% da%

The first day of April, a day on which sportive impositions are practiced. [ 1913 Webster ]

The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day. Poor Robin's Almanack (1760). [ 1913 Webster ]

The second day of November; a feast day of the Roman Catholic church, on which supplications are made for the souls of the faithful dead. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Engin.) A kind of movable dam, in one form consisting of two leaves resting against each other at the top when raised and folding down one over the other when lowered, for deepening shallow parts in a river. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. The first week day after Christmas, a legal holiday on which Christmas boxes are given to postmen, errand boys, employees, etc. The night of this day is boxing night. [ Eng. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a type of solo dancing in which the dancer performs elaborate footwork, pantomime, and various acrobatic movements, such as spinning head stands or spinning on the back, and usually containing much improvization. It was first performed by male teenagers in the 1970's, in small informal groups on the streets, and is often performed to the accompaniment of rap music or other rock music with a rapid, strong beat. -- break" dance`, n. -- break" dan`cer, n. [ PJC ]

[ AS. cildamæsse-dæg; cild child +dæg day. ] (Eccl.) A day (December 28) observed by mass or festival in commemoration of the children slain by Herod at Bethlehem; -- called also Holy Innocent's Day. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Carbonic acid, under Carbonic. [ 1913 Webster ]

. In American colleges and universities, a day of the commencement season on which the senior class celebrates the completion of its course by exercises conducted by the members, such as the reading of the class histories and poem, the delivery of the class oration, the planting of the class ivy, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

The 12th day of October, on which day in 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered America, landing on one of the Bahama Islands (probably the one now commonly called Watling Island), and naming it “San Salvador”; -- called also Discovery Day. This day is made a legal holiday in many States of The United States. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ ‖, n. See Damsel. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. a day, May 30, originally appointed for decorating with flowers the graves of the Union soldiers and sailors, who fell in the Civil War in the United States; -- now called Memorial Day, and established as the last Monday in May, and designated as a day for commemorating those who died in all wars of the United States. [ U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. (Zool.) A dragon fly. See Darning needle, under Darn, v. t. [ 1913 Webster ]

. same as Columbus Day, above. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ or . One of the dog days. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dogday cicada (Zool.), a large American cicada (Cicada pruinosa), which trills loudly in midsummer. [ 1913 Webster ]

A period of from four to six weeks, in the summer, variously placed by almanac makers between the early part of July and the early part of September; canicular days; -- so called in reference to the rising in ancient times of the Dog Star (Sirius) with the sun. Popularly, the sultry, close part of the summer; metaphorically, a period of inactivity.
Syn. -- dog days, canicule, canicular days. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

☞ The conjunction of the rising of the Dog Star with the rising of the sun was regarded by the ancients as one of the causes of the sultry heat of summer, and of the maladies which then prevailed. But as the conjunction does not occur at the same time in all latitudes, and is not constant in the same region for a long period, there has been much variation in calendars regarding the limits of the dog days. The astronomer Roger Long states that in an ancient calendar in Bede (died 735) the beginning of dog days is placed on the 14th of July; that in a calendar prefixed to the Common Prayer, printed in the time of Queen Elizabeth, they were said to begin on the 6th of July and end on the 5th of September; that, from the Restoration (1660) to the beginning of New Style (1752), British almanacs placed the beginning on the 19th of July and the end on the 28th of August; and that after 1752 the beginning was put on the 30th of July, the end on the 7th of September. Some English calendars now put the beginning on July 3d, and the ending on August 11th. A popular American almanac of the present time (1890) places the beginning on the 25th of July, and the end on the 5th of September. [ 1913 Webster ]

