Chapter Doorcase to Dot of D by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

Dorking fowl
(Dor"king fowl`) [From the town of Dorking in England.] (Zoöl.) One of a breed of large- bodied domestic fowls, having five toes, or the hind toe double. There are several strains, as the white, gray, and silver- gray. They are highly esteemed for the table.

Dormancy
(Dor"man*cy) n. [From Dormant.] The state of being dormant; quiescence; abeyance.

Dormant
(Dor"mant) a. [F., p. pr. of dormir to sleep, from L. dormire; cf. Gr. Skr. dra, OSlav. drmati.]

1. Sleeping; as, a dormant animal; hence, not in action or exercise; quiescent; at rest; in abeyance; not disclosed, asserted, or insisted on; as, dormant passions; dormant claims or titles.

It is by lying dormant a long time, or being . . . very rarely exercised, that arbitrary power steals upon a people.

Burke.

2. (Her.) In a sleeping posture; as, a lion dormant; — distinguished from couchant.

Dormant partner (Com.), a partner who takes no share in the active business of a company or partnership, but is entitled to a share of the profits, and subject to a share in losses; — called also sleeping or silent partner. — Dormant window (Arch.), a dormer window. See Dormer. — Table dormant, a stationary table. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Dormant
(Dor"mant) n. [See Dormant, a.] (Arch.) A large beam in the roof of a house upon which portions of the other timbers rest or " sleep." Arch. Pub. Soc. — Called also dormant tree, dorman tree, dormond, and dormer. Halliwell.

Dormer
(Dor"mer or Dor"mer win"dow) n. [Literally, the window of a sleeping apartment. F. dormir to sleep. See Dormant, a. & n.] (Arch.) A window pierced in a roof, and so set as to be vertical while the roof slopes away from it. Also, the gablet, or houselike structure, in which it is contained.

Dormitive
(Dor"mi*tive) a. [Cf. F. dormitif, fr. dormire to sleep.] Causing sleep; as, the dormitive properties of opium. Clarke. — n. (Med.) A medicine to promote sleep; a soporific; an opiate.

Dormitory
(Dor"mi*to*ry) n.; pl. Dormitories [L. dormitorium, fr. dormitorius of or for sleeping, fr. dormire to sleep. See Dormant.]

1. A sleeping room, or a building containing a series of sleeping rooms; a sleeping apartment capable of containing many beds; esp., one connected with a college or boarding school. Thackeray.

2. A burial place. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

My sister was interred in a very honorable manner in our dormitory, joining to the parish church.

Evelyn.

Dormouse
(Dor"mouse) n.; pl. Dormice [Perh. fr. F. dormir to sleep (Prov. E. dorm to doze) + E. mouse; or perh. changed fr. F. dormeuse, fem., a sleeper, though not found in the sense of a dormouse.] (Zoöl.) A small European rodent of the genus Myoxus, of several species. They live in trees and feed on nuts, acorns, etc.; — so called because they are usually torpid in winter.

Dorn
(Dorn) n. [Cf. G. dorn thorn, D. doorn, and G. dornfisch stickleback.] (Zoöl.) A British ray; the thornback.

Dornick
(Dor"nick or Dor"nock) , n. A coarse sort of damask, originally made at Tournay Belgium, and used for hangings, carpets, etc. Also, a stout figured linen manufactured in Scotland. [Formerly written also darnex, dornic, dorneck, etc.] Halliwell. Jamieson.

Ure says that dornock, a kind of stout figured linen, derives its name from a town in Scotland where it was first manufactured for tablecloths.