composed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wise and dispassionate men. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not dictated by passion; not proceeding from temper or bias; impartial; as, dispassionate proceedings; a dispassionate view.

Syn. -- Calm; cool; composed serene; unimpassioned; temperate; moderate; impartial; unruffled.

-- Dis*pas"sion*ate*ly, adv. -- Dis*pas"sion*ate*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Free from passion; dispassionate. [ R. ] “Dispassioned men.” Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dispatched p. pr. & vb. n. Dispatching. ] [ OF. despeechier, F. dépêcher; prob. from pref. des- (L. dis-) + (assumed) LL. pedicare to place obstacles in the way, fr. L. pedica fetter, fr. pes, pedis, foot. See Foot, and cf. Impeach, Despatch. ] [ Written also despatch. ] 1. To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we
The business we have talked of. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ The ] harvest men . . . almost in one fair day dispatcheth all the harvest work. Robynson (More's Utopia). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To rid; to free. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I had clean dispatched myself of this great charge. Udall. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To get rid of by sending off; to send away hastily. [ 1913 Webster ]

Unless dispatched to the mansion house in the country . . . they perish among the lumber of garrets. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To send off or away; -- particularly applied to sending off messengers, messages, letters, etc., on special business, and implying haste. [ 1913 Webster ]

Even with the speediest expedition
I will dispatch him to the emperor's cou&unr_;&unr_;. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To send out of the world; to put to death. [ 1913 Webster ]

The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords. Ezek. xxiii. 47.

Syn. -- To expedite; hasten; speed; accelerate; perform; conclude; finish; slay; kill. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make haste; to conclude an affair; to finish a matter of business. [ 1913 Webster ]

They have dispatched with Pompey. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. despeche, F. dépêche. See Dispatch, v. t. ] [ Written also despatch. ] 1. The act of sending a message or messenger in haste or on important business. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any sending away; dismissal; riddance. [ 1913 Webster ]

To the utter dispatch of all their most beloved comforts. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The finishing up of a business; speedy performance, as of business; prompt execution; diligence; haste. [ 1913 Webster ]

Serious business, craving quick dispatch. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To carry his scythe . . . with a sufficient dispatch through a sufficient space. Paley. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A message dispatched or sent with speed; especially, an important official letter sent from one public officer to another; -- often used in the plural; as, a messenger has arrived with dispatches for the American minister; naval or military dispatches. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A message transmitted by telegraph. [ Modern ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Dispatch boat, a swift vessel for conveying dispatches; an advice boat. --
Dispatch box, a box for carrying dispatches; a box for papers and other conveniences when traveling.

Syn. -- Haste; hurry; promptness; celerity; speed. See Haste. [ 1913 Webster ]