from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Auction \Auc"tion\, n. [L. auctio an increasing, a public sale,
where the price was called out, and the article to be sold
was adjudged to the last increaser of the price, or the
highest bidder, fr. L. augere, auctum, to increase. See
{Augment}.]
1. A public sale of property to the highest bidder, esp. by a
person licensed and authorized for the purpose; a vendue.
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2. The things sold by auction or put up to auction.
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Ask you why Phryne the whole auction buys ? --Pope.
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Note: In the United States, the more prevalent expression has
been "sales at auction," that is, by an increase of
bids (Lat. auctione). This latter form is preferable.
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{Dutch auction}, the public offer of property at a price
beyond its value, then gradually lowering the price, till
some one accepts it as purchaser. --P. Cyc.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Dutch \Dutch\, a. [D. duitsch German; or G. deutsch, orig.,
popular, national, OD. dietsc, MHG. diutsch, tiutsch, OHG.
diutisk, fr. diot, diota, a people, a nation; akin to AS.
pe['o]d, OS. thiod, thioda, Goth. piuda; cf. Lith. tauta
land, OIr. tuath people, Oscan touto. The English have
applied the name especially to the Germanic people living
nearest them, the Hollanders. Cf. {Derrick}, {Teutonic}.]
Pertaining to Holland, or to its inhabitants.
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{Dutch auction}. See under {Auction}.
{Dutch cheese}, a small, pound, hard cheese, made from skim
milk.
{Dutch clinker}, a kind of brick made in Holland. It is
yellowish, very hard, and long and narrow in shape.
{Dutch clover} (Bot.), common white clover ({Trifolium
repens}), the seed of which was largely imported into
England from Holland.
{Dutch concert}, a so-called concert in which all the singers
sing at the same time different songs. [Slang]
{Dutch courage}, the courage of partial intoxication. [Slang]
--Marryat.
{Dutch door}, a door divided into two parts, horizontally, so
arranged that the lower part can be shut and fastened,
while the upper part remains open.
{Dutch foil}, {Dutch leaf}, or {Dutch gold}, a kind of brass
rich in copper, rolled or beaten into thin sheets, used in
Holland to ornament toys and paper; -- called also {Dutch
mineral}, {Dutch metal}, {brass foil}, and {bronze leaf}.
{Dutch liquid} (Chem.), a thin, colorless, volatile liquid,
{C2H4Cl2}, of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal
odor, produced by the union of chlorine and ethylene or
olefiant gas; -- called also {Dutch oil}. It is so called
because discovered (in 1795) by an association of four
Hollandish chemists. See {Ethylene}, and {Olefiant}.
{Dutch oven}, a tin screen for baking before an open fire or
kitchen range; also, in the United States, a shallow iron
kettle for baking, with a cover to hold burning coals.
{Dutch pink}, chalk, or whiting dyed yellow, and used in
distemper, and for paper staining. etc. --Weale.
{Dutch rush} (Bot.), a species of horsetail rush or
{Equisetum} ({Equisetum hyemale}) having a rough,
siliceous surface, and used for scouring and polishing; --
called also {scouring rush}, and {shave grass}. See
{Equisetum}.
{Dutch tile}, a glazed and painted ornamental tile, formerly
much exported, and used in the jambs of chimneys and the
like.
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Note: Dutch was formerly used for German.
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Germany is slandered to have sent none to this
war [the Crusades] at this first voyage; and that
other pilgrims, passing through that country,
were mocked by the Dutch, and called fools for
their pains. --Fuller.
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