dead calm : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: dead calm	by the DICT Development Group
1 result for dead calm
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Dead \Dead\ (d[ecr]d), a. [OE. ded, dead, deed, AS. de[a0]d; akin to OS. d[omac]d, D. dood, G. todt, tot, Icel. dau[edh]r, Sw. & Dan. d[94]d, Goth. daubs; prop. p. p. of an old verb meaning to die. See {Die}, and cf. {Death}.] 1. Deprived of life; -- opposed to {alive} and {living}; reduced to that state of a being in which the organs of motion and life have irrevocably ceased to perform their functions; as, a dead tree; a dead man. [bd]The queen, my lord, is dead.[b8] --Shak. The crew, all except himself, were dead of hunger. --Arbuthnot. Seek him with candle, bring him dead or living. --Shak. 2. Destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter. 3. Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep. 4. Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead calm; a dead load or weight. 5. So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a dead floor. 6. Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead capital; dead stock in trade. 7. Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye; dead fire; dead color, etc. 8. Monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead wall. [bd]The ground is a dead flat.[b8] --C. Reade. 9. Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot; a dead certainty. I had them a dead bargain. --Goldsmith. 10. Bringing death; deadly. --Shak. 11. Wanting in religious spirit and vitality; as, dead faith; dead works. [bd]Dead in trespasses.[b8] --Eph. ii. 1. 12. (Paint.) (a) Flat; without gloss; -- said of painting which has been applied purposely to have this effect. (b) Not brilliant; not rich; thus, brown is a dead color, as compared with crimson. 13. (Law) Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of the power of enjoying the rights of property; as, one banished or becoming a monk is civilly dead. 14. (Mach.) Not imparting motion or power; as, the dead spindle of a lathe, etc. See {Spindle}. {Dead ahead} (Naut.), directly ahead; -- said of a ship or any object, esp. of the wind when blowing from that point toward which a vessel would go. {Dead angle} (Mil.), an angle or space which can not be seen or defended from behind the parapet. {Dead block}, either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car. {Dead calm} (Naut.), no wind at all. {Dead center}, [or] {Dead point} (Mach.), either of two points in the orbit of a crank, at which the crank and connecting rod lie a straight line. It corresponds to the end of a stroke; as, A and B are dead centers of the crank mechanism in which the crank C drives, or is driven by, the lever L. {Dead color} (Paint.), a color which has no gloss upon it. {Dead coloring} (Oil paint.), the layer of colors, the preparation for what is to follow. In modern painting this is usually in monochrome. {Dead door} (Shipbuilding), a storm shutter fitted to the outside of the quarter-gallery door. {Dead flat} (Naut.), the widest or midship frame. {Dead freight} (Mar. Law), a sum of money paid by a person who charters a whole vessel but fails to make out a full cargo. The payment is made for the unoccupied capacity. --Abbott. {Dead ground} (Mining), the portion of a vein in which there is no ore. {Dead hand}, a hand that can not alienate, as of a person civilly dead. [bd]Serfs held in dead hand.[b8] --Morley. See {Mortmain}. {Dead head} (Naut.), a rough block of wood used as an anchor buoy. {Dead heat}, a heat or course between two or more race horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal, so that neither wins. {Dead horse}, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid in advance. [Law] {Dead language}, a language which is no longer spoken or in common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.