Dn.
/diː/, U.S. /di/ I. The letter, and senses relating to the shape of the letter.
1. The fourth letter of the Roman alphabet, corresponding in position and power to the Phoenician and Hebrew Daleth, and Greek Delta, Δ, whence also its form was derived by rounding one angle of the triangular form. It represents the sonant dental mute, or point-voice stop consonant, which in English is alveolar rather than dental. The plural has been written D's, Ds, de's.The phonetic value of D in English is constant, except that in past participles the earlier full spelling -ed is retained where the pronunciation after a breath-consonant is now t, as in looked, dipped, fished, passed. The spelling -ed is now even extended to words in which Old English had t, as in wished, puffed, kissed, Old English wyscte, pyfte, cyste.Excrescent d is found in a number of words, as Mahound, sound, compound, astound, for Mahoun, soun, compoun, astoun, also the popular gownd, drownd, etc.; cf. also bound adj.1dh- is used, in the English spelling of (East) Indian words, to represent the Indian dental sonant-aspirate, in the Devanāgarī alphabet dha, also the lingual or cerebral sonant-aspirate, more exactly written ḍha. In earlier spelling by Europeans these sounds were commonly represented by simple d, and in the general rectification of this to dh, the latter has been erroneously extended to several words having simple da dental or ḍa lingual, or to words not really Indian, apparently under the notion that an oriental appearance is given to a word by spelling it with dh. Words thus erroneously spelt with dh are dhooly, dhow, dholl, dhoney, dh(o)urra, dhurrie.dj- is sometimes used to represent the Arabic letter jim, = English j /dʒ/, in Arabic, Turkish, or Berber words, which have come to us through a French channel, or are spelt in imitation of French orthography; e.g. djebel, variant of jebel n., djerid, djereed, variants of jerid n., djin, variant of jinn n., djubbah, variant of jubbah n. So far as these come under the scope of this Dictionary, they will be found under J; for djowr ‘an infidel’ see giaour n.
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society > communication > writing > written character > name of written character > [noun] > others
Bc1000
Dc1000
ellc1000
Fc1000
Sc1000
yogha1300
Pa1398
ess1540
tee1610
alif1727
cue1755
em1793
en1793
dee1795
double U1841
edh1846
wye1857
vee1883
gee1926
nut1940
kay1959
at sign1977
c1000 Ælfric Gram. (Z.) iii. 6 B, c, d, g, p, t, geendiað on e.
1673 W. Wycherley Gentleman Dancing-master v. i His desperate deadly daunting dagger:—there are your d's for you!
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Archit. I. 67 b The Walls..of Memphis [were] built in the shape of a D.
1879 M. E. Braddon Vixen III. 168 This..must end in darkness, desolation, despair—everything dreadful beginning with d.
2.
a. Used in reference to the shape of the letter, as D block, D-front, D link, D trap, D valve, etc.; D-shaped, D-fronted adjs. See also dee n.
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1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 156 D-Blocks are lumps of oak in the shape of a D..bolted to the ship's side, in the channels.
1827 J. Farey Treat. Steam Engine 707 Sliding valves..called D valves.
1849 E. E. Napier Excursions Southern Afr. I. 161 The saddle..should be abundantly studded..with iron loops: or as they are—from their shape—termed in Colonial phraseology, D's. [See dee n.]
1849 E. E. Napier Excursions Southern Afr. I. 163 Append to one of the D's of the said saddle, a leathern bottle.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 72 D link, a flat iron bar attached to chains, and suspended from a hemp rope to a windlass at surface. It is a loop in which one man is lowered and raised in an engine-pit.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 135 A closed crucible with a D-shaped opening in one of its sides.
1892 T. B. F. Eminson Epidemic Pneumonia 11 The catch-pit was covered in by a D trap.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 22 Nov. 5/3 D-shaped and oval tubes.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 16 Nov. 4/2 A D-front limousine.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 19 Nov. 5/2 A ‘D’-fronted landaulette.
b. Billiards, etc. A semi-circle marked on the baulk side of the baulk-line from within which a player must strike the cue-ball when in hand; the area bounded by this semi-circle.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > table > positions on table
spot1775
striking-ring1814
D1873
1873 J. Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards ii. 18 The diameter of the D varies from 21 in. on championship tables to 23 in. on ordinary tables.
1904 J. P. Mannock & S. A. Mussabini Billiards Expounded I. ii. 53 What I want you to do is, following your losing hazard in the corner pocket, to then take your ball to the D, and play in again off the red from there.
1954 Billiards & Snooker (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 10/1 A player, whenever ‘in hand’..must play out of the ‘D’ from some point within it.
1981 G. Brandreth Everyman's Indoor Games 240 On the baulk line there is a semi-circle known as the ‘D’.
3. Used euphemistically for damn (often printed d——), etc. Cf. dee v. and adj.
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1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations xi, in All Year Round 12 Jan. 314/1 He flung out in his violent way, and said with a D, ‘Then do as you like’.
1877 W. S. Gilbert H.M.S. Pinafore in Com. Opera i Though ‘bother it’ I may Occasionally say, I never use a big, big D——.
II. Denoting serial order.
4.
a. Used like the other letters of the alphabet to denote serial order, with the value of fourth; applied, e.g., to the fourth quire or sheet of a book, a group or section in classification, etc.
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1886 Oxford Univ. Statutes (1890) 109 The examination in the above-mentioned Group D shall be under the direction of the Board of the Faculty of Theology.
b. In typical or hypothetical examples of any argumentation, D is put for a fourth person or thing. (Cf. sense 7.)
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1858 C. Kingsley Let. to J. Ludlow in Life (1879) II. xvii. 78 How worthless opinions of the Press are. For if A, B, C, D, flatly contradict each other, one or more must be wrong, eh?
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic 208 If A is B, C is D.
1887 Times (Weekly ed.) 21 Oct. 3/2 This or that understanding between Mr. A, Mr. B, Mr. C, and Mr. D.
c. D-layer, D-region: the lowest stratum of the ionosphere, occurring between 25 and 50 miles above the earth's surface, below the Heaviside or E-layer.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > [noun] > specific regions of > specific regions of ionosphere
Heaviside layer1911
F-region1928
D-region1930
E-region1930
sporadic E-layer1937
ledge1949
protonosphere1960
topside1962
1930 Appleton & Ratcliffe in Proc. Royal Soc. A. 128 155 We therefore attribute the result of the small variation of the reflection coefficient with distance, to the influence of an absorbing zone (D region) of ionisation situated below the region (E region) in which the main bending takes place.
1930 Appleton & Ratcliffe in Proc. Royal Soc. A. 128 155 Rays which travel to the more distant receiving stations have a longer path through the D region.
1935 Nature 8 June 953/2 Besides these two main regions [F and E], the existence of a so-called D or absorbing layer has been suggested.
1935 Nature 8 June 953/2 The appearance of echoes from the D layer is closely connected with the weakening of echoes from the E layer.
1955 Sci. Amer. Sept. 128/2 The lowest stratum of the ionosphere is called the D layer. Its electron density has not been measured accurately but is known to be low, because the layer does not reflect radio waves of one megacycle per second or higher frequency.
1968 G. M. B. Dobson Exploring Atmosphere (ed. 2) viii. 151 These radio waves will be absorbed as they come down through the D region.
5. spec. in Music. The name of the second note of the ‘natural’ major scale. (In Italy and France called re.) Also, the scale or key which has that note for its tonic.
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a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. i. 75 D sol re, one Cliffe, two notes haue I. View more context for this quotation
1880 G. Grove Dict. Music II. 269/2 A Concerto of Bach in D minor.
6. In Algebra: see A n. 8. In the higher mathematics, d is the sign of differentiation, and D of derivation; D is also used to denote the deficiency of a curve.
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1873 G. Salmon Treat. Higher Plane Curves (ed. 2) ii. 28 We call the deficiency of a curve the number D, by which its number of double points is short of the maximum.
1873 B. Williamson Elem. Treat. Differential Calculus (ed. 2) §5 When the increment is supposed infinitely small, it is called a differential, and represented by dx.
7. D notice, short for Defence notice (see quot. 1967). Hence D list, a list of D notices currently in force.The Services, Press and Broadcasting Committee was set up in 1912 as the ‘Admiralty, War Office and Press Committee’. Its main function is to give guidance to the press, etc., about matters which, in the interests of national security, should not be publicly disclosed.
