from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Double \Dou"ble\ (d[u^]b"'l), a. [OE. doble, duble, double, OF.
doble, duble, double, F. double, fr. L. duplus, fr. the root
of duo two, and perh. that of plenus full; akin to Gr.
diplo`os double. See {Two}, and {Full}, and cf. {Diploma},
{Duple}.]
1. Twofold; multiplied by two; increased by its equivalent;
made twice as large or as much, etc.
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Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. -- 2
Kings ii. 9.
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Darkness and tempest make a double night. --Dryden.
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2. Being in pairs; presenting two of a kind, or two in a set
together; coupled.
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[Let] The swan, on still St. Mary's lake,
Float double, swan and shadow. --Wordsworth.
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3. Divided into two; acting two parts, one openly and the
other secretly; equivocal; deceitful; insincere.
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With a double heart do they speak. -- Ps. xii. 2.
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4. (Bot.) Having the petals in a flower considerably
increased beyond the natural number, usually as the result
of cultivation and the expense of the stamens, or stamens
and pistils. The white water lily and some other plants
have their blossoms naturally double.
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Note: Double is often used as the first part of a compound
word, generally denoting two ways, or twice the number,
quantity, force, etc., twofold, or having two.
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{Double base}, or {Double bass} (Mus.), the largest and
lowest-toned instrument in the violin form; the
contrabasso or violone.
{Double convex}. See under {Convex}.
{Double counterpoint} (Mus.), that species of counterpoint or
composition, in which two of the parts may be inverted, by
setting one of them an octave higher or lower.
{Double court} (Lawn Tennis), a court laid out for four
players, two on each side.
{Double dagger} (Print.), a reference mark ([dag]) next to
the dagger ([dagger]) in order; a diesis.
{Double drum} (Mus.), a large drum that is beaten at both
ends.
{Double eagle}, a gold coin of the United States having the
value of 20 dollars.
{Double entry}. See under {Bookkeeping}.
{Double floor} (Arch.), a floor in which binding joists
support flooring joists above and ceiling joists below.
See Illust. of Double-framed floor.
{Double flower}. See {Double}, a., 4.
{Double-framed floor} (Arch.), a double floor having girders
into which the binding joists are framed.
{Double fugue} (Mus.), a fugue on two subjects.
{Double letter}.
(a) (Print.) Two letters on one shank; a ligature.
(b) A mail requiring double postage.
{Double note} (Mus.), a note of double the length of the
semibreve; a breve. See {Breve}.
{Double octave} (Mus.), an interval composed of two octaves,
or fifteen notes, in diatonic progression; a fifteenth.
{Double pica}. See under {Pica}.
{Double play} (Baseball), a play by which two players are put
out at the same time.
{Double plea} (Law), a plea alleging several matters in
answer to the declaration, where either of such matters
alone would be a sufficient bar to the action. --Stephen.
{Double point} (Geom.), a point of a curve at which two
branches cross each other. Conjugate or isolated points of
a curve are called double points, since they possess most
of the properties of double points (see {Conjugate}). They
are also called {acnodes}, and those points where the
branches of the curve really cross are called {crunodes}.
The extremity of a cusp is also a double point.
{Double quarrel}. (Eccl. Law) See {Duplex querela}, under
{Duplex}.
{Double refraction}. (Opt.) See {Refraction}.
{Double salt}. (Chem.)
(a) A mixed salt of any polybasic acid which has been
saturated by different bases or basic radicals, as the
double carbonate of sodium and potassium,
{NaKCO3.6H2O}.
(b) A molecular combination of two distinct salts, as
common alum, which consists of the sulphate of
aluminium, and the sulphate of potassium or ammonium.
{Double shuffle}, a low, noisy dance.
{Double standard} (Polit. Econ.), a double standard of
monetary values; i. e., a gold standard and a silver
standard, both of which are made legal tender.
{Double star} (Astron.), two stars so near to each other as
to be seen separate only by means of a telescope. Such
stars may be only optically near to each other, or may be
physically connected so that they revolve round their
common center of gravity, and in the latter case are
called also binary stars.
{Double time} (Mil.). Same as {Double-quick}.
{Double window}, a window having two sets of glazed sashes
with an air space between them.
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