. In Canada, a legal holiday, July lst, being the anniversary of the proclamation of the formation of the Dominion in 1867. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a decorative ovolo molding, having a series of egg-shaped figures alternating with another shape in the form of a dart or anchor. Also used attributively; as, an egg-and-dart molding; an egg-and-dart design. Called also egg and dart, and egg and tongue
Syn. -- egg-and-anchor, egg and anchor, egg-and-tongue, egg and tongue. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. A religious dance of the North American Indians, participated in by both sexes, and looked upon as a rite of invocation the purpose of which is, through trance and vision, to bring the dancer into communion with the unseen world and the spirits of departed friends. The dance is the chief rite of the
Ghost-dance, or
Messiah,
religion, which originated about 1890 in the doctrines of the Piute Wovoka, the Indian Messiah, who taught that the time was drawing near when the whole Indian race, the dead with the living, should be reunited to live a life of millennial happiness upon a regenerated earth. The religion inculcates peace, righteousness, and work, and holds that in good time, without warlike intervention, the oppressive white rule will be removed by the higher powers. The religion spread through a majority of the western tribes of the United States, only in the case of the Sioux, owing to local causes, leading to an outbreak. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. The day on which the President of the United States is inaugurated, the 20th of January in every year next after a year divisible by four. Prior to the adoption of the twentieth amendment to the Constitution of the United States (ratified February 6, 1933) the date was the 4th of March. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. In the United States, a holiday, the 4th of July, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on that day in 1776. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. In most of the States and Territories of the United States, a day, usually the first Monday of September, set aside as a legal holiday, in honor of, or in the interest of, workingmen as a class. Also, a similar holiday in Canada, Australia, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

pos>n. The day of the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, March 25. See Annunciation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Hebrew, shield of David. ] A hexagram{ 1a }, when used as the symbol of Judaism; called also Mogen David and Star of David. It is included on the flag of Israel
Syn. -- Star of David, Mogen David. [ PJC ]

. 1. A day, originally May 30, appointed for commemorating, by decorating their graves with flowers, by patriotic exercises, etc., the dead soldiers and sailors who served the Civil War (1861-65) in the United States; Also called Decoration Day. It is a legal holiday in most of the States. In the Southern States, the Confederate Memorial Day is: May 30 in Virginia; April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in North Carolina and South Carolina; the second Friday in May in Tennessee; June 3 in Louisiana. [ U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A day designated for commemoration of all of the war dead of the United States, clebrated on the last Monday in May in most states. It supersedes the original Memorial Day celebrated May 30th. [ PJC ]

n. [ Hebrew, shield of David. ] A hexagram{ 1a }, when used as the symbol of Judaism; called also Magen David and Star of David. It is included on the flag of the state of Israel
Syn. -- Star of David, Magen David. [ PJC ]

. A day appointed for the honor and uplift of motherhood by the loving remembrance of each person of his mother through the performance of some act of kindness, visit, tribute, or letter. The founder of the day is Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, who designated the second Sunday in May, or for schools the second Friday, as the time, and a white carnation as the badge. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A wasp of the family Sphegidae (Sphecidae) which builds a nest of mud and stores insects and spiders in it; a digger-wasp. [ PJC ]

the first day of a calendar year; the first day of January. Often colloquially abbreviated to New year's or new year. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A legal holiday in the States of Massachusetts and Maine, April 19, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington in 1775. It was first observed in 1894. [ U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

In Utah, a legal holiday, July 24, commemorated the arrival, in 1847, of Brigham Young and his followers at the present site of Salt Lake City. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ From the native Oriental name. ] (Zool.) The clouded tiger cat (Felis marmorata) of Southern Asia and the East Indies. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. a period when a person is young and inexperienced. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) The European sea perch. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) A European amaryllidaceous plant (Pancratium maritimum). [ 1913 Webster ]

. A large-flowered garden variety of the oxeye daisy. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Zool.) The sand fluke (b). [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. A symbol consisting of two overlapped equilateral triangles forming a star with six points, used as a symbol of Judaism. It is also called Magen David, Mogen David, and Shield of David, and is shaped identically to the hexagram and Solomon's seal. It is used on the flag of the modern state of Israel. [ PJC ]

. A day on which contributions to some public or private charity or fund are solicited promiscuously on the street, and tags given to contributors to wear as an evidence of their having contributed. Such solicitation is now subject to legal restriction in various places. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. The date set as a goal for completion of some activity. [ PJC ]