[Obs.]
Delphinic
(Del*phin"ic), a. [From NL. Delphinium, the name of the genus.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or
derived from, the larkspur; specifically, relating to the stavesacre (Delphinium staphisagria).
Delphinine
(Del"phi*nine) n. [Cf. F. delphinine.] (Chem.) A poisonous alkaloid extracted from the
stavesacre as a colorless amorphous powder.
Delphinoid
(Del"phi*noid) a. [L. delphinus a dolphin + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Pertaining to, or resembling, the
dolphin.
Delphinoidea
(||Del`phi*noi"de*a) n. pl. [NL.] (Zoöl.) The division of Cetacea which comprises the dolphins,
porpoises, and related forms.
Delphinus
(||Del*phi"nus) n. [L., a dolphin, fr. Gr. delfi`s, delfi`n.]
1. (Zoöl.) A genus of Cetacea, including the dolphin. See Dolphin, 1.
2. (Astron.) The Dolphin, a constellation near the equator and east of Aquila.
Delta
(Del"ta) n.; pl. Deltas [Gr. de`lta, the name of the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet (the capital
form of which is &DELTA, Eng. D), from the Phœnician name of the corresponding letter. The Greeks
called the alluvial deposit at the mouth of the Nile, from its shape, the Delta of the Nile.] A tract of
land shaped like the letter delta especially when the land is alluvial and inclosed between two or more
mouths of a river; as, the delta of the Ganges, of the Nile, or of the Mississippi.
Deltafication
(Del`ta*fi*ca"tion) n. [Delta + L. facere to make.] The formation of a delta or of deltas.
[R.]
Deltaic
(Del*ta"ic) a. Relating to, or like, a delta.
Delthyris
(||Del*thy"ris) n. [NL., fr. Gr. de`lta the name of the letter &DELTA + thy`ra door.] (Zoöl.) A
name formerly given to certain Silurian brachiopod shells of the genus Spirifer.
Delthyris limestone (Geol.), one of the divisions of the Upper Silurian rocks in New York.
Deltic
(Del"tic) a. Deltaic.
Deltidium
(||Del*tid"i*um) n. [NL., fr. Gr. de`lta, the letter &DELTA.] (Zoöl.) The triangular space under
the beak of many brachiopod shells.
Deltohedron
(Del`to*he"dron) n. [Gr. de`lta, the letter &DELTA + 'e`dra seat, base.] (Crystallog.) A
solid bounded by twelve quadrilateral faces. It is a hemihedral form of the isometric system, allied to the
tetrahedron.
Deltoid
(Del"toid) a. [Gr. deltoeidh`s delta- shaped; de`lta the name of the letter &DELTA + e'i^dos
form: cf. F. deltoïde. See Delta.] Shaped like the Greek &DELTA (delta); delta-shaped; triangular.
Deltoid leaf (Bot.), a leaf in the form of a triangle with the stem inserted at the middle of the base. —
Deltoid muscle (Anat.), a triangular muscle in the shoulder which serves to move the arm directly
upward.