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1940 R. Graves & A. Hodge Long Week-end xxvi. 450 The Prime Minister authorized a ‘D’ notice to be sent round to the newspapers, warning them not to print it.
1961 Times 12 May 20/4 Mr. Lipton..asked the Prime Minister which Minister was responsible for preparing the D-list... Mr. Macmillan—Ministerial responsibility for D-notices rests on the Minister responsible for the subject covered by the notice.
1964 ‘C. E. Maine’ Never let Up v. 41 No names were mentioned... The story had probably been put out with a ‘D’ notice, which meant that editors were asked to toe the security line.
1967 Rep. Comm. Privy Counsellors (Cmnd. 3309) 1 A ‘D’ notice is a formal letter of warning or request, signed by the Secretary of a Committee known as the Services, Press and Broadcasting Committee, and addressed to newspaper editors, to news editors in sound broadcasting and television, [etc.]... Their purpose is to request a ban on the publication of certain subjects, indicated in the notices, which bear upon defence or national security.
Initialisms
Abbreviations, etc. I1. d stands for Latin denarius and so for ‘penny’, ‘pence’; as 1d. = one penny, £. s. d. = pounds, shillings and pence. †Formerly also, d. = one half (Latin dimidium, also contracted di., dim.); D. = dollar (in U.S.; now $).
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1387 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 2 Y be-quethe to the werkes of poulys vj s. viij d.
1488 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1885) III. 269 For d. a quarter of pepur.
c1500 Debate Carpenter's Tools in Rev. Eng. Stud. (1987) 38 457 For some dey he wyll vij.d drynke.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iii. i. 136 What's the price of this yncle? i.d.
1791 Jefferson in Harper's Mag. (1885) Mar. 535/1 A pound of tea..costs 2 D.
1866 A. Crump Pract. Treat. Banking 233 Pence or halfpence are not legal tender for more than 12d., or farthings for more than 6d.
I2. D, the sign for 500 in Roman numerals, as mdcccxciii = 1893. [Understood to be the half of CIƆ, earlier form of M = 1,000.] Formerly occasionally written Dc.
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1459 Inventory in Paston Lett. I. 469 Summa, DCCCC lxv. unces.
1459 Inventory in Paston Lett. I. 471 Summa, Dc unces.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 16 This Thurston obteyned the rule of the Abbey againe for the price of D. pound.
I3. (Abbreviations cited here with full stops are frequently used without them.)
a. See also (as main entries) D-Day n., D.D.T. n., Dora n., D.T. n. † D. n. Obsolete = Duke. † d. n. Obsolete = degree (of angular measure).
D. n. = various proper names, as Daniel, David.
D n. ‘in the Complete Book, means dead or deserted’ (Adm. Smyth).
D. n. Deputy.
D. n. detective (slang).
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society > law > law enforcement > investigation of crime > [noun] > detective
plant1812
plain clothes1822
detective1850
plainclothesman1856
mouser1863
D.1869
sleuth1872
tec1879
dee1882
demon1889
sleuth-hound1890
split1891
fink1903
hawkshaw1903
busy1904
dick1905
gumshoe1913
Richard1914
shamus1925
cozzer1950
Five-O1983
1869 R. P. Whitworth Comic Guide to Dunedin 27 These..are gentlemen who give their talents and time to the paternal government for a certain modicium [sic] of payment, and are known as D.s.
1879 ‘T. Fredur’ Sketches Shady Places ii. 16 I have a few friends among the D's (detectives), who give me the job to watch a house occasionally.
1916 J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee vii. 84 ‘The “D” started askin' wot's wot didn't he?’ asked Sam.
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xvi. 184 They [sc. crooks] very often know that a man is a ‘D’, as they call us, without being aware of his identity, because of the fact that he happens to be on the lookout.
D n. = diameter.
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1910 N. Hawkins Electr. Dict. D, abbreviation for diameter, in electrical calculations.
D. n. Dictionary.
D. adj. dimensional, as 3-D, 3 D, three-dimensional.
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1953 A. Cooke in Manch. Guardian Weekly 27 Aug. 7/2 One big studio has done a Technicolor 3-D movie of ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ which..has the effect of whisking the audience into the most privileged seat in a live theatre.
1954 Ann. Reg. 1953 381 The true 3-D films, involving left and right-eyed vision and the use of polarizing spectacles.
1969 Listener 4 Sept. 310/1 Now imagine that instead of the 3-D flesh and blood we are all composed of, we were 2-D people entirely confined to this 2-D world, the surface of the Earth, rather like flatfish.
D. adj. Distinguished.
D. n. District.
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D. n. = Doctor (in academical degrees, as a Latin word following, and as English preceding, other initials), as D.D. (Divinitatis Doctor), Doctor of Divinity, LL.D. (Legum Doctor), Doctor of Laws, M.D. Doctor of Medicine, Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy, D.C.L., Doctor of Civil Law, D.Lit., Lit.D., Doctor of Literature, D.Phil., Doctor of Philosophy, D.Sc., Doctor of Science.
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1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 75 Betwixt the Emp. then liuing and the last D. [= Duke] great gelosies vnderhand.
d adj. (in dental formulæ) = deciduous, as dc., deciduous canine, di., deciduous incisor.
d. adj. decent, esp. in jolly d.
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1949 N. Spain Poison for Teacher i. i. 19 Jolly d. of you to ask us.
1960 N. Fairbrother Cheerful Day ii. vi. 166 I say. Jolly d. It's exactly what I want.
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1635 J. Wells Sciographia 4 Let 60 d. of the chorde, be equal to 30 d. of the Sines.
d. v. d. (usually before a date) = died.
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d adj. (also D) Anatomy = dorsal.
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d. v. (in a ship's log) = drizzling.
D.A. n. Dictionary of Americanisms.
D.A. n. District Attorney (U.S.).
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society > law > legal profession > lawyer > [noun] > state or public law officers > state or public prosecutor
quaestora1387
promoter1485
fiscal1539
actor1598
fisc1732
public prosecutor1750
district attorney1856
Director of Public Prosecutions1879
procurator1917
D.A.1934
D.P.P.1942
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. D.A., District Attorney.
1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 30 Jan. 55/4 The author had worked at the House of Refuge (a very tough New York reformatory) and the New York Parental School (for truants) before he went to the D.A.'s office.
D.A. n. duck's arse (style of haircut).
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [noun] > other specific styles of hair > for men
French cut1583
pigeon wing1753
pompadour1885
D.A.1951
duck anatomy1951
duck-tail1955
Tony Curtis1956
duck arse1960
duck behind1961
comb-over1980
mullet1994
1951 Sunday Pictorial 29 Oct. (caption) The D.A. [haircut], so called because of its remarkable resemblance to a duck's rear.
1961 M. Dickens Heart of London iv. 381 His hair, which was swept back in the popular D.A. hair-cut into a little drake's tail at the back.
D.A.A.G. n. Deputy Assistant Adjutant General.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer according to function > [noun] > aide-de-camp or adjutant
corporal of the field1591
general-adjutant1632
adjutant1641
adjutant general1644
agitant1644
aide-de-camp1670
aid-major1670
Adj.1708
aid1761
Adjt.1763
aide1776
D.A.A.G.1899
AG1913
D.A.G.-
1899 Westm. Gaz. 8 Nov. 2/1 Calling into consultation..the D.A.A.G. for Topography.
D.A.E. n. Dictionary of American English.
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D.A.G. n. Deputy Adjutant General.
D. and C. n. dilatation and curettage.
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1960 Blakiston's Illustr. Pocket Med. Dict. (ed. 2) 187 D and C. Short for dilatation of the cervix and curettage of the uterus.
1968 J. Fleming Kill or Cure i. 17 You ask him to perform an instant D. and C. on a young girl.
D. and P. n. (also d and p) developing and printing.
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1924 Brit. Jrnl. Photographic Alm. 333 The appliances used in a..D and P (developing and printing) establishment.
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D.A.Q.M.G. n. Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General.
db. n. decibel.
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the world > matter > physics > science of sound > [noun] > unit of sound
decibel1928
phon1932
phonon1932
PNdB1959
db.1975
19751 [see dbx n.].
