Devastation to Devilry
Devastation
(Dev`as*ta"tion) n. [Cf. F. dévastation.]
1. The act of devastating, or the state of being devastated; a laying waste.
Even now the devastation is begun,
And half the business of destruction done.
Goldsmith. 2. (Law) Waste of the goods of the deceased by an executor or administrator. Blackstone.
Syn. — Desolation; ravage; waste; havoc; destruction; ruin; overthrow.
Devastator
(Dev"as*ta`tor) n. [L.] One who, or that which, devastates. Emerson.
Devastavit
(||Dev`as*ta"vit) n. [L., he has wasted.] (Law) Waste or misapplication of the assets of a
deceased person by an executor or an administrator. Bouvier.
Devata
(||De"va*ta) n. [Hind., fr. Skr. dva god.] (Hind. Myth.) A deity; a divine being; a good spirit; an
idol. [Written also dewata.]
Deve
(Deve) a. [See Deaf.] Deaf. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Develin
(Dev"el*in) n. (Zoöl.) The European swift. [Prov. Eng.]
Develop
(De*vel"op) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Developed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Developing.] [F. déveloper; dé- (L.
dis-) + OF. voluper, voleper, to envelop, perh. from L. volup agreeably, delightfully, and hence orig., to
make agreeable or comfortable by enveloping, to keep snug (cf. Voluptuous); or. perh. fr. a derivative
of volvere, volutum, to roll Cf. Envelop.] [Written also develope.]
1. To free from that which infolds or envelops; to unfold; to lay open by degrees or in detail; to make visible
or known; to disclose; to produce or give forth; as, to develop theories; a motor that develops 100 horse
power.
These serve to develop its tenets.
Milner.
The 20th was spent in strengthening our position and developing the line of the enemy.
The Century. 2. To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages,
each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change
gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop
the bud into a flower; to develop the mind.
The sound developed itself into a real compound.
J. Peile.
All insects . . . acquire the jointed legs before the wings are fully developed.
Owen. 3. To advance; to further; to prefect; to make to increase; to promote the growth of.
We must develop our own resources to the utmost.
Jowett 4. (Math.) To change the form of, as of an algebraic expression, by executing certain indicated operations
without changing the value.
5. (Photog.) To cause to become visible, as an invisible or latent image upon plate, by submitting it to
chemical agents; to bring to view.
To develop a curved surface on a plane (Geom.), to produce on the plane an equivalent surface, as
if by rolling the curved surface so that all parts shall successively touch the plane.
