he timbering of tide-harbours in the Channel. Wattling
between piles.

DICKEY. An officer acting in commission.--_It's all dickey with him._
It's all up with him.

DIDDLE, TO. To deceive.

DIEGO. A very strong and heavy sword.

DIE ON THE FIN, TO. An expression applied to whales, which when dying
rise to the surface, after the final dive, with one side uppermost.

DIET. The regulated food for patients in sick-bays and hospitals.

DIFFERENCE. An important army term, meaning firstly the sum to be paid
by officers when exchanging from the half to full pay; and, secondly,
the price or difference in value of the several commissions.

DIFFERENCE OF LATITUDE. The distance between any two places on the same
meridian, or the difference between the parallels of latitude of any two
places expressed in miles of the equator.

DIFFERENCE OF LONGITUDE. The difference of any place from another
eastward or westward, counted in degrees of the equator: that is, the
difference between two places is an arc of the equator contained between
their meridians, but measured in space on the parallel. Thus the
difference of a degree of longitude in miles of the meridian would be--

At 20 deg. lat. 56.4 miles
" 40 " 38.6 "
" 60 " 30.0 "
" 80 " 10.4 "

DIFFERENTIAL OBSERVATION. Taking the differences of right ascension and
declination between a comet and a star, the position of which has been
already determined.

DIFFICULTY. A word unknown to true salts.

DIGHT [from the Anglo-Saxon _diht_, arranging or disposing]. Now applied
to dressing or preparing for muster; setting things in order.

DIGIT. A twelfth part of the diameter; a term employed to denote the
magnitude of an eclipse; as, so many _digits eclipsed_.

DIKE. _See_ DYKE.

DILL. An edible dark brown sea-weed, torn from the rocks at low-water.

DILLOSK. The dried leaves of an edible sea-weed. (_See_ DULCE and
PEPPER-DULSE.)

DILLY-WRECK. A common corruption of _derelict_ (which see).

DIME. An American silver coin, in value the tenth of a dollar.

DIMINISHED ANGLE. In fortification, that formed by the exterior side and
the line of defence.

DIMINISHING PLANK. The same as _diminishing stuff_ (which see).

DIMINISHING STRAKES. _See_ BLACK-STRAKE.

DIMINISHING STUFF. In ship-building, the planking wrought under the
wales, where it is thinned progressively to the thickness of the bottom
plank.

DIMI