D.B.E. n. Dame Commander of the British Empire (established 1917).
DBMS n. database management system.
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society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > applications program > database
database management system1966
database manager1967
DBMS1971
society > computing and information technology > data > database > [noun] > management of
database system1962
database management1964
database management system1966
database manager1967
DBMS1971
1971 Interactive Bibliographic Search 204 DBMS are often referred to as generalized data base management systems.
1983 Your Computer (Austral.) July 20/1 dBase ii..is the most popular micro DBMS.
1983 Computerworld 7 Feb. id–53/1 Data bases and data base management systems (DBMS) were developed to overcome the handicap of file-oriented systems.
DBS n. direct-broadcast satellite; direct broadcasting by satellite.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > transmitting or receiving apparatus > [noun] > satellite
television satellite1952
TV satellite1957
satellite dish1962
direct broadcasting by satellite1977
DBS1981
Squarial1988
1981 Microwaves Feb. 15/1 A direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) will be beaming three separate channels of national programming into American homes within five years.
1984 Listener 8 Mar. 5/2 Japan has already launched a DBS satellite.
1986 Stage & Television Today 7 Aug. 17/1 ITN has put together a schedule for DBS operators.
D.B.S.T. n. Double British Summer Time.
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1945 Daily Express 5 May 1/2 All enemy forces..have surrendered to the 21st Army Group, effective 08.00 hours D.B.S.T. tomorrow.
dbx n. [ < db = decibel + x = expander] a proprietary designation for devices aimed at increasing the dynamic range of reproduced sound.
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society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > sound recording or reproducing equipment > [noun] > decibel expander
dbx1975
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > sound recording or reproducing equipment > [adjective] > device for increasing dynamic range of sound
dbx1975
1975 Stereo Rev. (U.S.) June 93 (advt.) The dbx 117 Dynamic Range Enhancer Noise Reduction Unit restores up to 20 db of the dynamics missing from records, tapes, and FM broadcasts.
1975 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 11 Nov. tm178/2 DBX Inc., Waltham, Mass…dbx for companders and parts thereof for recording systems…First use as early as Apr. 9, 1971.
1977 Rolling Stone 24 Mar. 79/2 Basically, the dbx ‘compander’ compresses the wide dynamic range of live music to fit within the bounds of even moderately priced cassette tape decks.
1986 Making Music Apr. 34/4 Personal Multitrack Recorder..offers..switchable dbx over fixed Dolby B noise reduction.
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D.C. n. Music = da capo n.
D.C. n. (also d.c.) direct current.
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1898 E. J. Houston Dict. Electr. Words (ed. 4) 735/1 D.C., a contraction for direct current.
1924 Times Trade & Engin. Suppl. 29 Nov. 249/1 Recent developments at the Treforest power station included the installation of the Highfield transverter apparatus, enabling the transmission of d.c. at a high pressure over long distances.
1960 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 19 Feb. 743/1 A variety of other samples, soils, British multiple coin-moulds, and Roman pewter, was also analysed by the d.c. arc method.
D.C. n. District Commissioner.
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a1912 W. T. Rogers Dict. Abbrev. (1913) 53/1 D.C., District Commissioner.
1950 ‘N. Shute’ Town like Alice ii. 39 The truck halted at the D.C.'s office and the subaltern went inside.
D.C.M. n. Distinguished Conduct Medal (established 1862).
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1914 Daily Express 10 Nov. 6/3 Our fellows were extraordinarily brave, and I think several of them should get the D.C.M.
1919 G. K. Rose 2/4th Oxf. & Bucks Lt. Infty. 151 Next morning Private Hatt, who for his exploit gained the D.C.M., crawled into our lines.
d.d. adj. (also D.D.) (Latin dono dedit) gave as a gift.
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1606 Sir E. Coke in True & Perf. Relat. T j b A Doctor of fiue Dd, as Dissimulation, Deposing of Princes..Destruction.
1630 J. Wadsworth Eng. Spanish Pilgrime (new ed.) vii. 64 This North was created D.D. in Paris.
1710 Sacheverell Speech on Impeach. 51 This argues a scandalous Ignorance..in a D.D.
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows (1886) 62 His cousin, the Ph.D.
1872 O. W. Holmes Poet at Breakfast-table (1885) v. 119 The D.D.'s used to be the leaders.
1895 Edinb. Univ. Cal. 1895–6 136 Degree of D.Phil. Graduates who have taken the degree of Master of Arts in any Scottish University..in Mental Philosophy..may offer themselves for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) in the same University after the expiry of five years.
1906 W. Johnston Graduates Univ. Aberdeen p. xii D.Phil., Doctor of Philosophy.
1906 W. Johnston Graduates Univ. Aberdeen p. xv Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy. This form of contraction is used to distinguish the degree when obtained from a Continental University. Cf. D.Phil., which is the British form.
1938 Times 3 Feb. 14/2 A thesis on South African history, which brought him the degree of D.Phil. at Oxford.
d.d.d. v. (also D.D.D.) (Latin dat, dicat, dedicat) gives, devotes, and dedicates.
D.E.W. n. distant early warning; so Dew line (see quot. 1956).
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1955 Times 18 Aug. 6/3 Two task forces, totalling 3,000 men, now on their way to the Arctic regions of Canada, will be employed in erecting more than 50 radar stations there as part of the distant early warning (D.E.W.) line. Seven radar stations are known to be working in Greenland, besides those incorporated in the two newer warning lines across Canada, named Mid-Canada and Pine Tree.
1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 165/1 Dew line, a line of radar stations at about the 70th parallel on the North American continent, financed by the American government but undertaken in cooperation with the Canadian government.
1957 P. Frank Seven Days to Never ii. 53 The DEW line—the Distant Early Warning radar and interceptor net stretching from Alaska to Greenland.
D.F. n. direction(al) finding.
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the world > space > direction > [noun] > finding direction > device for finding direction
orientator1844
locator1904
direction-finder1913
D.F.1920
1920 Year Bk. Wireless Telegr. 946 If the ship is equipped with D.F. apparatus every wireless station becomes a beacon on which a bearing can be taken.
1940 C. Gardner A.A.S.F. 66 They'd managed to get Fécamp radio station shut down, so that German aircraft could no longer take D.F. bearings from it.
D.F.C. n. Distinguished Flying Cross, Medal (established 1918).
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1919 London Gaz. 5 Dec. 15050/1 It is ordained that the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross shall entitle the recipient to have the initials D.F.C. appended to his name.
D.F.M. n. see D.F.C. n.
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1919 London Gaz. 5 Dec. 15050/1 The award of the Distinguished Flying Medal shall entitle the recipient to have the initials D.F.M. appended to his name.
D.G. n. = Latin Dei gratia, by the grace of God, Deo gratias, thanks to God.
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a1866 J. Keble Lett. Spirit. Counsel (1870) 186 My dear wife (D.G.) bore up well through the nursing.
D.I. n. Defence Intelligence.
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1964 Observer 12 July 36/6 According to the Security Gazette, the Secret Service, MI5, is now known as DI5.
1966 J. Porter Sour Cream ii. 20 We had several lectures from a languid D.I.5 man.
D.I.Y. n. see do-it-yourself adj. and n.
D.L. n. Deputy Lieutenant.
D.M. n. (also D-mark) Deutsche mark.
D.M.Z. n. demilitarized zone.
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1960 Amer. Speech 35 261 Some thousands of American troops defending the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 4/3 The appearance of Communist tanks along the eastern end of the DMZ above Con Thien.
D.N.B. n. Dictionary of National Biography.
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1903 E. Gosse Let. 15 Jan. in E.E. Charteris Life & Lett. (1931) xix. 287 To see if anything has been overlooked by the D.N.B.
1930 Notes & Queries 11 Oct. 257/2 Corrigendum for the D.N.B.
D.O. n. District Officer.
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1954 G. Durrell Bafut Beagles iii. 60 Sometimes I get palaver with the D.O., an' dat de tire me most of all.
1958 Times 6 Sept. 8/6 Even in these progressive times when authority is fast being transferred into African hands, the D.O., often under a new name and guise, and with new functions, may still be the administrative Jack-of-all-Trades, still tour his District, and still review cases in the Native Courts.
D.O.A. adj. dead on arrival (at a hospital, etc.).
