Diminish
Pronunciation : Di*min"ish
Part of Speech : v.
Etymology : [Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf. L. diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See Dis-, and Minish.]
Definition : 1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase. Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt. Barrow.
2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken. This doth nothing diminish their opinion. Robynson (More's Utopia). I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. Ezek. xxix. 15. O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars Hide their diminished heads. Milton.
3. (Mus.)
Defn: To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh.
4. To take away; to subtract. Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. Deut. iv. 2. Diminished column, one whose upper diameter is less than the lower. -- Diminished, or Diminishing, scale, a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute. Gwilt. -- Diminishing rule (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft. -- Diminishing stile (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors.
Syn. -- To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair; degrade. See Decrease.
t. [imp. & p. p. Diminished; p. pr. & vb. n. Diminishing.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
Pronunciation : Di*min"ish
Part of Speech : v.
Definition : Defn: To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it.
i.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913