Daric, dar′ik, n. an old gold coin larger than an English sovereign, named after Darius I. of Persia.
Dark, därk, adj. without light: black, or somewhat black: gloomy: difficult to understand: unenlightened: secret: sinister.—n. absence of light: obscurity: a state of ignorance.—adv. (Shak.) in a state of dark.—v.t. Dark′en, to make dark: to render ignorant: to sully.—v.i. to grow dark or darker.—n. Dark′-house (Shak.), a mad-house.—adj. Dark′ish, somewhat dark: dusky.—v.i. Dark′le, to grow dark.—adv. and adj. Dark′ling, dark: in the dark.—advs. Dark′lings (poet.), in the dark; Dark′ly.—n. Dark′ness.—adj. Dark′some, dark: (poet.) gloomy.—ns. Dark′y, Dark′ey, a negro: (slang) a policeman's lantern.—Dark ages, the period of intellectual darkness in Europe, from the 5th to the 15th century.—Darken the door, to enter in at the door.—A dark horse, in racing, a horse whose capabilities are not known: a candidate about whom it is not known till the last moment that he is a candidate.—Keep dark, to be silent or secret; Keep it dark, to conceal.—The prince of darkness, Satan. [A.S. deorc.]
Darling, där′ling, n. a little dear: one dearly beloved: a favourite. [Dear, and dim. suff. -ling = l-ing.]
Darn, därn, v.t. to mend a hole by imitating the texture of the stuff.—n. the place darned.—n. Darn′ing-needle. [W. darn, a piece, a patch.]
Darn, därn, v.i. a minced form of damn.
Darnel, där′nel, n. an annual of the rye-grass genus, the tares of Scripture. [Prob. conn. with O. Fr. darne, stupid, from its supposed narcotic properties.]
Darraign, Darrain. See Derain.
Dart, därt, n. a pointed weapon for throwing with the hand: anything that pierces.—v.t. to hurl suddenly: to send or shoot forth.—v.i. to start or shoot forth rapidly—freq. Dar′tle.—adv. Dart′ingly. [O. Fr. dart; from a Low Ger. root.]
Dart. See Dace.
Darter, därt′ėr, n. a genus of birds nearly allied to cormorants, heron-like in gait and gesture.