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1958 T. Flint Emergency Treatm. (ed. 2) 9 Cases in which a spark of life is suspected..should not be classified as ‘D.O.A.’.
DOE n. Department of the Environment.
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > government department or agency > [noun] > with specific responsibility > English or British
admiralty1459
ordnance1485
Navy Office1660
navy board1681
patent office1696
excise-office1698
Treasury Office1706
Plantation Office1708
stamp office1710
War Office1721
India Office1787
home office1795
Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues1803
the Stamps1820
Welsh Office1852
W.O.1860
Local Government Board1871
pall-mall1880
Scottish Office1883
Ministry of Munitions1915
War House1925
Min of Ag1946
Mintech1967
DOE1972
Manpower Services Commission1973
1972 Times 12 Apr. p. v The DOE—as it has come to be called—swallowed..three other independent and quite powerful ministries: Transport, Public Building and Works and Housing and Local Government.
DOM n. slang dirty old man.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > lasciviousness or lust > [noun] > prurience > person > man
dirty dog1928
dirty old man1932
DOM1959
1959 W. Camp Ruling Passion xii. 85 Poor Shirley, she thought, Harry is going to become a prize D.O.M.
1972 B. Rodgers Queens' Vernacular 64 DOMs should know better than to come to the tubs and fuck it up for the rest of us.
DOS n. usually with pronunciation /dɒs/ Computing = disc operating system n. at disc n. Compounds 3.
/dɒs/ Computing = disc operating system n. at disc n. Compounds 3.ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > operating systems software > single-user system
disc operating system1965
DOS1967
1967 Data Processing Mag. Jan. 28/2 IBM split BOS into three distinct operating systems... The three new levels of operating systems were designated: Disk Operating System (DOS) for users of the 16k-byte (minimum) disk-oriented systems; [etc.].
1977 Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. xii. 49/8 (advt.) Our modest size EDP department presently working on IBM DOS system, is scheduled to grow substantially.
1984 Gore & Stubbe Computers & Information Syst. (ed. 2) viii. 173 An example of a widely used DOS is the CP/M operating system.
1986 M. L. Harris Introd. Data Processing (ed. 3) ix. 199 Placing DOS on a floppy disk rather than in ROM means that it can be updated quite easily without having to make physical changes to the computer.
D.O.S.T. n. Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue.
D.P. n. displaced person.
ΘΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > exile > [noun] > refugee or stateless person
refugee1692
basti1906
non-domicile1938
displaced person1944
D.P.1945
asylee1950
1945 Picture Post 15 Sept. 18 I saw an exercise in the registration of D.P.s.
D.P.P. n. Director of Public Prosecutions.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal profession > lawyer > [noun] > state or public law officers > state or public prosecutor
quaestora1387
promoter1485
fiscal1539
actor1598
fisc1732
public prosecutor1750
district attorney1856
Director of Public Prosecutions1879
procurator1917
D.A.1934
D.P.P.1942
1942 E. Partridge Dict. Abbrev. 34/2 D.P.P., Director of Public Prosecutions.
1958 Spectator 27 June 827/1 What instruction, if any, I would give to the DPP should Archbishop Makarios visit this country.
1970 It 12 Feb. 19/1 With the large increase in crimes of violence and offences against property the time of the police and the DPP would have been better employed, in my submission, in those directions.
D.S.C. n. Distinguished Service Cross (established 1914).
D.S.I.R. n. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Π
1917 Flying 19 Sept. 140/2 The first co-operative Research Association to be established under the auspices of the D.S.I.R. will probably be for cotton.
1964 Guardian 29 July 14/1 (heading) Tories plan a science shake-up. DSIR to disappear.
D.S.M. n. Distinguished Service Medal (established 1914).
D.S.O. n. Distinguished Service Order (established 1886).
Π
1887 Times 21 May 15/3 Brevet Major Archibald Hunter, D.S.O., from Supernumerary Captain, to be Captain.
1901 ‘M. Gray’ Four-leaved Clover i He's got a D.S.O. You've got to deserve a D.S.O., mind you, before you get it.
a1917 E. A. Mackintosh War, the Liberator (1918) 100 If you want a D.S.O. Or a small M.C. or so Don't go crawling rashly out When there's nobody about.
1930 Notes & Queries 4 Oct. 245/2 There was a good sprinkling of D.S.O.'s and O.B.E.'s.
D.T. n. vulgar abbreviation of delirium tremens.
D.T.L. n. Shooting down-the-line.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > [adjective] > type of shooter
D.T.L.1954
1954 Shooting Times 15 Jan. 41/3 Three Counties D.T.L. Championship.
1972 Shooting Times 27 May 9/1 Down-the-Line shooters take some stick, these days. But the average DTL competitor seems to take a greater pride in his appearance than do many sporting shooters.
D.V. n. = Latin Deo volente, God willing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > activities of God > [adverb] > God willing
if (also and) God willc1300
God willing1438
will God1488
Deo volente1767
D.V.1843
1843 C. Brontë Let. 1 Aug. in E. C. Gaskell Life C. Brontë (1857) I. xii. 296 I will continue to stay (D.V.) some months longer.
1873 H. Spencer Study Sociol. ii. 30 The ‘D.V.’ of a missionary-meeting placard.
1918 L. Strachey Eminent Victorians 230 The same doctrine led him [sc. Gordon]..to append, in brackets, the apotropaic initials D.V. after every statement in his letters implying futurity.
D.W. n. see quot.
Π
1909 Practitioner Feb. 262 D.W. stood for distilled water.
D.Z. n. dropping zone.
Π
1954 X. Fielding tr. P. Boulle Bridge on River Kwai (1956) iv. viii. 181 A second team was dropped on to a D.Z. some distance away.
D.Z.A. n. (see quot.).
Π
1922 Blackwood's Mag. Mar. 356 Plymouth sent a ‘D.Z.A.’. Note, International Code—‘Allow me to congratulate you.’
b. d or D (Physics, Chemistry) = diffuse: originally used to designate one of the four main series in atomic spectra, but now more frequently applied to electronic orbitals, states, etc., possessing two units of angular momentum.
ΚΠ
1890 J. R. Rydberg in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 29 335 K (D1, 4) denotes the fourth line of the first diffuse series of the spectrum of potassium.
1922 A. Fowler Rep. Series in Line Spectra iii. 15 Three of the chief series were recognised..namely..Principal, Diffuse, Sharp... Rydberg's names..are conveniently abbreviated to P,D,S.
1955 F. K. Richtmyer & E. K. Kennard Introd. Mod. Physics (ed. 5) vii. 245 The use by spectroscopists of the mysterious letters S,P,D,F..to represent various values of L.
1955 F. K. Richtmyer & E. K. Kennard Introd. Mod. Physics (ed. 5) vii. 245 The lowest D level.
1965 C. S. G. Phillips & R. J. P. Williams Inorg. Chem. I. iv. 102 The withdrawal of the d electrons from the valence shell.
c. Particle Physics. [See note s.v. S n.1 15 ] d is the symbol of the down quark (see down adj. 8).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > differentiating property > down
D1964
1964 Physics I. 74 There is a triplet t of fermion fields corresponding to three spin 1/ 2 quarks: the isotopic doublet u and d, with charges 2/ 3 and −1/ 3 respectively, and the isotopic singlet s, with charge −1/ 3.
1981 D. H. Perkins in J. H. Mulvey Nature of Matter iv. 77 The proton is (uud) and the neutron (ddu).
1983 Sci. Amer. July 106/1 An alternative is for the b to emit a Z0, transforming the b into an s or a d.
Draft additions 1997
DCC n. = digital compact cassette n. at digital n. and adj. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > [noun] > tape
steel tape1900
tape1932
magnetic tape1937
audiotape1957
leader tape1960
mag tape1960
digital audio tape1978
DAT1982
DCC1990
1990 Sunday Times 11 Nov. iv. 11/3 The Philips system is called Digital Compact Cassette (DCC). It will use the current cassette format, with a shield to protect the tape, as with videos and DAT cassettes.
1993 Q May 114/2 DAT is like a tiny videotape, DCC is the same size and shape as an ordinary music cassette—but the basic difference in the systems is in the recording and playback head.
