Defn: A person or thing detained; (Law)
Defn: a form of action for the recovery of a personal chattel wrongfully detained. Writ of detinue (Law), one that lies against him who wrongfully detains goods or chattels delivered to him, or in possession, to recover the thing itself, or its value and damages, from the detainer. It is now in a great measure superseded by other remedies.
DETONATE
Det"o*nate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Detonated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Detonating.] Etym: [L. detonare, v. i., to thunder down; de + tonare
to thunder; akin to E. thunder. See Thunder, and cf. Detonize.]
Defn: To explode with a sudden report; as, niter detonates with sulphur.
DETONATE
Det"o*nate, v. t.
Defn: To cause to explode; to cause to burn or inflame with a sudden report.
DETONATING
Det"o*na`ting, a. & n.
Defn: from Detonate. Detonating gas, a mixture of two volumes of hydrogen with one volume of oxygen, which explodes with a loud report upon ignition. — Detonating powder, any powder or solid substance, as fulminate of mercury, which when struck, explodes with violence and a loud report. — Detonating primer, a primer exploded by a fuse; — used to explode gun cotton in blasting operations. — Detonating tube, a strong tube of glass, usually graduated, closed at one end, and furnished with two wires passing through its sides at opposite points, and nearly meeting, for the purpose of exploding gaseous mixtures by an electric spark, as in gas analysis, etc.
DETONATION
Det`o*na"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. détonation.]
Defn: An explosion or sudden report made by the instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances' as, the detonation of gun cotton.