dddd
Definition(s) of “D”
d
abbreviation
• date.
• (in genealogies) daughter.
• day(s) : orbital period (Mars): 687.0d.
• deceased.
• deep.
• [in combination ] (in units of measurement) deci-.
• (in travel timetables) departs.
• ( d.) died (used to indicate a date of death) : Barents, Willem (d.1597).
• divorced.
• Brit. penny or pence (of predecimal currency) : £20 10s 6d. [ORIGIN: from Latin denarius ‘penny.’ ]
• Chemistry denoting electrons and orbitals possessing two units of angular momentum : d-electrons. [ORIGIN: d from diffuse, originally applied to lines in atomic spectra.]
symbol
• Mathematics diameter.
• Mathematics denoting a small increment in a given variable : dy/dx.
penny |ˈpenē|
noun
1 a one-cent coin equal to one hundredth of a dollar.
• ( pl. for separate coins pennies , for a sum of money pence |pens|) (abbr.: p.) a British bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound.
• (abbr.: d.) a former British coin and monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling and one 240th of a pound.
• ( pennies) a small sum of money : in the current economic situation any chance to save a few pennies is welcome.
• (in biblical use) a denarius.
2 [with negative ] ( a penny) used for emphasis to denote no money at all : we didn't get paid a penny.
PHRASES
be two (or ten) a penny chiefly Brit. be plentiful or easily obtained and consequently of little value.
pinch (or count or watch) ( one's) pennies be careful about how much one spends : he is pinching pennies to save for a movie | she's been watching her pennies.
in for a penny, in for a pound used to express someone's intention to complete an enterprise once it has been undertaken, however much time, effort, or money this entails.
look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves proverb if you concentrate on saving small amounts of money, you'll soon amass a large amount.
pennies from heaven unexpected benefits, esp. financial ones.
the penny dropped informal chiefly Brit. used to indicate that someone has finally realized or understood something.
a penny for your thoughts used to ask someone what they are thinking about.
a pretty penny a considerable amount of money : old Sid charged a pretty penny for his services.
spend a penny see spend .
ORIGIN Old English penig, penning, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch penning, German Pfennig, perhaps also to pawn 2 and (with reference to shape) pan 1 .
D 1 |dē| (also d)
noun ( pl. Ds or D's )
1 the fourth letter of the alphabet.
• denoting the fourth in a set of items, categories, sizes, etc.
• the fourth highest category of academic mark.
• ( d) Chess denoting the fourth file from the left, as viewed from White's side of the board.
• denoting the second-lowest-earning socioeconomic category for marketing purposes, including semiskilled and unskilled personnel.
2 ( D) a shape like that of a capital D : [in combination ] the D-shaped handle.
• a loop or ring of this shape.
3 (usu. D) Music the second note of the diatonic scale of C major.
• a key based on a scale with D as its keynote.
4 the Roman numeral for 500. [ORIGIN: understood as half of CIɔ, an earlier form of M (= 1,000).]
D 2
abbreviation
• Democrat or Democratic.
• depth (in the sense of the dimension of an object from front to back).
• Chemistry dextrorotatory : D-glucose.
• (with a numeral) dimension(s) or dimensional : a 3-D model.
• (in tables of sports results) drawn.
• (on an automatic gearshift) drive.
• (in personal ads) divorced.
symbol
• Physics electric flux density.
• Chemistry the hydrogen isotope deuterium.
deuterium |d(y)oōˈti(ə)rēəm|
noun Chemistry
a stable isotope of hydrogen with a mass approximately twice that of the usual isotope. (Symbol: D)
Deuterium atoms have a neutron as well as a proton in the nucleus, and the isotope is present to about 1 part in 6,000 in naturally occurring hydrogen. It is used as a fuel in thermonuclear bombs, and heavy water (D 2 O) is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors.
ORIGIN 1930s: modern Latin, from Greek deuteros ‘second.’