Draft additions 1997
ddC n. (also DDC) Pharmacology, dideoxycytidine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > preparations treating or preventing specific ailments > [noun] > for HIV infection
dideoxycytidine1965
azidothymidine1974
dideoxyinosine1975
AZT1985
ddC1987
Retrovir1987
zidovudine1987
ddI1989
didanosine1990
nevirapine1991
zalcitabine1991
non-nucleoside1993
1987 Daily Tel. 17 Feb. 2/8 Animal trials indicate that dideoxycytidine (DDC), is less toxic to man than Retrovir.
1990 AIDS Res. & Human Retroviruses 6 695 ddC is one of the most potent anti-HIV agents.
1992 Sun (Baltimore) 23 June a3/6 The studies showed that ddC, used in combination with AZT, tended to cause an increase in the number of CD4 cells in the immune systems of HIV patients.
Draft additions 1997
ddI n. (also DDI) Pharmacology = dideoxyinosine n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > preparations treating or preventing specific ailments > [noun] > for HIV infection
dideoxycytidine1965
azidothymidine1974
dideoxyinosine1975
AZT1985
ddC1987
Retrovir1987
zidovudine1987
ddI1989
didanosine1990
nevirapine1991
zalcitabine1991
non-nucleoside1993
1989 Science 28 July 412/3 2′,3′-Dideoxyinosine (ddI)..is a purine dideoxynucleoside with potent activity against HIV in vitro.
1990 Lancet 10 Mar. 596/2 The UK trial of ddI will be accompanied by a similar trial in France.
1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 5 Jan. 12/3 Now that drugs like AZT and DDI can slow the progress of the disease, I could be relatively healthy for years.
Draft additions 1997
DTP n. (also dtp) = desktop publishing n. at desktop adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > publishing > [adjective] > desk-top publishing
DTP1986
1986 Nation's Business (U.S.) Mar. 57/1 Aldus created software that enables DTP systems to combine text and graphics on the screen.
1991 Computing 10 Jan. 20/1 In the past, the first question the would-be desktop publishing user asked was: is my word processor compatible with the dtp package I want?
Draft additions 1993
DRAM n.
Brit. /ˈdiːram/
, /ˈdiːram/U.S. /ˈdiˌræm/
(also Dram) Computing dynamic random-access memory, in which information is stored as charge on semiconductor capacitors and periodically refreshed in order to neutralize the effect of leakage./ˈdiˌræm/ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > hardware > [noun] > primary storage or main memory > random access
random access1950
random-access memory1953
RAM1957
dynamic RAM1975
DRAM1981
1981 Computer Design Apr. 63/2 (advt.) Processing advances in TI's TMS4164 mark major technology turns in high-performance DRAM production.
1983 Fortune 16 May 152/2 A d-RAM chip can be visualized as an incredibly miniaturized telephone network.
1984 Science 11 May 590/1 The first DRAM to be competitive with magnetic core memory in computers was a 1K chip in the early 1970's.
1987 Times 27 Feb. 6 This dynamic random access memory (Dram) chip demonstrates Japanese mastery in a field abandoned by many western companies back in the 1970s.
Draft additions January 2011
DRM n. = digital rights management n. at digital n. and adj. Compounds 2.
Π
1997 PR Newswire (Nexis) 6 May Portland Software is an Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) technology provider and Digital Rights Management (DRM) pioneer.
2002 Information World Rev. Sept. 17/1 DRM is seen today as primarily a vendor issue.
2008 Daily Tel. 5 Mar. 9/3 7digital is offering Warner's albums in a DRM-free format, meaning that music fans in Britain, Spain, Ireland, France and Germany will be able to play tracks by Madonna, REM and The Smiths on almost all digital music players.
Draft additions 1993
DTL n. Electronics diode–transistor logic; cf. TTL n. at T n. Initialisms 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > solid state physics > semiconductivity > transistor > [noun] > logic of
DTL1960
TTL1963
1960 IRE Trans. Electronic Computers 9 16/1 For maximum circuit economy at the moderate speeds contemplated in these equipments, two types of logic structure proved outstanding. These structures were the RTL and DTL types.
1977 Sci. Amer. Sept. 79/1 In the late 1950's and early 1960's semiconductor diodes, also packaged as discrete components, became cheap enough to compete with resistors; the result was diode–transistor logic (DTL).
Draft additions 1993
Chemistry.† (b) d was formerly used to denote configuration (now superseded by d: see Additions (c)). Obsolete.
(a) d = dextrorotatory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > isomerism > [adjective] > of or relating to stereo-isomerism > of or relating to optical isomerism > dextro-rotatory
right-handed1821
dextro-rotatory1876
D1894
1894 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 66 i. 47 Iridin undergoes hydrolysis when heated with dilute sulphuric acid at 80–100°, yielding d-glucose and irigenin... This substance crystallises in rhombohedra, melting at 186°.
1907 J. B. Cohen Org. Chem. Adv. Students I. ii. 94 There are in addition d- and l-inositol (α) d = ±65° obtained..from pinite..and quebrachite.
1967 I. L. Finar Org. Chem. (ed. 5) I. xvii. 433 Natural mannose is dextrorotatory. Hence natural mannose will be d-mannose, and all derivatives of d-mannose..will thus belong to the d-series.
ΚΠ
1890 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 58 i. 466 In view of the fact that the rotation of derivatives of each isomeride is not always in the same direction..it is necessary to adopt some method of indicating the optical activity of the parent glucose, and the author [sc. E. Fischer] proposes to distinguish the derivatives of dextro- and lævo-rotatory, and of inactive mannose, irrespective of their own peculiar rotation, as derivatives of d.-, l.-, and i.-mannose respectively.
1906 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 28 114 The chemical relationships are indicated by the letters d and l prefixed to the names of compounds. Thus, ordinary glucose and its corresponding fructose (levulose) are designated, respectively, d-glucose and d-fructose, notwithstanding the levo-rotation of the latter.
(c) As a small capital d: applied to (a compound having) a configuration about an asymmetric atom which is the mirror image of that indicated by the symbol l (see L n. Initialisms 3c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemistry as a science > naming conventions > [adjective] > chemical symbols
O1889
O1899
Z1931
D1947
1947 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 169 237 Distinction between the stereoisomers of the amino acids is made by a prefixed small capital letter d or l to denote the configurational family to which the a-carbon atom belongs.
1948 R. E. Kirk & D. F. Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. II. 879 Gentianose may be hydrolyzed by invertase or by dilute acids to d-fructose and gentiobiose.
1988 L. Stryer Biochem. (ed. 3) xiv. 337 In cellulose, for example, d-glucose residues are joined by glycosidic linkages between C-1 of one sugar and the hydroxyl oxygen atom of C-4 of an adjacent sugar.
Draft additions July 2010
DHTML n. Computing dynamic HTML.
ΚΠ
1997 PR Newswire (Nexis) 1 Oct. The most advanced, yet user-friendly, application of DHTML (‘Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language’) in the Internet search arena.
2007 L. Hefferman & A. Dornfest Microsoft Expression Web for Dummies iv. 100/1 As you can imagine, coding DHTML takes some geeky mojo.
Draft additions September 2013
DTI n. Department of Trade and Industry; spec. (in the United Kingdom) a government department, created in 1970 and disbanded in 2007, responsible for trade, industry, science, and technology.
Π
1970 Financial Times 21 Oct. 40/2 The DTI speaks of ‘some slowness of the rate of increase in recent months.’
1996 Independent 12 Mar. 2/6 Mr Heseltine was responsible at the DTI for setting up..a nationwide network of small firms advice centres.
2012 Mercury (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 8 Mar. 2 The ANC used its majority in Parliament to draw a veil of secrecy yesterday over the role played by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in SA's R60-billion arms deal in the late 1990s.
Draft additions December 2013
D n. [in early use, symbolic abbreviation for diplogen n.; in later use, symbolic abbreviation for deuterium n.] deuterium (originally called diplogen).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > hydrogen > [noun] > isotopes
D1933
deuterium1933
diplogen1933
protium1933
tritium1933
T1948
1933 Ld. Rutherford in Nature 23 Dec. 956/2 It is important that the new isotope [sc. diplogen] should have a definite symbol allotted to it, and the symbol ‘D’ seems appropriate.
1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. iii. 211 Hydrogen has two stable isotopes, H1, sometimes called protium, and H2 or D, usually called deuterium.
