[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

dead \dead\ de^d, a. oe. ded, dead, deed, as. de'ad; akin
   to os. d=od, d. dood, g. todt, tot, icel. dauethr, sw. 
   dan. d"od, 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. "the queen, my
      lord, is dead." --shak.
      1913 webster

            the crew, all except himself, were dead of hunger.
                                                  --arbuthnot.
      1913 webster

            seek him with candle, bring him dead or living.
                                                  --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter.
      1913 webster

   3. resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of
      life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep.
      1913 webster

   4. still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead
      calm; a dead load or weight.
      1913 webster

   5. so constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a
      dead floor.
      1913 webster

   6. unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead
      capital; dead stock in trade.
      1913 webster

   7. lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye;
      dead fire; dead color, etc.
      1913 webster

   8. monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead
      wall. "the ground is a dead flat." --c. reade.
      1913 webster

   9. sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot;
      a dead certainty.
      1913 webster

            i had them a dead bargain.            --goldsmith.
      1913 webster

   10. bringing death; deadly. --shak.
       1913 webster

   11. wanting in religious spirit and vitality; as, dead faith;
       dead works. "dead in trespasses." --eph. ii. 1.
       1913 webster

   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.
           1913 webster

   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.
       1913 webster

   14. mach. not imparting motion or power; as, the dead
       spindle of a lathe, etc. see spindle.
       1913 webster

   15. elec. carrying no current, or producing no useful
       effect; -- said of a conductor in a dynamo or motor, also
       of a telegraph wire which has no instrument attached and,
       therefore, is not in use.
       webster 1913 suppl.

   16. out of play; regarded as out of the game; -- said of a
       ball, a piece, or a player under certain conditions in
       cricket, baseball, checkers, and some other games.

             in golf, a ball is said to lie dead when it lies
             so near the hole that the player is certain to hole
             it in the next stroke.               --encyc. of
                                                  sport.
       webster 1913 suppl.

   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. "serfs held in dead hand." --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.

   dead plate mach., a solid covering over a part of a fire
      grate, to prevent the entrance of air through that part.
      

   dead pledge, a mortgage. see mortgage.

   dead point. mach. see dead center.

   dead reckoning naut., the method of determining the place
      of a ship from a record kept of the courses sailed as
      given by compass, and the distance made on each course as
      found by log, with allowance for leeway, etc., without the
      aid of celestial observations.

   dead rise, the transverse upward curvature of a vessel's
      floor.

   dead rising, an elliptical line drawn on the sheer plan to
      determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the
      ship's length.

   dead-sea apple. see under apple.

   dead set. see under set.

   dead shot.
       a an unerring marksman.
       b a shot certain to be made.

   dead smooth, the finest cut made; -- said of files.

   dead wall arch., a blank wall unbroken by windows or
      other openings.

   dead water naut., the eddy water closing in under a
      ship's stern when sailing.

   dead weight.
       a a heavy or oppressive burden. --dryden.
       b shipping a ship's lading, when it consists of heavy
           goods; or, the heaviest part of a ship's cargo.
       c railroad the weight of rolling stock, the live
           weight being the load. --knight.

   dead wind naut., a wind directly ahead, or opposed to the
      ship's course.

   to be dead, to die. obs.
      1913 webster

            i deme thee, thou must algate be dead. --chaucer.

   syn: inanimate; deceased; extinct. see lifeless.
        1913 webster
see also:
die death alive living spindle dead ahead 
dead angle dead block dead calm dead center dead point 
dead color dead coloring dead door dead flat dead freight 
dead ground dead hand mortmain dead head dead heat 
dead horse dead language dead plate dead pledge mortgage 
dead reckoning dead rise dead rising dead-sea apple apple 
dead set set dead shot dead smooth dead wall 
dead water dead weight dead wind to be dead lifeless 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

dead hand
     n 1: real property held inalienably as by an ecclesiastical
          corporation syn: mortmain
     2: the oppressive influence of past events of decisions syn: dead
        hand of the past, mortmain
see also:
mortmain dead hand of the past 

Dead Hand >> D Words
Dead Hand, definition of term: Dead Hand
dead+hand_pag1.html

Dead >> D Words
Dead, definition of term: Dead
dead_pag1.html

Dead Horse >> D Words
Dead Horse, definition of term: Dead Horse
dead+horse_pag1.html

Dead Language >> D Words
Dead Language, definition of term: Dead Language
dead+language_pag1.html

Dead Load >> D Words
Dead Load, definition of term: Dead Load
dead+load_pag1.html

Dead Reckoning >> D Words
Dead Reckoning, definition of term: Dead Reckoning
dead+reckoning_pag1.html

Dead Head >> D Words
Dead Head, definition of term: Dead Head
dead+head_pag1.html

Dead Letter >> D Words
Dead Letter, definition of term: Dead Letter
dead+letter_pag1.html

Dead Ground >> D Words
Dead Ground, definition of term: Dead Ground
dead+ground_pag1.html

Dead Beat >> D Words
Dead Beat, definition of term: Dead Beat
dead+beat_pag1.html

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