1981 P. Sykes Guidebk. to Mechanism in Org. Chem. (ed. 5) iv. 83 Support for such an interaction..is provided by substituting H by D in the original halide.
2007 I. Dincer & M. A. Rosen Exergy xi. 245 D2O is modeled as H2O.
Draft additions April 2011
DDoS n. Computing = distributed denial of service n. at distribute v. Additions; usually attributive, esp. in DDoS attack.
ΚΠ
2000 Announce: BOF on Distributed DoS, San Jose 1/18/00 in comp.os.linux.security (Usenet newsgroup) 16 Jan. The purpose of this message is to solicit participation in birds of a feather (BOF) session to discuss the Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) problem.
2000 Personal Computer World May 48/4 There are a number of tools..which can help you detect, analyse and eliminate distributed DDoS components that may be installed on your network.
2007 Esquire Oct. 146/2 It would require the mother of all DNS DDoS attacks to take down the net.
2010 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 22 Dec. Amazon, which kicked WikiLeaks off of its web server this month, was unaffected by DDoS attacks.
Draft additions April 2011
DoS n. Computing = denial of service n. at denial n. Additions; usually attributive, esp. in DoS attack.
ΚΠ
1987 Govt. Computer News (Nexis) 17 July A concern that is gaining momentum in the security community..is denial of service or DOS... DOS means that an adversary denies use of facilities or services to authorized users.
2000 Time 21 Feb. 45/2 They figured out they were under a DOS attack.
2005 2600 Summer 10/2 This attack also doubles as a DoS attack by removing the ads for 24 hourse.
2010 Independent 1 Dec. 17/1 This week the site has been hit by two denial of service (DoS) attacks.
Draft additions December 2004
Physics and Chemistry d-block n. attributive designating the elements whose outermost electrons are in d-orbitals, i.e. the elements of columns 3–12 of the periodic table; the transition metals. Also: designating the orbitals themselves.
ΚΠ
1961 W. E. Addison Struct. Princ. Inorg. Compounds i. 7 The d block elements, referred to as the Transition Elements since they are situated between the s and p blocks, are metals which usually form coloured ions.
1982 Inorg. Chem. 21 2395/2 (caption) Six lower d-block orbitals of an edge-sharing bioctahedral M2L10 complex.
1998 M. J. Winter d-Block Chem. (rev. ed.) i. 2 Since all the d-block elements are metallic, the term d-block metals is synonymous.
Draft additions May 2001
DAB n. Broadcasting and Telecommunications = digital audio broadcasting n. at digital n. and adj. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1987 Spectrum 20/20: Symp. Spectrum Usage Paper II.3 (Abstract) This has initiated a study of digital audio broadcasting (DAB).
1998 Times (Nexis) 9 May Ofair will need to act swiftly against the sharp practices that will flow from the DAB age's Bunteresque appetite for programming.
2000 Sci. Amer. Dec. 28/2 DAB was capable of being broadcast by satellite as well as terrestrially.
Draft additions December 2002
D and D n. (usually written D & D) = Dungeons and Dragons n. at dungeon n. Phrases.
Π
1975 G. Gygax in Strategic Rev. Spring 3/2 Now break out your copy of D & D, your dice, and plenty of graph paper and have fun.
1990 Dragon Mag. Mar. 75/1 I believe most parents would accept D&D, as mine did, if only their children were better at explaining the concept of role-playing games.
1999 Toronto Star (Electronic ed.) 15 Mar. Dungeons and Dragons was an unassuming collection of booklets and sheets of paper... All the same, D & D (as it came to be called) was a full-blast cultural phenomenon by the mid-'80s.
Draft additions June 2013
D and S n. (also D & S, D/S, D/s, DS) domination (also dominance) and submission.
ΘΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > types of sexual behaviour > [noun] > sadism or masochism
sadism1818
masochism1892
algolagnia1893
heterosexuality1898
sadomasochism1919
S and M1965
D and S1990
1990 F. Musafar in A. Parfrey Apocalypse Culture (rev. ed.) 109 There are three different terms, there is S & M, B & D, and D & S.
1994 Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 17/1 Sado-masochism or, to use the more fashionable acronym D and S for dominance and submission, is stomping its way into the cultural mainstream.
2002 Pittsburgh Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 9 Dec. a11 I don't believe there's danger any more so in a D/S relationship than in a vanilla relationship.
2006 S. White Bound (Electronic ed.) ‘BDSM as in domination and submission?’ His head cocked to the left. ‘D and S is part of it yes. Does that interest you, Katie?’
Draft additions June 2007
DHEA n. the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, which is produced in the gonads and adrenals as an intermediate in the synthesis of oestrogen and androgen.
Π
1969 Jrnl. Pediatrics 74 932/2 The present study was undertaken in the belief that this change in adrenal function represents the onset of increased dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) secretion by the gland.
1997 D. Singh Khalsa & C. Stauth Brain Longevity iv. 74 When DHEA is restored to this level, it commonly elicits a ‘re-youthing’ effect, characterized by enhanced memory, increased sex drive, [etc.].
2004 Zest Dec. 67/1 New research indicates that decreased libido could be the result of low levels of the biochemical DHEA.
Draft additions December 2012
DHSS n. British (now historical) Department of Health and Social Security, a former department of the British government responsible for the National Health Service and other state-run social services between 1968 and 1988.
ΚΠ
1969 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 Mar. p. xxx (advt.) Professorship of Medicine at St. James's Hospital, Leeds, at a salary on the D.H.S.S. Consultant Scale.
1987 Which? July 313/1 If you get supplementary benefit, you can arrange for the DHSS to pay some of this straight to the gas or electricity board.
1999 D. Haslam Manchester, Eng. vii. 186 The school-leavers of the late 1980s were no longer serving apprenticeships in factories..; they were pulling scams on the DHSS.
Draft additions December 2005
DL n. slang (originally in African-American usage) = down-low n.
ΚΠ
1992 ‘Pharcyde’ Bizarre Ride II Pharcyde (record) (title of song) On the DL.
2004 K. P. Abrams Perils of Heart 117 Oops, I'd better keep it on the DL, huh?
Draft additions December 2004
DNS n. Computing domain name server (also service, system).
ΚΠ
1982 Z. Su Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 830. 2 This resolution is provided through the cooperation among a set of domain name servers (DNSs).
1989 PC Week (Nexis) 24 Apr. 10 Support for Domain Name Service (DNS), a standard feature of most TCP/IP networks, lets network administrators more easily divide responsibility for the user-name database across multiple servers from a variety of vendors.
2000 ‘Dr. K.’ Compl. Hacker's Handbk. v. 59 The expansion into the present-day Internet, with millions of hosts, would have been impossible without the creation of the DNS to provide host address lookup.
Draft additions May 2001
DSL n. Computing and Telecommunications digital subscriber line, a technology for the high-speed transmission of digital information over standard copper telephone lines (of which there are several variants, identified by their initial letter, as ADSL (see A n.), SDSL (symmetric DSL), VDSL (very high bit-rate DSL)); (also, in quot. 1981) digital subscriber loop.
ΚΠ
1981 IEEE Trans. Communications 29 1554/1 This paper explores the constraints on the design of two-wire repeaterless digital subscriber loop (DSL) systems.
1985 Telephone Engineer & Managem. (Nexis) 1 June 74 The ISDN DSLs will have distance limitations from the switch due to the physics of operating 144kbs on standard telephone loops.
1998 New Scientist 7 Nov. 63/3 No one seems ready to give up on DSL, but it's clear that installation will not be cheap or easy.
2000 N.Y. Times Mag. 15 Oct. 25 (advt.) TI's software has emerged as the industry standard for both DSL and voiceband modems.
Draft additions December 2012
DSS n. Department of Social Security.The Australian department of this name was discontinued in 1997; the British department was dissolved in 2001.
Π
1969 Financial Times 12 Dec. 10/7 The Department of Social Security..only knows what is going on when returns of sickness certificates are made by local offices... Investigations as to the variety of the 'flu virus can only begin when the DSS learns of an outbreak.
1983 Computerworld 27 June 10/1 A multi-million-dollar contract to supply Australia's Department of Social Security (DSS) with..minicomputers, workstations and peripherals.
2006 F. F. Martin et al. Internat. Human Rights & Humanitarian Law v. 693 The applicant's files at the DSS were marked ‘sensitive’ to ensure that only an employee of a particular grade had access to her files.
Draft additions December 2004
DTD n. Computing document type definition, a file that specifies the tagging structure of a set of SGML or XML documents, to be used by a parsing program run on the documents.
ΚΠ
1985 Formex (Comm. European Communities) (rev. ed.) 203 SGML provides a means of checking the mark-up of a document, in the form of what is called a document type definition (DTD).
1987 Computers & Graphics 11 345/2 The purpose of the DTD is to state the rules for constructing a valid document of a particular type.
1998 R. Darnell et al. HTML 4 Unleashed i. iv. 46 The DTD includes the definitions for all legal HTML elements and their attributes, using a syntax that looks very much like HTML.
Draft additions September 2003
DUI n. U.S. (the offence of) driving under the influence (of alcohol or drugs).
ΚΠ
1969 N.Y. Times Mag. 26 Oct. 187/1 A black man from Sweetport, La...was even more surprised to find himself arrested on a D.U.I. charge (driving under the influence) by a black officer in Mississippi and fined a crushing $113.
1983 Health (Nexis) Feb. 44 [Sober Aid] does not return the driver to an unimpaired state, and the findings should not be construed as suggesting DUI (driving under the influence) behavior to be either safe or acceptable.
2001 D. Lehane Mystic River 343 Predictable shit follows as the father is arrested on petty larceny... Bunch of DUIs and D and D's follow.
Draft additions July 2002
DVT n. Medicine = deep vein thrombosis n. at deep adj. Additions.
ΚΠ
1972 Brit. Jrnl. Surg. 59 914 (title) Low doses of heparin in the prevention of postoperative D.V.T.—a double-blind trial.
1980 Lancet 16 Feb. 331/2 Subjects consisted of 45 consecutive patients presenting..with unilateral pain or swelling of the calf and in whom the provisional clinical diagnosis was DVT.
2001 Quicksilver Mag. Spring 83/1 The term ‘economy class syndrome’ may be a misnomer..in that people have also suffered DVT after travelling longhaul in business or first class.
Draft additions September 2003
DWAI n. U.S. (the offence of) driving while (one's) ability is impaired (by alcohol or drugs) (usually defined legally as a lower level of impairment than that of DWI n. at Additions).
ΚΠ
1973 Pacific Reporter 2nd Ser. (Nexis) 510 316 The trial court found that the prosecution had established driving while ability impaired (DWAI),..and ruled that DWAI was a lesser included offense of DUI.
2000 Denver Post (Electronic ed.) 24 Oct. Colorado already has a lower ‘driving while ability impaired’ standard of 0.05 percent [blood-alcohol content]. But those convicted of their first DWAI infraction do not lose their driver's license, as happens with DUI.
Draft additions September 2003
DWB n. U.S. colloquial (originally in African-American usage) = driving while black n. at driving n. Additions.
ΚΠ
1990 N.Y. Times 21 May b4/1 We get arrested for D.W.B... You know, driving while black.
1997 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 16 Mar. d3/2 Police officials have denied charges of discrimination, but, for many blacks, this practice is so widespread it has its own street label: D.W.B.—‘Driving While Black’.
2001 Village Voice (N.Y.) 19 June 65/1 Since this is a paranoid function of law enforcement like arresting people for ‘DWB’, the police abuse the practice, and innocent people are frequently detained, falsely accused, and brutalized.
Draft additions September 2003
DWI n. U.S. (the offence of) driving while intoxicated.
ΚΠ
1950 N.Y. Times 21 June 16 (advt.) A charge of driving while intoxicated—or a DWI charge, as the police call it—is often impossible to prove in court unless it's backed up by evidence from a chemical test.
1983 J. W. Dickey et al. Metropolitan Transportation Planning x. 364 To remove and treat problem drinkers, a system was developed to identify such among the DWI offenders and refer them to special treatment centers.
2001 Esquire Sept. 71/2 When it came out that George W. Bush had a DWI arrest, it was also mentioned in passing that Dick Cheney had two DWI arrests when he was a young man.
Draft additions January 2011
DOB n. date of birth.
Π
1955 C. M. Virtue Company Admin. & Personnel Section (ed. 24) App. 400/1 Authorized Abbreviations..date of birth..DOB.
1973 Tips Spring 46/2 His DOB is 22 Jun 38.
1988 Observer 6 July 52/4 (advt.) Christening Gift. Baby's name, DOB. Beautifully hand lettered.
1994 N.Y. Mag. 21 May 140/3 Is your DOB 1954-45?
2001 J. C. Grimwood Pashazade (2003) xii. 64 Reaching under his seat, Clem yanked out a briefcase. ‘The combination's your DOB.’
Draft additions September 2012
DEET n.
Brit. /diːt/
, /diːt/U.S. /dit/
(also deet) [ < elements of the systematic name N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (see note)] an oily solvent used as the active ingredient in insect repellents; an insect repellent containing this solvent.Systematic name: N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (also N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide); H3C·C6H4·CO·N(CH2CH3)2./dit/Π
1961 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 8 Aug. a2/1 Deet may not replace the M-W rifle, but it'll make the rifle bearer a lot more comfortable.
1990 Old Colony Memorial (Plymouth, Mass.) 16 Aug. a1/3 Right now we're issuing advisories, suggesting the application of repellents containing DEET.
2007 R. L. Myers 100 Most Important Chem. Compounds xxxi. 92/2 DEET is most probably safe to use during pregnancy.
Draft additions June 2013
3D printer n. a machine allowing a physical object to be created from a three-dimensional digital model, typically by laying down thin layers of a material in succession.
Π
1991 Computerworld 13 May 17/4 The 3-D printer would also operate much like a copier to selectively place toner and bonder on individual sheets of material.
2000 Sci. Amer. Nov. 20/2 A 3-D printer, which can create small plastic sculptures of almost any shape.
2012 New Scientist 4 Feb. 22/1 Digital objects that assume a physical form thanks to a 3D printer.
3D printing n. the action or practice of creating a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model by means of a 3D printer.
Π
1992 U.S. News & World Rep. 20 July 55/1 Turning three-dimensional computer images into reality with the push of a button. Called desktop manufacturing or 3-D printing, the new technology ‘promises to revolutionize manufacturing’.
2012 Times (Nexis) 1 Mar. 30 3D printing could solve many domestic problems (broken plates or lost keys).
Draft additions March 2014
DWF n. originally U.S. (in personal advertisements) divorced white female.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > divorce or dissolution > [noun] > divorced person > woman
ex-wifea1398
repudiate1543
DWF1982
1982 Capital (Annapolis, Maryland) 13 Feb. 5/4 DWF—sincere young middle-aged, 5 foot 3 inches, 125 pounds, likes dancing, movies, dining out, candlelight dinners, cooking, quiet evenings at home and affection.
1985 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 22 May 17/1 I'm so glad I'm no longer a DWF looking for TLC from a DWM.
2005 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 May 58 (advt.) Pretty Professor, DWF, warm, smart, happy, trim. Seeks honest, accomplished D/WWM.
Draft additions March 2014
DWM n. originally U.S. (in personal advertisements) divorced white male.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > divorce or dissolution > [noun] > divorced person
divorcee1814
ex1929
used-to-be1942
DWM1977
1977 Washingtonian Dec. 270/2 (advt.) DWM professional, successful..seeks affectionate shapely feminine woman.
1980 Washington Post (Nexis) 30 Dec. d2 Suzanne Jacobs, a SWF, not only answered an ad placed by Alvin Maas, 56-year-old DWM, but she married him.
2008 Cape Argus (Nexis) 20 Sept. 11 Passionate open-minded DWM late 40s with no hang-ups or baggage.
Draft additions March 2014
DWM n. dead white male (also man); cf DWEM n.
Π
1989 Rare Bks. & Manuscripts Librarianship Fall 124/2 Even among the ranks of the DWMs..we might..have allowed the publications of the early proponent of continental drift, Alfred Wegener, to fall..into the abyss of time.
1990 Wall St. Jrnl. 7 Aug. a16 The humanities departments..which seek to free themselves from the ‘hegemony’ of Dead White Males (DWMs is the common reference).
2007 D. West Death of Grown-up (2008) viii. 149 DWMs are hangers-on in a new, multicultural pantheon.
Draft additions June 2016
DD n. colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) dear (or darling) daughter; a person's daughter.Sometimes humorous or ironic.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > child > daughter > [noun]
daughtereOE
maiden bairna1400
little girl1549
daughterkina1605
queanie?1800
daughterling1853
DD1996
1996 Re: What X-stitch Pattern do you wish you could Find? in rec.crafts.textiles.needlework (Usenet newsgroup) 6 May Don't forget, my DD (dear daughter) was a drama major too.
2014 Guardian (Nexis) 27 Sept. (Weekend Suppl.) 15 DD was asleep, so I found the time to post this on the Am I Being Unreasonable thread.
Draft additions June 2016
DS n. colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) dear (or darling) son; a person's son.
ΚΠ
1996 List of Abreviations in rec.crafts.textiles.quilting (Usenet newsgroup) 8 June DS, dear son.
2013 Evening Standard (Nexis) 24 Oct. 38 10-year-old DS has been asking about sex toys and what they're made of.
Draft additions June 2016
DH n. colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) dear (or darling) husband; a person's husband.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married man > [noun] > husband
churla800
lordeOE
werec893
husbanda1275
mana1325
masterc1325
sovereign1390
maritea1398
husbandman?a1439
goodman?1507
baron1595
spouse1604
husband of one's bosom1611
old man1673
hubby1682
sposo1741
hub1809
master-man1825
pot and pan1900
mister1931
DH1993
1993 My First Quilting Project in rec.crafts.quilting (Usenet newsgroup) 17 Dec. My DH dutifully came and looked at my patches laid out on the ironing board.
2012 Times (Nexis) 9 June (Weekend section) 5 The world is separated into ‘lurkers’ (people who read but never post, and cringe when they see the expression DH) and ‘MNers’ (Mumsnetters who post replies and are quite comfortable referring to their DH).
Draft additions June 2016
DW n. colloquial (originally and chiefly in electronic communications) dear (or darling) wife; a person's wife.
ΚΠ
1994 Re: I need Help! in alt.support.stop-smoking (Usenet newsgroup) 5 Sept. DW (Dear Wife) was there onetime [sic] when this happened and she thought I must be in real pain, but I really felt fine.
2015 @actuary 2 Nov. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) What would your reaction be if your DW/DH accused you of cheating?
Draft additions January 2018
DVR n. digital video recorder; (also) digital video recording.Recorded earliest in product names; in quot. 1989 as an abbreviation for digital videocassette recorder.
ΚΠ
1989 Wall St. Jrnl. (Eastern ed.) 21 Apr. 1 Sony Corp. said it has developed a portable digital videocassette recorder... The machine, dubbed the DVR-1, is the first portable VCR that uses digital rather than analog recording.
1995 Multimedia Week 25 Dec. 1 This hardware lets Power Macintosh users with PCI-based computers capture, manipulate and broadcast full-motion video; DVR Architecture bypasses the host computer for processing.
1996 Satellite Communication (Atlanta, Georgia) Jan. 31 The DVR unit features NTSC or PAL video; T1 data rate; SIF (source input format) resolution video; and auxiliary data channels.
2001 Cable & Satellite Europe July 1 TV Cabo's new service offering includes Digital Video Recording (DVR).
2016 K. Donovan Decent Proposal 2 His head came to a stop, igniting in a series of fiery explosions that..he likened to the climactic sequence of one of those nineties action movies viewed routinely on his DVR.
Draft additions January 2018
DC n. colloquial (originally and chiefly in online forums relating to parenting) dear (or darling) child; a person's child.
ΚΠ
1996 Re: DH ruined Kid's 1st Birthday in misc.kids (Usenet newsgroup) 8 Aug. ‘DC’ means dear child(ren).
2013 @cmlcampbell 5 Mar. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) There isn't any measles around, is there (my DC's school had 5 cases last term)?
Draft additions September 2018
DP n. Film director of photography.
ΚΠ
1973 Amer. Cinematographer June 784/2 As underwater DP, my biggest problem was to ‘Direct’ underwater.
1991 P. Grescoe Flesh Wound (1993) xv. 152 Melts introducing me to Jack, his second-unit director, and Andy, his DP, Director of Photography.
2012 Sight & Sound Apr. 58/4 Shooting action just the right side of hectic and slapdash, Kormákur and DP Barry Ackroyd opt for handheld coattailing.
DoP n. (also DOP) Film director of photography.
ΚΠ
1981 Amer. Cinematographer May 481/2 I was extremely fortunate to work with Joe Wittkofski as the DOP.
1999 M. Syal Life isn't all Ha Ha Hee Hee (2000) iii. 102 A glow that Tania could only achieve with an expert DOP and a large amount of glycerine on the lens.
2017 Australian (Nexis) 3 June (Review section) 3 Directors and DoPs are now choosing locations with the new technology in mind.
Draft additions December 2018
DVLA n. British Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
ΚΠ
1989 Times 27 Sept. (Appointments section) p. xiv/1 The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Directorate is to be established as an Executive Agency (DVLA) of the Department of Transport from 1 April 1990.
1995 Daily Mail 14 June 23/1 A driver can be identified automatically by a computerized ‘reader’ linked to licensing records at DVLA headquarters in Swansea.
2013 M. Lawson Deaths x. 338 Patients with blurred eyes or slurred words desperate not to be diagnosed with a TIA—all in case the DVLA takes away their car keys.
Draft additions December 2020
In various team sports and ball games: either of the marked semicircular areas in front of or surrounding the goal at each end of the pitch, court, etc.; cf. goal circle n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > [noun] > parts of playing area
outfield1851
goal line1862
centreline1863
goalside1865
territory1867
goalmouth1871
box1881
half1888
goal area1902
penalty area1905
orchard1913
penalty box1914
area1925
D1927
keyhole1936
penalty spot1937
six-yard box1954
1927 Times of India 16 May 14/4 There was some dispute about the second goal of the Tank Corps, which, according to the goal judge, was shot from outside the circle but which, according to the referee, was struck inside the ‘D’.
1998 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 23 Sept. 8 I leap and bound into the D and am taking aim when Bully suddenly looms over me.
2006 Stamford Mercury (Nexis) 29 Sept. Good passing from new player Faye Logan and the central midfielders led to a push into the D where Ellie Allam tipped it into the goal.
Draft additions September 2021
D n. (on the selector mechanism in a vehicle with automatic transmission) = drive n. 20b.
Π
1948 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 18 Jan. 17/5 Buick Saturday announced its 1948 line of cars, featuring..a new transmission with no-shift, clutchless driving... The [selector] lever has five positions, ‘P’ for parking and starting the engine, ‘N’ for neutral and starting the engine, ‘D’ for driving range, [etc.].
1965 R. Priestley & T. H. Wisdom Good Driving v. 40 D for Drive. In this position, which is usual for all driving conditions, the transmission starts in first gear and automatically changes up into second and then top gear.
2013 P. Waugh Alien Ladder 174 He pushed the lever into ‘D’ and pressed his foot down on the accelerator. The ambulance jerked forward.
Draft additions September 2021
DR n. the Dominican Republic.Originally as a graphic abbreviation.
Π
1908 1st Ann. Rep. Dominican Customs Receivership 3 Office of the General Receiver, Santo Domingo, D. R.
2020 @__stylecorp 28 Dec. in twitter.com (accessed 28 Dec. 2020) My sister is living her best life in the DR rn, I'm jealous.
Draft additions June 2022
DM n. British colloquial (in plural, as DMs) Dr. Martens boots or shoes; see Dr. Martens n.Not in North American use.
ΚΠ
1982 Freedom: Anarchist Fortn. 24 July 7/3 So what if people are vegetarians but also wear DMs etc?
1990 Guardian 30 Apr. 36/6 The leather jackets and DMs of more or less unreconstructed punks.
2013 A. McKinty I hear Sirens in Street 165 The pasture was little better than a bog with some tuft grass and sodden heather, and in a few moments my DMs were soaked through.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.c1000- suckingcushion
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- sugar-almond
- sugar-ant
- sugar-apple
- sugar-babe
- sugar-baby
- sugar-bag
- sugar-bakehouse
- sugar-baker
- sugar-bakery
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